Michael's Wine Diary

Les Avisés, a new restaurant avec chambres on the heights of Avize

2011-08-03T11:20:41+02:00

At last, this central grand cru village of Champagne’s Côte des Blancs has the delightful and original restaurant it deserves, complete with ten sumptuous bedrooms. It’s quite fitting that the driver of Les Avisés should be Anselme Selosse, Avize’s - even Champagne’s - most celebrated vigneron: a visionary who has inspired a whole generation of younger growers by taking Champagne back to its roots in, to use his own phrase, “the essence of earth”. Selosse’s leadership by example has staked a claim to a place at the top tables for the smaller Champagne producer-winemaker. That 1980s’ ambition is now a reality in the best restaurants and cafés of New York, Paris, London, Milan and Tokyo, causing the middling négoce some sleepless nights. Ironically, the white neo-classical mansion of what is now Les Avisés has always been a house of distinguished wine since 1805 – until recently it was the chateau d’accueil of Champagne Bricout, a far from middling maison.

Christophe & Stephane share a glass

Despite the grandeur of its setting, with lovely views of the Côte and the Montagne in the distance, there’s nothing formal or chi-chi about the place. It’s all about conviviality, conversation and friendship. You’re invited (but not obliged) to sit at a communal table, rather like London’s Garrick Club, where lunch is served, Wednesday to Sunday. There’s no or little choice, the menu is chalked on a blackboard and changes daily. But don’t worry, Chef Stéphane Rossillon and his wife, Nathalie, at front of house, have the confidence to keep it simple and imaginative in natural dishes that major on top –class ingredients full of flavour and finesse. Last month, I was lucky to be invited here by Christophe Constant of J-L Vergnon, a friend of Anselme’s and rising star in nearby Le Mesnil . We kicked off with oeuf confit, ecrassé de patates douces à la coriandre, hareng fumé, (a fine assembly of poached egg, mashed sweet potato, coriander and smoked herring), the flavours subtly merged to avoid upstaging a delicate mineral Mesnil blanc de blancs. Then a terrific cuisine de grand’mère entrée - tendons of veal, braised with capers, and poelée of spring vegetables, which drank perfectly with an intense but poised Saumur Champigny from the best producer. His name, which I scribbled on a piece of paper is illegible in my spidery scrawl; I’ll let you know next time. The wines from the board also sport some intriguing white burgundies, known to insiders (St Bris from Goiset, Philippe Charlopin’s Chablis Fourchaumes.) On such a sunny day, we ate out in the garden by a lawn that would not disgrace an Englishman’s home, closely watched by the Selosses’ Jack Russell, Ugo.

Le menu du jour

Anselme’s wife, Corinne, has masterminded the project in general and the décor of the lovely bedrooms in particular: each is different and individual, some traditional and plush, others modern, elegantly airy, all luxurious and cosseting. The showers all work on high pressure. As an old hotel inspector, I was immensely impressed by the attention to detail, with one device that passed my acid test, a short-wave/FM radio that could be adjusted minutely on a wheel insert-tuner – play it again, Wolfgang! None of these comforts come cheap but are certainly worth the asking price for two, from €235-00. I can’t think of a better place for a romantic weekend.

Hotel-Restaurant Les Avisés 59 rue du Cramant, 51190 Avize en Champagne
Closed Tuesday and Wednesday
Tel +33 (0)3 26. 57.70. 06
Email hotel@selosse-lesavises.com
http://www.selosse-lesavises.com

A small slice of humble pie? Clos du Mesnil (CdM) re-tasted

2011-07-21T10:40:44+02:00

Writing freelance about wine hardly supplies a rich revenue stream, to use the money men’s jargon. But there are times when visiting one of the grandest names in wine makes up for all the lean moments. Such a high peak was climbed last month, when fourteen Krugistes, loyal chroniclers of the marque, gathered at the Clos du Mesnil, the most celebrated single-vineyard property in Champagne. As the cars disgorged their passengers, familiar faces emerged – Richard Juhlin from Stockholm and Tom Cannavan, Scotland’s finest. The United States was also strongly represented by a trio of fine tasters, new to me – John Gilman, author of A View from the Cellar, the respected New York newsletter; Roger Morris, a wise owl and experienced writer from Pennsylvania; and Dr Michael Apstein, a medico and subtle provocateur who finds time to pen a distinguished wine column for The Boston Globe.
I was feeling a little tense, as I’d just published an article reporting on a double vertical of Krug Vintages held in London ( December 2010) – in which I had been critical of the condition then of the Clos du Mesnil 1998. As I sipped the ’98 again in the courtyard of the Clos, I felt a sense of relief: it was showing much better in the warm bright air of June – surprisingly exuberant and à point -than on that previous freezing day the previous December. A reminder that any tasting of a wine is just a snapshot of one moment in its life, subject to changes brought by atmosphere (in every sense) and not least by the condition and mood of the taster! What followed today was a fascinating run through a decade of CdM vintages, with some glorious summits and the occasional valley, bringing home to us that where single-vineyard champagnes are concerned, Mother Nature really is in charge.

