Uncle Dick: ‘The Wise One’ of Bleasdale
By
'Uncle Dick' Potts, as depicted on the label of The Wise One 10 Year-Old Tawny
This delicious Aussie fortified wine stopped me in my tracks at the winery last year and I bought it immediately. It’s made in the style of a Tawny Port using grenache, shiraz and verdelho before being aged in barrels placed next to the winery’s hot tin roof. It will appeal to fans of Port, Madeira and sweet wine, and critics such as Jancis Robinson and Fiona Beckett have already reviewed the wine favourably.
However there has also been some conjecture about the rather quirky label, which depicts Bleasdale’s own ‘Wise One’, Richard Potts, better known as Uncle Dick. We asked Bleasdale to give us a little more information.
Uncle Dick was the youngest of Bleasdale founder Frank Potts’ eight sons. He left school at the age of 12 and claimed never to have worked a full day in his life, funding his various (rather eccentric, it would appear) pastimes with his inheritance. He died in 1956.
His purported prowess is detailed in the autobiographical song ‘Oh, Drinkin’ (Don’t mind if I do)’. Feel free to sing along should you wish, and do try The Wise One. I think it’s the perfect Christmas drink, and for £10.50 for a full 75cl bottle, you get a lot of wine for your money.
This is the story of old Dick Potts,
The wise one if you may,
He left school at the age of 12
and he never worked a day.
He’d open his umbrella to the wind,
to propel his bike along.
In his very deep baritone voice
he’d sing his favorite drinkin’ song.
Oh, Drinkin’ (Don’t mind if I do).
While those around him sweltered,
In the relentless summer heat,
He’d pour cold water in his knee high boots
and walk proudly down the street.
He spent his life at the winery
that he inherited from his pop,
To keep the old Dick warm in the winter
he’d put his mattress on the boiler top.
Oh, Drinkin’ (Don’t mind if I do).
