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DotW, Sheldon’s On Tour, Couriers, Mistletoe, New Ins and Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

Two weekends to go and then it is Christmas. We have been packing boxes like crazy this week, trying to get as many of your courier deliveries out as possible. If you have anything you would like to send, please pass us the details soon to ensure timely delivery. Plenty of lovely New Ins in tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. We also have the arrival of some mistletoe for those of you feeling particularly amorous, a super DotW, a delicious new Guest Beer and we finish off with a car that sits close to my heart. Oh, and somewhere in the middle Per has sent us a Sheldon’s On Tour report from somewhere the rest of us would like to be! Press on.

Dog of the Week
It was the very end of October when Alba came in to see us. I can see I have 4 photos of Alba on my phone, each one trying to catch the perfect shot. That suggests that this gorgeous woofit was a bit of a mover, dodging around and not sitting still. This photo is the best of the bunch, and isn’t it great? Eyes focused on…..a treat of course!
Many thanks to Christian and Danielle for bringing Alba in to see us. Smashing.

Sheldon’s On Tour – guess where?
We have positively encouraged you to send in pictures with bottles whilst on your travels, knowing that many of you like to enjoy the treasures from the shop in many different contexts. This week I received an email from our good friend and regular customer Per which I feel compelled to share. I love the fact that the placemats on the table are festively themed and the man in the kitchen has his hat on. The bottles look pretty smart too!
“These two little beauties walked out of the Sheldon’s cellar a couple of weeks ago, then caught the QF2 to Sydney. A week later they were the perfect match to a 2.8kg (sorry no imperial measures in Oz) standing rib roast.”
“Both wines were in their perfect drinking windows, displaying beautiful tertiary flavours yet still showing plenty of fruit. There was a lengthy debate about which wine was the better, but in the end we called it a draw. They are both fantastic wines for the price and age.”
Per also included some rather nice pictures of two iconic structures in Sydney, the photos are too good to leave out, so here you are.
A boat trip around Sydney Harbour is one of life’s great pleasures (along with fish and chips on Manly beach) and of course it is summer down under. Lucky devils. A big thank you to Per and family for sharing and for making us green with envy. It reminds me that we are overdue a shout out to our friends in Western Australia – hello John and James – still with us I hope?

Courier Deliveries – cut off dates
This week has been dominated by courier deliveries. We have all been knee-deep in cardboard and other packing materials as we processed shipment after shipment. It is clear that (as predicted) the courier network is beginning to creak. Our main courier (APC) has already suspended deliveries to a number of regions across the country due to high demand and staffing issues.
We will continue to take requests for courier deliveries up to Thursday 16th December. After that the likelihood of successful pre-Christmas delivery is significantly reduced and we don’t want to disappoint. If you do want anything shipped, please let us know sooner rather than later so we can prepare and hopefully get the beloved wine you wish to share into the hands of your loved ones/friends/customers/in-laws etc.
Guest Beer – Hobson’s Brewery Co “Shropstar” Pale Ale 4.0% £2.95 (500ml)
This week’s guest beer is from Hobsons Brewery which is based in the Shropshire town of Cleobury Mortimer. Founded by Father-and-Son team Jim and Nick Davis, they have been successfully brewing since 1993. Hobson’s have won many awards, not just for their beer, but also for their approach to environmental sustainability.
We have picked Shropstar as our guest beer this week because it was originally conceived in 2019 as a Christmas ale but it was so popular at the time that it got promoted. Shropstar now forms part of the Hobson’s full-time line-up. The team at Hobson’s describe the beer as:

“A beer that shines bright, a thirst quenching crisp pale ale with a subtle floral aroma, packed with hop character without becoming overly bitter.”
Amanda and I have just tried it and we say “looks fizzy in the glass, nice nose, hoppy palate, a bit of bite and a crisp finish. Lovely beer, definitely a pale ale and delicious. A bit too hoppy for Amanda but great for Shane”

Underneath the Mistletoe….
Following on from the successful back door sale of some mistletoe last year, our friend and customer Mr M has again delivered. We have some rather lovely pieces including a full crown ideal for dangling from a high ceiling.
All proceeds go into Mr M’s wine fund, so give generously and let’s give him a Happy Christmas!

New Ins
Esther is definitely back and in full swing. She has been busy booking stock in ever since she got back from her “unscheduled holiday”. We have an eclectic selection of goodies for you today in all shapes and sizes:
White:
2018 Joseph Mellot Quincy Le Rimonet (£16) – we have worked out way through the stocks of Menetou Salon from Mellot, so rather than stick we decided to twist and give his Quincy (pronounced ‘Can-see’) a go. Like the Menetou, Quincy is a village near Sancerre, the wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, is often as good as Sancerre but is priced at £5 a bottle less.
2019 Vergelegen Reserve Chardonnay (£18) – on the recommendation of a trusted customer, good South African Chardonnay.
2020 Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuisse (£29) – as we have just sold out of the last bottles of Chateau Vincent Pouilly Fuisse and are unable to get any more, we have decided to replace it with a village Fuisse from the rather well-known Domaine Jadot. We also still have Couturier’s PF.
2018 Bouchard Meursault Village “Les Clous” (£40) – well made classically styled Meursault from a ripe, fruit-forward vintage
2018 Joseph Drouhin Clos des Mouches Blanc (£130) – delighted to have been able to get a little more of this, albeit at a slight price increase from the original en primeur batch. We had a bottle a couple of weeks back and it is simply delicious.
2016 Louis Jadot Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru (£180). ’nuff said.

Red:
2018 Kendall Jackson Reserve Pinot Noir (£21.99) – priced as the same as the Reserve Chardonnay, a number of you have asked us for this. Come and give it a try.
2010 Chateau Bernadotte (£32) – this will be the last of this vintage of Bernadotte that we see (just 5 cases) as the price is creeping up and we will be inclined to move on to the next great vintage of 2015.
2009 Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne (£50) – no I didn’t buy this because I am a Labour supporter. It is just a good wine with a bit of age on it at a great price.
2000 Sociando Mallet (£80) – to add to our stocks of 1996, 2005 and 2010, we are building a nice good-vintage-vertical of this often under-the-radar Claret
2005 Chateau d’Armailhac HALVES (£54) – just 24 halves of ex-chateau stock delivered straight to us. For those who like quality things in small packages.
2018 Joseph Drouhin Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Proces (£85) – one of the more difficult wines of Drouhin to find and from vines owned by Laurent Drouhin, Trish and I drank this wine in the summer and thought the quality of the fruit was amazing. Pleased to have found just 12 bottles for the shop (well, 11 really coz one is going home).

And for those who like to go large:
2000 Chateau d’Armailhac Imperial (6 litre) – £1200. Party time.

Car’s the Star
We are bang up to date with cars that have visited the shop, so I thought I would pop in a picture I took back in September at the Whichford “Third Thursday” informal car and bike gathering. I have chosen this picture because I used to have a car just like this one, almond green with a white roof. The only discernible differences are that mine used to have a full size folding fabric sunroof (electric of course) and black leather seats with white piping rather than almond seats with black piping in this version. The 13″ alloys really set the car off and it was wonderful to see one is such stunning condition. Took me back a few years.
I sold mine back in the mid nineties to John Cooper Garages in Ferring, down on the south coast. The deal was done with Mike Cooper, John’s son and as part of the deal I went out in a Cooper S and then spent an hour chatting over coffee with John Cooper himself. Sadly no longer with us, my time with John remains one of my favourite car-related memories. An icon of his time and his name remains synonymous with the Mini concept (even the new ones). Original Minis are such fun motor vehicles, I am sure I will have another before my time is out.
That just about does it for tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. Weatherwise it looks like we are going to get some rain tomorrow afternoon, have a dry but overcast Sunday and then rain returns on Monday morning. But who knows. We are certainly going to have some mulled wine on the go again this weekend, we need something to keep us nice and warm.
Amanda, Trish and I will be here all day Saturday to chat away about food, wine and festive jumpers. Pop in and see us, we’d love to help you find a lovely bottle for the season ahead.

Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Carol

Your Mini-loving, Mistletoe-pouting, Alba-adoring wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars (who all want to be in Sydney with Per).

DotW, Christmas Carol, Guest Beer, Goodies, New Ins and Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

I am usually the ‘bah humbug’ here in the shop but this year I have made a special effort to get in the mood. On Wednesday Carol was commissioned to commence the dressing of the shop with the stash of Christmas decorations we store in the loft (where else does one keep their decs?) We have a rather sad DotW, an interesting Guest Beer, just a couple of New Ins and an immense Car’s the Star. Come in and admire Carol’s handiwork, the place looks quite festive and smells of mulled wine. See if it gets you in the mood too.

Dog of the Week
This is Meg. A Patterdale Terrier. She visited the shop back in January but unfortunately I didn’t make a note of the lovely dog’s name nor the name of the owners at the time. It is with great regret that I missed the publishing opportunity back then because poor Meg has since passed away, back in August no less. It is the first time we have seen Tom since and it filled us with sadness to learn of Meg’s passing.
Many thanks to Tom for coming by and reminding me (shaming me) of the missed post and for giving us the up-to-date picture. So this is an ‘in memoriam’ DotW. Good luck to both Tom and Rosemary for your time ahead.

