We began with this Sancerre 2013 from Francois Cotat which G brought along. Apparently this is quite expensive (perhaps that's why it says "cher" on the label, ho ho) but it was excellent, quite full and fruity by Sancerre standards.
With our steak and green beans we drank this bottle of 1988 Chateau Berliquet from Saint-Emilion, part of P's recent auction haul. G had done some research and reported that it wasn't highly regarded, but we enjoyed it very much. It was very smooth and went down very easily, classy but not too serious. Apparently 1988s can be green but this certainly wasn't. It went very well with the steak.
With our cheese course we moved on to this 1998 Chateau Tayac from Margaux, also provided by P. Again, this was relatively light, easy drinking but for me it wasn't in the same league as the previous wine - it seemed less concentrated. Both of these wines were 12.5% and the phrase "luncheon wine" was bandied about. It was very interesting to try them, thanks P!
We finished off with a spot of this Marc de Bourgogne from Jacoulot, which apparently is a 70s bottling, leading G to think that the contents are probably from the 50s. This was an unexpected find while surfing the internet earlier in the week. The cork was very squidgy and fell into the bottle so some sieving was in order. It was lovely old marc, rich, with butterscotch notes and a great finish. I think another glass on Sunday night will make the prospect of going back to work much more bearable!
