Recent drinking round up!

Using the word "recent" in a loose sense here... it's finally time to pull together all the scrappy notes that I've been accumulating over the past few months and record some drinking!

First up, Fratrie Gamay. I bought this in the serious wine shop in Beaune. It was just 12% alcohol but you'd never guess - it packed a punch. It had an amazing fruity nose and was very juicy. It went down real easy, but was definitely one for short-term drinking. There was no vintage on it but the cork said 17.02 so we guessed it was 2016. The guy in the shop told us to serve it cool, which was definitely good advice. A very vibrant, accessible wine.

Then, something a little more serious... Clos-Vougeot 1995 from Chateau de la Tour. This was a dark colour and had a rich, mature and cedary nose. It was elegant and powerful, with notes of chocolate and drinking really well now. Black forest gateau in a glass. It had a beautiful weight and an excellent finish and all in all, was top notch stuff.

One evening, G contributed a bottle of Duhart-Milon 1988 which I am informed is a 4th growth Pauillac. This had the classic cabernet sauvignon nose and was silky and ripe but not fruity. We thought it would probably have been quite unpleasant in its youth. It was almost textbook middleweight Pauillac. G described it as having "slim fetlocks" (he was pleased with that one) and it was precise and congruent but perhaps slightly old school and austere.

Back to Burgundy, a bottle of Beaune Lulune 2010 from Emmanuel Giboulot. We decanted this two hours in advance and put it in the fridge. It was a nose of poached strawberries and was incredibly smooth, vibrant, elegant and feminine. Another low alcohol wine at just 12%. It went really well with our 100 pound, sorry 100 day old chicken. For me it was a definite 10 while G considered it a high 9.

Another 2010 was a white this time, Beaune Chaume Gaufriots from Domaine Audiffred. G and I had the first bottle of this with fish fingers, and I had another one with the boys a couple of weeks ago. I honestly think this is the best white Beaune I've had since the good old days of Yves Darviot. It was particularly good in the first half hour, with a lot of tropical fruit - passion fruit, mango, pineapple. An exuberant wine, with a sort of line of acidity down the middle. My notes contain the phrase "died and went to heaven". Over time, it became more classically lemony. I believe I still have 4 bottles left - don't think they'll be hanging around for long!

In early February, G and I drank this Hosmer Cabernet France 2009 which we brought back from the Finger Lakes. This had a lovely fruity nose with rich berries and plums, and reminded us of fruit compote. It was silky, succulent and congruent, with a freshness that gave it a mouthwatering quality, and a good finish. We had it with a lamb tagine and couscous, which worked very well. It was juicy, glossy and accomplished, and not at all green. Surprisingly serious stuff and very attractive. I continue to rate this winery highly and would definitely buy this wine again.

Another evening in early Feb, G showed up with this sercial from Cossart Gordon. He thought it had spent 30 years in cask and the bottling was postwar, possibly from the 1950s. It smelled like sercial, but was sweeter than expected on the palate, and we thought it probably had a rum base. I was moved to use one of my Irish granny's phrases: "No harm in that!" It had caramelised nuts, a slightly herbaceous edge to it, and a great finish. Really lovely stuff.

On the same evening, we cracked this bottle of Beaune Greves 1er cru 2008 from Chateau de Meursault. This had been hanging around in my wardrobe for some time, in a huge and somewhat ostentatious bottle. The wine itself looked glossy and was pretty and typique, with a nice weight and the classic red Beaune perfume, and was drinking very well now. All in all, a decent 8 on the premier cru scale.

And finally, in late February, we had a bottle of Kylix Cuvee 2007 from Seneca Shore, also in the Finger Lakes. This was a dark purple colour and had amazing legs. It had a very cabernet franc nose, with menthol and blackcurrant, and was a lovely weight. G said it was frontal, a term which always makes me laugh, but I wasn't sure I agreed. The finish actually reminded me of mouthwash it was so minty. Somehow this bottle seemed lighter than previous bottles, so we wondered if it was getting to the end of its life. When we had it with food, however, in this case a beef stew, it seemed to gain weight. A pity they're not making it any more.

That brings us reasonably up to date and this week I took delivery of a couple of reds which have been in storage so will be writing about them soon...

Semi SPNS, 16th Oct 2017

Now that my epic report from the Finger Lakes is finished, it's time to get up to date with a few other bottles that have been drunk over the past three months or so.

