2016 Chenin Blanc, The Jones Family Collection

 2016 Chenin Blanc, The Jones Family Collection 

During our excellent dinner in November at The Harrow, Little Bedwyn, Sue Jones very kindly gave us a bottle of their Jones Family Collection 2016 Chenin Blanc to try. It comes from the Stellenrust winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The 2016 is very typical good South African Chenin Blanc with rich tropical fruit and attractive texture.      

The Harrow, Little Bedwyn – another great dinner

The Harrow, Little Bedwyn 

Great treat on Friday evening – dinner with good friends at The Harrow, Little Bedwyn. We chose the Set 6 Course Tasting Menu. Having taken the precaution of ordering our wines in advance we were served the Wiston Estate Sugrue-Pierre "The Trouble with Dreams" English sparkler very soon after our arrival in the busy restaurant. Made from 55% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 5% Pinot Meunier, this is a lovely fresh sparkling wine with mineral acidity in the finish.

 Langoustine bisque with grilled sourdough

 Citrus cured salmon & Torbay crab with Exmoor caviar salt

(this dish was especially good)

 Cornish line caught turbot with Dorset clams & leeks

2004 Bin 7, Riesling, Clare Valley

Leasingham 

Looking through The Harrow's wine list the 2004 Leasingham Riesling stood out. An Australian Riesling with 12 years bottle age and furthermore at a very reasonable price. I had no idea when I emailed Roger and Sue with my choice that I was ordering their last bottle of this wine. The screwcapped Leasingham certainly met expectations from the lovely evocative nose and flavour of lightly evolved Riesling – some lemon and lime, floral notes and peachy. Overall it was the purity of fruit and the wine's vibrantly fresh finish that was memorable. 

Back in 1999 tasting a Yalumba screwcapped Riesling from the mid 1970s was an epiphany. This 2004 is further confirmation that Riesling – Oztralian certainly – ages brilliantly under screwcap.    

 

 Northumberland roc venison,
black pudding (Charles Macleod from Stornaway), parsnip and morels

(above and below)

1996 Chinon, Domaine de la Noblaie 

Roger kindly invited to bring our own bottles along, so I chose to take on – this 1996 Chinon from Domaine de la Noblaie. It showed brightly with enticingly spicy aromas and generous soft fruit and a long balanced finish. Furthermore it turned out that the 96 Chinon and the venison were made for each other. 

The 1996 was made by François Billard, whose main job as the time was teaching oenology at Lycée Viticole at Montreil-Bellay. It wasn't until 2003 that his son Jérôme returned to the domaine after his studies and working in various parts of the world to take over.   

Selection of five English cheeses
– we shared this between the five of us   

 Boiled egg & soldier 

– very inventive pre-dessert

Orchestrated chocolate but 

including a cherry parfait  

The Harrow is highly recommended both the food and the wine list are wonderful. The service is very efficient, while being friendly and relaxed. A delight! 

The Harrow: "A foodie paradise in the middle of nowhere with an amazing wine list" The Sunday Times Top 100

 The Harrow

Press release: 

'The Harrow at Little Bedwyn climbed up to number 48 in the Sunday Times top UK Restaurants and was placed in the top 5 for the South West and for their Wine List.

Sue Jones; “ Today’s accolade in The Sunday Times together with retaining our Michelin Star for the 10th year in a row and recently winning The Harpers Best Wine List makes all the hard work that the team put in worth it. Our dedicated team of John, Marcin, Emily, Lee and Chris are passionate about their work and its great to share these accolades with them. Roger & I are also very aware that its the quality of our suppliers that get us to the top, and are of course so pleased to have such a great group of artisan suppliers behind us. We look forward to sharing our success with our great customers”. 

Note that The Harrow will be spreading its wings this January with a range of Pop Up Restaurants in South Africa, promoting The Tri Nations Wine Challenge, which will also go to New Zealand in February 2017.'

See meals here and here.

 

Two briliantly creative meals – part 2: Roger Jones@The Harrow

The Harrow in Little Bedwyn

As promised this is the second part of a double post on a couple of brilliantly creative meals we enjoyed in July: one in Lisbon at André Magalhães at his tiny Taberna da Rua Flores, Lisbon and this one at Roger Jones' The Harrow. 

Amuse bouche – olives, garlic cloves and 

the famous foie gras macaroons

2008 Chenin du Puy, AC Saumur Blanc, Frédéric Mabileau

(above and below)

Roger and Sue Jones kindly invited us to bring one or more bottles (BYOB). We took one – the 2008 Le Puy, Saumur Blanc from Frédéric Mabileau. Sadly we only had one bottle left as this one was delicious, very attractively evolved with honey and pineapple notes along with brilliantly clean acidity underlining what a fine vintage 2008 is for dry whites in the Loire. This was Frédéric's second vintage from his small plot of Chenin Blanc at Le Puy Notre Dame.

Pure Chenin this 2008 was picked in two tris – the first on 11th October and the second on 22nd October.     

We chose the six course menu for £50 a head 

Crab & pea cocktail 

(above and below)

Classy olive oil 

Sashimi of yellow fin tuna, caviar rocks, crème fraîche 

with a stunning beetroot sorbet with wasabi 

– dish of the evening against very tough competition.

