Good Wine: Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004

I’ve always been a fan of the Penfolds wine label design.  They keep a constant, classic style which I think oozes “quality”.  One thing that I don’t like though, is the sheer number of different wines they seem to do.  Is Bin 28 better than Bin 128??  All I know is that I’d like to get my hands on some Penfolds Grange (no matter what Gary Vay-ner-chuck thinks!).

To further investigate the many “bins” I popped over to the Penfolds website.

Max Schubert believed that PENFOLDS needed wines crafted in the image of his legendary Grange. “Not the same,” said Max, “but similar.” PENFOLDS had long maintained a system of numbered ‘bins’ in the cellar where the finest wines, often for the exclusive enjoyment of the company’s directors, were stored. Max happily used this system to give clear and well defined identities to the new wines he was planning, starting with the famous Bin 2 of 1962.

Ah! That makes it a little clearer!  Digging a little deeper I found the info I was looking for about the Kalimna Shiraz.

Introduced as one of the first Bin wines within the PENFOLDS portfolio, Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz has become an Australian classic. Indeed this wine style has universal appeal because of its intense fruit definition, ripe fleshy palate structure and generosity of flavour.

A multi-district blend since the late 1970’s it has won “Red Wine of the Year” twice, in 1991 and 1995 at the International Wine Challenge, held each year in London.

Interestingly, they provide a downloadable PDF of tasting notes for the 2004 vintage.  Who needs those when you have my drunken scribblings to marvel at!!

Okay, these may need some deciphering.  Basically the wine starts harsh but has a nice smooth finish, a slight apple/sweetness in the juicy aftertaste.  There’s a “pluminess” to the wine that makes me think of purple (!).  It’s lovely with or without food and seriously is a contender for 5 stars.

I had to have a second bottle of this wine (not on the same night!) as it was such a serious 5 star contender.  In the end I feel it doesn’t quite make it but it’s the best “new” 4 star red wine I’ve tasted all year.

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004

Grape: Shiraz
Alcohol: 14.5%
Guide Price: <£11 in-store (Tesco)
I bought this wine at: Tesco’s (instore)
ITs Food Rating: Four stars

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Some of our readers may know that we ITs Food people like Harry Potter; both the books and films. Well, just a few months after Amazon bought the original copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard for almost £2,000,000 they’re offering a very special version of the book for sale.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is published by The Children’s High Level Group (CHLG), registered charity number 1112575, a charity co-founded in 2005 by J K Rowling and Emma Nicholson MEP to make life better for vulnerable children.

All net proceeds* from the sale will be donated to The Children’s Voice campaign.

The Children’s Voice campaign is run by CHLG. It campaigns for child rights across Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe where over a million children and teenagers are growing up in institutions, often in unacceptable conditions. In most cases they are without adequate human or emotional contact and stimulation, while many only just survive without life’s basics such as adequate shelter and food.

CHLG’s Children’s Voice campaign helps around a quarter of a million children each year through education activities; outreach work in institutions; and a dedicated telephone and email help line.

*We estimate that £20 GBP per unit from the sale of the Collector’s Edition from Amazon.co.uk will be donated to CHLG.

The Standard Edition is just £3.49 (at time of posting) and not only has the original tales, it includes some extra notes by Albus Dumbledore. It’s the Collectors Edition we’re interested in though…

The Tales of Beedle the Bard: Collectors Edition

The Collectors Edition has the following:

• All five fairy tales from the original The Tales of Beedle the Bard
• An outer case disguised as a wizarding textbook from the Hogwarts library
• Handwritten version of J.K. Rowling’s new introduction
• 10 new illustrations by J.K. Rowling not included in the Standard Edition or the original handcrafted edition
• Velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature
• Metal skull, corners, and clasp
• Replica gemstones
• Emerald ribbon

I think the temptation may be too much for us…  I think the credit card may soon have to come out!  What do you think?  Will you be getting this?

Antony Worrall Thompson attempts mass murder

It seems everyone’s least favourite “celebrity” chef and Hobbit impersonator has stupidly suggested that people use a highly toxic plant in their cooking.

The BBC website tells us…

In a magazine interview about watercress and other wild foods, Mr Worrall Thompson said the weed henbane was “great in salads”.

Healthy & Organic Living magazine’s website has now issued an urgent warning that “henbane is a very toxic plant and should never be eaten.

The chef had meant to recommend fat hen, which is a wild herb.

What an absolute fool.  In his usual arrogant manner he said…

“It’s a bit embarrassing but there have been no reports of any casualties. Please do pass on my apologies.”

You may know, or can guess, that I, like many,  think very little of Anthony Worrall Thompson.  In my opinion he’s just a very average cook (not chef) who has relied on luck and his resemblance to Bilbo Baggins to slap his name on as many products as possible to con money from people thinking he actually cares about quality.

I wonder how long it will take for people to realise he’s been trying to kill people for years?  I mean, have you tried any of his branded food products?