On Mon 16th Oct, G, P, D and I convened at the Savile for a dinner which was sort of like the SPNS but with more relaxed rules (i.e. we could spend what we liked). Notes do not seem to have made it into the official Proceedings so we'll have to make do with a pictorial record. At this rate I'll need to abandon the blog and get an Instagram account... only kidding...

Update: now edited to include G's comments as his memory is better than mine.

G contributed this 2002 Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicholas Billecart which was very fine indeed. I could happily drink more of it, hint hint. G said it was the sheer drinkability of it that was so surprising. We could happily have polished off a magnum without further ado.

My contribution was my penultimate bottle of white Corton 2008 from Anne Parent, which was singing. A wonderful lemony, waxy, oaked chardonnay, impeccable.

P contributed a bottle of Chateau Berliquet 1988... G says classic luncheon claret, good of its type but outclassed by its company. I think that's a fair assessment.

The company being this Chateau Haut Brion 1975 contributed by D. This had a wonderful perfume, almost of violets and was still inky-hued. A great pleasure to drink.

Scene of wild abandon at our usual table at the Savile Club

And finally, a bottle of 1881 Leacock Terrantez contributed by G. This was full-throated stuff with a five minute finish. The last of his nineteenth century vintages, sadly. Fun while it lasted.

Just another typical Monday night in the world of A du V.... thanks to all for their contributions!

SPNS dinner, 6th Sept

On Wednesday night, it was over to the Savile Club, fuelled by the Atomic Blonde soundtrack. I was transporting precious cargo across London, not a wristwatch containing secret codenames, but this 2014 pink fizz from Domaine Alice Beaufort which had been stashed in the boardroom fridge all afternoon to keep it away from the prying eyes of my colleagues.

I first tried this at a wine tasting held by the Burgundy Portfolio at Highbury Library and maybe the fact that it was my birthday that night had something to do with it but it was love at first taste. It's made from pinot noir grown just outside Champagne, but the winemaker, Quentin Beaufort, comes from a family which makes Champagne so he knows what he's doing.

What did the assembled company think? Notes of wild or tinned strawberries were detected and there was a reference to Eton Mess. Dangerously drinkable was the general verdict. "Easy to have too much" said P. Say what? There was some debate about whether it would age further. ACC is convinced that it will, but I only have three bottles left, one of which is in the fridge, so I don't give much for its chances.

We moved upstairs to the dining room and straight onto a pair of whites. First was this 2014 Chardonnay Barrel Select no. 02 from Domaine LeSeurre in the Finger Lakes, provided by D. This was a revelation. I would never have guessed it was chardonnay. For me, it had notes of lime and it reminded me of a really elegant riesling. It had an amazing finish and was highly regarded by everyone.

As you can see from the above, the winemakers at this domaine are French. I hope we get to go there in a couple of weeks' time. ACC said that maybe it was a different clone of chardonnay from the one which we're more used to, which might explain why it flummoxed us.

The other white was this Bourgogne Chardonnay 2013 from Domaine Albert Joly, provided by ACC. Funnily enough the 2012 has been my house white lately, so this was particularly interesting for me. The 2012 is definitely playing at village Puligny level, and has that strict thing going on which we love about this domaine, but the 2013 was fuller, richer and more powerful. G said it was less serious than the LeSeurre but that wasn't a criticism!

I took a photo so that we could compare the colour of the two wines. G remarked that normally you'd expect the New World wine to be the one on the left. Not this time!

With our main courses we moved on to the reds. P had brought along this Nuits-St-Georges 1999 from Jaffelin and enjoyed telling us how little it had cost him back in the day. It was classic old school NSG, drinking very nicely now with resolved tannins. Sometimes I find NSG a bit challenging but this went down just fine. It even got a "Wow" from D which isn't something we see very often!

G, on the other hand, had brought along a dodgy Croatian red made by the waiter in a restaurant where he dined while on holiday recently. Apparently "moje corno" means "my red". It was 15% and first impressions were that it was weird, certainly the nose was a bit strange. I got a lot of black cherry. It did have an extraordinary finish and reminded D of an old zinfandel. Generally I would have to say the reaction wasn't enthusiastic, but it was certainly unusual and very much in the spirit of the SPNS.

