Weekend Reading #259
This is the two-hundred-and-fifty-ninth weekly edition of our newsletter, Weekend Reading, sent out on Saturday 16th March 2024
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What we're thinking.
After going in for a simple shoulder tendon repair and coming out with a full rotator cuff repair, all I’m thinking about is how to get some decent sleep. It’s quite difficult to sleep sitting up with a massive cushion sling attached. But so many of the things I took for granted just last week are making their presence felt. Tying shoelaces, putting on a t-shirt, cutting food and of course putting my 3-year-old on my shoulders are all off the menu for the next 5 weeks at least. On the bright side I’ve got lots of time to consume stuff.
So, for this week I thought I’d have all this extra time to watch, read and listen to my heart's content but that has proven elusive. No running so no podcasts. Sorry.
Markets wise a correction in Nvidia and in crypto. Copper goes mental. Chinese stocks pushing. Are we seeing the much-anticipated rotation? Price action will tell!
What we're doing.
I'm once again in the Suffolk countryside in the quaint town of Orford spending a weekend with some friends. The couple of hour drive from London was relatively peaceful although perhaps almost treacherous as I almost hit a couple of deers along the last stretch. Next week will follow with what the weekend entailed but it's likely to be plenty of beers, good food and a spot of sailing. HS
This week I was kindly invited to a vertical tasting of the St Emilion winemaker Chateau Angelus’s vintages from 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014, along with two vintages from their Carillon de L’Angelus label, made from grapes in the region and hence labelled outside of the Ch. Angelus label. The tasting was hosted by winemaker and co-owner Hubert de Boüard, who despite (or perhaps as a result of) being an influential figure in the St Emilion winemaking world has had his share of controversy. As always, it’s interesting to hear winemakers reminisce about the climate conditions that prevailed during prior vintages and how they take that randomness and make it into a set of characteristics of the wine. Should it be made to taste similar to earlier vintages? Or were conditions so unique that it was a chance (or a necessity) to make something different? And for the sceptics who say well it’s just grape juice, how much can things REALLY vary, the proof is in the tasting.
Abridged tasting notes (caveat being it’s all personal taste and that I have generally the reverse preferences as the great Robert Parker so high RP scores = stay away as expensive and not my taste):
2014’s vintage, arguably still too early to uncork, came heavy in tannins, along with a very clear black fruit hit on the nose. Can this develop more? Definitely. Does it develop into anything like its older siblings from 2011 and 2010? Not sure, but this was textbook young St Emilion. This was going for just under £350/bottle.
2013’s vintage was interesting. It was the least liked by the group, but probably the one that went best with my tastes. Like the odd middle child, it tasted nothing like a Bordeaux wine. In fact, if one were not paying attention, one might mistake it for a Burgundy instead. Much lighter in character and colour, the climate that year really made a difference. Likewise, this was also going for around £350/bottle, though slightly cheaper than the 2014. Would I buy it even though I liked it? Not really – if I wanted a Burgundy, I’d get a Burgundy, but then again, Burgundies aren’t that affordable these days anyway. The other issue here is that given the light (and honestly pleasantly easy to drink) character of the wine now at just over 10 years old, pleasant as it may be, the question is how much more fuel is left in the tank for its future evolution such that it doesn’t go, for lack of a better word, “floppy”? The recommendations by much more sophisticated palates are that this is good till 2035, so probably worth trusting them instead!
2011’s vintage served up flavours again much more similar to what the textbook expectation of a St Emilion wine should deliver. But if the complexity of flavours that came from the 2010 vintage is a guide for the future of the 2011 bottles, then it’s almost arguable that the 2011 though only a year younger would probably grow into a much more interesting wine over time than its elder sibling. Again, at £350+ and £400+ per bottle for the 2011 and 2010 vintages respectively, it was a good chance to taste them, but I wouldn’t pay to find out how they turn out in the coming years.
Between the two vintages of the Carillon, the 2014 came off as still way too rough to be drunk, with a heavily herbal/grassy nose that didn’t really rub off the right way (at least for me). The good news is these wines mostly have the potential to evolve quite significantly so maybe the 2014 Carillon is worth revisiting. The 2013 however was extremely pleasant, packed with black fruit flavours and with the tannins and acidity nicely smoothed out. At roughly £80/bottle each, it’s definitely the more affordable alternative to Ch. Angelus.
What we're reading.
This fantastic thread from Josh Wolfe highlights the progress that the UAE has been making with modern, forward thinking leaders making decisions to uplift their people and create sustainable progress. In a dark time of conflict in the Middle East which has spread into the western world, it is extremely encouraging to see something like this developing giving signs of hope for the future. DC
What we're watching.
I did manage to watch Guy Ritchie’s new series, The Gentlemen which picks up kind of where his film of the same name left off. It is fantastic! Episode 3 is probably the best episode of TV I’ve watched in many years. The characters are brilliant, everything is just right. It’s a proper throwback to his two winning films, Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and even has a role for Vinny Jones. There are many laugh out loud moments and it’s not even a comedy. I’m really enjoying this. No spoilers please! DC