Arrived back in the UK at 7 am, feeling very tired: I’d intended to sleep most of the flight from Raleigh/Durham, but my luck was out: I was surrounded by three kids and their disorganized mother, and they were talking, shouting and moving around all night.

But I did finish my book: Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. One of the best books I’ve read this decade, but not a heart-warming tale with a happy ending. Not at all. But brilliant.

So this afternoon I had an appointment at New Zealand House to shoot a video with David Cox about New Zealand Chardonnay, and what can be done to help it receive the recognition that we think it deserves. The idea was that we were to answer questions posed by Larry McKenna of Escarpment for an event being held in a few weeks in New Zealand.

We finished the interview by tasting a brilliant example of Kiwi Chardonnay.

Martinborough Vineyard Chardonnay 2006 Martinborough
13.5% alcohol, aged for 10 months in French oak, natural fermentation. Complex, broad, toasty and yet really fresh, with some citrus and grapefruit notes. Bold and aromatic with lovely breadth and notes of bread, pear, lemon and peach. Just lovely: a really serious Chardonnay that is evolving very nicely. 94/100

The views from the Penthouse at New Zealand House are some of the best in London. Excuse the poor camera phone quality, but below I have two shots. Top, we see across the back of Downing Street to Buckingham Palace, and then the Palace of Westminster. Then below this, we see Trafalgar Square, with Nelson’s column, looking east to the City of London. Interestingly, behind the elegant facade, the National Gallery is quite an ugly building.