'Uni'

Grant Burge Filsell Vineyard Old Vine Shiraz '03 [£12, approx.]

AN ATYPICAL Aussie Shiraz made from on average 80 year old Barossa vines briefly caught my attention yesterday. Its inky depths looked so promising, yet spice and feistiness were irreconcilably notable by their absence. This character was as brash as an American bar in a Singapore hotel, although the tannins were the definition of velvet. I think a couple more years patience will bring out the true charm though.

*

At Feng Sushi I ate my first sea urchin roes (or 'uni') this afternoon, two soft tongues on rice bound in seaweed. On the palate the sensation was somewhere between crab meat, cods roe and oysters with a long, slow aftertaste. This was followed by Japanese fish and chips, the latter made from sweet potatoes. I think an English Seyval Blanc would work with the uni and a quiet Provençal rosé would suit the fish and chips.