A Christmas Carol
Wednesday was the 1st of December. After some amount of pressure from the team here at the shop I finally relented and fetched the Christmas decorations down from the loft. It took Carol approximately 7 seconds to dive into the first box and pull out the baubles. Two hours later and the shop was transformed into a veritable Santa’s Grotto. Well, perhaps not, but there are certainly some festive items dotted around the place.
We have seen a noticeable uptick in Christmas-related shopping. Bearing in mind there are only 3 weekends before Christmas, it comes as no surprise that folk are getting in the mood. Yes, I really did say just 3 weekends ’til Christmas!

Guest Beer – Titanic Brewery Plum Porter – £2.95, 4.9%
With the weather rapidly changing and having officially entered the winter season, we have decided to go for a rich, dark ale for this week’s Guest Beer.
Titanic Brewery was founded in 1985 in Burslem, Stoke on Trent with the single aim to make great beer. Starting with just a single brew – Titanic Premium (now called Anchor) – they now brew over 20 different beers of all shapes and sizes. Original production was just 7 barrels, but the brewery has grown and now delivers over 4 million pints a year.
The beer we have selected from this amazing Brewery is their Plum Porter. Titanic Brewery describe the beer as follows:
“Plum Porter is our infamous, strong, dark porter that has re-defined the sector. By combining the sweetness of plums with the hoppy flavour of a porter we have bagged a winner. A well-rounded porter with fruity, sweet notes over a backdrop of hoppy flavour.”
As has become customary, Amanda and I have just tried the beer and we say “a nice plummy nose, lighter on the palate than expected, fruity with a bitter hoppy aftertaste. Nice bottle”
And now for the geeky bit. What is the difference between a Porter and a Stout? Well it seems the line is a little blurred, but the main difference appears to be that Stout is made from roasted malt, whereas a Porter is made from unroasted, dark malt. The presence of roasted malt results in coffee flavours in a Stout which are not usually present in a Porter. But with the availability of so many different types of malt these days, the brewer can made a beer that tastes like a Stout but uses unroasted malt, and vice versa. Clear?
And finally on the Guest Beer front, we sold all of the Box Steam Brewery Soul Train last week – was rather a hit with many of you (including Trish).

Christmas Goodies @ Sheldon’s
Unsurprisingly Amanda has been busy here at the shop creating little parcels of goodness to make your Christmas shopping that little bit easier. We have the ever-present bottles of Sheldon’s Champagnes beautifully wrapped in fancy cellophane with a bow on (£26.99). We also have the return of the Cotswolds Distillery Gin gift bags, each bag contains a Cotswolds Distillery Gin Coppa Glass, some gin, a Fever Tree tonic and a Cotswolds Distillery ‘beer mat’. The £10 bag contains a gin miniature and a 200ml tonic bottle, the £22.50 bag contains a 200ml gin and a 500ml tonic.
Amanda has also been creating some other interesting gift packs. We have a a 4-bottle ‘dinner pack’ containing a bottle of Champagne, a lovely Chardonnay, a drinking Claret and a bottle of Sheldon’s Ruby Port, nicely wrapped up all for the tidy sum of £65. And finally we have the ‘half bottle 6-pack’ containing a fabulous selection of high quality half bottles for £80, ideal for food matching fun.
If you are after something specific or a certain bottle, we can make up a pack for you to suit. Just pop in or give us a call, we’ll discuss your requirements and put something together for you. We currently have plenty of gift boxes (cardboard and wood) and loads of wrapping.

New Ins
Today we have the return of a favourite of ours – 2010 Chateau Ramafort. We held this wine in the shop for some time late last year and early this, but then ran out. We are delighted to have been able to source a new batch of the same (and particularly fine) 2010 vintage.
As a reminder, Chateau Ramafort used to be owned by the Lafite side of the Rothschild family. In the1990’s Domaines Lafite upgraded the vineyards and excavated cellars at Ramafort, cellars which remain the largest in the Medoc. At 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot, this is classic Claret in every regard at a sensible price for a super vintage. £20 a bottle.
We also have the return of 1996 Sociando Mallet (£80/bt), surely the last of this we will ever see.

Car’s the Star
It is only last week that this beauty roared into the car park. A 1925 Chrysler B70 by all accounts, but it has had a few alterations. The owner and I were examining the chassis, including the extra 6 inches of metal inserted to extend the length of the car. Certainly plenty of legroom in the back as Rob is demonstrating in the picture.
Many thanks to Josh for manoeuvring the car into the perfect spot for the photo. No mean feat, this car has the turning circle of a cruise liner. And I reckon the clutch can be a little tricky too. But what a joy to have such a piece of history in Shipston.
That’s it for the first festive Sheldon’s Times of the 2021 season. Just two more to go. We are already fed up of Christmas music in the shop but that is only because we are here all of the time. Pop along, admire the decorations that Carol has put up and buy a glass of mulled wine while browsing the wine collection. Weather wise it looks like a bit of a mix up over the coming days, overcast with the occasional shower. Sounds like perfect shopping weather to me. Amanda, Trish and I will be here tomorrow to service your gift-buying needs.

Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Christmas Carol

Your Meg-missing, Tinsel-loving, Porter-guzzling wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars

DotW, Black Friday, Mulled Wine, Guest Beer, C-Lists, New Ins and Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

As we face the excitement of some weather heading our way tonight (it is looking pretty grim) at least we have some entertaining articles for you tonight. Tomorrow, all being well, we will have some mulled wine on the go. If you feel like a winter warmer pop in and buy a glass while you are browsing the shop. Amanda has come up with a genius idea for those stuck for present ideas and we have yet another new Guest Beer. The DotW will need a coat in the coming days and the Car that is this week’s Star is probably perfect for the conditions ahead. Press on and we look forward to seeing some of you tomorrow.

Dog of the Week
Say hello to Billie the Whippet. Billie came in to see us in late October, meaning we are nearly up to date with DotW visitations. She looks a little scared in the picture, but I am sure she is just alert and ready to receive her next treat.
Many thanks to Rex and Fleur for bringing her in to see us. We’ll intorduce Billie to Dora (also a Whippet) when they are both next in.

Black Friday @ Sheldon’s
With today being the official ‘Black Friday’ we have had some amazing one-day-in-store-only offers on today. Included in the line up were:

Cotswolds Distillery Gin Magnums – normally £75.95, down to £10
Dom Perignon 2009 – normally £150, down to £15
Chateau Duhart Milon 2005 – normally £110, down to just £8.50
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1996 – normally £1095, down to £195

Sadly the shop is now closed so the offer is also closed

Well done to all of you who took full advantage of the amazing offers and discounts that we of course did not advertise or actually offer to any shopper.
I know some of you out there in the Sheldon’s Universe get my sense of humour, and you also know my attitude to too-good-to-be-true offers and discounts. Full respect to those businesses who made a mint out of Black Friday Week, or is it fortnight now? We continue to trade as normal.

Mulled Wine Saturday
With the weather turning from mild to bl**dy freezing we’ve decided to create a winter warmer for you here at the shop. This Saturday we will be attempting to serve nice warm mulled wine in the shop from 1030am onwards. £2 a glass (Carol found some smashing glass mug things that are ideal for the occasion). Come and browse the shop while filling your tummies with something yummy and warm.
Unlike the Black Friday article above, this is actually genuine – we are going to try and have some mulled wine for you to try tomorrow!

This week’s Guest Beer:
Box Steam Brewery ‘Soul Train’ White Gold IPA (4.5%, £2.95/500ml bottle)
Box Steam Brewery is based in Holt, Wiltshire and the team take their inspiration from the engineering achievements of Isabard Kingdom Brunel. Their claim is that “We’ll never produce factory style beer. Our creative brewers use hop flavours to their full, forever artful in the quite wondrous production of naturally flavoursome beer.” As a fan of hop-driven IPAs this sounds like an outfit right up my street.
For tonight’s Guest Beer we have selected the Soul Train White Gold IPA.
Box Steam Brewery describe the beer as “An IPA with a pleasant fruit salad aroma, Soul Train has a smack of Mosaic hop flavour that particularly brings out characteristics of bubblegum and tropical fruit.”
Amanda and I have just tried it and we say “smooth, nutty, more than a lager but not too high on the bitterness scale”. And the ultimate praise comes from Amanda when she said “I would buy that” – a serious compliment as she is not a big beer drinker.
As we are now most definitely in the final throws of Autumn, some might say Winter already, we also have Hook Norton’s Double Stout available by the 500ml bottle (£2.95)

Christmas Lists at Sheldon’s
OK, I know I said I wouldn’t mention the ‘C’ word before we hit December, but I think this brilliant idea from Amanda merits early billing. If you are like me and you struggle to offer ideas to people who wish to give you a gift this festive season, we have a solution for you. Come to Sheldon’s, create a list of possible ‘wants’ and leave it with us. When people ask you what they should get you, you can simply suggest they go to Sheldon’s and buy something from your list. Sounds like a great idea to me, if a little wedding-list-esk. But hey, it will soon be the season!

