We started out with a selection of 45 wines when we opened in April ’21, offering 15 by the glass at the height of summer!
Then it crept up to 80 odd by September, then 120 and somehow we now find ourselves with a list of over 250 to choose from. Demand and interest from customers, and their willingness to try something different, has made the list far more interesting and varied than originally anticipated…
…of course there are familiar names and ‘Go to’ wines that people want, but there are a few that were lesser known and have fast become favourites with our customers, such as ‘Boa Vida’ produced by Dona Matilde from the Douro in Portugal using Touriga Franca & Touriga Nacional grapes; a great big juicy red wine. Roussane Grapes featuring in wines from the Savoie and the delicious, Bio, Côtes Du Rhone from M.Chapoutier, as well as surprises such as White Port in the shape of Baronesa De Vilar’s white port (Gouveio) from Porto the heartbeat of port. And the Biggest surprise of all the Rijks Touch Pinotage, not many will believe you when you say your number one selling wine by the glass is a Pinotage… but it is!
During the Autumn & winter months we reduce our wine by the glass offerings to 9: 4 whites 4 reds and a rose, along with prosecco and champagne, and of course Port and Sherry, so still plenty to choose from. As we have done since the start we shall rotate the wines by the glass on a regular basis but keeping the most popular on the list eg the Rijks Touch Pinotage!
We are not just all about wine we do have a selection of Scottish bottled beers, lagers and ciders, a carefully selected choice of Whiskies, half a dozen or so Gins and other spirits most of which are local/Scottish plus an array of soft drinks
For fear of you falling asleep we won’t list all 200 plus of our wines but below is an seasonal top 10 well worth a try and like our rotation by the glass we will suggest a few more every couple of months.
Spring '24 Top 10
Grape, Region, Country, Producer/Name
Price per bottle
Albariño, Rías Baixas, Galicia, Spain,Pazo do Mar, 'Coral do Mar'
£36
Can’t start Spring without an Albarino, we have several and this is a welcome new addition to the list… all the usual apples and pears with added flinty seaside overtures as befits a vineyard set near the Atlantic ocean.
Chenin Blanc, Sth Africa, Western Cape, Tulbagh, Rijks Touch ’20
£35
Chenin always proves popular in this bar. This is from the same stable as the ever popular Pinotage. Dry with acidity, Buttery fruits! 25% barrel fermented another lovely wine and for a few quid more you could dive into the Private Cellar version which is 40% barrel fermented.
Xinomavro, Greece, Theopetra Estate Meteora ’21
£42
Not our first Greek wine but our first Greek rosé – big delicious surprise! Shared top spot as customers favourite on our International Rosé weekend when out by the glass. I love it!
Viura/Tempranillo Blanco, Rioja, Spain, Javier San Pedro Ortega, ‘Las Levantadas’ ‘22
£37
Boom! Here is a white Rioja that I am sure you are going to love. We brought it in last year and it’s very popular, a modern white Rioja, lovely richness, orchard style fruits character. Wonderful wine! Certainly made my top 10 for the year last year.
Syrah/ Grenache, Languedoc, France, Corbières, Domaine de Lastours ’18
£33
A classic Languedoc regional wine. Light and velvety I think sums it up, with that liquorice, peppery aftertaste. Definitely becoming too Oz Clarke! Bloody great drinking, great to share anytime. One of my favourite every day wines and rarely off the by the glass listing nowadays… hugely popular.
Furmint, Mad, Tokaji, Hungary, Royal Tokaji, 5 puttonyos Aszú (blue label)
£45 1/2 Btle
The Wine of Emperors! Right up to the incursions by the Ottoman Empire, invading forces would ensure they captured the wine region that made this beautiful style of dessert wine. Re- introduced with the fall of the iron curtain, Tokaji is a stellar wine. The puttonyos is like a rating so 5 is at the top end – 6 is usually the maximum. Ideal with blue cheese and sweet desserts…also nice on its own! You will not be disappointed.
Palomino, Jerez, Medium, sweet single bota aged 19 years, Diatomist Range
£7 per glass
Left field choice, especially as sherry is not my thing! But our customers have really taken to the new range of artisan sherry coming from the Diatomist range. This medium sherry oozes walnuts and marmalade. There are another 4 in the range, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez, all distinctly different and available in their own flights for you to try. Whisky fans will like the Oloroso, medium and Pedro Ximénez.
Malbec, Cahors, France, Clos Troteligotte,’K-Or’ ’20
£33
We’ve had this out on the main list for about 3 months and it had it’s first outing by the glass in August. You know we love a French Malbec in this bar and this is no exception. Smooth, dense with big plummy, berry fruits taste. Just a solid wine. We are sure it’s going to be a hit! Will certainly be making its second appearance by the glass very soon.
Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah/Merlot, Bekka Valley, Lebanon, Château Oumsiyat Grande Reserve ‘18 NEW
£35
Another new wine on our list, again something we tasted at the start of September ’22 and thought that’s different and we hope it would appeal to you. Down the road from the Great Château Musar but not quite as pricey… an easy drinker and excellent with the meat platter.
Virginie T Extra Brut NV, Premier/Grand Cru provide the backbone of this Champagne.
£89
And now for something a bit special and only available in this bar – in Scotland! Virginie T may sound pretty anonymous, that is because Virginie Taittinger can’t use her own name for her new venture – so she has done the next best thing. With 160 years of family history, she represents a double Champagne legacy as the daughter of Claude Taittinger, and Catherine de Suarez d’Aulan, whose family owned Piper- Heidsieck. Having worked alongside her father at Taittinger for more than 20 years, Virginie wanted to make Champagnes where each cuvée was independent of a previous one, to be a creator rather than a follower of recipes. It has been a slow-burn with wines launched individually over the past fifteen years; their first release was the 2008 vintage in 2015, after six years of ageing… We have secured a limited supply of 3 champagne styles for you to try!
This one is racy & rich!
Grape, Region, Country, Producer/Name
Price per bottle
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a red wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for pine and black. The word pine alludes to the grape variety having tightly clustered, pine cone-shaped bunches of fruit.
£30
Malbec
Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark colour and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine.
£30
Deep red
Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark colour and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine.
£30
Deep red
Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark colour and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine.
£30
Chablis
The Chablis region is the northernmost wine district of the Burgundy region in France. The cool climate of this region produces wines with more acidity and flavours less fruity than Chardonnay wines grown in warmer climates.
£30
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France. It is possibly a descendant of Savagnin.
£25
Salmon tartar
Basil sour cream, horseradish oil, marinated radish, kale chips & warm red onion jam.
$30
Beef Burger
Chevre Noir, dill tomato, roasted onion mayo, arugula, Quebec Wagyu’s beef bacon, crispy potato & dijonase.
$25
Demi-poulet de Cornouailles
Portuguese spices rub, radicchio, lentil & aragula salad, goat cheese, whole grain mustard dressing.
$35
Grilled Calmari
Salsa Verde yogurt, quinoa, nappa cabbage, beet and fennel salade, pomegranate molasses dressing.
$20
Wine Flights
As well as the wine by the glass we offer a 3 x 50ml flight of any 3 of the wines that are opened for by the glass drinking, including Ports.
However, we do not include the Fizz’s or any blackboard specials that may be on.
Flights £7.50 last flight departs at 22:00 daily.
Magnum Night
Every third Friday of the Month will be Magnum night. Why a magnum? Well the bigger the bottle the better the wine keeps, and it’s just not always convenient to open a magnum or bigger when just two of you, so on these Fridays we will crack open a magnum or two depending on popularity to sell by the glass! Now there is treat to look forward to!