https://www.clunycellarclub.com/events daily 0.75 2023-11-14 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/events/the-annual-ccccc-cluny-cellar-club-christmas-celebration-will-be-held-on-the-14th-december-at-club-hq monthly 0.5 2023-11-14 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/events/bvrzyw4wwkcg67kd9g9dlhdjzmrkb4 monthly 0.5 2023-04-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/9e939f24-a1de-4e98-a9e9-46d6b5d11058/IMG_2770+%281%29.jpg Events - Captain Shnoz Job's Wine Smelling - Make it stand out Convalescence Pissed, Figure 1. The Grapes of Roth. https://www.clunycellarclub.com/events/byohb monthly 0.5 2023-08-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/1663337942827-CC6DO29SAZCMUYO6E90S/bboy.png Events - BYOHB / Live Set from Charlie SX (Deep-Chateau) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.clunycellarclub.com/events/presidents-tasting-theme-tbc monthly 0.5 2022-07-08 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/events/london-chardonnay-tasting monthly 0.5 2022-07-08 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/events/mconnais-trip monthly 0.5 2022-07-08 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-03-04 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/decline-to-fall monthly 0.5 2023-05-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/0e39394a-d5bf-45ae-a88c-5edd7144938d/1a171d2f-9f11-4899-8e7d-12e796ffdcc4.jpg Blog - Decline to Fall - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/captain-shnoz-jobs-wine-smelling monthly 0.5 2023-05-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/06b89ecc-3787-4e64-9496-ad3e71f71c07/IMG_2833.jpg Blog - The Shnoz that Woz - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/a-limerick-for-an-english-picker monthly 0.5 2023-05-02 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/wedding-preambles monthly 0.5 2022-07-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/ebbcd4a3-1cd9-4343-ae3f-40d06f88f409/5749ce57-26c2-43a4-9897-513ce137dde5.jpg Blog - Wedding Preambles - Decisions were to be made about the whites and reds, while the Champagne and rosé offerings were set to be introduced and approved. The evening commenced with Goedhuis’ house Champagne, a Premier Cru by Paul Goerg, mostly Chardonnay from Vertus. Thumbs up all round. Similarly, the Provençal Saint Baillon Rosé received refreshing approval despite habitual loyalties to other pink producers. It was time for the whites and I’d lined up a couple of Mâcons, knowing these were popular with Frazer’s and Coreth’s alike and included a bottle of Sancerre for sake of diversity. This is where the main meat of the debate was had - along with the cured meats on the table to accompany. Should it be a clean and crisp or oaky Mâcon number or a versatile Sancerre fitting somewhere in the middle? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/8669f831-251b-4a63-9c61-ca8d4394024a/12480a2c-314e-4062-a502-0e972cfcc787.jpg Blog - Wedding Preambles - Indeed it was M. Frazer Jnr. and Mlle. Coreth on whom the debate centred, this evening being in advance of their special day. It was a battle of the Mâcons with Anna bowling for Montbellet and Will, batting on team Loché, both fine villages it must be said. After much deliberation a bright idea struck club Captain Frazer. Perhaps we could have two whites, one for dinner and an ice bucket pleaser for after supper. After this diplomatic brainwave, the decision was made, the two Mâcon’s were on the list. Marcel’s for dinner and the Montbellet for after. Tranquil! Soon we were onto the reds. A whiff of the first - Sesti’s Monteleccio from Montalcino - sufficed to win over M. Coreth’s vote. A truly delicate, light but exquisitely tasty food wine. Approval reverberated around the troop and almost before it hit lips the decision had been made. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/7a9bdb4a-e55d-4268-9588-52b76203746a/IMG_0939.jpg Blog - Wedding Preambles - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/chardonnay-tasting-july-2022 monthly 0.5 2022-07-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/65281f43-07a2-47ad-83ad-99358a7a586c/eae99eb3-ed72-4653-bdd2-4d75118705d5.jpg Blog - Chardonnay Tasting - July 2022 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/6fd6384b-9f49-477c-b0a2-18f45b1064f2/77fb774a-6069-4cee-a5a9-cc78610600c9.jpg Blog - Chardonnay Tasting - July 2022 - Club Captain Frazer had a moment of concern. Had he chosen the wrong wines? In order to stem the flow of negativity from the Club’s Comms Exec, it was decided we should move onto our fourth wine which was an affordable Californian oaked chard from the Wine Society. Club Captain Tom slipped it into one of his kilt socks hoping that the anonymity would allow some reprieve from critics. ‘This is clearly the American one isn’t it! It tastes so weird and Californian.’ The ploy had failed. However, things began to look up with the next bottle, also tasted blind. The whole club were correct in guessing which was the French and which was the Californian. The French was a Mâconnais favourite from our friend Marcel Couturier and finally we had a wine which pleased all. I thanked heavens for Marcel and his son, Auxence’s Mâcon-Loche, a wine that punches well above its pay grade and one the club Lepitoperist and I had been tasting from the barrel a mere few weeks before. A Mâcon-Meursault, as he had joked at the time! It seems the club have an oaky palette which should be remembered for future events. We finished the main tasting with a bottle of Chapel Down’s Flint Dry which fell flat after the soaring success of the Mâcon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/5f2c1427-773d-4fc9-8e14-94e188e6260f/WhatsApp+Image+2022-07-01+at+8.41.10+PM.jpeg Blog - Chardonnay Tasting - July 2022 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/ccc-chardonnay-warmup monthly 0.5 2022-07-12 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/cluny-cellar-clun-inaugural-outing monthly 0.5 2022-06-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/cf5bee14-6432-4863-9b0e-1a523eec0297/IMG_0166.jpg Blog - Cluny Cellar Club Inaugural Trip - The Mâconnais - We arrived all giggles at the villa and tucked into some fridged beers. The following day saw the first official club dinner. It was very much an acclimatisation dinner. Members had to acclimatise to each other’s humour or lack thereof and we all had to acclimatise to Chardonnay of the Burgundian variety. This in itself was a case of diverse personalities. There were a plethora of options on the first night including Macon-villages, Saint-Verans, Vire-Clesses and Pouilly-Fuisse’s but all true to the club’s aims of discovering Mâconnais Chardonnay. Into the mix was added a bottle or two of chilled Beaujolais for those who desired some deviation from the purist agenda and balance for the BBQ of grilled kebab and fish. Club Captain Frazer also invited some locals to ensure the evening was charming and authentic as possible and to balance the discourse between the club’s mostly English-speaking members with the language of the natives. I’m sure all club members agree that this was an exchange in the truest sense, both socially and by virtue of our ending up with two Lyonnaise Praline cakes and Capt. F offloading some charming Kaur poetry. Credit must also be given to those charged with the preparation of excellent salads, shellfish and meats which were paired so beautifully with the condiments and wine on offer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/9bb5e6c9-162a-4d0e-bb6c-83c75b37c96c/IMG_9002.jpg Blog - Cluny Cellar Club Inaugural Trip - The Mâconnais - So the club members ascended back from whence they had come and whilst the lady members continued their degustation of vins blancs, the gentlemen piled into a car and sped down the road to Charnay, commenting along the way on the miserable grey architecture they found there. Returning laden with good food and grateful to be in one piece after a discussion of the worst automobile crashes and write offs they had previously been party to, they set to work preparing dinner while the ladies supped at their Chardonnay. A starter of melon, prosciutto and tomatoes was prepared while Club Lieutenant-General Flo conjured tortellini and Arrabiatta for the plat. Capt. Fraz, meanwhile busied himself on table duties and wine preparations for the feast ahead. We followed our Champagne with the finest Pouilly-Fuisses and more chilled Beaujolais - a Brouilly to be exact - and the evening flowed wonderfully into a lemon tart. The club then rose to the sound of the Macarena and Cha-cha slide before hitting their scratchers merry and contented. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/3619dfd0-57e2-407d-9aee-4c864e68fbbd/WhatsApp+Image+2022-06-08+at+11.45.12+AM.jpeg Blog - Cluny Cellar Club Inaugural Trip - The Mâconnais - The first of several Domaine visits was to the Cornins and specifically Romain whose father Dominique is sadly rather unwell meaning that Romain and his wife Adeline do the majority of the work on the estate while bringing up two charming young children. The Cornin’s have been in the biz for at least 4 or 5 generations and are based to the South of Solutre next to the village of Chaintré, just before the limey Mâconnais becomes the trailing volcanic Beaujolais. Club Ventriloquist Caitlin and I took an instant liking to Romain and as we tasted through the 2020s his young son Charlie joined us momentarily. The 2021’s for the most part were still in aluminium or oak so we started on the Mâcon-Chaintré Les Serreuxdières and Mâcon-Fuissé, both unoaked with minimum intervention. The estate was an early pioneer adopter of biodynamic practices and was accredited in 2000. Their wines generally use natural yeast, no filtering or fining giving them a unique character. The 2020’s were a tad cloudy, particularly