[ilds] My Family, Bitter Lemons and wine

[Denise Tart & David Green]

Dear RWH - and others

The portrayal of Larry in My Family is what got me intersted in Lawrence. He was by far the most interested animal in the book. After reading My family once right through I used to skip the insect bits and cut straight to Larry and his strange artist mates, drinking wine and being vastly affected would be Bohemianism. Although Larry comes across as rather a pretentious, egotistical fop (vats of red wine, a guitar and Elizabethan love songs), he is also revealed as the surrogate father of the family and as an outrageously funny man. Gerry loved his brother but was not afraid to take the piss out of him as well. I was intrigued by this portrayal and have been reading LD ever since.

Bitter Lemons is one of LD's best books. It is really a synthesis of the island books incorporating the best of their features: history and conjecture, peasant life and lore, brilliant landscape and 'spirit of place' and the captivating personality of the author himself along with the added dimension of political drama, subtly and beautifully told. It's no wonder he got the Duff Cooper prize for it. Even my wife liked it. we had some discussion of Bitter Lemons on this list a while back and it was generally agreed that it certainly written when LD was at the height of his powers.

Lastly, wine; I have tracked down this Chocolate Block using google. is this it?

The fact that it was made by a company named Boekenhoutskloof and was from South Africa was a definite bonus.
The color was a deep and dark crimson, sparkling with no turbidity. The nose was moderate showing ripe fruits, garrigue and just the faintest tough of bret. The palate had a medium-full body; not overly acidic (a French wine would have much more), and mouth-filling quality, no doubt due to the 14.5% alcohol that wasn't really noticeable. It had a slightly bitter and sweet quality that, God help me, reminded me of bittersweet chocolate. Not overly complex, it was smooth, fun and with a reasonable finish showing smooth tannins and a structure which lingered on in the mouth and the memory.The wine is made from an interesting blend of 44% Syrah, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Grenache Noir, 12% Cinsault, and 6% Viognier. Cinsault (cinsaut in France) is a grape I don't see too often. The Oxford Companion to wine reports that it was the most common variety planted South Africa until 1993 when it was overtaken by Cabernet Sauvignon. It is used primarily as a blending grape to add aroma, suppleness, perfume, and fruitiness to wines. It was also crossed with Pinot Noir to produce Pinotage, which is now a very well respected grape in South African winemaking.

David Green

PS - Norman Douglas may be dated, but South Wind reads like a book of exquisite philosophy and boy can you see where LD got some of his characters from.

16 William Street
Marrickville NSW  2204
AUSTRALIA
+61 2 9564 6165
0412 707 625
dtart at bigpond.net.au
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