I've still got 8 bottles.

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tribs

BTW, I enjoyed the pie. Yum.

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tribs

Many thanks.

My main concern is I only have one 5gal fermenting bin, I will need to rack that into x5 demijohns, leave them to finish fermenting and clear and then rack into bottles for priming. Possible problems with this method?

Im thinking, if I store it in x5 DJ's I can then bottle and prime just the one gallon (8 pints) once a month or so, leaving the others to age and clear further. When I get down to the last DJ I will start another batch. Thats the theory anyway

That will work pretty well I think.

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tribs

Tribs,

Réserve des Hôpitaliers 2007 Côtes du Rhône-Villages, Cairanne, I got there after lunch and only 4 left on the shelf ! Made up the six with.....
an '09 Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion for £7.99 after the -25%, so I will report that one fairly soon as well.

tribs, I just don't know how I missed this ? By the sound of it, one of the best value CdR 2006s around. The Guigal '06 was hitherto, one of the best CdR's I'd bought at this level.
http://www.quaffersoffers.co.uk/QOforum ... =5968#5968.

I'm looking forward to getting in there

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Duncan

I've been a pig I have found 1 in a buried claret box this evening.
It is time I organised a proper excel stock management list - could be fun.

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Duncan

Sell the kids, make more beer

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Have to say that Cellar Tracker is your friend

I've never looked back

I have an excel thingy, but it is horribly out of date. Must look into CellarTracker. Do you have to pay subs?

Called at WR and got 4 Hospitaliers. There were loads of 07s.
Also got the last of the Wachau GV 09's and ...

A Guigal 07! Great producer, great vintage. Lets see what the result is.

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tribs

Cellar Tracker is free but acccept donations from its members

definately worth it as most of the data is already loaded for you plus get to see others reviews for each wine and get daily update of new reviews on your homepage for any of the wines logged in your cellar

Just opened a Hospitalier 07.

It seems to have a rather bitter finish. Checked the bottle and there seems to have been some wine seepage from the cork. Possibly tainted.

Will await your TN Duncan.

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tribs

Possibly tainted It may seem as such, yet it could be the wine at this stage. I'm affraid you will need to open another to be sure. In the meantime, I would return that bottle, with £1.50 in your pocket, and exchange for the '07 Saint Joe that is on offer and liked by Jancis and which I find to be ready and very nice for the disco price.

Yes ~ ~ ~ I've been making up my mind about this Cairanne. I have already consumed three of these. The one enjoyed with rich food on Saturday did an excellent job. A very rich wine on entry, richer than many chateau neuf, but the lift one hopes for from the Grenache fruit is swamped with unharmonious oak.

There is a bitter finish at the mo, produced by the unintergrated oak, it is over savoury just now. I dont think the wine is ready, whilst the concentrated Syrah is dark and brooding and spicy, it does not provide pleasure at the moment. Because the oak is too much, I can't tell if acidity is enough to be right, yet 5 day old dregs were still a nice middle flavour.

I'm keeping the two remaining bottles for next year. I don't think the fruit in this wine will dry out from cellaring, it is quite firm, I think this wine has a much brighter future.

If however, you are wanting a wine with a beef stew or rich liver and bacon casserole right now, this could be the one. Not ready, and not recommended for drinking now, except by me especially not so, for folks who don't normally enjoy rustic Rhone wines.

Tribs this is a general comment, rather than a proper TN. The producer's drinking notes on the back label are not replicated in the mouth - yet ? If they were there before, the wine is going through a sleeping stage, and I need to wait again.

Are there any cellar notes for say the '03, drunk 6 years later ? Those notes would provide more certainty

I'm fairly sure it will come good, and might come very good for the price. It is an amazingly structured wine for the price.

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Duncan

J. Boulard Reserve des Hospitaliers 2007 - Cairanne CdR from Waitrose.

Just looked in here: To answer my own question and for tribs, but no meaningful help on past vintages that were as ripe as the '07.

http://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?T ... spitaliers

There are some cataloguing errors here on C.Tracker I think. Boutinot is a Merchant, as well as a producer in Cairanne, and with CdR negotiante contacts, looking at their considerable Rhone range. Reserve des Hospitaliers does not figure in their range though. This wine may more accurately be filed under J. Boulard, who bottled the wine. I don't particularly recognise the opinion of the 3 other TNs written up 6 months ago. The wine is not typically representative of everyday CdR, much heavier oak treatment than usual.

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Duncan

Thanks Duncan.

TBH it didn't appear tainted to me. I think it probably is the oak that has caused the bitter finish. It could be my palate at the time was overly sensitive to it. Will try it over the next few days to see if it improves.

The Asda Marques del Norte Reserva 2005 had a similar bitter finish from the oak that disappeared over a couple of days. Lets see what happens with this. Everything else seems to be in place.

I had checked Cellartracker earlier and had found the same thing. In fact I have found a number of wines that have been entered multiple times with slightly different names. Its a bit of a pain.

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tribs

I really hate to get back to the original but...
These pies are tiny, cost £3.50 plus 25mins oven time. Are they really that good ??

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.