noticeable in the Pouilly-Fuisses we tried later. The 2021 was still bubbling through an airlock next to us as we tasted and enjoyed the Mâcons. Fresh and fruity and ready to drink. Having tasted the wines which our favourite London merchant imports, the Club Ventriloquist and I did not hesitate to accept the offer of trying the full range of Pouilly-Fuissés. We were in for a treat. We started with the village wine made up of three different Pouilly-Fuissé sites, then three single vineyard wines, Les Plessys, Clos du Roy and Les Chevrières. Clos du Roy was planted by Romain’s great grandfather in 1936 and Les Chevrières received Premier Cru status in the 2020 classification. All lightly oaked having spent as much time in cuvée as in oak. They needed a bit longer in the bottle, especially Les Plessys. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/735d6070-3c98-4f6a-ac62-735cbbf6e845/IMG_0265+%281%29.jpg Blog - Cluny Cellar Club Inaugural Trip - The Mâconnais - The clean steel and modern methods of Cornin contrasted dramatically with the afternoon’s descent through squat, freestanding vines to Beaujolais where we were welcomed by Alain from Domaine Coudert. Somewhat confused about who we were, he led us through his repurposed cattle shed, where the smell of manure was replaced with a background whiff of vinegar. ‘Donc, on va faire un dégustation?’ No messing around. ‘Oui, merci.’ We were led to his long dark bar where we perched on tall footrest-less stools. Behind Alain were his great oak casks on top of which were a collection of trinkets including a Villefranche-sur-Saône rugby ball. It felt like a Swiss Alpine Inn from the Middle Ages. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/0fce98f4-83c6-4579-b778-a8e44800def3/818A0D96-C7FA-4958-9734-53A8F9D15AB5.JPG Blog - Cluny Cellar Club Inaugural Trip - The Mâconnais - On one afternoon by the pool, we bumped into Christine of Domaine Saumaize-Michelin where I had worked the 2018 vendage. We had met her son Vivien earlier in the week who had told of the rapid vine growth over the last few weeks due to good weather. Like all winemakers he was terrified of the prospect of tennis ball-sized hail what with their being storms afoot most evenings. Christine was happy to see an old picker and we descended into a surreal conversation about London’s clubland, her wines being popular in some of St James’ finest. I let her know she was in good company when she recounted a story of her expulsion from the Travellers to a café across the road, I myself having been ejected from a club or two for appearing sans jacket dans the lounge. I agreed to return to pick grapes in the near future and she hurried off returning with a 2017 Mâcon-Villages from the estate and a friend’s 2017 Volnay as a parting gift. She was adamant that despite stock shortages, price rises were not the answer. She felt them dishonest and was not interested in having wine sitting around for stock. They should be drunk after all. And so it was time for a full-club tasting, Club Communication’s Executive Storey prepared the chilled bottles while Captain Frazer gave an introduction. We tried 20s and 21s, Pouilly-Fuissés, Mâcons and a couple of Beaujolais reds. Very much a summary of the Domaine’s we’d seen so far. Some were done blind, others in plain sight. Marcel’s Mâcon-Vinzelles remained a favourite and the Coudert’s Brouilly went down well. Even Club Sceptic Kendra couldn’t turn down a glass or six of Chardonnay. As the tasting came to a close, we raised our Bojo-lais glasses to all the back benchers who had voted to remove our premier that very day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62a98f0e12719071200e451e/7df50b50-ea4a-4e58-b2cb-979cd9f32de4/IMG_0402.jpg Blog - Cluny Cellar Club Inaugural Trip - The Mâconnais - Towards the end of the trip on a warm and rainy day, we made our way to the old Cluny Abbey, home of the once pre-eminent Benedictine monastery in Europe. The club were not much impressed, and it wasn’t long before we longed to be back by the pool with a glass of chard in hand nibbling spicey olives. However, we did find the medieval wine cellars with beautiful, vaulted ceilings a joy to visit thanks to the quite extraordinary acoustics. At least an hour was spent exploring this cavernous room from which the club has aptly taken its name. Club Ventriloquist Caitlin and Club Sceptic Kendra’s harmonious duets were particularly moving and if one were to have only heard and not seen, one might have imagined these angelic tones were the work of an entire choir. https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/tag/Burgundy monthly 0.5 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/tag/M%C3%A2connais monthly 0.5 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/blog/tag/Chardonnay monthly 0.5 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-06-22 https://www.clunycellarclub.com/home daily 1.0 2023-05-19