Sadly, we couldn't do this at the wake as were in a hotel and couldn't bring our own, but I had brought some special bottles of wine to have a private toast to Dad ... and Mum.
When we held the wake for Mum at North Meadow, I supplied the drink, bought at my local Majestic store in Bury St. Edmunds. The staff were very helpful in selecting the bottles and I discovered a southern French wine that seemed particularly appropriate. It was called Les Derniers Cepages (literally "the last picki9ngs") and came from an estate called Domaine Sainte Rose. That sounded an excellent name and, furthermore, it turned out the estate was run by a British couple.
It went down well at Mum's funeral so I thought I'd see if I could get some for Dad. Majestic didn't stock it any more so went to the Estate's website and left them a message.... and ordered the wine from them.
I had a lovely email exchange with the owner Charles...
On 07/09/2018,
21:46, "Domaine Sainte Rose" <wordpress@sainterose.com> wrote:
New message
from website form:
From: John Moody
Hi. I
ordered (and paid for) some wine from you (and there's a story that goes with
that!) but I couldn't find anything on your website about delivery timescales.
How long should I expect to wait?
John.
-----Original
Message-----
From: Charles Simpson(SR)
Sent: 08
September 2018 10:21
Subject: FW:
Website Contact
Dear John,
Thanks you for
your message and I confirm that we received your order last night around
9:30pm. What is the "story that
goes with that"? As the owner of
the business, I would be interested in your experience for positive or
negative?
Just to confirm
that our sales office is now closed until Monday, but someone will be in
contact early next week regarding delivery timings.
All my best
wishes,
Charles W.
Simpson
Founder &
Owner- Domaine Sainte Rose & Simpsons Wine Estate
Domaine Sainte
Rose
Servian, 34290,
France
On 09/09/2018, 19:19, "John Moody" wrote:
Hello Charles,
Thank-you for
your reply. I look forward to getting delivery arrangements organised this
week.
I thought you
might be interested in why I am making this order....
In May 2014 my
mother passed away. In planning for the wake, I went to my local Majestic Wine
to get drinks. While there I spotted your wine. I've always liked southern
French wines like that, but the key thing was the name of the estate (and also
that you and Ruth are from the UK) - my mother's first name was Rose, (although
she didn't like it and joined up with her middle name to call herself Roseann).
Anyway, we had
your "Les Derniers Cepages 2012" at her wake and it was much
admired.. and, indeed, I bought a few more bottles while Majestic were still
stocking it. It is delicious!
And now my
father has passed away. So, along with my sisters, we decided to have a few
more bottles of your excellent wine for his wake too.
We look forward
to tasting it again and drinking to the memory of both my Mum and Dad. The
funeral is in Glasgow on the 1st October.
John Moody.
And here was his reply...
Hi John,
Very many thanks for your e-mail and heart-felt
explanation to your purchase of Les Derniers Cepage. I was moved and flattered by it. 'Rose' features heavily in my life with my
mother being called Rosemary, a daughter called Mhairi-Rose, a Labrador called
Rosie and a property called Sainte Rose.
I am sorry to learn of the loss of your father recently
and truly hope you had proper time to say good-bye. Ironically we poured Les Derniers Cepages at
Ruth's Mum's funeral in Edinburgh a few years ago! If you are not aware of the meaning of
"Les Derniers Cepages", in English it means 'the last
varieties'. We named it such as the
varieties/grapes that go into the blend, Petit Verdot and Mourvedre, are late
ripening and the last varieties to get harvested at the Sainte Rose. Fitting I think!
I do hope you have now heard from Ashleigh regarding your
order?
All my best wishes,
Charles
With 4 more years of aging it had become even more rich and mellow. It was nice to drink it and remember Mum too.
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