Felton Road Block 1 Riesling '03

It was becoming evident that I had a Reverse Hangover. One of those horrid ones where you wake up all perky thinking 'I might go for a run today, or alphebetise my bookcase, or write a novel.' But then by lunchtime the space behind your eyeballs hurts, and you want to plunge your head into fire, water or gas. All the while slightly worried because the Reverse Hangover's good-to-bad transition is the same order of events as normal-way-round dying.

My blood sugar and alcohol levels were clearly in freefall and some emergency medication was to be sought. Port would do it but I feared that some of my '85 Fonseca at 11am on a Sunday would overload my loucheness gland. And possibly give me gout.

Riesling then. Felton Road Block One 2003. 9% ABV, 'though described as a 'sweet style'.

The nose is nice, and it's all there; petrol, rubber, lemons. Not getting any botrytis 'tho. The palate is full, but not overly so, with quince-y fruit as well as tropical notes backed by that familiar wave of citrus. Relatively simple. The acid's holding up nicely, and gives a pretty perfect balance, and cleanliness. 'Though I hope that the good folks at Felton Road have learnt the difference between 'sweet' and 'off-dry' in the last 9 years.

A fine tonic.

Marie & Denis Chevassu Cotes du Jura Chardonnay '08

c. £14

As legacy-killers go dying in public in an improbable but slightly
amusing accident on Friday 13th is right up there with writing an
autobiograpgy of your time as a DEFRA minister, or a paedophilia charge.

No matter how many starving African children you've rescued from
burning buildings in the last six months, you're always going to be
the person who fell down the stairs of the number 88 'cos you were
googling the clap on your phone or was poisoned by a rogue platypus as you
took lunch at the zoo cafe.

With this in mind I cleverly decided to stay at home all day and drink
Chardonnay.

Chardonnay is a barometer grape. A taste for it neatly divides the
world into those you may want to drink with and others who should be
drowned in a butt of Sauvignon.

The Jura is a barometer region. 'Though it divides the world into
insufferable wine geeks, and normal people who haven't heard of it.

A tricky one this then, and consequently best drunk in bed at 3pm when
there's unlikely to be anyone else there.

There's not much info out there regarding Denis and Marie Chevassu's
operation but they appear to make varietal wines from all five grapes
permitted by the area's AOC*. And at
least one merchant claims the elevage of this Chardonnay is sous voile,
'though I'd probably call that particular claim.

On the nose there's big concentration of honeysuckle and cream and a
richer toffee pudding note. The palate cuts through with a pretty
searing acid streak, lemons, melons.

At the price this is an outstanding bargain. There's proper
delineation and varietal typicity here.

But the anchovies and raw onion I ate for lunch were about the last
food left in the house. Which now means I am a little drunk and
probably needing to go to the shops to buy food.

See you in the obituary pages.


* Chardonnay, Savagnin, Pinot Noir, Trousseau, Ploussard. Open goal.