Sunday lunch at mine, 16th Sept

Last Sunday, I was joined for lunch by G and D who was over on one of his trips from the US.

We started with a bottle of this Chablis 1er cru Montmains 2011 from La Maison Romane, which was sublime, with perhaps more tropical fruit flavours than in a classic Chablis. I had the 2010 in reserve, and it would be interesting to try them side by side some time.

It was very effective with the enormous piece of smoked trout which I procured for the occasion. There were some leftovers!

With the main course of slow-cooked chicken and braised lettuce, peas and mint, we had this 1982 Firestone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon which G picked up recently. There was an element of risk as it could have been terrible but instead it was amazing. Hurrah! I was amused by the label which informed us that the wine was 12.3% alcohol, but D told me that in this case the precision probably indicated actual, rather than spurious, accuracy. As he is one of the world's foremost experts on antique measuring instruments, I suppose I must defer to his opinion in these matters. As for the wine itself, G described it as "entirely pleasurable to drink" - it was soft, smooth, rich and sweet with hints of cocoa, stewed plums, mint and maybe even pontefract cake, and went down very easily.

With the cheese course, we had this Syrah-Cabernet Franc 2001 from Red Newt which was 13.2%. We established that it had been in D's cellar for the past 15 years. My notes include the word LOVELY but on closer inspection I see that was just me trying to make my handwriting legible. The wine was succulent and well-balanced, with the syrah to the fore, and G compared it to Chateauneuf. We agreed that some American wines are lacking in acidity but that criticism did not apply in this case. I enjoyed it very much.

Getting ready to attack the cheeseboard

Finally, G contributed his last half of Rieussec 1983. Avid readers may recall this was drunk in magnum at our birthday celebration in July, and was so successful that G rushed out and bought three halves - one for dinner at the Savile with VIP guest, one for the waitress who did such a good job of looking after us in July, and this remaining bottle. This time I actually managed to make notes, although I think it's quite a different wine in half from the magnum, and D, who has bottles of it, says his is different again. It was a lovely dark amber colour, and very aromatic on the nose - G mentioned lemon thyme and garigue. It was almost like a glass of herbaceous honey, and very complex. Wonderful stuff.

We finished off with a glass of marc or was it fine de bourgogne, or possibly both, and perused the pages of an old catalogue which had some fascinating adverts. If anyone has been searching for a patent "Roy" glass bottle stopper, you now know where to send your telegraph!

Dinner of decadence, 8th August

It's been a fun couple of weeks!

Not wine-related, but can hardly go unmentioned - D visited from Pennsylvania at the end of July! It was her first visit to London and we had a delightful six days doing touristy things, meeting friends, eating fish and chips etc. Good times.

J and her family arrived a few days later and we met up a couple of times this week. A particular highlight was dinner at the Savile which G kindly hosted for me, J and J's wife. This will mainly be a photographic record, as conversation was flowing and notes were not made!

The Billecart-Salmon 2002 Cuvee Nicolas Billecart arrived in the nick of time and made an excellent aperitif. I seem to be acquiring rather a taste for it...

Upstairs in the dining room, we had my last bottle of 2008 Corton from Anne Parent, the white this time. I was slightly anxious that it might not have survived its time in the wardrobe during the recent heatwave but it was absolutely singing. Those who had sea trout for their main course reported that it made a great accompaniment. The label had slipped a little in the ice bucket!

Trademark blurry photo of this 2011 Vosne-Romanee Aux Champs Perdrix from Domaine Audiffred, which was a lovely, elegant Vosne.

It was perhaps overshadowed by the Hermitage La Sizeranne from Chapoutier, provided by G, which was rich and powerful and was something of a crowd-pleaser, although one possibly wouldn't want to drink a whole bottle of it by oneself.

My tiramisu was a work of art!

And finally, a half bottle of Rieussec 1983 was the perfect size for four and gave great pleasure to all concerned. Festivities continued into the small hours. I'm very much looking forward to going to Grand Rapids in September to investigate J's cellar, but thank god she has a Coravin because I'm going backpacking with D two days later! Just as well I have seven weeks to get ready...

Birthday dinner at the Savile, 20th July

On Friday evening, G and I had a joint dinner party at the Savile Club as we have both recently celebrated a moderately significant birthday. We held this in the Elgar Room upstairs, which was a very nice size for ten, and a random selection of ne'er-do-wells and miscreants were in attendance, otherwise known as family and friends.

