This is a great contemporary country inn in the heart of the Trough of Bowland. As with our little wine shop, it is an award winning pub, complete with two bedrooms( just in case you need to stay a little longer than anticipated). It offers regional and classic food. It aims to use only the best locally sourced produce and is complete with a little bar that serves up a fine selection of wines and real ales.
It describes itself thus:‘ We aim for rustic yet contemporary décor, casual yet elegant, warm, and welcoming in the true Lancashire way and as functional as a food pub should be’. If those were its aims – then it has well and truly succeeded in achieving them!
Suffice it to say, some fine real ale was enjoyed; the Parkers Arms saw a substantial stock of tomahawk steaks disappear before its eyes; there was suddenly a shortage of seafood in the area and there wasn’ t a spare lemon posset to be found within miles( to name but only some of the damage done to the food stocks in the area)! Importantly, though, the food was ultimately washed down and tasted with the seven carefully selected wines from D Byrne and Co.
THE WINES on the pallet( particularly cherries), a touch of earthiness and a little spiciness. Structured and elegant. It is a steal at £ 15.99 a bottle
4. Domaine Yannick Amirault‘ Bourgueil La Coudraye’ 2016- from the Loire valley in France. Made from 100 % cabernet franc. This is a very drinkable wine. It is rich, with silky tannins. Fresh red berries and crisp red fruit, a touch of spice and soft tannins. This is a lovely wine and a bargain at £ 13.99 a bottle.
5. El Tiemblo’ s‘ Los Chorrancos 2011 – 100 % garnacha from Castilla y Leon in Spain. Today we can get some sublime single varietal garnacha from Spain – and this is no exception. Smooth, light brick in colour, rich tannins, cherries, roses and herbs. Complex, delicious and wonderful with the tomahawk steaks. Not cheap at £ 31.99 a bottle; but for a fine wine like this, value for money. You can pay a lot more for some of the more illustrious wines around, but not get as good a bottle of wine as this.
6. Quina Do Vale‘ Meao’ 2010 – from Douro in Portugal. We go up a price bracket again. At £ 45.99 a bottle we get a wine with ripe dark fruit( dark plums, blackberry, cherries) and a touch of mocha( almost some chocolate). Full bodied, a touch of spice, yet it somehow possesses a lovely creaminess. Fine.
7.‘ Crete Malvasia’ from Domaine Lyrarakis – a historic wine from Crete that has, apparently, been produced for some 300 years. Produced from grapes dried in the sun, this is a rich, honeyed wine. It possesses some orange tones and a touch of the frizante. This was a fresh and elegant wine. Great with the lemon posset. It is well worth a try for those of you that like a little sweet or dessert wine and at £ 13.59( 375cl) it is as good, if not better, than many of its more illustrious competitors from around the world( and which fetch far greater prices).
CONCLUSIONS
Some, perhaps many, of the seven wines tasted blind are not wines that you may necessarily have heard of, or tasted, before. But give them a go. The selection proves two things:( i) that the world of wine is growing and growing in every direction, meaning that we, as the consumer, are becoming better educated as to what is available for us to purchase and enabling us to sample unusual, interesting and well made wines from all around the world and;( ii) you never get a bad bottle of wine from D Byrne & Co. The seven wines, in order, were:
1.‘ Rall White’ 2016- from Swartland in South Africa. Made from 60 % chenin blanc, 30 % verdelho, 7 % viognier and 3 % chardonnay. An unusual blend that gives off a wonderfully complex, full bodied, slightly earthy but balanced wine. A wonderful bouquet on the nose. Lots of delicate dark fruit, a bit of nectarine, a bit of peach and a touch of spice. There is a huge amount going on in your glass. A great wine to start with – went well with the prawns. Well worth a punt at £ 20.99 a bottle.
2. Villa Raiano’ s‘ Ventidue Fiano Di Avellino’ 2013 – from the great and ever increasingly impressive Campania region in Italy. Made from 100 % fiano, you get another great, complex white wine. This is a medium bodied wine. On the nose some citrus, a touch of smoke perhaps and some herbal nuances. On the palate you get tasty fruit, including citrus, and a touch of mint. A refreshing glass of wine, which is alive in your glass. Good value at £ 17.59 a bottle.
Two conclusions. Firstly there were a lot of empty bottles on the table at the end of a very long lunch. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, this a wonderful part of the country to visit. Whether you go for one night, a weekend or just simply on a day trip( the Oxton group took a mini bus – good planning) you should go. The little wine shop in Clitheroe is a wonderful place to visit and is unlike any other wine shop I know. The area itself is full of great places to eat, mostly selling wonderful local produce. Another haunt for the Oxton Group in the area has, over the years, been the Inn at Whitewell( an establishment I am sure many of you may know).
The bottom line is simple. This is not only our countryside at its best; it is also where you can find an amazing collection of wines, including many of the worlds best wines, at very reasonable prices; and with food to match. Go and explore it!
3.‘ Giant Steps’ Pinot Noir 2016 – from the Yarra Valley in Australia. For a pinot this is actually quite dark. It is a delicious savoury and rich wine, with wonderful red and blue fruit on both the nose and wirrallife. com 43