Only had the extra-fast broadband connection for a week before it broke… hence no blog post over the last week or so, no Sunday Wine Shot, nor updates on the other sites I maintain.

It has been a busy few days though with articles published across various sites – Via Michelin published a piece on Visiting Raimat, Codorniu and others while CorkBin gave space for a look at a rather odd Australian wine label whose symbolism and meanings were totally lost on me (go read all about Battle Island). In addition Regular Wino ran an interview on me under his Wino of the Week slot.

The end of the week saw a little trip up to that London to meet the team behind Lot18. This is a new-to-UK internet wine shop offering tiny parcels of really interesting wine. This end of the operation follows successful launches in the US and France. Their offerings might not be the cheapest wines around but are temptingly interesting. Quantities are minute compared to your usual wine merchant; 40 bottles here or just a few cases there… worth subscribing for offerings of older vintages and, as they explained, hopefully bottles of seldom seen wine from the USA.

Very kindly three wines were poured to entertain us visitors – a ripe Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir, 2008, New Zealand, a deep and brooding super-Tuscan Veneroso Tenuta di Ghizzano 2005, (fully mature and delicious drinking now) and a wonderful aged and oaky South African Sauvignon, Reyneke Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2010. Depending upon when the internet connection is resumed (and thus when people finally read this) all three wines should be available from the Lot 18 website at around the £19 mark.