G redeemed himself with a bonus wine, a bottle of "Very Old East India Madeira" bottled by Berry Bros in 1959. Apparently it was a leaky bottle which is why he brought it along. The leakiness didn't prove to be a problem. For me it had lots of toffee and caramel which made sense when it was revealed that it was a Malmsey. "Absolutely splendid" said G and nobody in their right mind would argue with that. A pleasure to drink. More leaky bottles please!

Thanks everyone for another great evening.

Madeira dinner, 26th January

Not the usual suspects

Last night, it was over to the Savile Club for G's last ever Madeira dinner. The theme this year was Malvasia aka Malmsey, and I was invited to participate in the pre-dinner tasting to enable compilation of tasting notes and determination of running order. Most of the photos here come from the pre-tasting and in a rare exclusive, some of them are actually in focus!

For the record, the report on last year's tasting is here which also includes links to reports on the previous tastings back to 2010.

G would pass the sommelier exam, no problem

When I arrived, just as the clock was striking seven, the room was empty except for G pouring the initial six wines with a practised hand. But various old friends and familiar faces soon appeared to join us and we got down to business.

1. 2002 Malvaisa from ABSL (Barros e Sousa), bottled in 2012.

This was amber in colour and clear with little sediment, as one would expect from a recent bottling. I detected toffee on the nose and it was young and relatively light. A good lunchtime Madeira, but if we're honest, not particularly exciting, given what was to follow. We gave it three stars at the pre-tasting but in hindsight I think that might have been rather generous and would revise it down to two.

2. Vinho da Volta from Justino Henriques, believed to be a solera of youngish wines.

Now it says something, given my terrible memory for wines I have drunk, that as soon as G told me this was from Justino Henriques my heart sank, even before he'd decanted it. Past experience did not bode well. You can see from the photo that it was a most peculiar colour, cloudy and pale, and not exactly inviting. "Let me give you the large glass," said G after sniffing the decanter. Thanks very much. In the bottle, it had a really horrible sediment. I'd never witnessed the bottle-rinsing process before and hope I won't have to see anything like that ever again. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't smell of vomit, in fact it didn't smell of anything. I was still nervous about tasting it, but it turned out not to taste of anything either. However, it had an unpleasant powdery quality that caused G to suspect the use of aspartame. Something definitely went wrong here, and after one sip the rest went down the sink. Nul points.

3. Barbeito special reserve 20 year old Malvasia, bottled in 2001.

This was a clear light brown colour. On Sunday night I wasn't getting much on the nose ("nose a bit dumb" said G) but last night a hint of varnish had emerged. It was a step up from the first wine, with more intensity and some butterscotch, burnt toffee, Werthers Originals type of flavours and a nice weight. Worthy of three stars.

4. HM Borges 30 years old Malvasia, bottled around 2013.

This was a significantly darker colour, clear, and with very little sediment. I found a hint of the potting shed on the nose (i.e. turps) which G refers to as "high toned" and I enjoyed the seductively gloopy texture but G pointed out that it was not well-integrated. It's not a single wine of 30 years of age, but rather several different wines with an average age of 30ish - apparently this is allowed under new regulations. The components hadn't had enough time in barrel to come together properly, leading to an incoherent wine, with a decidedly spirity finish. Two stars.

5. LML (Lomelino) 1962 Malvasia, bottled around 1990.

This was a dark brown colour with loads of sediment - there's a reason the level in the bottle is so low, and it's not because G and I were necking it! On the nose, it was pungent, like over-ripe fruit. It wasn't nice to drink either, which was a shame, because there was something treacly hidden underneath the nasty bit. G had his doubts about its authenticity and bought it thinking it could be dodgy but interesting. It turned out to be dodgy and not interesting. No stars.

6. Pereira D'Oliveira 1955 Reserva Malvasia, bottled around 1990.

This was a very dark colour and had improved a lot since Sunday. It was thick, rich and treacly, like Christmas pudding, with a remarkable finish. Lots of prunes and dried fruit going on. We gave it four stars.

At this point, we sat down to dinner. With our starter of smoked salmon we had some white Pernand-Vergelesses but G also advised trying the next wine.

7. Leacock, Malvasia Velhissima, 19th century, bottled no later than 1920.

This was a relatively light colour and I didn't get much on the nose but G described it as "papery". It wasn't sweet, causing us to think it might be Verdelho rather than Malvasia. This came from the Leacock sale in 2008, and apparently G bought a case which was described as Malvasia but it turned out that not all of it was. An honest misreprentation by the auctioneers, who can't taste every bottle they are selling. Three stars.

