Next tasting - Friday 9th January

Southern Italian wines with Ben Robson

Web: https://bat.wine

The first Grand Union tasting of 2026 will take place on Friday January the 9th, when Ben Robson will present a selection of wines from the south of Italy. 

Ben, with his Bat and Bottle wine shop in Oakham, has been a long-term supporter of our society. He has a deep knowledge of Italian wines as he spends a significant time there each year. 

As I am sure you know, southern Italy produces wines which are rich and ripe, with a warmth reflecting their origin. 

We will be tasting wines from the southern Italian regions of Salento, Puglia, Campania and Basilicata, and as always with Italian wines there will be a fascinating range of grape varieties on display, with several that are almost certain to be new to at least some of us. As if all that wasn’t temptation enough, the last wine of the evening will come from a very special area in the south-west of the country, about which Ben says “there are few places on earth that the wine world is more excited about”.

I hope that you and your guests will be able to join us.

What we tasted in December 2025

Christmas Tasting - Duncan Murray

In December we gladly welcomed the return of Duncan Murray. Duncan's shop in Market Harborough is always a very welcoming spot, and his free Saturday tastings there are very popular.

Duncan told us that he has been presenting to the Grand Union for 30 years or more, in recent years entertaining us at our Christmas tasting with his terrible jokes and delicious wines.

We had a wonderful variety of both white and red wines, covering a huge range of styles. The Petali Assyrtiko was savoury with great texture, while La Baie Orientale was delicate and floral, the Chablis was unoaked in strong contrast to the Harewood Estate Chardonnay. The Marcillac was a good example of a summer red and the Pinot Noir was light-footed too. For me, the pick of the bunch was the Côtes du Rhône Villages. The Late Bottled Vintage port was a great finish with the mince pies.

We had a blind tasting too: I got the colour right, but little else. It was actually a rather good Cabernet Sauvignon from near the Gobi desert in China at over 1000 m altitude, made with the collaboration of the 15th generation of the Austrian Moser family.

For more information: https://duncanmurraywines.co.uk

The wines tasted were:

1. Diamantakis, Petali; Crete, Greece, 2024. Assyrtiko

2. Lionel Osmin; La Baie Orientale; Le Sud-Ouest, France, 2024. Muscat, Muscadelle, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Riesling

3. Domaine Fournillon; Chablis, France, 2022. Chardonnay

4. Harewood Estate; Great Southern Western Australia, 2021. Chardonnay

5. Lionel Osmin, Marcillac Fer de Soif; Marcillac, France, 2023. Fer Servadou

6. Harewood Estate; Denmark, Great Southern Western Australia, 2024. Pinot Noir

7. Blind Tasting – Changyu Moser XV; Ningxia Helan Mountain, China, 2021. Cabernet Sauvignon

8. Mas de Boislauzon. Le Deux Chènes; Côtes du Rhône Villages, France, 2023. Grenache, Syrah, Carignan

9. Kopke LBV; Porto, Portugal, 2020. Touriga National, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Sousâo

   
   

   

Duncan Murray - ready to present

Next tasting - Friday 12th December

Christmas tasting with Duncan

Web: https://duncanmurraywines.co.uk

It’s that time of year again! 

The Grand Union Christmas tasting will take place on Friday December 12th. Duncan Murray will present wines from his extensive stock, which has been developed based on his long experience in the wine business. 

Duncan’s shop in Market Harborough is a popular destination for wine enthusiasts, and is well known for its free Saturday tastings. 

As usual, we will have a free member’s raffle and minces pies for all. And, of course, we will have an excellent range of wines for you to taste.

This is always a popular event, I do hope you will be able to come. 

Please register your intention to attend by paying the standard fee. It will be very helpful to us if you could do this by December 7th.