Clos du Mesnil

Vertical tasting of Clos du Mesnil, (CdM)

Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 16.vi.2011, 11.30am
The wines were, as below, in the sequence in which they were tasted:

CdM 1998 – lemon gold, good cordon of bubbles. Extrovert aromas and flavours of green, pebble- touched fruit, succulent but with fine mineral notes. However, this vintage tastes near its peak and I suggest should be drunk over the next year, overlapping the release of the 2000. Certainly the ’98 today is better than the sample tasted in December 010. ***(*) 16.5

CdM 1996 – Welsh gold, green tint, some honey (oxidative), and marked note of oak (nez). Strong bouncy acidity – a wrinkle to iron out : the high acid is still masking the fruit. Not perfectly classic but showing better than in December. *** 16+

CdM 1995 - ‘riper plots than in 1996’ – Olivier Krug. Lovely, svelte, ripe chardonnay scents – peche taking over from citrus. Fine integration of oak/acidity/terroir in balance. Perfect ripe palate – confit of fruits, citronelle, peche blanche. Acidity is quite sufficient. Superb. ***** 19

CdM 1992 - light-toned daffodil, with gold lights. Delightful floral notes interweaved with honeycombs. Tight, focused, yet ripe. Ethereal quality, very subtle and classy, very Krug in its ability to surprise. **** 18.5

CdM 1999- light, yellow gold, nice flowing chardonnay aromas but lacking something on the middle palate. **(*) 14.5

CdM 2000 - big hailstorms, tempestuous summer. Young healthy daffodil colour: épicé, expressive, potential for toasty development. Will give pleasure soon. ***(*)17

Sous les arbres

2011-06-14T18:10:14+02:00

A day of wine & roses in hidden Bordeaux

Entre Deux Mers, 22 May

Most lovers of fine claret associate the winelands of Bordeaux with the grand châteaux of the Médoc that lie on gravelly terrain, often as flat as our Cambridgeshire fens: only cypress trees and the Médocain Atlantic sand dunes remind you that this is southern France. Across the Dordogne river, the ancient Roman town of St Emilion is a picture of literary and oenological history – Ausonius, where are you now? Redolent, too, of the first plantings of cabernet franc. Next-door Pomerol, which became known to Anglophone buyers only after 1945, looks to all the world like modest little plots in a market garden –a place though that miraculously produces some of the most sumptuous reds of Bordeaux, albeit at constellation prices.

Château d'Haurets

So, it was a huge pleasure to discover a part of Bordeaux that the locals justly claim is the most beautiful and unspoilt in the region: the district of Entre Deux Mers that lies between the Dordogne and the Garonne. It’s an arcadia of beech and oak forests, of hilly knolls topped with weathered limestone manor houses, of meadows grazed by well –fed cows. And of course there’s the sea of vines that bear the simple, delicious merlots and sauvignons that nicely check Bordeaux’s reputation as wine for billionaires.

Under a sweltering Bordeaux noonday sun, our little group of tasters at the intimate Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2011 had finished our two-days’ judging with a raging thirst – nicely slaked by bumpers of cold Jura beer. We were then bussed through ravishing country to the enchantingly rustic Chateau d’Haurets at Ladaux. This is home to the Ducourt family, who as wine farmers with their boots on the ground since the 19th century have acquired thirteen chateaux and 450 hectares of vineyards in Southern Bordeaux – across the Bordeaux Supérieur appellation, the Premieres Côtes, the environs of Libourne, onto Côtes du Castillon. The Ducourts have been lively traders all the while of course, the profits of their business, having progressively funded so large an estate. But their heart and spirit is truly Entre Deux Mers, d’Haurets a magical place with glades of majestic trees and a wild garden with eighty different types of roses, the pride of Henri Ducourt, the family’s head. Eat your heart out, Hugh Johnson.

