Bentley's Wine Merchants of Ludlow

06/05/2024

A few weeks ago The Guardian newspaper published an article about “Extreme Wines”. They featured six different wines chosen for their sweetness or tannins etc. We have in the shop one of the wines listed and varieties of a couple more such as Pedro Ximénez and Old Vine Zinfandel.

As to the wine we have, it is a full bodied red from Madiran and the author has the following to say,
“Domaine Berthoumieu, Cuvée Charles de Batz
Madiran, France 2017
Few wines have quite the intense, bear-grip of tannin you find in the dense, dark tannat-based red wines of Madiran in south-west France. Here that is matched with mountain freshness, savoury meatiness and dark currant fruit in a wine that’s ideal for a fatty cassoulet.”

Certainly one to try, I thoroughly enjoyed my sample.

You can read the article here.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/mar/19/very-sweet-very-sour-very-challenging-welcome-to-the-world-of-extreme-wines

05/01/2024

Due to the need for some renovation work being done in our cellar, we will opening Thursday, Friday and Saturday only for the next few weeks. As usual, 10.00 to 16.00.

25/11/2023

It’s that time of year again, the Ludlow Christmas Fair weekend and today we will have our Mulled Wine stand outside our shop.

Last year we sold out by later afternoon, so if you would like to sample the best mulled wine in town, made to our own traditional secret recipe, be sure to pop along to Bentley’s Wine on Castle Square.

We look forward to seeing you there.

10/11/2023

Getting set up for our first ticket Wine Tasting event in a few years. Tonight we are showcasing 40 wines, including a selection of 10 fortified wines of Sherry, Port, Medeira and Tokaj.

03/10/2023

The Wine Advocate magazine recently reviewed this red blend from Stellenbosch, South Africa, and had this to say about it.

"Crafted in the historically important South African style, the 2020 Richesse is a blend of 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cinsault, 16% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 12% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec. The nose bursts with succulent red fruit aromas of bright cherry skin, red plum and juicy cassis alongside notions of black raspberry and red and purple flowers, showing refinement and precision. Medium to full-bodied, the wine offers excellent balance while oozing with finesse and grace, and the palate provides fantastic action. This wonderfully long and subtly spicy wine has a succulent, fresh and juicy finish. It will remain food-friendly until its 15th birthday—probably longer, and it continues to bring me back for a second and third sip. Bravo."

Scoring a very good 93+ points by Robert Parker, I had a bottle to try. It went down very nicely indeed and would be great with any red meat dish, be that a full roast, stew, or beef lasagne. For vegetarians, it would go very well with a rich tomato and bean casserole too.

If you would like a bottle or two (or more), pop into the shop. Currently at £17.99/btl, it is drinking well now but could also be put away for a few years too if you so wished. The Wine Advocate suggesting 2023 - 2035.

24/08/2023

Tavel

Visiting my daughter in West Sussex obviously requires I put my ‘Dad’ hat on regarding what to take and seeing as I work in the wine trade, taking a bottle or two is deemed the obvious solution. Certainly the easiest as far as I am concerned. Amongst this trip’s offerings is a fine rosé from the Rhone Valley’s Château d’Aqueria, Tavel. Made principally from Grenache, Clairette and Syrah this rosé has a wonderful deep pink colour, unique to Tavel. A bold wine, some acidity, dry yet full of fruit.
The wine makers notes suggest pairing with a lamb curry, creamy chicken or goats cheese. I can imagine it would be very nice with the goats cheese. We enjoyed it as an aperitif.

If you have not tried a Tavel before, it is well worth doing so, often referred to as ‘the King of Rosé’ and at 14% it is a serious wine.

We have limited stock for you to enjoy this Bank Holiday weekend. £21.99 a bottle.

PS. Loved using this vintage corkscrew.

24/07/2023

A new wine to us and what a delight it is too. Gaba is produced by Telmo Rodriguez in Galicia, Spain. Made using 100% Mencia grapes this is a smooth wine with just the right amount of acidity and tannin to make it very easy to drink but also keep it interesting. Fruity with a hint of pepper it pairs well with red meat dishes as well as chicken. Rich tomato sauces and butter bean stew too. I had it with a plate of ratatouille and vegan 'meatballs. (doesn't sound right calling them 'veganballs' 🤓).