We saved the remaining five wines to go with cheese and pudding, and drank some of Henri Audiffred's delicious 2011 Beaune Gauffriots with our main course.

8. Malvasia Faja, 1934, bottled around 1980.

G thinks this was probably made by the Fernandes family who owned this famous vineyard at the foot of a cliff, but was bottled by ABSL. It was a lovely clear mahogany and a bit dumb on the nose, with a slightly thinner texture and intense, drier style. It was elegant and well-balanced with a marmaladey, Seville orange thing going on. It had a great finish, and G loved its restraint. Four or five stars - I suspect four for me, five for G.

9. Henriques & Henriques Century Malmsey, solera 1900, bottled around 2002.

This was a very dark colour and I got turps on the nose whereas G detected figgy pudding. It was like a fruit cake in a glass - raisins, sultanas, prunes - and great concentration due to the long time in barrel. The finish was amazing and went on for minutes. Big and rich but not exactly subtle. I thought this would be a real crowd-pleaser and indeed that turned out to be the case. Five stars.

10. HM Borges Malmsey solera 1880, bottled around 1970.

When we tasted this on Sunday, it was seriously bottle-sick and I really hoped it would improve by last night as there was clearly something very nice underneath. And it was much better, thanks to G's diligent work redecanting many times during the week. Treacle toffee was evident once again. Four stars.

11. Blandy Malmsey 1880, bottled around 1960.

This is a rare single vintage wine. Unfortunately, due to a loose cork, it had an accident on the train leading to G's luggage trebling in value, but fortunately there was enough left for us to taste. It was eye-glazingly good, intense, with marmalade and liquorice. I loved its precision and focus, it had a lovely texture and again a finish that went on for minutes. Absolutely stunning, and the wine of the evening in my opinion. Six stars!

12. Tarquinio T da Camara Lomelino Malmsey, solera 1853 bottled around 1970.

An amazing rarity here - a magnum of Madeira! I didn't think such things existed, and they were until recently unlawful in Madeira, but this was an English bottling by "Simon the Cellarer". Nice work, Simon.

This was absolutely lovely too, with notes of creme brulee (we were actually supposed to be having creme brulee with it, but strangely that metamorphosed into a ginger steamed pudding, still very nice). There were notes of caramelised sugar and it was again very seductive. We think it had a rum base which contributed to the touch of molasses. Five stars. 

Here they are, wine 11 on the left and 12 on the right. Some of us took ours outside for the traditional post-dinner gathering and a good time was had.

Thanks very much to G for hosting yet another unique event. It has been a real privilege to taste these amazingly rare and precious wines with you over the years, and as was noted last night, each year seemed to surpass the last. We certainly went out on a high and now on to the next thing!

Dinner at Otto's, 20th May

On Friday evening, G, D and I went for dinner at Otto's. This was D's first visit, my second, and about G's hundredth!

Past experience indicated that the Canard a la Presse served more than two, so we had it between three of us on this occasion which worked perfectly. En aperitif we drank some Arteis 2002 champagne which was pleasantly mature, and then Otto recommended a white Pernand-Vergelesses 2011 from Girardin with our starters, which went nicely with my first asparagus of the year. I made sure that I limited myself to one piece of bread, remembering what happened the first time we went to Bocuse.

G had made a special arrangement that we could bring along a couple of bottles from our own cellars. D contributed this Sterling Vineyards cabernet sauvignon from 1973 which was really interesting. It had a heady nose of sweet fruit, then rounded out on the palate and ended very dry indeed with some serious tannins still present and correct.

I wrote about the duck press process previously, so won't repeat that here, but once again it was all very theatrical and D even got up to try his hand at operating the duck press! The results were as delicious as I remembered. I'd actually forgotten all about the pommes souffles which were like cushions of air inside a potato casing - like potatoes which have gone to heaven.

There was a much-needed lengthy pause before we were served the second course of duck, the legs along with curly bits of skin.

Finally, with the cheese course we had this 1907 Malvasia from D'Oliveiras which G had been keeping for this occasion. It had been standing open in my flat for a couple of weeks and transporting it safely to the restaurant was my key task of the day - fortunately I had my trusty bottle bag, made by Maman AduV, which did the job perfectly. G tells me that it was bottled in the 1970s so had spent around 65-70 years in cask and it was a deep brown colour. This was textbook Malvasia with notes of marmalade and toffee. We reserved a glass for Otto and had no problems polishing the rest off between the three of us.