Sous les arbres du château

On the bus, I had fretted that we would experience an unwelcome modern Bordeaux practice, archly called dégustation dinatoire, which is no more than a walk-round tasting and a plate of nibbles; one usually has to juggle glass, plate, fork, and pen, standing for three hours. Non, merci! Happily, the Ducourts had other ideas and this visit turned into a wonderful day of warm local hospitality and l’art de vivre. The family had put out trestle tables, with proper place settings, under the cooling great trees. Before sitting down to lunch, we wandered through the glades, stopping to taste leafy green-fruits sauvignons with freshly grated parmesan, or richly mature Ch. d’Haurets, Cuvée Gabriel, 2005 with fresh foie de canard cooked on an open-air grill. The highlight of lunch was the magret of duck, properly judged a light pink, drunk with the rounded Merlot charms of Ch. Plaisance, Montagne St Emilion, also a 2005, and unlike some grander châteaux from this stellar vintage ready to drink! Despite their expansion and modern marketing methods, the Ducourts’ philosophy is, as it has always been, simple – to provide quality Bordeaux wines at reasonable prices.

The Ducourt Brothers

The family’s agent in the United Kingdom is Charles Taylor M.W., the distinguished independent wine shipper, known particularly for fine Burgundy. Charles, as yet, does not ship Ch. d’Haurets but two other similar Bordeaux properties, Ch.de Beauregard Ducourt and Ch la Rose du Pin. For retail stockists, log onto www.charlestaylorwines.com or office@charlestaylorwines.com

Philippe Brun - Wild Boy embraces his Inheritance

2011-05-06T13:37:48+02:00

I first met Philippe in January 2008: I felt at once that he was a big man in every sense, quite different from the marketing executives of the big houses, and striking for his frankness and clarity in seeing things as they really are. No spin here. There’s quite a photo of Philippe at le Logis des Pressureurs, his charming B& B right by the venerable church in Äy. The image says it all: powerfully built, sporting a red beret and auburn beard, our man looks like he’s manning the barricades –railing against authority like a good fils de la Revolution. Quite ironic for us British monarchists, as our Tudor king Henry VIII, also a redhead, was very partial to the wines of Aÿ, at a time when they were more still than sparkling.

In truth, of course, Philippe was born with a silver tastevin in his mouth, as the heir to some of the most precious rows of Pinot Noir in Champagne. That he chose at first not to sip from the cup, so to speak, was the reaction of a free-spirited young man who wanted to do his own thing. Philippe became a mechanical engineer, designing shops, displays, even shoes and boots as far as Los Angeles. But the pull of home and the family domain proved too strong and he rejoined his father Roger, a greatly respected vigneron and vinificateur, Philippe becoming the winemaker from the glorious 2002 vintage.

Philippe Brun

Last week, Louisa Hargrave and I booked into Philippe’s place for four nights so that we could drink in the true atmosphere of historic Aÿ
and the wines of Roger Brun. Of all my wine writing friends, Louisa is the best company and most knowledgeable about vineyards; she was the pioneer of wine growing on the North Fork of Long Island in 1973.

One morning, Philippe drove us around Aÿ’s best coteaux, not only the choicest mid-slopes above the cemetery, which includes the Bruns' top vineyard of La Pelle, but over the grand hills into a second mini-plateau called Longchamps full of small plots of little vignerons, offering interesting aspects and exposures. Up here, Philippe buys his Chardonnays in theses cooler heights. Then on we went to the hilltop church of Mutigny –this village may bejust a premier cru, where the grapes don’t command the high prices of Aÿ, but its south facing slopes are ideal for ripe Pinot to make Champagne rosé of enough colour and flavour to be served right through a meal.

On our last night, we were privileged to be invited to the rooftop flat of Philippe and Sophie, his better half, for a wine dinner en famille, centered around a Vertical of five vintages of La Pelle. What struck me was the finesse of several vintages, not just their power – though there was plenty of that! Sophie who comes from Lot-et-Garonne prepared a perfect dinner of very delicate fresh foie gras de canard seeped simply in Armagnac then put in a salt crust for 24 hours. What followed was the best duck confit I'’ve eaten for ages and a heavenly rhubarb and apple tart, presaged by a 1986 bottle of Fixin, alive and vigorous, with especially good Comté.
Interestingly, the great La Pelle fared as well as the burgundy with the sequence of dishes But then they're both made from the most exciting red grape in the world.