We have a few bottles left in the shop but it is selling fast so if you want to try this great wine you had best hurry, though I suspect we may be getting some more in.

£17.99 a bottle in the Spanish section.

14/07/2023

During the summer holidays we will be open on Tuesdays, starting next week. All other days as per normal.

22/06/2023

Pairing food and wine is not always straight forward as there is often no one perfect combination, a variety of choices could be made. However, in the case of this Malbec Gran Corte it is very simple. Steak. This is a match made in heaven, especially if grilling the steak on the BBQ, or the Asado as they call it in Argentina, home to this fine red wine.

Grown at an altitude of 1,800 metres in the Valle Calchaqui this blend of predominantly Malbec with some Tannat and Cabernet Franc is a full bodied 14.5% bold red. With aromas of cherry and raspberry and a hint of vanilla, it has fruity acidity and tannins that make their presence felt. It deserves, needs, some time to breath so open well in advance or maybe decant it and return to the bottle to allow the air in if short on time. I have a little aerator (gift from daughter) that I pour the wine through which actually does a great job of saving the time.

This is one of our regulars and is currently on the shelf at £18.99.

The steak came fro Walls Butchers in town, fue excelente!

12/06/2023

Rosa, Rosa, Rosa dei Frati. Bellissimo.

What better way to spend a warm summer's lunchtime than sipping a nicely chilled bottle of wine out in the garden, on the terrace, or even in the local park. This rosé from the southern banks of the Benaco in Lombardy, Northern Italy fits the bill very nicely. Enjoy it on its own or with a lazy light lunch of cured meats and a tomato & mozzarella salad, drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil and some crusty bread but always in good company.

This fresh, delicate yet sharp at the same time, with loads of fruit is a "rosé for people who don't like rosé".

We can provide you with the wine, all the other lunch ingredients can be sourced from Ludlow's Delis, bakers, greengrocers, and market traders.

Luckily for us, we managed to enjoy our lunch and Rosa dei Frati before the storm came and battered our peonies.

Rosa dei Frati is currently £20 a bottle while stocks last.

27/05/2023

It’s a Bank Holiday weekend and we will be closed on Monday. However we are are open today and will also be opening on Tuesday next week, which is normally a closed day for us.

22/05/2023

Every morning the Camanchaca, a cooling fog, forms as the ocean breeze blowing in off the Pacific rises to hover over the beautiful but arid Valle de Limarí in Chile. It is here, in this desert like climate with very mineral rich soil, that the Talinay Vineyard can be found, just over 7 miles from the sea and some 250 miles north of Santiago. Whilst the region is best know for its Chardonnay, it also produces some fine Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon among over grape varieties.

Talinay's 2020 Sauvignon Blanc heads the list of Wine Searcher's best value Sauvignon Blancs for 2023 and Master's of Wine Tim Atkin and Robert Parker scored this wine 94/100 and 95/100 respectively. Patricio Tapia gave it an outstanding 96/100. Those are very good scores indeed. The winemakers notes say "an alluring perfume of spring flowers, citrus and notes of herbs, in perfect balance with a crisp, lively and very complex palate".

What can be better during this sunny spring weather than sitting in the garden and enjoying a glass or two with a bowl of muscles, or maybe paired with some local goats cheese. Perfect.

If you would like to try this excellent Sauvignon Blanc for yourself, at £18.99 a bottle, head over to our shop on the corner of Castle Square and grab a bottle while stocks last.

19/04/2023

Not long now until the Mayfair is in town. We would like to remind everyone that we will be closed over the weekend of the fair as access is severely restricted.
If you need to top up your supplies, please be sure to visit us before close of business on Wednesday 26th April.
Normal service resumes the following Wednesday.

06/04/2023

Please be aware we are open Good Friday and Saturday. We will then be closed until Wednesday morning.

05/04/2023

It has been a wet day in Ludlow but rumour has it the weather is going to get better and before you know it, it will be summer, and that folks means cool white wines with friends (though they are optional).