New Ins
A handful of absolute smashers in todays New Ins:
Fizz:
2008 Philipponnat Les Cintres Extra Brut (£350)
2000 Dom Perignon Rose Magnums (£850)
1997 Salon (late disgorged, 20 years on the lees, £585)
Red:
2018 Taaibosch Crescendo (£29.95) – extremely well made wine from Helderberg, Stellenbosch, Bordeaux varietals.
2010 Gaja Brunello di Montalcino Pieve di Santa Restituta (£74) – returning in 2010 form after a short time away
2013 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabaja (£199) – we have just placed an order for new vintage wines from Giacosa so I thought it would be fun to try some wines from a vineyard and vintage that is considered ready to drink

…and for those with a thirst for the finer things in life…

2009 Chateau Palmer. Now that’s special. (£380)
Car’s the Star
Yes, you are absolutely right. A Lancia Delta Integrale. You don’t see many of these around nowadays. An icon of it’s time, this car was a belter on the rally tracks in the late eighties and early nineties. I’m not sure whether this is the 8 valve or 16 valve version, it doesn’t matter, it is an absolute beauty.
Many thanks to Adam for bringing it over, a real treat for us. It makes me think about the Ford RS200 from the same era. Anyone out there got one of those to bring over, or perhaps an Audi Quattro? If you don’t ask….
That’s all for tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. Jude, Trish and I will be here tomorrow to serve you nice mulled wine and meet your every wine-and-spirit related needs. The weather tonight looks like a bit of a shocker. Sleet and perhaps even snow in the dark hours. Let’s hope we can open as normal in the morning. Come hell or high water…..

Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Carol

Your Soul-Train-loving, Black-Friday-mocking, Integrale-coveting wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars

Corrections, DotW, Events, Shipping, New Ins, Staff Training and Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

With the leaves tumbling from the trees and the chill in the air we have an eclectic mix of articles in tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. This week we’ve been on some staff training which we report on below. We have some super New Ins, a proper Car’s the Star, a report on events at the shop, a gentle nudge on shipping for the season ahead and a lovely Dog of the Week. But first we have some editorial corrections – I issued last week’s Sheldon’s Times in haste and made a couple of cock-ups. I blame Adam and Marina. Many thanks to those of you who ‘helpfully’ pointed them out. Press on.

Editorial Correction and Missing Contribution
I know how much you lot like to see me make mistakes. Sheldon’s Times was sent in haste following a tasting last Friday. There were two errors in the edition. Time to make amends:
Dog of the Week: Last week’s DotW was young Viv, full name Vivienne. I made reference to The Young Ones, as Viv is named after the punk-styled character in the TV series. The correct name spelling is in fact Vyvyan, played by Ade Edmondson. I am hoping Vyvyan, or Viv for short, will forgive me (I think a treat might help).
This Week’s Guest Beer: The eagle eyed among you will have spotted the not-so-deliberate omission from the article about Battledown’s West Coast IPA. I had left a placeholder in for our findings having tasted the beer, but didn’t fill in the blanks. The sentence simply read:

Amanda and I have just tried it and we say ”    ”

That is doing both the article and the beer a disservice. We did try it on Friday afternoon and this is what we meant to say:

Amanda and I have just tried it and we say “This new IPA has a lovely hoppy nose which is followed through on the palate. It also has a malty note in the mouth and finishes with a nicely judged bitter finish. This is one of the best Guest Beers we have had in the series so far. Yum!”
Apologies to both Viv and to Battledown for the errors. Let’s see if we can avoid a similar set of errors tonight (no promises). And before you ask, yes, we still have some bottles of Battledown left…

Dog of the Week
This is Ria. My oh-so-reliable notes say she is 9 years old, but still looks like a pup. She is of course a springer spaniel, and being an enthusiastic breed, it took us a few photos to catch Ria in a stationary position. Such a lovely dog.
Many thanks to Mark, Jo and Ettie for bringing her in to see us. A treat for us, and Ria might have also got a treat or two while here.

Events at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars
I cannot tell you all how pleased we are to begin to do events again here at the shop. In the last few weeks we have reported on a couple of tastings in the events room in the cellar (good for upto 24 people seated), including the Sherry tasting in International Sherry week. Last week we used my favourite room in the cellar – the Slate Table Room, named after the rather large single piece of slate that sits squarely in the middle of the room. This space is perfect for groups of up to 10 people for a tasting or supper.
Last Friday evening we hosted a group of seven thirsty souls who had spent most of the day on the moors. Having been given a budget we put together some snacks and selected some smashing bottles to share.
In the bottle line up were:

Sheldon’s Champagne to get us in the mood
Soutiran Blanc de Blancs Champagne
2017 Lechauve Meursault
2002 Cos d’Estournel (St Estephe, Bordeaux)
2005 Chateau Rieussec (Sauternes) 
What was supposed to be an hour of rapid tasting turned into three hours of fun. The participants seemed to have a good time, I know we certainly enjoyed it. All of the wine was polished off and the only food left was a chunk of Stilton (from Taste of the Country). A big thank you to Adam and Marina for choosing Sheldon’s for this event and to all the chaps present who dived head-first into the spirit of the evening.
If you would like to hold an event at Sheldon’s don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss your requirements and talk through options. We’ll do our best to make your event a memorable one!

Shipping for Christmas
For anyone considering shopping wine to family or friends for the festive season, we would urge you to plan early. Based on recent experience, the courier network already appears stretched and I don’t think it is going to get any better.
We use an overnight courier service. If you place an order with us on a weekday, we pack on the day, ship the next day and the parcel should arrive on the following day. If you catch us early in the morning we may be able to ship on the same day, but this is on a best-can-do basis. Note we are closed on Sundays and Mondays, and anything shipped on a Friday will arrive on the following Monday unless you want to pay an extraordinary surcharge for a Saturday delivery.
We are holding our shipping rates at current levels despite a series of extra costs being levied on us by the carriers. Our rates are:
£10 for up to 6 bottles
£15 for up to 12 bottles
These prices include all packing materials and shipping fees and apply to the majority of mainland Britain. If you are shipping to somewhere exotic, e.g. Cape Wrath, please enquire about rates and shipping times. Rates are based on destination postcodes.
If you want to be sure about safe and timely delivery, please book early.

New Ins
We are going to kick off this week’s New Ins with a couple of decent whiskies. I have been wanting to upgrade our whisky selection for some time and am finally getting round to it. As you know, we don’t try to beat the supermarkets at the game they play, so no 1.5 litre bottles of Bells here I’m afraid, but for anyone serious about whisky these two might appeal:
Balvenie Port Wood Finish 21 year old – £175/bt
Glenfiddich 23 year old Grand Cru – £220/bt

We only have three bottles of each, so if you are looking for something special for the season ahead, jump in. Both come in very attractive presentation boxes so all you will need is a little wrapping paper.
Also in the spirits category we have the arrival of BLACKLION Rare Sheep’s Milk Vodka (£75/bt). Made just a stone’s through away in Blockely this is a high end vodka with a creamy mouthfeel, I assume from the presence of some remnants of lactic acid from the production process. While the details of the production process remain a closely guarded secret, in short the whey from the sheep’s milk is fermented to produce alcohol which is then triple distilled to produce a flavoursome vodka.
We’ve just tried it here in the shop and it is delicious. I can envisage having this neat over ice rather than mixing it, but it would also be a top-notch ingredient in the very best vodka-based cocktails. Seeing as a decent vodka martini has a bottle of vermouth waved over the top of the glass, BLACKLION might just be the perfect vodka martini base spirit.
Next up we have some extraordinary new wines from Spain. The vineyards of Bodegas Frontonio are based in Aragon, specifically the Valdejalón region which lacks it’s own DO status. Three friends have come together to revitalise some amazing historic vineyards. Bodegas Frontonio produces 4 levels of wines based on quality and site. The entry level includes their regional wines. The second level are village wines, then they have wines that equate to Premier Cru level and finally they produce tiny quantities of what they classify as Grand Cru wines. Dating back to 1898, the Grand Cru vineyards are called El Jardin de Las Iguales and they are nestled in the Sierra de Algairen, around the village of Alpartir. This is bush-vine territory, where the vines are largely allowed to do their own thing. Macabeo is the key white variety, Garnacha for red. We are talking extraordinarily low production volumes. Less than 650 bottles of each of the two top wines have been made for the vintages we have acquired.
We have three wines from Bodegas Frontonio, one from the Premier Cru level and two very special occasion bottles from the Grand Cru level:
Bodegas Frontonio La Cerqueta Garnacha (£50/bt) – try this wine before you even consider upgrading to El Jardin de Las Iguales.
El Jardin de Las Iguales Macabeo (£176/bt)
El Jardin de Las Iguales Garnacha (£220/bt)
Once tried never forgotten. Almost impossible to get. Except we have some.
Staff Training – We sell Havana Cigars
Yesterday Amanda, Jude and I attended a two-hour training session. It was one of the most informative, interesting sessions I have attended for some time and it comes as a result of one of our upgrade programmes. I cannot say anymore other than:
Please ask us if you would like any more information!