On arrival we had a glass of this Champagne Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Billecart 2002, which we tried in bottle earlier in the year. On that occasion, it went down in the blink of an eyelid, and I think it's fair to say that the same thing happened again. It was perhaps more austere in magnum than in bottle and with plenty of life to come, but had the same lovely floral notes. ‎I hope to drink some more in due course!

With the first course, we had this magnum of Chablis 1er cru Fourchaume-Vaulorent 2008 from Domaine Nathalie et Gilles Fevre. An old favourite from a great vintage, it had never been better. It was crisp and lemony, but with a breadth on the mid-palate that wasn't there when it was younger. it went really well with the sea trout. Sadly this was G's last bottle!

With our main course, a lamb tagine for the carnivores and a vegetarian one for the veggies, we had two reds. First, a magnum of Beaune 1er cru les Greves 2005 from Yves Darviot. This prompted much reminiscence about how we used to stay at Yves' house in Beaune back in the day etc.etc. The 2005s have taken a long time to come round but are getting there now. This had the classic violets on the nose and was very elegant. We have two magnums left and I would still not be in a rush to drink them!

The second red was a magnum of Chateauneuf du Pape Clos des Papes 1998 from Domaine Paul Avril. For me, this was richer and sweeter compared to the Beaune but was still not heavy. An impeccable mid-weight style of Chateauneuf, drinking perfectly now.

Beaune on the right, Rhone on the left

With pudding, we had a magnum of Rieussec 1983 - remembering from the famous 40th birthday dinner that one bottle of sweet wine is simply not enough! This was amazing, rich but with acidity that meant it was not in the least cloying. The marmalade element from the heavy levels of botrytis paired wonderfully with the lemon tart. G informs me that he has acquired three more halves to see if he can recreate the sensation.

It was an absolutely beautiful colour, too.

Then, with the cheese course, a real treat. G provided this Quinta do Noval Nacional 1960 which he acquired from an auction where they described it in the catalogue as "Da Silva 1960". Imagine his delight when this showed up. It was in great shape, still fairly dark in colour, and extremely complex on the palate, with notes of fig and prune and a certain creamy quality. The finish was extraordinary. Absolutely top notch vintage port. Thanks for sharing it with us, G.

And to round things off, we had a glass of Lemorton Vieux Calvados 1972, which was an excellent digestif with true essence ‎of apples.

All that remains is to say thanks to G for organising everything, to the staff at the Savile for looking after us so well, and to everyone who joined us - it was a really enjoyable evening. Now roll on the 50th in five years time!

Dinner at mine, 17th Jan

Last Saturday night ACC and Baron McG made a long-awaited visit to A du V Towers for dinner.

To start, we had a Felettig double-bill - first this Cremant, which has a little bit of age on it now as it's been residing in my wardrobe cupboard for some time. It made a delightful aperitif for thirsty travellers from the SW2 area.

Then it was on to this Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune 2008, which is showing very well at the moment. It's a wonderful golden colour, and has good weight and richness. I'm very happy with it, and with the fact that I have a further six bottles in storage!

G created two assiettes - one of saucisson with walnuts, procured from the cheese shop, and one of Roka cheese sticks, as no Roka cheese crispies were available in our local supermarket. This was rather aggravating especially after the shortage of Bath Olivers around Christmas and New Year. Waitrose, sort it out! First World Problems, I know.

On to the reds. I'd been saving up this Beaune 1er cru Pertuizots 1971 from Domaine Voiret, for a belated celebration of ACC's birthday. The level was very good and the dreadful label was promising. We know nothing about this domaine and it doesn't appear to be still in existence. But the wine itself was wonderful. and it had that old school power and sweetness. It still had it all going on!

With this we ate a tagine-style stew of lamb cheeks with dried apricots and prunes, and G got his Ottolenghi on and jazzed up some couscous with pomegranate seeds, mint and coriander.

Next up was this bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru aux Combottes 2007 from Domaine Odoul-Coquard. G went long in 2007 and we're now reaping the benefits. This was just starting to drink but G had "over-decanted" it by giving it 3 hours, and it didn't quite work with the cheese. We will do better next time, not decant it for so long, and eat it with a meaty main course!

It's alive!

I'd made it to Knightsbridge that afternoon to hunt down some ripe cheese which included this excellent Epoisses. It didn't last long...

With pudding we had this Carmes de Rieussec 2005 sauternes provided by ACC, the second wine of Rieussec. It made a very suitable complement to my panettone bread and butter pudding (although memo to self - more custard next time).

