Man O' War on its way to Southampton

Man O’ War has left the “Rock of Gibraltar” and is heading for Southampton (where we are going to catch up with Stokes Fine Wines in Hampshire) en route to the Baltic. We are running along in a sturdy 40 knots and the rolling Atlantic swell off the coast of Spain. In this patch of ocean, a few miles offshore between the port of Cadiz and the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar, the supremacy of the Royal Navy was stamped indelibly on the history of the 19th century. When during a single terrible afternoon in October 1805, twenty-seven Man O’ War sailing ships commanded by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson annihilated a combined French and Spanish fleet of thirty-three ships-of-the-line under the French Admiral Pierre Villeneuve. The nearest map reference, a remote coastal bay called Trafalgar, was to give the battle its name. Much like Man O’ War Bay gives it name to our vineyards and wine. In honour of Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar we have decided to name the latest addition to our black label range, a spectacular 2009 Viognier, “Victory” after Nelson’s flagship the H.M.S Victory. B