So is the El Tel name a Terry Venables, Crystal Palace connection?
Very much so. When the press tagged the great man as El Tel after he signed to manage Barcelona, it became my de facto nickname too.
Iâm a Spurs fan, so a Venables fan too.
Back to vino. Tonightâs odd combo of chicken, smoked pancetta, roasted fennel, with herbs and capers.
An odd wine too
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Very odd⊠Donât see those two varietals blended very often. I can only think of one other I have come across with Pinot Noir and Shiraz together. Pinot being happier in cooler climate is not bad out of Orange, and cool climate Shiraz carries more white pepper spice to my palate, so I imagine that wine would puzzle people tasting it blind.
Spurs are a team with a great history. I remember as a kid going to White Hart Lane to watch Spurs vs QPR when Ardilles was still playing for THFC.
Iâm an AFC Wimbledon man. Football in the community was very important in the deprived areas where I grew up, so I have nothing but contempt for Charles Koppel and what he did.
Please do let us all know your take on the Pinot Shiraz once youâve had a good look at it.
Iâd rate it a 6.5 out of 10.
Red fruit, smokey raspberries, smoked white pepper, plummy almost pruney.
Not much length, but pleasant front and mid pallet. Would suit duck, maybe roast pork, maybe even miso salmon.
Orange is worth a trip. Beautiful wines, very elegant. A distinct terroir.
Just finished it off, and it was far better 24hrs later. Softer and more length
First day in the Barossa Valley for nearly a year.
Youâd like this place, @Graeme_Finlayson 
The long suffering Mrs Tel about to get stuck in to an Elderton tasting:
Me in the barrel hall at Sons of Eden this afternoon:
Just the two wineries today, but a decent haul of 9 cases bought.
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I need to convince Mrs F that we need more wine storage, and that a hundred or so bottles is really not approaching excessive in any way, shape or form!
I have to say thanks for your recommendation - the Elderton Ashmead is by far the best red Mrs F has ever tasted. For me, itâs definitely in the top handful. I think sheâs coming round to the view that splashing out on a really superb red every now and again isnât ridiculously lavish or indulgent - itâs just nice to have the occasional treat! 
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Agree wholeheartedly, mid week quaffers are great to have regularly, but it does you really well to have some special treats on hand to celebrate those special occasions, like Friday. As vices go at least it is genuinely pleasurable and youâre always learning.
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Lost our Grand Final 4-2 today
Rare rump cap, roast potatoes in duck fat, rosemary and sea salt. Yorkshire puds, glazed carrots.
Radiohead as Iâm feeling a bit glumđ
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Been blighted with a heavy cold for the last week so tonight a little something to complement the Beans on Toast. 
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Nice selection El tel. I just sold a 2010 vintage 707 for $700. Iâve still got 2 left for Ron. And the Clarendon 
, I love their Brooklands, never tried the Australis
Iâm a Two Hands fan atm too.
Did the Poms enjoy as much as you? Last time I drank a 707 with my bother, he swilled it down with a Stella, and said it was okđ«Ł
My Brit friends loved the wines. The 2005 My Hands was a nose in front of the Australis, but there wasnât much in it.
I stopped buying from two hands a couple of years ago. Itâs very detached from the earlier customers that put it on the map. I mainly buy from the smaller, family producers in the Barossa now - Elderton, Powell (soon to be Neldner Road), Sons of Eden, Yelland and Papps plus a few others. The wineries bought out by Pernod Ricard, Treasury and the like, or those that forget the debt they owe the local communities will not get much love from me.
Just been out to do our only bit of Christmas shopping - a trip down to Kuitpo (just between McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills) for lunch and to stock up on fruit courses. Courtesy of our friends at Coates, weâre now replenished with cases of their brilliant Blanc de Blancs, Limestone Coast Shiraz, a very moreish Cabernet Shiraz (2017), a delicious Dolcetto / Barbera / Sangiovese blend, and The Iberian which is a delicious easy drinking but far from simple blend of Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Monastrell, Garnacha and Malbec.
Oh, and a bottle of their newly released Vin DâOr - a wine they only managed to make 20 cases of, and will lose money on every one. Itâs only took 10 years to get it ready for bottling.
I do love living in South Australia
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a GSM, with Rioja, a grape from Portugal, and one from Bordeaux by way of Argentina thrown inâŠsounds fascinating.
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