We have a limited stock of an award winning Loire classic, Muscadet. The 2018 Vignettes de L’Astree Monnieres Saint Fiacre is a light bodied dry white made from Melon de Bourgogne grapes. An acidic wine also know for mineral and salty characteristics, it pairs well with seafood and is a classic with oysters. Alternatively just enjoy it with some snacks.

Wine Merchant magazine put this one in their Top 100 so at £16.99 it is well worth a try.

10/03/2023

Please be aware that we will not be open today. Sorry for any inconvenience.

01/03/2023

In last weekend’s Sunday Times Magazine, Will Lyons highlights a number of wines worth trying. We are pleased to say we stock two of them.

The McLaren Vale Robert Oakley G-20 is currently at £25.99. “Here’s an elegant unoaked Grenache with a lovely balance between dark fruit, acidity and a grippy finish.”

Again from the McLaren Vale is the Willunga 100 at £14.99 a bottle. “Vibrant raspberry flavours jostle with brisk acidity in this single-vineyard Grenache. Wonderful.”

Also, moving away from Australia, Decanter Magazine highlights the Chilean organic Salvaje from the Emiliana stable, also £14.99 a bottle. “Excellent value from Emiliana’s low intervention, natural wine venture, this shows an explosive nose of meadow flowers, meat and graphite, then a bright, juicy and crunchy finish.”

27/02/2023

Today at 11.20 on Radio Shropshire our very own Will Bentley will be talking about his finds during a recent trip to the Loire Valley, France, and how climate change may be effecting wine production in the region.

If you have a few minutes to spare, tune in to listen.

22/02/2023

A recent trip to Barcelona found us meeting my nephew in a great little bar called El Xampanyet, named after its homemade sparkling wine that is served with gusto out of bottles more associated with olive oil than wine. It was a busy place and we had to wait a few minutes for a table but it was worth it. Beer, cava and tapas ordered we soaked up the atmosphere and tucked in. The queue outside grew. It’s a fun place to go if you are ever in Barcelona, set in the Gothic Quarter just along from the Picasso Museum. The worlds best bars website says “miss this Barcelona gem at your peril.”

Looking on the shelf behind the bar I was pleased to see three wines that we stock here in Ludlow. Two of them are from the Palacios stable, a Camins del Priorat & the Petalos. We have three more Palacios wines, a fine priorat Les Terrasses and two new ones to us. The first is the Propiedad Rioja made from 100% Garnacha as opposed to the more traditional Tempranillo. The second, another Rioja is La Vendimia is 100% Tempranillo.

I tried a bottle of La Vendimia at the weekend and really enjoyed it, even my wife who has always maintained a dislike of Rioja liked this one. Medium bodied, lots of red fruit with gentle tannins at the end. If you like your Rioja then this is well worth a try. £16.99 a bottle. To find out more about the others pop into the shop and chat with us.

20/02/2023

Happy Mondays - we're open today, 10 - 4 🍾

01/02/2023

'In love, deserve it. Out of love, need it'.

An adaptation of Winston Churchill's famous quote regarding his favourite champagne, Pol Roger.

Either to celebrate or despair over Valentines Day, for the next 14 days we are offering a 10% discount off all Pol Roger Champagnes while stocks last.

21/01/2023

It might be Dry January but some of us are tasked with trying new wines to bring to your attention. Anyway, it's cold outside so a glass of red by the fire seemed like a good idea and I have to say this Chianti Classico did not disappoint. Brilliant ruby red in colour with notes of cherry and raspberry the flavour is dry with delicate tannins and a fresh acidity. Its very nice.

The 2020 San Felice Chianti Classico from Italy's Tuscany region came 24th in Wine Spectator's 'Top 100 Wines of 2022' back in November. It was also awarded a Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri in the Italian annual wine bible. Out of approximately 25,000 wines tasted, fewer than 500 receive Tre Bicchieri (Three Glasses). Un Bicchieri is considered a good wine within its respective category, Due Bicchieri is very good to excellent while Tre Bicchieri is reserved for wines considered as excellent, awarded to less than 3% of wines tasted.