Michael & Louisa in the Champagne vineyards

Vertical Tasting of Roger Brun Cuvee des Sires Aÿ -La Pelle

The Bruns own 0.66 hectares/ 1.62 acres of La Pelle, planted to Pinot Noir: the oldest and main part has 60 year old vines though the younger part was planted in 2001, these plants adding lifting aromas to the cuvee. There is no grass between the rows but compost of 'sarments'. First alcoholic fermentation in used three-year-old barrels from Puligny Montrachet and Meursault, then into stainless steel for the 'malo' - ' I don't want plank juice!', says Philippe - before being returned to the ,
'barrels for firther light aging before bottling. The use of batonnage( stirring the lees) is sparing. Low dosage of around 3 g/l.

Tasted 28 April 2011

La Pelle 2006 - disgorged in February 2011, so needs a further few months to settle down. Discreet buttercup yellow hue. Already showing a lithe, dancing character; scents of yellow peaches. Lovely supple and elegant mouthfeel; moderate integrated acidity, racy but with a captivating ripeness and a texture that will be somewhere between silk and velvet in the fullness of time. Still a baby but with great potential. 18

La Pelle 2005 - more golden hue, signaling a very warm harvest and surmature grapes. A big 'Robert Parker' of a nose, comes up and grabs you with its golden botrytis (and a touch of bitterness). Very opulent and mouthfilling - yet has good acidity and a lowish pH. Right now a fine partner for the foie gras, but where is it going? Lacks perhaps that nth degree of class and poise of a true Champenois great. 16.5

La Pelle 2004 - this vintage breaks all the rules about big volume being the enemy of quality. The yields were enormous, yet everything was fresh, healthy, with fine elegant acidity. Pale pastel gold, the aromas shy at first but with 10 minutes air, scents of cherry blossom float up. Taut and pure, a, subtle expression of mineral flavours showing the' somewhereness'* of Ay in a minor key. Calls for roast turbot, simply roast turbot. 17
* Matt Kramer's fine word

La Pelle 2002 - shimmering Welsh gold, the colour of very fine wine. An undoubtedly great, complete Champagne with all one could wish for - succulent richness of finest Pinot, intense and animal, lifted by exquisite creamy freshness, yet this is a wine with a huge potential to develop furthwe vinous complexites for 10 years and more. The bee's knees. 19

La Pelle 2000 - evolved golden hue of a fast-maturing Champagne that is' a point' right. Bountiful black grapes flavours makes it the friendliest wine in the Vertical - but it's a vin de plaisir rather than a great vintage. Not for long aging. 16

(c) Michael Edwards

November in Burgundy - Belleville to Beaune

2010-11-29T11:50:43+01:00

As a freelance writer, one has to count the pennies and cents. But having had the good luck to win a prize (mit cheque) for my recent book on Champagne, I decided to have a rest from bubbles and take a few days holiday in a place where my love affair with France began: the land of plenty that is Beaujolais, Bresse and Beaune.

Due to a mix-up on SNCF timetables, I had to wait around for the TGV from Paris Gare du Lyon to Mâcon-Loché, but it raced the 400 kilometres to Burgundy's southern city in just 100 minutes. I found a spotlessly clean hotel close to Mâcon Ville station. Pleasantly tired but needing some exercise, I strolled down through the handsomely restored town and crossed the bridge over the broad Saône to St Laurent, the first township you come to in the Bresse department of Ain, a mecca for foodies. That cold, star-bright night, I ate a perfect dinner in the heated verandah of the enchanting L'Autre Rive restaurant (www.lautrerive.fr) with its dramatic views of floodlit Mâcon across the water: even in November, the flat roofs and the southern architecture of the city told me that I was just at the point where southern France begins – the Midi beckons. For the record, the soup of potiron and chestnuts was a warming intro to one of France's great dishes, poulet de Bresse à la crème au vin jaune that quite lived up to expectations. As a good old boy, just wanting to sleep well, I drank just one lovely glass of Michel's Mâcon Clessé 09 and another of Devillard's Chateau de Chamirey Mercurey 08 with the chicken. Then the freshest raspberry sorbet with a splash of Marc de Bourgogne. Back to the hotel, I did not stir till 10 o'clock the next morning.