Car’s the Star
This is no ordinary Landrover. This is a Nene Overland Landrover. Based in Ailsworth near Peterborough, Nene Overland is a specialist 4×4 shop, with a real focus on Landrovers. Whatever you want in your Landrover, they can sort it for you. They have some amazing pieces of kit. Seeing this beauty (a regular visitor from “up north” a.k.a. north of Stratford) reminds me that we talked about holding a Landrover event here at the shop. I must get on the case.
The lovely owners, David and Angela say “The Betty Boo says shop ’til you drop at Sheldon’s!” I agree. The game I really like to play is “How much wine can you get in the back of a Nene Overland Defender 90?”
The answer is “Quite a bit”.
That’s it for tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. Other than a spot or two of rain tomorrow night the weather looks to be more of the same over the coming days. Amanda, Trish and I will be here to assist you tomorrow in selecting some lovely wines for the weekend and perhaps start a little planning for the mad season ahead. We may even be able to find you a bottle of sheep’s milk vodka.

Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Carol

Your Nene-Overland-loving, events-enjoying, Ria-admiring wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars

DotW, Guest Beer, Champagne, Sherry revisited, Shipston Spokes & Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

Hello wine-lovers. Sorry for the late edition tonight, we have been hosting a great tasting at the shop tonight – more about that in next week’s edition. Lots to get stuck into in tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. We have the introduction of Viv, who loves chewing ears (as I found out to my cost), a new Guest Beer, the arrival of more Champagne, a report on the Sherry tasting this week and an announcement of another new exciting business venture here in Shipston. And of course course we finish with a car, but this week it is something a little special, in an Arthur Daley sort of way. On you go.

Dog of the Week
Say your first hello to Vivienne, or Viv for short. Viv is a boy, named after the punk-styled star of The Young Ones (tip for the youngsters out there, you probably won’t know what I am talking about here, but if you Youtube The Young Ones you’ll soon get the drift). This photo was taken in late September one his first outing to the shop. Look at those paws. He’s going to be a bruiser.
We have been taking some “growing up” pictures of Viv as he develops, much like we did with Chester. To that end you may see Viv in another picture in tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. A big thank you to Charlie and Emily for sharing the journey with us.

This Week’s Guest Beer – Battledown West Coast IPA, 5.2% (£2.95/500ml bottle)
Battledown Brewing Co. is based just down the road on this side of Cheltenham. Named after the old Saxon settlement of Battledown, the brewery claims to be one of the oldest in Cheltenham. Like others, the team at Battledown used the lockdown period to upgrade, installing new brewing kit in 2020 which allowed them to expand their range of beers.
The beer that we have selected for our guest beer this week is the Battledown West Coast IPA. It weighs in at 5.2% and like the rest of the beers inthe range it is made using local Cotswold spring water from the hills behind the brewery.
Battledown Brewing Co describe the beer as having “A gorgeous dose of resin and grapefruit. Clean and crisp, our Battledown West Coast IPA  puts those old-school, New World Titans Cascade and Amarillo at centre stage.”
Amanda and I have just tried it and we say ”    “

Hooray! Champagne arrival!
There is a lot of noise in the press at the moment about Champagne and the possibility of a shortage. There are many truths in this. Some of our suppliers of key brands (I won’t mention which ones here) have no more wholesale stock available in the UK and they won’t restock until after Christmas. By good fortune Esther and I placed an order for Sheldon’s own label Champagne six weeks ago. Turns out it was an excellent decision, we were told two weeks ago that no more orders would be shipped this year.

I am delighted to say our two pallet order arrived today. This will give us continuity throughout the Christmas period and beyond (depending on how thirsty you are). On the shipment is our brut Champagne in four format sizes: halves, bottles, magnums and jeroboams, plus a restock of the Sheldon’s rose Champagne. The costs of purchase and of shipping have all gone up, but Esther (the real boss here in the shop) has given me permission to hold the prices as they are until the end of 2021. We reckon Edward Sheldon Champagne is one of the best value Champagnes available today. As a reminder:

Brut Halves: £13.49
Brut Bottles: £23.99
Brut Mags: £52.00
Brut Jeros: £110.00
Rose bottles: £27.50

Fill your boots while we have it. It remains the single best-seller in the shop, for good reason.

Sherry Week Success
Amanda has done a short write-up on the Sherry event we held this week in honour of International Sherry Week.
You may have missed it, but this week has been International Sherry Week and we don’t need much of an excuse to drink one of the best value, most underrated wines in the world!
Sherry tastes best when it is served with food so we chose to host a Sherry and food matching masterclass down in the cellars which was well attended and great fun.
“Salut!” – Sherry tasting in the cellar on Wednesday

For those of you that couldn’t make it but would like to have a go yourselves, we matched the following, with amazing results:

Fino Sherry with black olive tapenade and smoked trout canapes
Palo Cortado Sherry with crispy duck pancakes and chicken liver pate
Pedro Ximenez lusciously sweet Sherry soaked sultanas, topping stewed apple and Greek yogurt
Moscatel sweet Sherry with mince pies

We have a great range of dry, medium and sweet Sherries in the shop and would be delighted to help you to choose one to tantalise your tastebuds (yes, I have been sampling the produce this afternoon).
Many thanks to all of those who participated on Wednesday.
Remember, Sherry is for life – not just for Christmas.

Amanda x

New Kids on the Block – Shipston SPOKES
Following on from the opening of MADMOLLY last week, this week we have the arrival of another gem in the town.
“A good old fashioned family bike shop”
Join me in welcoming SHIPSTON SPOKES into the town. It is great to have a new bicycle shop in Shipston. The wonderful owner, Stuart, has been hatching a plan to turn his hobby into a viable business operation for some time. The result: Shipston Spokes. Located at 7-9 Church Street (just opposite the CoE Church and next to the Shipston Chippy under the arches) Shipston Spokes is currently an operation of two halves – a bicycle shop with accessories on one side, a bicycle workshop on the other. And Stuart has further plans for expansion, but more about those when they come to fruition.
Stuart in his newly refurbished and laid out bicycle shop:
Shipston Spokes
Stuart has bikes to suit every age, type and ability. Some great kids bikes, some sensible riders for the fitness folk out there and the newly-popular electric bikes for those of us who live at the bottom of a hill. Stuart’s goal is to bring affordable quality to the family, so you don’t have to budget the cost of a small house to get a decent pair of wheels. And his stock of accessories is excellent. I particularly like the selection of saddles. You get to a certain age where the sports saddle just isn’t comfortable any more.
Get yourself along to Shipston Spokes, try a saddle or two out for size and have a chat with the ever-enthusiastic Stuart who will undoubtedly be keen to talk about all things bike-related and more besides. Stuart is as enthusiastic about bikes as we are about wine. Quite a commitment!

Car’s the Star
I simply couldn’t resist putting this photo in as this week’s Car’s the Star. OK, we have had the car before; and yes, the dog in the photo is Viv. But who’s the handler in the jacket? You wouldn’t buy a second-hand car off him, would you?
Arthur Daley would have been proud to have such a Minder (again, youngsters out there, hit Youtube). This is the real side of Shipston. All class. If it wasn’t for the giveaways in the background, this could have been taken in the 1970’s, right? Thanks to Stephen for letting us “borrow” the car.
That’s it for this week’s edition of Sheldon’s Times. Tomorrow is the Whichford Christmas Fair (1000-1330hrs) at which we will ave a pop-up where we will be serving the very same Champagne that has arrived on todays delivery. Lots of other goodies there too so come along. £5 entry to include a coffee and a mince pie. The Champagne is extra! It is taking place at The Old Rectory, just follow the signs when you get into the village. If we don’t see you there, perhaps we’ll see some of you in the shop tomorrow. Weatherwise it looks like more of the same in the days ahead – mostly cloudy with a chance of meatballs.
Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Carol
Your Viv-loving, Spokes-welcoming, Sherry-bingeing wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars

DotW, MadMolly, Sherry, Boerewors, Boxer, New Ins and Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

Rather a lot of articles in tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. It is Sherry week next week,  Amanda is running some Sherry and food matching sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, details below. We have a sausage-and-wine matching article to get you in the mood, a revisit to a bottle of Aussie Shiraz, a handful of interesting New Ins and a super DotW. We are also introducing MadMolly, a new neighbour in Shipston – rush along and pick up some goodies quick. On you go!

Dog of the Week

This is Ollie the spaniel. I took a number of pictures of Ollie when he visited the shop, but this one stood out because of the human nature of his eyes. How characterful. And he was pretty well behaved on the visit. I have another great shot of him licking his lips as he finished off a treat.
Many thanks to Paul and Laura for bringing Ollie in to see us. It is only the second time we have had the duo of DotW and Car’s the Star from the same owner in a single edition of Sheldon’s Times, scroll down to see where Ollie spends his travel time.

