Puisseguin Saint-Emilion AOC.

Great back bone with proper Saint-Emilion Fruit, dark and brooding. Still tannic and oaky. But....if you can find the 2005 down at Theale on the shelves, or a small parcel lying around somewhere, and you are prepared to wait for 2011/12, you won't be dissapointed

Even though tannic, the fruit is so prevalent that you can drink this as an apperatif. With hard old mature cheddar and biscuits, the wine is tremendous. Good acidity, firm, and ripening (ripening as in secondary flavour and harmony) with time in the bottle, very little brett.

The others I have will be left to gather dust for a while. I like this, for Saint Emilion Satelite people. I'm looking forward to finishing the remainder tonight. I will see how it has developed after being sucked out for 24 hours, this will confirm it's holding ability.

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Duncan

Finished the bottle with Home Grown 1st Strawberries and cream - Ha ha, French folks do this, Bordelais style.

Dont go searching for the 2005, regrettably IMHO, the fruit will not go the distance to 2011/12. It may start drying out Spring 2011, me thinks. Pity, because also, occasionally these right bank clarets with plenty of backbone and a bit tannic early on, will evolve, and perform to a wine that is well above its price level.

I shall see how it is in the Autumn 2010, my fireside claret quaffing season begins in late October

Never mind - Great with the Strawberries last night. BTW, don't bother doing this with those tasteless imported cone shaped things, which are red coloured pap, and white inside. It would destroy what ever flavour the pap had, and not add any dimension to the wine.

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Duncan

Strawberries already?

I have four litres of elderflower cordial steeping in a bucket at the moment, will bottle it this evening. I have made wine with elderflowers in the past, wasnt keen on the taste but the cordial is a great mixer and delicious with chilled sparkling water.

My dear Misses use to make the elderflower sparkling drink when we lived on the edge of the Wolds in Lincolnshire. The white vinegar, unbleached cane sugar and natural yeasts produced plenty of sparkle. Not too much sugar, because the yeasts were wild. 30% less than recipe to obtain a demi sec finish. The flowers have to be very fresh, an AM picking was best.

Our stawbs are on very fast land, Cambridge Favourite are early. The raised bed is very sheltered and the old Berkshire (Rose Kiln Lane) wirecut clay bricks holding the soil instead of wooden boards, retain heat and moisture. In April, I sprinkled very liberally wood ashes saved from our diningroom open fire, to aid flowering (potash) and to keep off those pesky slugs.

In terms of labour - these strawbs are very very expensive, but the flavour

The weather has crashed-out, nights are cold and wet, and now we fear botrytus. I might move the agricultural fleece from the runner beans to keep off further drenching - but then they and the climbing french beans are in abundant flower now. Climbing Golden french beans have pink and tangerine blooms - very pretty, never tried these before ! Very attractive indeed.

We are right on the edge of the Thames basin (the ice age basin) the land was far too good for building on, yet that's what the Victorians did ? You can't grow a cauliflower or iceberg lettuce on this land, its far too light, but the beige clay subsoil over 3 feet down, stops it becoming unstable

I'd better stop here.

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Duncan

You should see my chard. Some with red and some yellow stems. Beautiful. As a group, they look as if you're watching them in HD, the colours are so bright.

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mel

I have grown chard in the garden for the first time this year, how's best to use it Mel?

I've never grown, as old gardeners use to say 40 years ago - "Ruby Chard", now we're in the EU, it has become Swiss Chard - Oh well.

I think you are supposed to blanche the ruby stems to obtain crunchy stems with pale ruby vertical veins on a white sheaf to achieve cordon bleu cuisine for salads. The banching may be done, using your expired kitchen roll tubes.

This year we have majored on Franchi Sementi "Rucola Coltivata" or Roquette. An Italian strain which is finer, more curly & crunchy and much more peppery - Sorry Waitrose, your stuff in the bags is OK - But this is the real Mc Coy.

This Rucola, with the New Zealand strain of Summer spinach, the inner leaves are the very best, has been wonderful this last month. Add a little Helman's or Waitrose label mayonnaise to the side of the plate and just dab on your fork with a sprinkling of ground black pepper and a pinch of sea salt. Yum Yum Yum

Use only your own compost to fertize the salad bed if you can. You don't want to grow stuff that is 3 feet high for cattle feed. Do not use artificial NPK either, destroys the delicate flavour, makes everything industrial.

Shall we get back to wine ?

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Duncan