Altogether it was a splendid evening and while the wine list at Otto's is excellent, it was lovely to drink some of our own things alongside the amazing food. I think this may become an annual event, because one of these days we must get round to trying the Poulard de Bresse and the Homard a la Presse! Until next time...

Boal dinner, 11th Feb 2016

On Thursday night G hosted his annual Madeira dinner.

Reports on previous years can be found here:

• the Bastardo and Moscatel dinner of 2015.
• the Terrantez dinner of 2014.
• the Verdelho dinner of 2013.
• the Sercial dinner of 2012.
• the extinct producers dinner of 2011.
• the Leacock dinner of 2010.

As I walked down Brook Street I thought of the piece I'd heard on the radio earlier in the week about the restoration of Jimi Hendrix's flat. The person being interviewed said that in the late 1960s this part of London was quite run down. It's hard to imagine that now. I could see a throng of happy-looking people through the window of the Savile Club.

The theme this year was Boal. As usual, G and I had held a pre-tasting a few days earlier to assess the wines, determine the running order, and allow time for bottle-sickness to fade, so I already knew we were in for a good evening. Most of the photos here are from the pre-tasting as there's nothing more irritating than a blogging she-person getting in everyone's way with her camera at an event like this.

We tasted seven wines before dinner, and six more with dinner.

1. Boal 2005 ABSL (Barros e Sousa), bottled in 2011.

G tells me that new rules mean that the vintage can be put on the bottle even though it's not a riserva which would have to have spent 20 years in cask. So, this is a single harvest wine, which was bottled because the Barros e Sousa brothers were retiring. It was quite a pale brown colour and dryish on the nose but sweeter on the palate. It was perfectly nice and there was nothing wrong with it, but it could have been anything, really. Not many boal characteristics to speak of. G's father seemed to be enjoying it but "pointless" was T's verdict.

2. Henriques & Henriques 2000 single harvest, bottled in 2012.

This was a darker colour and seemed more interesting, even pungent, on the nose ("like a nasty tonic water" said T). We felt it wasn't quite altogether integrated - it delivered a hit to the back of the throat when you swallowed it, like drinking some wine followed by some brandy, and it was obvious that it had been fortified. On the night, G thought it had improved with time open. Apparently it costs about £45. I don't think I'll be rushing to buy it.

3. Endeavour from Perreira D'Oliveira, bottled around 2006.

This is a vinho da roda i.e. has been around the world (cue unfortunate East 17 song now playing in my head). The good ship in question was called, guess what, Endeavour. It was made from a 1980s/90s solera and fairly pale in colour and knowing the Inverse Law of Labels one might have had high hopes of this one, but sadly it was not to be. I found it similar to the first wine i.e. there was nothing technically wrong with it as such but it was just a bit meh.

4. Unknown 1952 solera, bottled around 1970.

This bottle had the Junta Nacional do Vinhos (JNV) seal and G thought it was bottled around 1970. It looked fine but was relatively pale - G tells me that this is an indicator of it being a relatively early bottling. Bual is a white grape, so a darker colour indicates greater time spent in cask. At the pre-tasting, on the palate, I found it quite dry, and interesting, but there was a possible slight hint of our old friend, the alcoholic vomit. This seemed to have gone by Thursday, but there was still something a bit strange about it. T, who can spot Terrantez at 100 paces, thought there might be some in here, and we all felt it wasn't 100% boal.

5. Boal 1977, HM Borges, bottled around 2010.

Now we were on to the good stuff! Well, some of us thought so. This was a proper riserva. It looked good, a clear reddish brown, and at the pre-tasting had an interesting tropical fruit salad nose - pineapple? mango? - remiscent of some wines from a certain Burgundy producer we love. That's more like it! I wrote excitedly. Sadly the exciting nose had disappeared by the time we tasted it again on Thursday, but a highly acidic finish remained. It was quite dry on the palate but definitely the real thing. T thought it was soapy and bitter but D and I agreed that it was more complete than the previous four. Apparently it costs £60-70 on the island. I'd consider it worth that.