The tuna was wonderfully fresh and Frédéric's Saumur 

was a perfect match

Memorable decanter for a memorable wine 

The Harrow has an excellent wine list reflecting the Jones' enthusiasm for the wines of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa in particular. The Pinot Noirs from Felton Road (Central Otago) are one of the specially featured estates. We chose the 2010 Block 3, Pinot Noir, which was delicious and finely balanced, silky texture and lovely complexity with good freshness in the finish.  

Line caught turbot, Périgord truffle risotto

New season Welsh lamb, Isle of Wight tomatoes 

Mango, passion fruit and clementine parfait 

After opting for a tasting plate of cheese, we finished the meal with this 

fine dessert - 'Berry' - based on soft summer fruits  

Not only was the food delicious, the service was impeccable, relaxed and friendly. We'll be back soon!!

 

CWW: a Harrowing day out @Little Bedwyn!

 

A challenging day@the office!

Tasting menu@The Harrow, Little Bedwyn

The commissioning letter for the CWW's 2nd BYO!

Life as a freelancer is frequently tough, ever changeable, always having to be prepared for the next challenging assignment .....

Yesterday a small group of the Circle of Wine Writers and their guests headed out to the Wiltshire countryside away from the misty metropolis. We caught the 11:18 from Paddington to Bedwyn. Getting off at Hungerford, from there a couple of taxis took us through the streets of Hungerford – time enough to remember Nick Davies' Hungerford Wine Company and its spectacular bust – before arriving in front of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn.

Michelin-starred The Harrow is run by CWW member Roger Jones and his wife Sue – our venue for the 2nd CWW BYO event. We held the first in September at the Lahore Kebab House on the Commercial Road in London's East End. Unfortunately, although he is a keen fan of the Lahore, Roger hadn't been able to make this but very kindly offered us a special deal for our 2nd BYO – a special price for the tasting menu and no corkage.     

 The entrance to award-winning The Harrow with 

a list of natural producers who supply the restaurant 

(above and below)

After our arduous journey from London Paddington it was great to be welcomed with an enticing and delicious glass of Moutard Père et Fils Prestige Rosé Champagne served from magnum. This also gave us (11 members and guests) time to unwrap and assemble the various bottles we had brought with us.  

 Part of the assembled déjeuner de la modération (above and below) 

A brilliant start to our assignment: foie gras macaroons

with 2004 Belle Epoque, Perrier Jouêt

(photo: André Ribeirinho)

 2009 Clos Windsbuhl, Domaine Zind Humbrecht 

Very impressive  – a great intro to CWW Alsace tasting 

on 26th Nov (sorry sold out!)

 Another lovely amuse bouche: ceviche of wild sea bass 

– cucumber & wasabi sorbet 

Jacky Blot's Triple Zéro, Montlouis Pétillant 

proved to be a winner  

Tuna carpaccio with 

Wiltshire truffles, poached leeks and truffle cream  

One of the stars of the lunch 

1989 Premier Jour 25 août, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Louis Métaireau 

A rare and unique bottle given to me by Louis many years ago.

With age the Melon showing its Burgundian roots complexity and finesse 

but with wonderful fresh vibrancy

Another stunning dish: Pembroke lobster ravioli

crab and carrot jus

On to the reds: 

3 Pinots to kick off!

 1997 Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus, Beaune Grèves, Bouchard Père et Fils

(en magnum)

showing brilliantly

 2002 Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Armand Rousseau

Also lovely, underlining why people are fanatical about good and great Pinot Noir!

2009 Pinot Noir, Cuvée de Trois, Russian River Valley

Joseph Swan Vineyards 

Not outgunned in this exalted company with 

its own distinctive Pinot Noir character 

from California's Russian River 

Fillet of Northumberland Roe Venison

Game Bon Bon, Parsnip Puree

Another stunning bottle (a half actually): 2009 Sassicaia

Wonderful complex aromas, silky texture

2000 Pavie Decesse on right 

Two further reds were decanted: 2000 Pavie Decesse, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru and 2001 Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc and Merlot, Eden Valley.

2011 Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc and Merlot 

Eden Valley (2nd left) also Offley 20 Year Old Tawny (far right)

1977 Vintage Port, Delaforce

Two fine Ports with the cheese 

20 YO Tawny, RP20, Quinta do Bom Retiro 

The wonderfully inventive pre-dessert: 'Boiled Egg and Soldiers'

2008 Private Bin, Eminence, Noble Late Harvest Muscadel, Nederburg 
lovely deep apricot flavours, nicely balanced not cloying

Chocolate platter

 Roger Jones: our host and chef 

All in all a marvellous and highly memorable lunch. Our grateful thanks to Susan and Roger Jones and their staff who looked after us so well bringing an endless supply of high quality glasses. By the time we added in five plates of cheese shared across 11 of us, coffee and a tip, our bill for our working lunch was £55 each. 

Excellent value when you consider the quality of the cooking and what the wine we enjoyed would have cost retail let alone on a restaurant list! Furthermore some of the wines – eg the 1989 Muscadet just could not have been sourced. 

The CWW will be continuing to organise these recently introduced BYO events at varying prices – sometimes at lunchtime and sometimes in the evening. Watch this space!