Uncorked monthly update: an eye to the future

You may not have noticed (unless you got caught up in the teething problems) but we recently updated the underlying architecture of our website. It's been a big change, years in the making. On the surface it may look not very different, apart from improved visuals and a more mobile-friendly layout, but it lays the foundations for some upcoming developments. We've already improved search functionality. We welcome feedback, because we can pass it straight on to Ed and then feel good about ourselves.

Closing later!

We've also updated our opening hours. We've noticed that more of you are around later in the City, which is beginning to recapture the evening buzz it had before the pandemic. Uncorked is now open later, till 6:30pm every weekday. We hope that makes it a little easier for you all to grab a bottle on your way home.

Tastings tastings tastings

On Wednesday 4 March we'll be welcoming Mattia from Antoniotti to pour his Bramaterra wines over lunchtime. You’ll be able to compare the 2020 and 2021 vintages, and disagree with Ed about them. Then it's a Rhône overload, with three ticketed evening extravaganzas. On Wednesday 11th we have our Northern Rhône overview, on Wednesday 18th we’re welcoming the brilliant Guillaume Sorrel from Hermitage, and on Wednesday 25th we’re running our Southern Rhône overview.

What have we been drinking?

Jabu waxes lyrical about the 2023 Lismore Estate Reserve Viognier. He likens it to a South African Condrieu, with pithy, intense citrus notes and a tight core that still needs time to unwind. Andrew is a big fan of 2016 Lynch-Moussas. He says it is feral where Pauillac neighbour and stablemate 2018 Batailley (which he drank alongside) is composed. With the success of our new website, Ed is in the mood for Champagne, and sings the praises of the Veuve Fourny Cuvée R. 'R' is for 'reserve'. This Extra Brut Blanc des Blancs is all toast and brioche and, as Ed says, 'fookin' lovely’. (Whatever that means). Personally, I've been bowled over by the beauty of the 2022 Pegaso Pizarra Cebreros Garnacha. This Gredos mountain wine shrugs off the heat of a hot year with abundant aromatic complexity.

But overall winner of the month has to be 2024 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay. Both Niall and Zoë independently chose this bottle as their recent fave. No wonder: it punches way above its price point. 'Plenty of flint and lime to offset the richness', 'bags of tension', and not far behind the very top-end Kumeu River single vineyard wines.

What's new?

Lots of lovely things hitting the shelves this month. For fans of white Burgundy, we've picked up a big parcel of 2023 P&M Jacqueson and their gorgeous Rully whites. There's some Kusuda Syrah and 2022 Roger Sabon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve. As we are offering 2021 Brunello en primeur, the 2020s are hitting the shelf - my pick of the bunch is Lisini. And if you fancy some older Brunello, we've come into some 2017 Salicutti Piaggione.

Hands up if you like DRC

Uncorked does not get an allocation of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Completely unfair, I know, but there you are. I can count on the thumbs of one hand the times I have sat down with a bottle of DRC, and that was down to the great generosity of an Uncorked customer. (You know who you are, and as the Spaniards say, Qué Dios se lo pague, 'May God pay you back'). But I got a vivid taste memory of that bottle of DRC when I opened another bottle. Andrew very generously gave me a bottle of 2005 Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée Aux Brulées at Christmas. (He must have me confused with a more valuable employee). According to cellartracker, this bottle was a monster when it was young, but now it's astonishing, an incredibly elegant expression of tertiary Vosne-Romanée character. Aux Brulées is right next to Richebourg. At £195 a bottle it's not cheap, but it's way cheaper than most wines released by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. At the time of writing there are 8 bottles left, or 7 if I succumb to temptation and sell myself another.

Restaurant review of the month

Near our previous shop on Shoreditch borders, Legado is a Spanish restaurant doing compelling, authentic renditions of regional Spanish food. It also has an excellent Spanish wine list. But whatever you do, don’t allow your partner to order the pig's head (unless you're very hungry). Oily and delicious, crispy roast pork is filling at the best of times, and I was already feeling full when it arrived at our table and fixed its eyes on me. (And yes, it did still have eyes, even if they were a bit the worse for wear after spending time in a very hot oven). My 10-year-old son piped up, 'that looks like Snowball from Animal Farm'.

No AI here

I'm not a bot (at least after my first coffee). All Uncorked content is human-generated. I cherish the memory of the time we returned from Bordeaux having just tasted the 2023 vintage, and Andrew asked ChatGPT to produce a vintage report. ChatGPT thought for twenty minutes and then admitted it couldn't do it. I know that was because the information was very recent and the AI hadn't indexed relevant web pages yet, but I still cherish the memory and I’m still in a job.

Hope to see you on Copthall Avenue soon. /NT