New Kids on the block – MADMOLLY
It is great to see we have a number of new shops opening up in Shipston. An indication of the vibrancy of our smart little market town. Tonight we are shining a spotlight on MadMolly, the shop that has “lovely things for lovely people”. You will find MadMolly on Market Place, opposite Turners (the excellent fruit and veg shop with the superb fish counter) and just down the road from Taste of the Country. MadMolly’s official opening was yesterday, so dive in quick and snaffle the lovely items they have on show. I’ve been in this afternoon and there are some super bits in this beautifully styled shop.
The shop is creatively named after the two daughters of the owners – Madeleine and Molly, not I hasten to add because Molly is mad. Here’s wishing Katherine, Steve and Ali the very best of luck with this exciting new enterprise. A pleasure to have you join us in the town.

Sherry Week
Amanda has decided to have a little fun next week:

It is International Sherry Week next week.
Come and experience how different Sherries match beautifully with food at one of our fun and informative sessions on:

Tuesday 9th November at 1.30pm – 2.30pm

Wednesday 10th November at 1.30pm – 2.30pm

The price is £10 per session please book in advance by calling Sheldon’s on 01608 661409 or emailing Amanda at amanda@sheldonswines.com. Places are limited.
“Salud”

Food and Wine matching – South African choices
A couple of weeks ago our friends at Paddock Farm butchery in Brailes highlighted a new sausage in their newsletter. If you are not subscribed to their newsletter you can do so here:
Paddock Farm newsletter sign-up
The sausage was Boerewors, a South African style of sausage usually served as a wheel (a bit like a Cumberland). Boerewors is primarily a beef sausage, and the chaps at Paddock have added 10% Tamworth pork and seasoned it with coriander, nutmeg, allspice, salt and pepper.
Keen to give these new sausages a go I purchased a couple of half wheels and pan fried them on Monday night.
The obvious choice to go with the sausage was a good quality South African red. One wine I have been wanting to (re)try recently is Stars in the Dark, a 100% Syrah produced by Minimalist Wines. Sam Lambson from Minimalist is an obsessive, producing tiny batches of excellent juice. As previously reported, the first batch of Stars in the Dark disappeared from our shelves within days of arrival.  Thankfully we have been able to replenish stocks so once again have some bottles available.
When we poured the wine the aromas came out of the glass instantly. Cherry, plum and blackberry mostly. The nose promised much and we weren’t disappointed when we tasted the wine. Oodles of fruit dominated the wine, with a touch of pepper characteristically found on high percentage Syrah wines. The fruit intensity was amazing, and the balance perfect. Not too alcoholic either, at a cool 13.5%. This is a fruit-forward expression of Syrah, perfect for those who don’t like things overly complex. And a perfect match for a spicy, warming sausage. We polished the sausage off with boiled tatties from the garden and a truss of roasted tomatoes from Turners. Delicious. And great to be able to source everything on the plate locally. I can highly recommend the combination for a South African night at home.

Mollydooker ‘The Boxer’ revisited
Amanda has been the grateful recipient of an older vintage of one of our shop favourites, here is the write up.
A few weeks ago we a mentioned a comparative tasting of a Northern Rhone Syrah and the Australian Mollydooker Shiraz. The following weekend one of our lovely readers, Richard Dear, popped in and presented me with a bottle of Mollydooker that he had in his collection from 2004. Richard had read Sheldon’s Times and remembered that he had bought some Mollydooker ‘The Boxer’ in the past. The packaging was identical. As a special treat I took the bottle to the next course tasting session and we made a comparative tasting note. The aroma of the wine was great – stewed red fruit and spice and showed great promise. Sadly, the aromas didn’t extend to the palate, which had retreated mainly to alcohol and just a trace of the original powerful fruit. It was a really interesting experience and a huge thankyou to Richard for being so thoughtful. The Level 2 group were thrilled to have the opportunity to try an older version of the same wine.
I would like to encourage this behaviour from our lovely readers and next week I will be sampling Vintage Champagne……..

Amanda x

New Ins
A few New Ins this week, some returns to the portfolio, some new bottles too:
White:
William Fevre Les Clos Grand Cru (Chablis) – £109
Red:
L’Hospitalet de Gazin 2009 (Pomerol) – £45
L’Hospitalet de Gazin 2010 (Pomerol) – £45
Sociando Mallet 2010 (Haut Medoc) – £55
Cantemerle 2010 (Haut Medoc) – £55
Sweet/Fortified:
Quady Elysium Black Muscat (California, sweet) – £ 13.50 per half bottle

Car’s the Star
A Tesla Model X. For sure when the time comes for a change (I have a Honda, so it may be another 10 years) I will go all-electric. The recent fuel shortages confirmed for me some of the benefits of going electric. We had a number of smug customers in the shop who were waving at queuing traffic at petrol pumps as they glided past with no more than the pleasurable whirring from the electric motor.
Many thanks to Paul and Laura for bringing Ollie’s travel kennel in to see us. I am sure he appreciated the eco-decision you have made. Much quieter and more pleasurable than a noisy petrol or diesel powered kennel.
Here concludes another edition of Sheldon’s Times. The weather looks set to continue as it has been this week – chilly in the nights, chilly in the day too! Tomorrow Amanda, Trish and I will be here to serve you in the shop. We’ll have the radiators on to make it a little less chilly for you.
Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Carol

Your Boerewors-loving, MadMolly-shopping, Ollie-adoring wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars

Sketch, DotW, Guest Beer, Tastings & Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

As we roll towards the end of October and the light changes, many of us are beginning to think of log fires, hearty stews and rich warming wines. I know I certainly am. In tonight’s edition of Sheldon’s Times we have an excellent sketch, a gorgeous Dog of the Week, a tale of too many tastings in a 24 hour period and a super Car’s the Star.
For all of you hawks out there, there are no New Ins in tonight’s email, unless any of you want the case of 2018 Remoriquet NSG Les Damodes 1er Cru I found in the cellar just now (£59.50/bt). Shout if you do, it is the last of it…..

Sketch of the Week – Halloween Time!
It’s a while since we had a decent sketch of the week. I am pleased to say tonights entry is not just good, but it also follows a topical theme. Entitled “Bat-Cat”, the picture has an obvious Halloween tone to it, completed using the medium of ‘biro’.
Had there been more time I suspect we would have had a bit of colour on the picture too, but time was of the essence. I particularly like the flying flowers around Bat-Cat, which I am reliably informed aren’t flying flowers at all, but are bats (understandable I suppose). A big thank you to Eleanor for producing yet another masterpiece. Banksy has messaged me and asked me to say he is proud of you.

Dog of the Week
This lovely old soldier is Ted. Such a super fluffy sheepdog-type of fellow. Magical eyes, one blue, one brown. He was quite a handful in the shop, always bobbing about and not wanting to sit still. Bless him.
Many thanks to Tim and Tracey for bringing Ted into see us. You are welcome any time.

This week’s Guest Beer – The Green Man by North Cotswold Brewery (£2.95)
We have stocked a couple of beers from the North Cotswold Brewery for some time now (Cotswold Best and Shagweaver IPA) and they have become firm favourites for many of you. This week’s guest beer is from the same brewery. Called The Green Man, it is named after the company’s emblem. The North Cotswold team describe this beer as an IPA with notes of mango and gooseberry on the nose with a hoppy taste and more gooseberries. It scores high on the bitterness scale and low on the sweetness scale. In short it sounds like my sort of ale!
Amanda and I have just tried it and we say….looks like a lager, smells like a fruity lager, tastes like a bitter, fruity lager. A bit too bitter in flavour for Amanda, Shane rather likes the bitterness. Would go well ice-cold with a curry. I quite fancy a curry.

There’s tastings and there’s Tastings

One of the jobs we do as wine merchants is taste wine before buying. We do this to select the wines we think represent the best possible quality at a price point that works for you, our customers. Tasting wine as part of the day job sounds very glamorous, exciting and fun, and sometimes it is. Other times it is simply about work, an endurance exercise to go through to achieve the best result. Last Monday and Tuesday I attended three tasting events, two as a wine buyer for the shop, the other as a personal collector. Attending the the tastings in such a short space of time illustrated to me the extremes of wine tasting.

On Monday morning Trish and I attended the Dreyfus Ashby trade tasting in Huntingdon, near Cambridge. The wonderful people behind Dreyfus have been instrumental in our wine upgrade programme at the shop. Richard Kelley MW fronts the business and is at least as passionate about the subject as we are.

On show at the tasting were many of the wines from the Dreyfus portfolio. 180 in total, including fizz, white, red, sweet and a variety of other interesting bottles that wouldn’t fit into these traditional categories.

Starting at 10am, we allowed ourselves a maximum of 3 hours to work our way through the bottles, with a personal spittoon, a glass and a tasting sheet in hand. It is essential to spit samples away at these events to stand a chance of surviving. It took us just over 2 hours to complete the exercise, following guidelines for social distancing and other Covid considerations. We found some stunning new wines that we will progressively add to the portfolio in the shop. We also reconfirmed some previous decisions, with the opportunity to taste wines we have already selected and stock in the shop.