6. Cossart Gordon Duo Centenary Celebration Boal, bottled around 1990.

This was an additional bonus wine generously contributed by Michael Pater. We hadn't pre-tasted it but it had been double-decanted in accordance with G's precise instructions. It was a murky colour and rather dumb on the nose. On the palate, it was unexpectedly sweet and again we felt that it wasn't straight Boal. G suspected that some Malmsey might have been added. Apparently the person running Cossart Gordon at the time was consults libel lawyer  not necessarily as conscientious as some of his fellows. G described this as being an English interpretation of what people thought Madeira should taste like in 1985, "back when five people in England were interested in Madeira." Four of whom were in present company, ho ho.

7. Henriques & Henriques 1954, bottled around 2005.

This was a much darker colour and the nose reminded me of fruit pastilles, particularly blackcurrant. I wasn't expecting that! I was pleased to find it still had that distinctive nose on Thursday. It was big, rich, powerful, fruity and sweet, almost port-like, smooth and delicious. A bit flash, not subtle. Drinking well now, but no rush. It will still be going strong for many years, and if one had a spare £300 one would be tempted.

At this point, we sat down to eat, and the next two wines were served with an excellent chicken consomme.

8. Bual 1952, Cossart Gordon, bottled 1977 to commemorate HRH's silver jubilee.

This wine had spent 25 years in cask before being bottled in the UK. It was a lovely dark brown colour but slightly bottlesick at the pre-tasting. It had come round by Thursday and seemed quite soft to me, dry but with a certain richness.

9. Boal 1968 from D'Oliveiras, bottled 2010.

This wine is an old friend, as Waitrose used to sell it, and every now and then when they had a sale on, I'd stock up, For several years I gave my father a bottle for Christmas which was always very well-received. It was a clear, darker brown colour and had an intense nose, which made me think of potting sheds and varnish. On the palate, it was more about toasted nuts and log fires. It was quite rich but with a dry finish. I've always loved this wine and if Waitrose still sold it, I'd still be buying it, but it's now £120 retail. It's probably worth that.

We had some claret with our main course and then the final four wines were served with pudding and cheese.

10. Boal solera 1845, Berry Bros & Rudd bottling, bottled 1969.

This 1845 solera was bottled by BBR in 1969. G explained that the rules of the Madeira solera mean that it can only be refreshed 9 times and only 10% of the existing wine can be taken out each time, so at least 10% of the wine we were drinking was from 1845. He was pretty sure that the wine was from Cossart Gordon as they were founded in 1745 and started a solera in 1845 for the centenary. It was a nice reddish dark brown colour and the nose was great. On the palate, it had a certain creaminess which reminded me of creme brulee. It was very fine, accomplished and smooth, with a beautiful weight. "Very fine, but not transcendental Madeira" said G at the pre-tasting in this week's bid for Pseud's Corner. On Thursday he commented that it had a deftness that was the result of putting younger wine into older wine - the younger wine refreshes the older and produces a very harmonious result.

11. Bual 1948, Blandy's, bottled 2004.

This had great legs indicating high viscosity. It was relatively dark in colour. It had a burnt caramel thing going on but wasn't excessively sweet, and had a lovely finish.  Apparently it costs £300 in the UK. I can see why - it was serious stuff.

12. Boal 1861, Shortridge Lawton, bottled 1980.

This was another vinho da roda, made by a small house. Apparently it was all sold in the early 80s to Sherry Lehmann, the New York wine shop. This was fabulous. It was elegant, refined and very well-balanced, and the finish went on forever. The general consensus was that this was the wine of the evening. A stunner. It cost £900 and I think we were all very grateful to G for sharing it with us and letting us all be members of the Extinction Club.

13. Boal 1900, Manuel de Sousa Herdeiros, bottled 1978.

Apparently Manuel was not a wine-maker but more the Madeira equivalent to a negociant. This was in cask for 78 years. It was intense and fairly sweet with a black treacle, prune and star anise thing going on, and great length. At the pre-tasting I loved it, and on Thursday too, although others found it almost too much and some thought it might have been better 5 years ago. Apparently 1900 was a big vintage and there was a lot of this around in the day. Not any more, sadly. It clearly had a rum base and made me think of flamboyant pirates ("arrrr" say my notes), but strangely, T had never heard of Captain Jack Sparrow. Why is the rum gone?

The final line-up...

Not a wicker basket in sight

As usual, some of retired to the courtyard with the leftovers afterwards. Looking back at my notes from previous years, there's no doubt that the hit rate this evening was exceptionally high. T said "I think it may have been the best ever: there were no duds but we went from entry level to the very very top and in an obviously single style." Thanks to G for another exceptional tasting.