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Back to Schooldays
Rowson's Comment
Around the Block
News in Brief
Stop the War
Mini-march
Lysistrata Day
Fringe Festival
Straight to the Point
Time to Finnish
Day in the Nick
Starting Over
Readers Letters
Herbal Cleansing
Local Music
Tripping Out
Tippling at the Tup
Property
Housing Matters
Very Testi
Art Happenings
Vietnamese Food
Entertainment
Gardening
Marathon Man
Surfing N16
Man in North Bank
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' I pulled on my Afghan and tottered out into the world'
When I told my wife I was going to taste some of the wines at Yum
Yum and Mesclun for this issue, she said 'On mescaline? That's nice, dear.' I'm not sure
which is more alarming, her insouciance or the bewildering prospects that flashed before
my bleary eyes – a tasting at The Tup on crack cocaine, or a tryout at the Rose &
Crown on benzedrine and LSD. Mind you, the permutations could keep me in column inches for
years to come. Settling for my usual two-valium-anda-barley-wine, as peyote seems
unavailable in the local area, I pulled on my Afghan and tottered out into the world.
The liquids that swirled into view at Atique Choudhury's stand-out Thai eatery, YumYum
included a Côtes de Provence rosé 2001 from Chateau l'Aumerade. It's a little timid, but
in a doe-eyed, winsome, Turkish Delightful sort of way – it has a nice body and would
go with anyone, sorry, I mean anything, for £14.90. Equally come-hitherish is Michel
Torino Torrontes 2000 from Argentina's Cafayate Valley (£14.95) – ripe guavas on the
nose transform themselves into a steely, mineral finish.
'Peppermint', said His Rabness, who, once again, was in thirsty attendance.
'Make that a high-pitched, super-green mintiness', I flounced in reply as synaesthesia set
in .
Atique is long established in Stokie, having started out at the much-lamented Spices with
none other than Das Sreedharan of the Rasa conglomerate in attendance.
He knows his market, and prices are generally modest - this may in part account for the
surprising absence from the list of any Alsace wines, or Gewurztraminers, as the good ones
don't come cheap.
A good alternative might be Brown Brothers Late-Picked Muscat 2000 (£4.50 glass / £17.50
bottle) – unctuously sweet with smoky, ripe mangoes and caramel, this has enough body
and clout to deal with a face full of chillies. In general I'm not a big fan of red wine
with Asian food, but I'll make an exception for Groot Konstantia Landgoed Pinotage 2000
(£21.50) from South Africa's oldest estate - founded in 1685, by God. It has a lovely
truffly nose and expensively toasty oak to complement the black fruit and cigar-box
flavours. If someone else is paying, you could suggest a bottle of Champagne Moutard
Cuvée Réserve (£27) which seems to go surprisingly well with the starters – it's
100% Chardonnay, with that nicely rounded fruit and biscuityness we like so much.
Everything was getting seriously swirly by now, so we staggered through a door into
another doorway within a doorway and...into Mesclun. The excellent wines here are
largely provided by the knowledgeable Thibault Lavergne, whose Vinothentic operation is,
in every sense, locally based. He lives in Stokey but, more to the point, his speciality
is in finding small, old-established, family-run domaines making wines by traditional
methods. One such is Les Anisses Blanc 2001, a Vin de Pays de Cassan made from Carignan
Blanc and Terret (£2.90 glass / £10.50 bottle).
Versatile with food and excellent value for money, this has good length and body and
bright, fresh fruit with hints of elderflowers – M. Lavergne suggests greengages in
his tasting notes, and, not having tasted one since I was about six, I will defer to his
judgement in this important matter. Vinothentic supply a number of Michelin-starred
restaurants up West so we're rubbing shoulders with the quality here, and you can see it
in Henri Delagrange's Bourgogne Aligoté 1999 (£18.00). I didn't know Aligoté could be
this good – fat, toasty and rich with excellent fruit and length – it kicks the
majority of upper-end Maconnais and Challonais Burgundies into touch and would be fab with
a grilled fish.
The owner Salih also buys wine from a big trade supplier, Enotria, including their classy
Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, made by Veritiere, (£14.50) which is bone-dry up front but
mellows out with a touch of honey and nougat - or should that be Torrone?
Les Anisses Rouge 2000 (£same as the white) is a smooth and well-made, crowd-pleasing
sort of a wine with redcurrant fruit and enough body to stand up to some nice charcuterie
or a coarse paté. Domaine Gigondan (£15.50) is not a spelling mistake, but could be, as
it's a spicy, peppery Grenache with all those Garrigue flavours of black olives and thyme
and eucalyptus. It's as classy a Côtes du Rhône as you'll find and needs big food –
a game pie would be good. At £17.50, Chateau Verriere Bellevue 1999 is claret for
grown-ups which (probably) won't break the piggy-bank. It's made from fruit from 45-year
old vines (Thibault knows this sort of stuff) of Merlot and Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc.
It's another big-food wine – roasts or grills would be the thing - with a good tannic
backbone, some vanilla, oak and tobacco notes to the nose and ripe bramble and prune
flavours. So we called out for another drink, and the waiter brought a tray …
The
Stokey Tup is known for many things, but one of its hidden delights is its bi-monthly wine
tasting evenings. N16 attended a recent tasting of Argentinean and Chilean wines.
A wine company representative who was informative, helpful and not patronising led the
evening. The punters were an eclectic mixture of Cru Soporific Bohemian (strong nose or a
long finish) and Haut-Bourgeois, late 1960s vintage. But this is Stoke Newington.
The pick of the wines were Argentinean from the Michel Torino winery. Penaflor, who are
one of the largest wine companies in the world, owns Michael Torino. But, relax never mind
the size, enjoy the quality. It should be noted that all Michael Torino branded wines are
organic.
Wines of note included a white Coleccion Torrontes de Cafayate (£5.45), light green in
appearance, a lemony nose with a long finish, and a red Coleccion Syrah, electric in
colour with a strong blackcurrant taste (£5.95).
But, the best came last. A red Don David Cabernet Sauvignon (£6.99). This has perfect
colour, a cherry nose with a long thirty caudalies (seconds) of peppery finish.
After the formalities are completed, it is traditional to polish off a scrummy collection
of cheeses from the Cooler washed down with the remainder of the wines. A perfect end to
an interesting and enjoyable evening.
All these wines can be ordered by the case at the bar of the Stokey Tup.