A big thank you to Richard, Rebekah and Bekah for pulling the event together and inviting us over. It was well worth the time, albeit not for the fainthearted taster!
Following a restorative coffee break, Trish and I then jumped in the car, drove back to Shipston where I got changed, headed to the station and caught the train to London. By 6.30pm I was at a private residence in Shepherd’s Bush for the private client release of new vintage Krug 2008.
I am embargoed on this wonderful Krug event, so more about that later, perhaps when we have some of the bottles in the shop. They are proving ludicrously hard to get hold of.
The following morning, up bright and breezy in London Town I walked from Marylebone to Pall Mall, to the now infamous wine-focused Club simply named “67 Pall Mall”. I was shown into the basement room for a tasting of wines from Chateau La Fleur de Boüard. This was a stroll in the park compared to the day before. The event was described as a Masterclass, hosted by Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, the proprietor, and his daughter Coralie, who is responsible for product promotion and marketplace relations. Chateau La Fleur de Boüard is based in Lalande de Pomerol, to the north of the better known Pomerol appellation. Following a comprehensive introduction to the history of the Chateau, the terroir, and the investments that the current team have made we were invited to work our way through a civilised tasting of 5 wines.
We were fortunate enough to try three of the core Chateau La Fleur de Boüard wines and two wines entitled La Plus, the fruit for which comes from the older vines on the estate. The youngest wine was six years of age, the oldest was from the 2011 vintage. It was another useful exercise, trying wines from a single estate across multiple vintages in the presence of the owner and winemaker. And La Fleur de Boüard is definitely a wine to watch. The two hours allotted to this tasting flew by. Many thanks to the Mentzendorff team for arranging the event and to Michelle for badgering me to attend.
I am looking forward to us hosting tasting events at the shop again soon. It seems a long time since we had a decent tasting here. Tasting for us is our job, but it is always a pleasure to try new wines and decide what we want to place in the shop.

Car’s the Star
When I heard these two monsters roar into the car park I forgot where I was for a moment. I was either on the set of The Dukes of Hazzard or Fast and Furious. Of course we have a Ford Mustang and a Corvette Sting Ray, both in excellent condition. I haven’t seen a Stingray for years. Both cars are icons of their time. The Mustang comes from the mid-1960’s and the Sting Ray probably the late 60’s. Both were joys to behold.
Thank you to David and your pal (sorry, didn’t catch your name) for bringing the cars over. What an occasion.
That’s it for tonight’s edition of Sheldon’s Times. Looking at the forecast it is due to be OK over the next couple of days but getting rather chilly towards the middle of next week. And of course we have an extra hour in bed this weekend. Enjoy it and spoil yourself with a bumper breakfast on Sunday morning.
Trish, Jude and Shane will be running the show tomorrow so pop on by and say hello, perhaps pick up a bottle of lovely wine or three.
Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Carol

Your Halloween-loving, extra-hour-in-bed-adoring, palate-fatigued wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars

DotW, Cellar Tour, New Ins and Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

Good news: Jude has said she will probably come back next week so it seems like we have a new member of the team! In her first stint with us she has been bold enough to recommend a new acquisition for the spirits and fortified room – see below. A bit of a retro bottle if you ask me but I reckon some of you will wind back the clock and give it a (re)try.
Tonight we have mostly a list of New Ins. I’ve been spirits shopping, partly by request but also because I fancied getting in a few things that fit with our ethos here in the shop – the slightly quirky nature of our little emporium. There are also some more serious New Ins in the form of some good Spanish, a case of excellent Italian, a couple of Bordeaux wines and a decent Chablis.
Due to a cancellation we have some unexpected spaces on the November Cellar Tour. Saturday 6th November 2-4pm at the shop, just in case you fancy a fun (and slightly liquid) afternoon out.
Press on.

Dog of the Week
First up I’m disappointed to say we have another editorial correction. Two weeks ago we had Tiggy the Cockapoo. Such a lovely, fluffy friend. The mistake was crediting Wendy and Mark with ownership. It turns out Wendy and Mark were only babysitting Tiggy for a few days. The true owners of Tiggy are David and Deb. Apologies to all concerned. My mistake. Note to self: Must try harder.
Tonight we have Pippi. A Dachsund/Terrier cross perhaps? One thing we do know is that this little dog is just 6 inches high (when standing) but a mighty 17 inches long.
A big thank you to Mandy for bringing Pippi in to see us. The best things come in small packages. Unless it is wine of course, then large format reigns every time.

November Cellar Tour – 6th November 2-4pm
We’ve just received a call to let us know that a party has postponed their attendance at our November Cellar Tour. This means we have some spaces left. If you fancy some fun on a Saturday afternoon then call us and book on. We start with a glass of fizz, take a wander around the premises and cellars whilst chatting about all things wine related, then settle somewhere for an informal tasting of 4 wines, including some of the shop favourites. Price is £20. Call 01608 661409 to book.

New Ins
A real mix up on New Ins today. We’ve got the return of some super organic wines from Italy, albeit under a different label design. I’ve been shopping for some new (fun) spirits and we have the unexpected return of a fabulous Rioja, in limited quantity only. And a few more bits in the usual categories.
First up we have the return of two wines from Sibiliana produced in Sicily. We have had the wines in the shop before, but the label was different. Both Sensale Bio wines (a Grillo and a Nero d’Avola) are certified organic, they show their respective grape varieties well and are brilliantly priced at £8.95 a bottle. At that price how can you resist giving them a try?
In the spirits room I have gone a little whacky with the following:
Dubonnet (£9.95) – “If it is good enough for the Queen it is good enough for me” is the quote that Jude used to justify her first purchase for the shop. I have fond memories of seeing the Dubonnet adverts on the sides of old buildings while driving around France. A fortified wine with herbs, spices and the all-important quinine to give it a bitter edge. Drink on the rocks or mix with gin (if you feel a little Regal).
Frangelico (£17.95) – an Italian liqueur based on toasted hazelnuts with coffee, cocoa and vanilla.  I have got a few bottles of this in because a customer asked for it. Good over ice cream apparently, but also a useful cocktail cupboard ingredient. Or pour freezing cold Frangelico into a shot glass and knock it back.
Limoncello Liberty (£16.95) – we’ve finally decided to take the plunge and stock a proper Italian Limoncello (previously we had a British one from Blackfords, very good but not original Italian which is what you have been asking for).
Metaxa 12 Star Greek Brandy (£39.95) – if you are going to dare to drink Greek brandy, for goodness sake, don’t blind yourself with the 3, 5 or 7 star stuff. This 12 star bottle (which means 12 years old) is the real deal and should be enjoyed neat like a good Cognac.
Torres 20 YO Imperial Spanish Brandy (£50) – I have been a fan of the wines of Torres for many years, both from Spain and their holdings in Chile. This is proper aged Spanish brandy, for those who fancy a decent alternative to Cognac or Armagnac and don’t want the Metaxa above!
We have also restocked on Pernod, Ricard 51, Nikka From the Barrel, Nikka Miyagikyo, AncNoc and a whole lot more.
A bit of a top-up on fine wines too:

White:
2014 William Fevre Chablis Montee de Tonnerre 1er Cru (£79) – good premier cru Chablis from this best-of-recent vintages.

Red:
2015 Giacomo Conterno Barbera d’Alba Cerretta (£60) – we had a bottle of the 2009 of this wine last weekend (thanks Derwin) and I was so impressed I have picked up a case of the2015.

2010 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza (£47.50 for bottles, £95 for mags) – I never thought I would see this vintage in the market again having sold the last two mags last weekend (thanks Matt, Bruce said it was wonderful). But 2 cases of bottles and one case of mags popped up on the grid. The price is up on the last stock but it is such a good wine I think it is worth it.

2015 Alter Ego de Palmer, Margaux (£90) – a restock on the second wine of Palmer from a great vintage. This wine is designed to be drunk earlier than Chateau Palmer, so could be broached now, or hold.

2010 Chateau Rocheyron St Emilion GC (£97.50) – continuing to build our stocks of right-bankers for all you Merlot-lovers out there.

Car’s the Star
What a beauty. A Jag XK120 in absolutely fabulous condition. And if you look carefully you can see Richard the owner sitting in the drivers seat. XK120s were built from 1948 until 1954 and the name comes from the projected top speed of the car – 120mph. I am not sure how I would feel about pelting along at 120mph in one of these today. That said, Richard was very generous and took me out for a short spin, a real treat the car is simply sublime.
Many thanks to Richard for bringing the car along, having such a super chat and taking me for a drive. Fabulous.
The weekend ahead looks very much like today weather-wise: chilly with sunny spells and some cloud, but thankfully little rain. Whatever you have planned, make sure you have a decent bottle or two to hand. Amanda, Trish and I will be here tomorrow to look after your every wine-and-Dubonnet need. Pop in and say hello.

Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Carol

Your Limoncello-loving, Pippi-measuring, XK120-adoring wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars

New In (team member), DotW, Guest Beer, Dinner, New Ins (wines) and Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

I am delighted to announce the arrival of a new member of our team tonight. Welcome Jude! We also have a gorgeous DotW, a super new Guest Beer, a report on a rather special dinner out (with some rather special wines), some smashing New Ins and a fabulous car to finish off with. No time like the present…gin and tonic in hand…press on.

Welcome Jude – our new team member
I was tempted to put this article in the “New Ins” section of tonight’s Sheldon’s Times, but I think it merits top billing. I am delighted to announce the arrival of Jude Gibbins to the team. Jude will be helping us in the shop (and warehouse, and cellars, and with tours and tastings and anything else I can think of). Jude has plenty of retail experience – some of you may recognise her from Long Compton – and we will be building her wine knowledge over the coming weeks and months. Ordinarily Jude will be in the shop on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Amanda in on Thursdays and Fridays and they will each do alternate Saturdays. Tomorrow both Amanda and Jude are in. I am really looking forward to welcoming a Jude into the team, please come and say hello when you (and she) are next in.

Dog of the Week
This is Guinness. What a lovely black lab. All full of beans but well enough behaved to have his picture taken. Sorry the photo is a little dark, an unfortunate error by the photographer (me).
My accuracy on who, when and where is failing me but I’ll take a punt: many thanks to David for bringing Guinness in to see us (please reply to this email if I have got that wrong and we’ll issue yet another editorial correction).

This week’s Guest Beer:
Going Off Half-Cocked by the Bespoke Brewing Co. (£2.95)
Originally formed in 2012 but purchased by the current owners in 2018, the Bespoke Brewing Company hasn’t had it easy. But Matt, Milly, family and team haven’t rested on their laurels throughout the pandemic. Based in the Royal Forest of Dean, the team have installed a brand new brewery and have been practising a number of different recipes.
For this week’s guest beer we have selected Matt & Milly’s IPA, called Going Off Half-Cocked. Described by the brewery as an explosive forest IPA, they say it has a tasty flavour throughout, but sparks a hop taste to finish.
Amanda and I have just tried it and we thought…it is almost like a cross-over beer, an IPA drifting towards a bitter. There is definitely a drying feature from the hoppiness on the finish. Especially yummy with some Bibanesi Handmade Mini Pizza Sourdough Breadsticks (from Ocado) that we have just been tucking into. Eleven bottles left in the shop.

A Decent (or should that be Decadent?) Wine Dinner
Regular readers of Sheldon’s Times may recall a wine dinner I reported on in February 2020. I have two very dear, generous friends and under normal circumstances we get together once a year for a dinner with some fabulous wines. The location is always the same – the London-based Michelin 1-star restaurant known as Pollen Street Social, run by (celebrity?) Chef Jason Atherton. No prizes for guessing where it is – yep, on Pollen Street, a stones throw from Regent Street.
Last week we met, a full 18 months after the last supper. We arrived at Pollen Street at the early hour of 6.30pm and headed straight to our table. After a swift scan of the menu we decided to go a la carte, knowing that we had just(!) three incredible bottles to go with our meal. As is obligatory in a posh restaurant these days, “snacks” arrived and the first bottle was opened and poured.
Snacks
The House of Bollinger makes lovely Champagne, often with a bias towards Pinot Noir. This bottle came from the superb 1988 vintage and is the late disgorged version of their top vintage wine, La Grande Annee, named Bollinger RD. The RD stands for Récemment Dégorgé (we ignorant English-speakers usually say “Recently Disgorged”). Having spent 11 years maturing on the lees in (disgorged 1999), the wine subsequently has had a further 22 years of bottle age. The wine was gold in colour, with small and persistent bubbles, amazing for a Champagne with so many years behind it. The nose was reminiscent of autumn, with bruised apples dominant. It also showed that characteristic sherry note which is a result of oxidation – in my view this added to the enjoyment of the wine but this flavour known as “gout Anglais” is not to everyone’s taste. The Champagne was an excellent accompaniment to the snacks and other tasty things we had before the serious food arrived.
The fish course appeared and we popped the cork on a bottle of 2014 Montrachet Grand Cru from Jacques Prieur. Montrachet is widely accepted as the best of the Burgundy grand cru vineyards and 2014 is a special year for white Burgundy. This showed in the intensity of flavour in the wine. Needing a little time to reveal itself in the glass, my assessment was that this wine still needs more time in the bottle to develop complexity and further interest. At this point in its life the wine was all fresh fruit, lemons, limes and touch of stone fruit. By no means a bad wine, but I suspect with much more to give. Worth revisiting in 5 years. It was however an enjoyable partner with the fish.
Two of the group ordered the lamb dish for main, another the suckling pig (it was the inclusion of crackling that clinched it). The wine: Chateau Latour 1982. The wine was decanted soon after arrival at the restaurant so it had had a good hour in the decanter before serving.
Suckling Pig at Pollen Street Social
The Latour was extraordinary. A beguiling nose that drew you in time and time again, the aromas contained the expected cedar, leather and tobacco from the age of the wine, but there was still a core of fruit, predominantly blackcurrant and dark plums. On the palate it delivered more of the same with the addition of a touch of black olive. And it went on and on. Everything was in it’s place, the wine was simply perfect. One of the best bottles of wine I have ever tasted. And it went well with both the lamb and the pork, a non-traditional pairing for both. The taste of the wine lingering in the mouth meant we drank it slower than usual, meaning there was sufficient remaining to go with the additional cheese course.
Not just a dessert…
Pollen Street Social is famous for the desserts and those that were served after the cheese met all expectations. We often enjoy a glass of sweet wine at the end of the meal, but there was no desire to detract from the experience of the Latour. We tucked into plates that looked more like art than food. We finished on a selection of sweet “snacks” to complete the circle.
Petits Fours
A huge thank you to the wonderful team at Pollen Street Social, and to Mr Atherton himself who spent a fair amount of time with us over the course of the evening. The food was delicious, as it always is. The biggest thanks are due of course to Tom and Adam for the company and for the selection and sharing of their wines. A faultless evening, reminding me of why we do these things. In the shop I often get asked “Who drinks these amazing wines?”. The answer: we do. Once a year I hasten to add. It remains an absolute privilege to be able to eat at places like Pollen Street Social and drink the very best wines the world has to offer. That feeling will never change.

New Ins
I’ve been shopping. I love wine shopping. I love wine shopping more than any other type of shopping. But then I don’t really like other types of shopping so there isn’t much competition. Amanda overheard a question in her wine course that went something like “why doesn’t the shop have more wines from the Right Bank?”, hence the three sensibly priced Right Bankers below…
Here we go:

White:
2020 Kir Yianni “The North” High Altitude Assyrtiko (£14.50, Mainland Greece, restock, new vintage, same price)

Burgundy
2005 Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits Saint Georges Les Pruniers 1er Cru(£130, Cotes de Nuits)

Claret
2000 Clos de L’Eglise (£48, Lalande de Pomerol)
2001 Leoville Barton (£149, St Julien)
2005 L’Hospitalet de Gazin (£45, Pomerol, restock for Christian…)
2009 Chateau d’Angludet (£55, Margaux)
2010 Chateau de Fonbel (£35, St Emilion GC)
2016 Clos du Marquis MAGS (£130 per mag, St Julien, for tucking away)

Fortified
1985 Warre Vintage Port (£75)

Car’s the Star
A rather tasty looking Bentley Corniche. The car has been subjected to a fairly major exterior refurbishment and is in near-perfect condition. Don’t be fooled by the numberplate – the A-reg suggests a registration date of 1983, but by all accounts the car is three years older. A twist of fate as a result of a previous (non-UK resident) owner.
Many thanks to Stephen for bringing the car round, a real treat on another sunny day in Shipston.
That’s it for tonight’s edition of Sheldon’s Times. The weather tomorrow looks remarkably similar to that of today i.e cloudy but dry, with a little rain to arrive on Sunday late-morning. Amanda, Jude and I will be here in the shop tomorrow to meet your weekend (and weekday) wine needs. Come on in, say hello and let us help you pick out some lovely bottles.

Shane, Amanda, Jude, Esther, Nigel, Shane and Carol

Your Latour-loving, Guinness-adoring, suckling-pig-munching wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars

DotW, Balance, Moingeon, New Ins & Car’s the Star

Posted on by shane

Whilst we are nicely into October it seems we are having a late rally with the weather. Temperatures of 20 degrees and more are forecast for the days ahead, a warm blast from the south should keep us going for a little while longer.
Rather a lot in tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. We have a lovely DotW, Amanda has written an excellent article about ‘balance’ in wine, we are bringing some delicious white Burgundies up from the cellar, we have some decent New Ins and of course we finish with Car’s the Star – not one but two. What’s not to like? Crack on.

