Post festal

The first post-festal meal involved both red wine and leg of lamb. A gift from Argentina, a purchase from Costcutter and one of three reds from mixed from the mixed bag from Guildford. The one from Costcutter had been taken before, and that from Guildford was not finished at close of play. Not quite the tally we might have managed in the olden days.

The wine from Guildford is visible on the Internet on the key 'domaine les amandiers cabernet franc sainte verge anjou' and I learn that '100% Cabernet Franc from Anjou, Loire Valley, France, made by cult vigneron Nicolas Reau. Bursting with bright purple-black spectrum fruits, this is a hallmark Loire Cab Franc with density and true flavour. Blackberry, black pepper, graphite, and plush, softened tannins. This wine is a class act'. But, for once, I fail to track down the terroir. I wonder in passing, whether the French like to poke fun at the church, given that 'sainte verge' has both a coarse and a religious translation.

More luck with Argentina, and at reference 1 I was amused by the way that they give little pictures of the flavours to help those having trouble with their reading for one reason or another.

There was some debate about how best to cook the lamb, despite agreement on slow and low rather than fast and high. We settled from timings taken from the BBC, putting some water in the baking tray and covering the meat with foil for most of the proceedings. On the q.t., BH had popped a stock cube into the water, which meant that we had an excellent gravy when I came to wash out the baking tray. In later life it went on to make the excellent soup noticed at reference 2. So good in fact that my assistant for the occasion was promoted principal assistant on the spot, backdated to the beginning of the week.

Christmas pudding also excellent, taken with syllabub and custard cream. The texture of this last, which I had stirred personally, was not quite right, smooth and firm, rather than slightly granular and soft. BH was convinced that I had mixed things up in the wrong order. While those of us that had taken wine came up with some quite exotic theories.

The day closed with an accident involving red wine and pale carpet. But instant action by a couple of the younger members of the party - involving, as I recall, nothing more complicated than water, kitchen paper and news paper - meant that there was not much to be seen the following morning. A good result.

We had more or less done the lamb in one sitting, leaving slightly more than enough to make the soup already mentioned.

The second meal involved a frozen chicken with black legs, the latest thing in taste the difference from Sainsbury's. Taken with stuffing which was made un-stuffed, in the now traditional way in a baking dish, with bacon providing the meat notes which might otherwise have emanated from the interior of the chicken. Bacon which probably cost a significant fraction of what the chicken cost. With the additional of a little oil, probably less than a dessert spoon full, the stuffing having been a little dry on the previous occasion.

BH reminded me that my father had once pulled her up for not removing the ends of the legs, something which, he felt, was part of respectable chicken service. Which reminds me that he sometimes did a very neat job of sewing the chicken back up after stuffing it - remarks above about stuffing above notwithstanding - sometimes going the whole hog and cracking out his surgical gear.

Something I tried to emulate subsequently with a regular darning needle and (green or black) pack thread.

On the plate. We polished off the wine started but not finished above, it having stood OK in the meanwhile, and then moved onto the Vulcaia, last noticed at reference 3.

Plus some left overs. The wine was excellent - but care was needed with the cork, which came out fat end last. It needed a serious and careful pull to get it out without damaging anything. But full marks to 'drinksbusiness' for the tip.

And I might add that while we don't do Christmas cake anymore, we don't have any trouble dealing with a full size Christmas pudding - which, to my mind - looks much more the business than a small one.

Sadly, the computer visible behind is nearing the end of its working life. It is very slow to start, fairly slow in action and Microsoft have now said that support for Windows 10 will be withdrawn in September. Upgrade to Windows 11 is not an option. All very tiresome - although to be fair, the record suggests that by then it will be more than fourteen years old.

Which reminds me that BT withdrew their cloud service last year. Also tiresome as I used it as the backup which did not involve Microsoft. All this change in one year.

Wound up with one of BH's presents, described as Belgian chocolate from Leonidas, but which for some reason were packed in the repurposed Central Market in St. Helier. No doubt something to do with tax avoidance. The chocolates, however, were excellent. Nothing too exotic or fancy, just chocolate.

PS 1: we noticed later that the Inama people who make the Vulcaia have their own bottles, with an embossed lip. Quite heavy bottles too. Something you get quite often in the worlds of spirits and champagne, not so often in the world of regular wine. Wine people are more into custom corks and closures rather than custom bottles. Maybe a letter to the editor of 'drinksbusiness' would be in order?

PS 2: the Vulcaia has now been topped up.

PS 3: would my attempted misspelling of 'drinksbusiness' as 'drunksbusiness' count as a Freudian slip, even though the two keys are adjacent?

PS 4: Saturday morning: I associate now from the taste of the Vulcaia to the taste of some fancy Chablis I was once offered at Hedonism in Davies Street, as noticed at references 6 and 7. Which is odd as the former is Sauvignon and the latter Chardonnay. Perhaps the Chablis being old and mellow made all the difference. Not tasted a Chablis like it since - much too strong for my purse.

References

Reference 1: https://donapaula.com/wine/dona-paula-single-vineyard-el-alto-malbec/.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/01/dover-patrol-three.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/12/winterreise.html.

Reference 4: https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/.

Reference 5: Can the hospitality industry survive an outdoor heater ban - Sarah Neish, drinksbusiness - 2025. A interesting leading article at reference 4. We also get the image above. Which reminds me of Balzac writing about how the excesses of the (French) Second Empire were mitigated by the way that the money spent trickled down pretty fast to ordinary working folk.

Reference 6: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/05/epsom-art.html.

Reference 7: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2015/02/old-chablis-old-pix.html. The contemporary record here being rather adrift of my memory of it. But it is near ten years ago.