Monday 18 February 2013

Montgomery James

Monty arrived at 10.38am on Saturday morning, 16 February.  He weighed 8.1 pounds, a couple of ounzes heavier than his brother.  The Kiwi was in advanced labour for only a couple of hours, but the little fella gave us a fright when he came out and refused to breathe.  I'v enever seen so many nurses appear so quickly and he was rushed off to "re-suss" before I'd even noticed that he was fully out.  But he was fine and quickly showed that his lungs could power a very loud cry.  He seems to be on Kiwi time, sleeping during the day and then perking up during the night.  We're pleased to have him and Hugo will, I hope, enjoy being a big brother.  My Facebook and other friends have had advance notice of Monty's birth, and they have done very well with "Monty" jokes.  First place is currently held by Andy McMaster with his  "someone deserves a Patton the back" remark - anyone have anything better than that? 

My family gathered to wet Monty's arrival yesterday. As always with a family gathering, wine was in abundance (and increasing it feels like it's always me that provides it!).  I decided to pass on Monty's Kiwi heritage and instead return to the wines that I acquired when I was married.    The Kiwi, then my fiancee agreed that we could have our wedding list with London wine merchants Berry Brothers & Rudd, but she then went off and openened a rival list at John Lewis.  Naturally she told all her friends and family to buy from the John Lewis list, so leaving only my true pals buying from the BBR list.  But my pals did good and picked out some stunning items (things like Ridge's Montebello and Sassicaia from Tuscany which still lurk at the back of the cellar) as well as several cases of other stuff that, after 3 years, are getting close to peak drinking.  So tonight's wine was largely from the Wedding list (or at least wine that we were given as a result of getting married).  A selection is in the photo. 



My father bought us a case of Verve Cliquot "La Grande Dame" 1998, a rose champagne which is still just holding up.  I thought it might have been on the turn, but there was still complexity there, if a little loss of fruit.  The wedding list produced two cases of claret, one of which was the 2005 vintage of "Les Tourelles de Longueville", which is the second wine of Chateau Pichon-Baron in Pauillac (a second growth in the Bordeaux rankings).  It's drinking very well, probably not for keeping much longer; a lovely merlot-dominated wine.  Before that we had some chenin blanc from Morgenhof in South Africa.  Morgenhof was one of the 30-odd South African wineries we visited during our honeymoon in 2009, and I've followed their wines ever since.  I think South African wines generally are still much under-appreciated.  The quality is getting better every year and the wines are now very good value.  The reds perhaps still often suffer from that "burnt rubber" issue that people argue about, but the whites are really quite good.  Chenin blanc used to be SA's signature white grape variety, nowadays considered a work-a-day variety that s overshadowed by sauvignon blanc and chardonnay.  However, the best SA chenins are fantastic and this one by Morgenhof is well worth trying (it's about £10).  I thought it was like a more subtle Rhone viognier, lots of apples and peaches and very fresh.  Incidentally, if anyone's interested in South African wines, I listed my favourites from our honeymoon here.

22 comments:

Scottswargaming said...

Congratulations!

Christopher(aka Axebreaker) said...

Congratulations Giles on the new addition to your family!

Christopher

Michael Awdry said...

very many congratulations to all!

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said...

Yes, congratulations all around. He's a very handsome boy.

Best Regards,

Stokes

airhead said...

Great news Giles, congratulations to you and the Kiwi.

To mix a number of metaphors/interests, you just have to lay down a box of the perrys new 8th army figures when they are released for Montys future use.

All the best

Airhead

David said...

Congratulations to you both!

DHC Wargames said...

Congratulations and to a healthy future for young Monty. Now go an raise him a proper gamer! ;-)

Battlescale said...

Congratulations on the birth of your future wargame opponent!

Best wishes to you and our family.

Steve

Rodger said...

Congrats Giles!

Ubique Matt said...

Congrats on the new mini. Don't worry about the scale creep though as 'practice makes perfect'. That's what I always tell my older (and smaller) brother anyway.

Regards,
Matt

Paulalba said...

Congratulations Giles,
Another little gent to pass on your painting and gaming knowledge!

Wish I knew more about wines too!
Cheers
Paul

painterman said...

Congrats to you both - another excuse for some good wines - and not too long before you'll have them gaming too.
Enjoy the moments....
Simon.

Iowa Grognard said...

Congratulations!

Silver Whistle said...

Congratulations to you both Giles and what a great name.
Enjoy the wine,
Pat.

Doc Smith said...

Congratulations to you and the Kiwi on the safe arrival of little Monty. Great names for both your boys BTW - no doubt they will have inherited their dad's great painting skills too! As well as cracking a good bottle to celebrate you'll have to lay down a good 2013 too for one of Monty's future milestones - could I suggest a Penfolds Grange Hermitage? If it's whites you're into as well try a Brown Brothers Moscato - both great Aussie wines!

Well done mate, Monty is a little bewdy (ask the Kiwi to translate that one!)

Cheers,
Doc

Schrumpfkopf said...

Young master Montgomery James looks splendid in his first uniform!

Congratulations to everybody involved!

Steve said...

Congratulations!

bertinoro67 said...

felicità

Dalauppror said...

Congratulations !!!

Seems like a fine lad and wargamer to come!

Best regards Michael

legatus hedlius said...

Congratulations Giles! Glad to see you have your priorities right: a little bit about the new chap and then most of the post about wine! Monty and Hugo are such splendid names: I'll have to get my father in law to sign them up to the Royal Yacht Squadron; they'd fit right in!





Author said...

Congrats, Giles! Fantastic news!:). He is a cute little guy.

Lord Ashram

Bristol Letting Agent said...

Congratulation's, He's so cute...