Unlike Hannibal Lecter, we avoided liver and enjoyed ours with a mushroom risotto (thank you BBC Good Food). If you would like to try it for yourselves, we have limited stock at £15.99 a bottle.

15/01/2023

First Candle light dinner of 2023, Saturday 28th January from 6.30pm, check out our new look menu. Vegetarian / Vegan on request To book your table contact us via phone 01584 878796 email [email protected] Chapter 66

06/01/2023

“Where is that wine you recommended last week, absolutely loved it” said Liz on entering the shop.

‘flor de vetus’ is a Toro from north west Spain made from the Tintonde Toro grape, which is variety of Tempranillo. Grown on the hotter plains it is a full bodied yet easy drinking red.

As luck would have it, Liz didn’t buy our entire stock so we do have a few left if would like to try it, but hurry before she comes back!

£16.99 for a lovely wine.

24/12/2022

How long does an open bottle of Wine keep?

For most of us this is not a question that needs asking, but at this time of year we may have treated ourselves to some extras such as Sherry, Port or a Sauternes or Hungarian Tokaji. Then there is the Champagne too.

Port and Sherry are both wines. A Ruby Port should be consumed within a month. A Tawny Port may last up to six weeks. Fine Vintage Port should be consumed within a few days. Sherry will depend on its sweetness. A dry Fino will keep for a week and the ultra sweet Pedro Ximenez could keep for a couple of months. Both will fair best when kept in the fridge once opened. Neither will keep from one Christmas to the next.

There are are only two wines that, once opened, you can keep for a long time and they are Madeira and Marsala. They have been oxidised and cooked before they are bottled.

Champagne and other sparkling wines ideally need proper Champagne stopper and will last 1 - 3 days but will loose some their fizz.

Light White, Rosé and Sweet wines, if sealed with a cork or such, can keep for 5 - 7 days in the refrigerator. This includes the Tokaji and Sauternes, though they may last a little longer.

Full-bodied Whites such as Chardonnay and Voignier so 3 - 5 days with a sealed top in the fridge.

For Red Wines it is also 3 - 5 days if stored in a cool dark place, or fridge, with a cork.

Spirits on the other hand will keep a long time once opened.

Please bear in mind that all these timeframes will depend on storage conditions and may be shortened or extended accordingly and depending on the wine.

21/12/2022

With just three days to go before Christmas Day we would like to wish all our customers, old and new, a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

This week we are open Thursday till 4.00pm, Friday until 5.00pm and Saturday until 3.0pm. Next week we open again on Thursday, Friday and Saturday should you need to top up before the New Year. We will then remain closed until 6th January.

02/12/2022

If you would like to try this South African red, we have some bottles available for just £23.99/btl. The Chocolate Block is a fine wine, suitable for vegans too if that is important to you. In fact we have a range of vegan wines and organic ones too. Look for the green and yellow stickers respectively.

Despite its chocolatey moniker, the Chocolate Block isn’t a heavily mocha or Valrhona-flavoured red. Instead, the name projects a rich, flavourful style that’s become a benchmark for premium South African wine

28/11/2022

Episode 7, Series 15 of MasterChef: The Professionals. Marcus set the intro challenge to cook a pork chop with a Spanish style butter bean stew. It's not a difficult dish to do and I thought that would do nicely for Sunday. Chops sourced from a local butcher and the rest of the ingredients were already in the cupboard, thanks to my vegetarian wife!

As it was a Spanish style dish I decided on a Spanish wine to enjoy with it. Cien y Pico, which means Hundred & Something and refers to the vines age, is an independent wine producer from Manchuela, a couple of hours drive inland from Valencia.

At Bentley's Wine we stock a couple of their wines and I chose the 'en Vaso', a 100% Bobal, which has been grown in the Valencia region since the 1400's. This wine has a deep intense colour, is quite a bold wine and at 14% is best with food.

From the winemakers website "it looks like it tastes - untamed nobility ... and is great with bean stew combinations".

It was a simple but very tasty dish, even if I did have to prepare a non-meaty version as well, and we really enjoyed the wine with our respective stews.

Bentley's can provide the wine at £14.99 a bottle, the food you will have to cook yourself.