I did say I had relaxed the rules for my weekly wine selection, but even I think I may be pushing the limits with this one. White it is, but I did have a better reason for wanting to buy this particular wine.
I am usually quite ruthless when it comes to mail management. The vast majority of emails that reach my inbox are deleted without being read and that is after an even bigger majority has been filtered out by those kind people at Google. Those that get any attention at all have really done very well and have made it into the second round. At this stage most will get a cursory glance and then meet the same fate as the losers in round one. Some get read properly. With hard copy mail the odds of success are even less, so Majestic can consider themselves truly honoured that not only did I read their flyer for 'Aussie Rules' but, as a direct consequence, took myself off the local branch to taste and then buy six bottles of:
Week W (2019) Soumah Chardonnay 2017, Majestic £11.98.
Those familiar with Majestic's pricing policy will appreciate that this is the 'mix six' price which in this case is a 33% reduction on the amount asked for a single bottle, being £17.99.
So why did I respond to the marketing material when I am usually so resilient to such approaches? It is because when I still had a proper job that took me to the land down under, every now and again, I had the opportunity to visit a few wineries and on one such trip I visited Soumah. I mentioned this in Week Y (2014) under the heading of Yering Farm which was the last stop that day, from where I bought a Pinot Noir for that week. I remembered enjoying the visit to Soumah, in fact I enjoyed the whole four winery tour (as far as I recall) and wanted to refresh that memory.
And very refreshing it is. This is much better than I had expected. I was prepared to discover that my rationale for selecting the wine was a misguided personal indulgence and that the reality would not live up to the romantic notion of some vague reconnection with a pleasant day five years ago.
The aromas are interesting, being mostly clean and fruity but with some hint of subtle oak, but the flavours are much more intense than I had imagined. Green apples, limey citrus and some touches of matchstick and nuts all of which lasts a pleasingly long time.
The cellar door price for this wine is A$28 and at today's exchange rate that is a touch over £15.50, so allowing for Majestic's buying power giving them a hefty discount but also allowing for the logistics, duty and vat, I think the mix six price is a pretty fair deal.
I remember meeting the winemaking family and they were very welcoming, even by Australian standards, and also that they were concentrating on Italian grape varieties, but it was only when reading the small print on the bottle that I discovered that Soumah is not a family name, not an Aboriginal name for the land where the grapes now grow, nor is it anything to do with Italy. It is a reference to the vineyard location being SOUth of MandoorAH. I hope to go there again one day.
I am usually quite ruthless when it comes to mail management. The vast majority of emails that reach my inbox are deleted without being read and that is after an even bigger majority has been filtered out by those kind people at Google. Those that get any attention at all have really done very well and have made it into the second round. At this stage most will get a cursory glance and then meet the same fate as the losers in round one. Some get read properly. With hard copy mail the odds of success are even less, so Majestic can consider themselves truly honoured that not only did I read their flyer for 'Aussie Rules' but, as a direct consequence, took myself off the local branch to taste and then buy six bottles of:
Week W (2019) Soumah Chardonnay 2017, Majestic £11.98.Those familiar with Majestic's pricing policy will appreciate that this is the 'mix six' price which in this case is a 33% reduction on the amount asked for a single bottle, being £17.99.
So why did I respond to the marketing material when I am usually so resilient to such approaches? It is because when I still had a proper job that took me to the land down under, every now and again, I had the opportunity to visit a few wineries and on one such trip I visited Soumah. I mentioned this in Week Y (2014) under the heading of Yering Farm which was the last stop that day, from where I bought a Pinot Noir for that week. I remembered enjoying the visit to Soumah, in fact I enjoyed the whole four winery tour (as far as I recall) and wanted to refresh that memory.
And very refreshing it is. This is much better than I had expected. I was prepared to discover that my rationale for selecting the wine was a misguided personal indulgence and that the reality would not live up to the romantic notion of some vague reconnection with a pleasant day five years ago.
The aromas are interesting, being mostly clean and fruity but with some hint of subtle oak, but the flavours are much more intense than I had imagined. Green apples, limey citrus and some touches of matchstick and nuts all of which lasts a pleasingly long time.
The cellar door price for this wine is A$28 and at today's exchange rate that is a touch over £15.50, so allowing for Majestic's buying power giving them a hefty discount but also allowing for the logistics, duty and vat, I think the mix six price is a pretty fair deal.
I remember meeting the winemaking family and they were very welcoming, even by Australian standards, and also that they were concentrating on Italian grape varieties, but it was only when reading the small print on the bottle that I discovered that Soumah is not a family name, not an Aboriginal name for the land where the grapes now grow, nor is it anything to do with Italy. It is a reference to the vineyard location being SOUth of MandoorAH. I hope to go there again one day.
No comments:
Post a Comment