Finally, it was on to the remnants of the Marcs de Bourgogne which I brought back from Beaune in November - two Roulots. They were both smashing, in their different ways - the Hors d'Age was fine, rich and powerful, while the 1962 was much lighter, more elegant and even floral by comparison.

Some had apparently been up since the crack of dawn working on a certain En Primeur offer, and so it was time to call it a night. Said offer can be found here and there are many enticing wines to be had. I've spent several days dithering about what to go for this year, but am just about there, and off to order some right now! Bon weekend.

Birthday celebrations

On Thursday it was my turn to clock up 40 years on the planet, so some celebrating was in order. G and I met up outside La Maison du Chocolat on Piccadilly and walked to Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental for dinner. En route, G was approached for directions by several lost tourists which we deduced was because he was looking very posh in his suit and therefore the tourists thought he was a local.

I went to Bar Boulud last year with my friend M and regretted not having the Piggie burger, as I was too embarrassed by the silly name to order it. I didn't let that get in the way this time, and it was utterly delicious and definitely the thing to go for on all future occasions.

To drink, we had a glass of Ayala rose each and then a bottle of Auxey-Duresses from Coche-Dury. We had the 2007 last year and it was one of the stand-out wines, so when I was reading the Bar Boulud wine list on the internet and saw the 2005, I knew this was the wine for me. But it turned out they only had the 2007. We asked the waitress if any of the 2005 was still available and full credit to her, she said she wasn't sure and would get the sommelier. He told us that an alarmingly high proportion of the 2005s had been duffers, so we were better off with the 2007. Decision made. Once again it was absolutely wonderful and lived up to my very high expectations with its heavenly heady sweet berry fruit nose.

After dinner, we hopped into a taxi and arrived home for a marc tasting!

I currently have three marcs on the go (sound of tumbrils rumbling in the distance) - the Felettig vieux marc de bourgogne, which we believe is about 25 years old, the Lamarche 1961, and the d'Angerville from the 1930s which G gave me for my birthday. This is the same one that I got him for his birthday and which we consumed over the course of that long weekend away.

It was amazing how similar they were in colour! The verdict was that each was very good of its type. The Felettig was relatively rustic compared to the other two, with raisins on the nose, while the Lamarche was smoother and had more sultanas going on. The d'Angerville had lost the fruit on the nose but had turned into a very fine old spirit, still quite fiery. G repeated his theory that with old spirits you can't really tell what they were originally - if someone had told us it was Calvados, for example, we would have believed them. For once I think the price differentials genuinely reflected differences in age and hence quality.

Lurking in the background on the left was a bag from La Maison du Chocolat containing pieces of chocolate-covered orange peel, an extra surprise present from G. These will join my recent discovery, Willie's Sea Salt Caramel Black Pearls ("It's a journey of endless surprises with these rare and precious pearls" according to the back of the box), in future assiettes de chocolat.

Then last night it was off to the Perseverance for a small celebratory dinner with family and friends. We had the room upstairs to ourselves, which was great.

We got there in plenty of time to get the wine sorted out, as there were things to be decanted and things to be put in ice buckets. Fortunately for me, G took care of all that stuff.

It was quite a line-up!

Alfred Gratien champagne 1995 "Cuvee Millenaire" en magnum with some gougeres as an aperitif.

Corton Grand Cru 2005 from Domaine Parent with our starters - poached sea trout with samphire and cucumber in my case.

Chateau Latour 1960 with the beef - 50 day aged Dexter. A stunning combo, absolute highlight of the evening! Once again I think I have taken my sister-in-law's claret habit up a notch and my brother probably won't thank me for it.

Auxey-Duresses 2005 from Domaine Prunier en magnum with the cheese - Stinking Bishop and some lovely oatcakes.

Chateau Rieussec 1976 with the lemon tart and raspberry sorbet. We brought a second bottle just in case and G was amazed that the first bottle whizzed round the table and was empty in seconds, so it was just as well we had the second!

And finally, the Lamarche 1961 marc de bourgogne and coffee, which brought the evening to a fine conclusion. I forgot to tell my friend L a joke I made up specially for her - what's a pirate's favourite digestif? Marrrrrrrrrrc.

I've just had an email from my mother saying that she and my father both "woke up feeling completely clear-headed" which just goes to show that the good stuff is good for you.

