Following the success of the July garden meetings, a similar plan was made for August. As evenings are already drawing in, it was decided to offer a Saturday alternative for those who could not attend the Monday afternoon date of August 17th. Many members had said that one of the benefits of the July meeting was that their group of six introduced them to members with whom they had not previously shared a table. Therefore Ian Robinson worked hard to develop a new mix of members.
Two meetings were planned for Saturday, but the poor weather forecast led to one group cancelling the event. The other at Giles and Anneke Lindsay’s garden went ahead and the weather though gloomy stayed dry.
On Monday, the weather was little better. In David Mendus’ garden, umbrellas were brought out for an early shower but the rain was not long lasting, and all ended well Other gardens also survived the threat of rain.
This time the wine came from The Guildford Wine Company. The wines, quite an adventurous choice, got generally favourable comments even though the budget was less than had been available for July. The list price is shown below, but members could get a special price ordering through the club.
Lyrarakis Asyrrtiko 13.5% Greece £13.99
This was a dry, fresh white. It was described as “fragrant with wild aromas of meadow flower and yellow orchard fruit backed by a heavy dose of chalk minerality and green apple. Certainly, the apple was very apparent, “Granny Smith” said some. This was the favourite wine in some gardens.
Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rose 11.5% Germany £11.99
This wine from the Rhine Valley is said to have a delicate red berry aroma with notes of Strawberry, red currant and stone fruits. It really benefited from being opened and left to warm up a little before drinking.
Kayra Kalecik Karasi 14% Turkey £14.99
Said to have earthy roots along with lively fruit aromas of ripe plums and ginger flower which lead through to a lightness of fruit, density of texture, and soft silky tannins on the palate. This was widely enjoyed, and was compared with the Domaine Jones Granache Noir from the Languedoc which the club had enjoyed in March.
It is interesting that members comments were so varied that it does not seem just to name a “favourite” wine.
The price to members included a raffle so that one member in each garden won either a Senorio de Sarria Rosado from Navarra, or a Baccolo Appassimento Rosso from Veneto.