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- Written by Nicholas Breeze Nicholas Breeze
- Published: 24 January 2014 24 January 2014
The Ghost Of Christmas Past… Wine That haunts The Imagination
I was wistfully staring at my cassoulet, at the Hope & Anchor Pub, on The Cut SE1, thinking what wine I would love to be served right then. We were discussing "end of world" scenarios, so a bottle of something spectacular, something that would echo a persons final request, before the ravages of man's self-consuming nature finished their feast, seemed appropriate.
I then thought of Christmas Day and the bottle of Chateau Branon 2000 that my brother-in-law* served us, sprung to mind. Thoughts of Rubenesque scenes, gardens of plenty and mouthwatering pleasure healed the moments of unease that the apocalypse can bring. Looking into my phone scribbles I found this note thumbed into the memory card:
"Delicate dark fruits of prune, slight anise, spice and general embodiment of Christmas. Delicious round tannins; pure longterm pleasure cramps in the cheeks."
Of course, such ecstasy does not come cheap. Winesearch.com informs me this little number is on sale for around £120 per bottle… but then, if people pay more for pleasure in other ways for less time. Why not with wine?
*Special thanks to Chris Eton for supplying such a good feast with this Chateua Branon and the Chateau Musar 2005 that followed!
By Nick Breeze
@NickGBReeze
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