All in all, it was a really good dinner and went exactly to plan - nothing was corked or faulty, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Now I need to get cracking and start planning my 50th!

SPNS dinner, Tuesday 14th May

On Tuesday night it was another SPNS dinner with everyone in attendance apart from A, who has never actually attended. Hopefully he will one day!

I arrived to find the others guzzling prosecco and was informed that what appeared to be a stray glass was available for me only for T, moments later, to howl with indignation that his had disappeared - fortunately I hadn't started drinking it yet. A fresh glass was poured and all was well. This was Prosecco Extra Dry Baccharetto and was provided by P. It was generally well-received - crisp, pleasant and refreshing, a good summer aperitif. We quickly knocked it back and headed upstairs where we could have more space to ourselves. I broke the club rules by taking photos, but nobody seemed too bothered.

Next up was this Puligny-Montrachet 09 from Jean-Louis Chavy, provided by G. He was given this, so brought it along even though the cost was above that permitted by SPNS rules. Apparently the way to justify bringing something expensive to the SPNS is to pretend it was a gift - I've filed this info away for future reference. We all thought it was ok (drinkable and correct) but nobody raved about it and G said he wouldn't have paid good money for it.

On to the reds. This Chateau Plagnac Cru Bourgeois 1989 was provided by P (at what point did we all start bringing two bottles instead of one? Not that I'm complaining...) It exceeded expectations and went down very well. We all found it drinkable, with good fruit and tannin, and mature but not over the hill. A success.

This red Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Clos Saint-Jean 1983 from Ramonet came from my own stocks - it was my last bottle of this wine, which I snapped up at auction some time ago. Note the charming clingfilm cover to keep the label on! This was another risk for the SPNS as I have a track record of bring wines which are faulty or have gone off, but this time it paid off. It was fully mature, lovely old Burgundy with a wonderful finish.  "A triumph" wrote G. Hurrah!

To follow, we had this Chorey-les-Beaune Les Beaumonts 2011 from Ludovic Belin, provided by ACC. This vineyard is right by the gite where we usually stay when we go to Burgundy, so it was lovely to drink something from it. It was quite a contrast to the Chassagne, being young, vibrant and fruity - tres Chorey. T declared it the kind of Burgundy he likes to drink, which is high praise coming from him.

A quick photo to compare and contrast the Chassagne - a wonderful mature reddish brown colour - and the Chorey, bright purple.

We then moved on to this Zweigelt-Rebe 2009 from Japan, brought along by D. Unfortunately my Japanese isn't up to deciphering the label! This went down very well. Somebody has written a comment "very forward, like a keen geisha" in the book - disgraceful. G and I both thought that if we had been tasting it blind we might very well have taken it to be an Austrian wine - we've had Blauer Zweigelt before and it's quite distinctive. Kudos to the producers for getting such a good expression of the grape. Very interesting.

We then moved on to a pair of sweet vendange tardive gewurztraminers from Kuentz-Bas, Cuvee Caroline, provided by T. One was from 2001 and the other 2007.

Spot the difference. I found the 2001 big and opulent, while the 2007 bore a resemblance but wasn't quite the finished article just yet. G controversially preferred the 2007 leading some of us to speculate that he had got his glasses mixed up. There were other contradictory remarks in the book (one member thought the 2001 had a poor finish, another said it had a long finish) while T only managed "Good". I guess we were flagging by this stage!

However, there was more to come. This is a visual joke - it was the remaining half bottle of the 1976 Rieussec from the previous evening decanted into the 1983 d'Yquem bottle. We did consider pretending to the others that it was actually d'Yquem and seeing whether any of them would spot that it wasn't, but that wouldn't have been very kind. The Rieussec went down well but for me, it suffered by comparison to the d'Yquem the night before. It tasted more of honey than marmalade. It was well-balanced and long, but it somehow seemed to lack complexity.

Finally, we had this Seifried Nelson "Sweet Agnes" riesling 2011 provided by G. Hmmm. Quite a contrast. I appear to have quoted some lyrics from "Firestarter" in the book which was my way of referring to the petrol-like quality it had. ACC just wrote "Shell". It wasn't my cup of tea at all. Some of the others didn't dislike it, and to be fair, it probably suffered from comparison with the other sweet wines we'd just had - it was a mere nipper by comparison.

All in all, another great dinner and one particularly in the spirit of the SPNS in that there was a wide range of unusual things that we wouldn't normally get to drink. Looking forward to October already!