Dog of the Week
Firstly I have an editorial correction to make regarding last week’s DotW. If you cast your mind back we had Romy, the lovely Golden Retriever. He was visiting us having travelled all the way from Warrington. Here’s the correction:
Romy is in fact a lady, not a gentleman doggy.
Romy, Stephen and Catherine do not come from Warrington, they come from Swalcliffe.
Stephen and Catherine’s surname is Warrington.
So there we have it – wrong on three counts. My sincere apologies to Stephen and Catherine, and perhaps more so to Romy. She could probably live with the home location being incorrect, but the gender mix-up is unforgivable.
Let’s see if I can get things right this week. Here’s Tiggy, he’s a boy-dog. He belongs to Wendy and Mark (remember Wendy with the stripey tiger car in Car’s the Star). They are not from Warrington, nor are they from Swalcliffe. Mark and Wendy live round the corner in Shipston.
Tiggy reminds me of my friend Twix, only Tiggy has a lighter coat. Of course we also had Rusty as DotW not long ago who was a darker version. I wonder if we could get them all here one day for a team photo? Thanks Wendy and Mark for bringing Tiggy to see us.

Elegance or Boldness – a question of Balance?
Amanda has written this excellent article about balance in a wine, what it means and how it is displayed (or not) in different wines.
On this week’s WSET Level 2 study group we were comparing wines from hot climates and their cooler, European counterparts. The group is fairly cosmopolitan, with students from Hungary, Australia and South Africa, as well as a sprinkling from Shipston and the Cotswolds. One particular pairing provoked quite a lot of debate. We paired an Aussie Shiraz, Mollydooker’s The Boxer (£26.50) which weighs in at 16% alcohol content with a Northern Rhone Syrah, Chapoutier’s Les Meysonniers from Crozes-Hermitage (£21.50) at 13.5% abv. European wines are often described as ‘elegant’ compared to the ‘bolder, more fruit-forward’ wines from warmer climes. These descriptions soon lapsed into ‘weaker’ v ‘Wham-Bam’ – such is the effect of 16% wines on the tutor’s grasp of the English language….
When asked which of the two styles each group member preferred, there was a split, but what was agreed was that each style was acceptable as long as the wine is balanced.
Balance in a wine comes from the skill of the grower and the winemaker. The flavour components of the wine, such as acidity, flavour intensity, sweetness, alcohol and tannin need to be harmonious otherwise something about the wine feels out of kilter in the mouth and the brain finds it less acceptable. Very sweet dessert wines such as Sauternes or Tokaji are great examples of wines with balance. The extreme sweetness is only acceptable because the wines have high acidity levels which make the mouth water. This counteracts the sugar.
Our Mollydooker Australian Shiraz was extremely high in alcohol, but also very full bodied with very intense black fruit flavours. The acidity and tannins supported the flavours with the overall effect being Wham Bam. Totally delicious.
The Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage by contrast was lower in alcohol, lighter in body, more subtle in flavour, higher in acidity but with more complex flavours. Whilst more subdued (elegant) than the Aussie counterpart, the balance was great and the wine shone.
The challenge that European growers are currently facing is unusually hot summers. The strict regulations of the European regions don’t always allow much scope to modify how the grapes are grown. Achieving balance with very ripe grapes can be difficult. My advice would be to brace yourself for the Wham Bam, and eat cheese with the wine!
Amanda x

PS – The next WSET Level 2 evening class starts in November. For those of you that are interested, contact Amanda for details at amanda@sheldonswines.com

Introducing Domaine Moingeon
I have finally succumbed to pressure from Amanda to bring some new white Burgundies into the shop and I have been keen to share these wonderful wines with you for some time. Strictly speaking Domaine Moingeon does not count as a ‘New In’ because we have been sitting on the wines in the cellar for over a year now. But first a little about the Domaine…
Domaine Moingeon was founded by André Moingeon in the 1950’s, although certain parcels of vines have been in the family for over 150 years. André was joined by his son Michel in 1978 and Michel has since been joined by his grandson Florent. Together they have grown the domaine to encompass 10 hectares of vines around St. Aubin. On our last visit to Burgundy in January 2020 I thought the wines from the Domaine stood out as exceptional examples of well made, intense examples of Cote de Beaune white Burgundies without the price tags of the better known Domaines.
Michel and Florent at Domaine Moingeon, 0920hrs on 8th January 2020
(I know, a bit early for a tasting but hey, that’s how it goes)
The Domaine is based in Saint Aubin and as well as having holdings in the village the Domaine has decent holdings in both the villages of Chassagne and Puligny and a few vines in Meursault too.

From the tasting back in 2020 we selected five wines for the shop:

2018 St Aubin 1er Cru “Chateniere” (£34.50)
2018 Chassagne Montrachet (£41 – limited stocks)
2018 Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Vergers” (£49.50)
2018 Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru “La Garenne” (£49.50)
2018 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru (£120 – very limited stocks)
Knowing I keep a few things hidden out the back, a few of you have convinced me to dip into our stocks already, hence the limited quantities of the village Chassagne in particular. And we took all of the Corton Charlemagne we were allowed to have – just 12 bottles. I can recommend these wines highly, they really are very good – a pure expression of Chardonnay fruit, well judged use of oak and a very appealing long finish. Try one for yourself and let me know what you think,

New Ins
The first of the New Ins tonight is a wine I have been keen (desperate) to bring in. We mentioned a couple of months back that a few lucky souls were invited to try the new vintage release of Dom Perignon. We have been waiting ever since for the trade release. Sadly quantities released were so small that we have struggled to get meaningful amounts at this stage but I am please to say we have secured just 12 bottles in their presentation cases. Welcome the new release of Dom Perignon 2012 (£175/bt).
I suspect it will be a while before we are able to acquire more bottles so if you are a keen DP fan, jump in and give this a try now. WIGIG.
On white we have the return of 2016 Chateau Capion Blanc. After Howard (the Ambassador for Chateau Capion in the UK) came to the shop and ran a tasting we have been selling rather a lot of bottles of Capion across the range. We ran out of Chateau Capion Blanc and are pleased to have it back in. Stocks of the other wines, namely Coup de Coeur (£14), Garennes Blanc and Rouge (both £18) and Chateau Capion Rouge (£38) have also been replenished.
A few reds worthy of consideration:
2017 Karl Johner Pinot Noir “Bischoffinger Steinbuck” (£45) – a wine we have had before in it’s 2016 guise, this top quality Pinot from Baden Baden, Germany always comes top in blind tastings. Delighted to have it back and pleased that we have been able to hold the price.

2018 Johner Estate Gladstone Pinot Noir (£25) – Karl Johner bought holdings in New Zealand back in 2001, recognising the potential quality of fruit that could be produced from this cool climate area. The vineyards are in Gladstone, just north of Martinborough. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered so expect a natural suspension and a little sediment, all in the aim of keeping as much flavour in the bottle as possible.
2009 Rauzan Segla (£175) – 2009 was the 350th birthday for Rauzan Segla and the label for this vintage was designed by the late Karl Lagerfield, the connection being that Rauzan Segla is owned by the same group that owns Chanel and Karl was the Creative Director at Chanel at the time the wine was bottled and released. But don’t let the label affect your perception of this wine.
The 2009 Rauzan Segla is a top drawer Margaux, Neal Martin gives it 94 points out of 100 and says of the wine:
“The 2009 Rauzan-Ségla has a very fine bouquet with tightly packed blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, melted tar and pencil shavings, leaning a little towards Saint-Julien in style (like the Giscours.) The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, gorgeous red berry fruit laced with all spice and cumin, gently fanning out towards the grippy but precise finish that is pure class. This is the best bottle that I have encountered, though the less said about the late Karl Lagerfeld’s designed label the better! 2021 – 2040”
2005 d’Armailhac Double Magnums (£395 per DM) – just three of these beauties from the Rothschild-owned Pauillac estate, if you are already thinking ahead to the C season, one of these will look great on any dinner table.
And just a handful of bottles of 1995 Leoville Barton (Saint Julien) which won’t hang around.

Car’s the Star
Not one, but two treats in this week’s Car’s the Star. An Aston and a Ferrari, both up here for the Salon Prive event at Blenheim Palace at the beginning of September. A couple of beauties, too difficult to choose between them. We are lucky having the opportunity to have such smashing cars here at the shop. And I love the numberplate on the Aston, very timely with the release of the new Bond film. And no, we don’t have any novelty 007 Bollinger bottles in the shop. Definitely not.
Many thanks to Chris and pals for dropping in and playing the “see how much wine you can fit in the back of an xxx” game – always a fun pastime.
That finishes another edition of Sheldon’s Times. Before we close I want to give a big shout out to Gary the tiler for popping in today and fixing our dodgy floor tiles on the way into the spirits room. Who knew a vet could possess multiple talents?
Seems the weather is improving again, cloudy but with decent temperatures. It means we can have the front door open so you can drop in without having to deal with the heavy oak. Amanda, Trish and I will be here tomorrow to look after you. Pop in and pick a couple of lovely bottles for the weekend.

Shane, Amanda, Esther, Nigel, Trish and Carol

Your editorial-correcting, Moingeon-loving, in-balance wine team at Sheldon’s Wine Cellars
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