Fortunately, we only have birthdays once a year, otherwise I’d be even older than I am… and that’s quite old! Last weekend saw me hit another of those awful ‘big birthdays’ with a zero at the end. Though I would have been happy to have let the day pass quietly, my wife, Marie-Danielle, decided otherwise. Unknown to me, she had invited the whole tribe to celebrate. In the end, one son couldn’t make it, and my other son’s wife and little boy were ill, so he had to come on his own. But M-D’s daughter, Muriel, and her family drove up from Orleans, so there were still seven of us sat round the table
Normally, it is me who does the cooking, both on a daily basis and for special events. This time, because I was getting even older, Muriel had prepeared a Veal Marengo which she brought with her in a large Le Creuset and served along with fresh tagliatelle (that’s after the foie gras and before the home-made Black Forest Gateau). We made sure to wsh it all down wth copious amounts of a rather welcome 1989 Chass Spleen.
However, I must be getting some sort of reputation for boozing (or have I had that for a while?) because my birthday gifts included three bottles of excellent ‘liquid refreshment’. My son, Ian, brought an exquisite bottle of mixed spirits from English Whisky Co Ltd – the only English distillery of whisky. And what a great distillery it is. It’s situated at Harling Road, Roudham, about 7 or 8 miles north-east of Thetford in Norfolk. If you get a chance to visit – don’t hesitate (they’ve recently opened a café/restaurant which has already gained an enviable reputation for quality.) The ‘Mixed Spirits’ bottle is a combination of Perdo Ximenez sherry and their own single malt whisky. They use sherry casks to mature some of their whiskys, so I guess they ship the casks over full!
Continuing with the alcohol theme, My other son, Justin, sent over a Magnum (1.5 litres) of 1982 Chateau Cardinal Villemaurine, a rather splendid Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. I suspect I shall end up taking it over the the Isle of Man when we go in May. I know just the neighbours who would help me dispose of that!
And to make my birthday complete, my lovely wife, gave me an excellent bottle of 2007 Château D’Yquem. This wine is the crème de la crème of Sauternes. Wines from Château d’Yquem are characterised by their complexity, concentration and sweetness, which is balanced by relatively high acidity. With proper care, a bottle will keep for a century or more, and the fruity overtones will gradually fade and integrate with more complex secondary and tertiary flavours. In a poor vintage, the entire crop is deemed unworthy of bearing the Château’s name and sold anonymously; this happened nine times in the 20th century! On the other hand, in July 2011, an 1811 bottle of Château d’Yquem sold for £75,000 ($117,000) at the Ritz in London to a private collector, to become the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold. Looks like we’ll have to choose our moment carefully before we open that one.
Maybe I should have another birthday next year after all!