Rejuvenated, I trained it to Belleville-sur-Saône, the real wine capital of the Haut Beaujolais and home of my old friends, the Ferraud family (www.ferraud.com)
who still run one of the best small merchants that capture all the elegance and élan of top Beaujolais crus without the ‘boiled- sweets’, confected flavours that have damaged the region in the eyes of careful wine lovers. The highlight of my visit to Belleville was a memorable tasting, orchestrated by Yves-Dominque Ferraud of outstanding Beaujolais and Maconnais crus from the great 2009 and the subtly mineral 2008 vintages. All the wines came from specific domaines, where most had been aged mainly in large casks to round them out before bottling –a rarity in the region. The Mâcon whites were especially impressive; not that surprising, as Dominique is the nephew of the eminent Jean-Jacques Vincent of Chateau de Fuissé. The property of Pouilly Fuissé L’Entreroches belongs to Dom’s widowed mother, Marie- Jo Ferraud (elder sister of Jean-Jacques): the 2008 is a superbly textured Chardonnay, all silk and satin made more savoury by the mineral tastes of the rocks from which it came. Not a stave of oak in this beauty! Her Morgon Les Charmes 2009 is sensuously magnificent, a riveting mix of kirch, black cherry and liquorice flavours. At around £16 /18 € a bottle, all taxes included, this is one of Burgundy’s great wine values.

Cheers rang through the auction hall in front of the historic Hospice de Beaune as a record price of 400,000 euros was achieved for the top lot, la Pièce des Présidents, a ‘tonneau’ of 500 litres, made specially for this anniversary occasion. The very talented actor Fabrice Luchini came to support the Association for Life and Hope against Cancer, the beneficiary of the top bid’s proceeds. The lot was bought by Monsieur Jacques Boisseau of Maison Patriache et fils, Beaune. The Sale was dominated by European buyers who accounted for nearly 86 per cent of the value of total bids. For the first time Asian buyers, notably from China, Hong Kong and Korea, outnumbered those from the United States. I was much taken by elegant 2010 whites and concentrated reds (due to smaller berries) and were I to write a best –selling novel, on my shopping list would be the Meursault Genevrières Baudots, Corton-Charlemagne Roi Soleil, Pommard Epenots, Clos de la Roche and Mazis Chambertin. One of the best values was a lovely complete Beaune Clos des Avaux, which sold for around 3,000 euros la pièce and was snapped up significantly by the restored and enlightened Beaune house of Bichot. I shall look out for it.

ENGLISH SPARKLING WINE COMES OF AGE

2010-11-18T16:45:38+01:00

ENGLISH SPARKLING WINE COMES OF AGE

In the time of the Angevin and Plantagenet kings of medieval England (12th to 15th centuries) vineyards flourished as far north as Yorkshire under the keen stewardship of Benedictine and Cistercian monks, whose orders had first established the great wines of Burgundy. The English winter was certainly colder then than it is now, but it was also drier and less affected by the heavy rainfall that causes so much disease in the growing cycle of the vine. English viticulture died a slow lingering death as riper, more agreeable wines from France, Italy and Spain came to dominate the English market well into Restoration and Georgian England. It was not until the 1970s that English wine was restored in the Hambleton vineyard of Hampshire, pioneered and developed by Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones, a retired diplomat and wine lover. But the best sites on the cool chalk downland of Southern England - so ideal for sparkling wine production - were not exploited until the 1980s. Thirty years on, the best English growers make sparklers that, if not completely like the real thing, do taste quite close to it.

Although warmer autumns and improved winemaking practice by English producers have resulted in some highs among our sparkling wines, one producer stands out for the consistency of his range of fizz, largely because he has always acted on good advice from his contacts in Champagne. Mike Roberts, a computer software expert, left the high tech world in 1992 to start the Ridgeview vineyard on the South Downs of Ditchling, near Brighton. He was astute enough to grasp that he had to plant all three classic sparkling grapes - palate-filling Meunier as well as noble Pinot and Chardonnay - if he was to achieve a harmony of fruit and mineral flavours to match the flavours of the better Champagnes. He has also been the first English sparkling producer to use the state-of-the-art Coquard automated press which treats mature Pinot grapes particularly well, coaxing all the right flavours without bruising and oxidising the grape clusters.

Last Sunday at the Decanter Wine Experience, I tasted through the immaculate Ridgeview range with Mike Roberts' son, Simon. Two very different recommendations: the utterly reliable Ridgeview Bloomsbury 2008 with its creamy round purity of fruit that comes from expert blending of incisive Chardonnay in the driving seat supported by firm rich Pinot and biscuity Meunier. And best of all, the South Ridge 2007 - its slightly raised proportion of black grapes, and an extra six months on lees, giving some of the richness and restraint I associate more with top Champagne producers like Pol Roger, Billecart-Salmon and Jacquesson than with any English sparkling wine. Bravo!

Himmel und Erde - Heavenly nectar from Ampleforth's hills

2010-10-12T19:24:06+02:00

The Benedictine monks of Ampleforth Abbey have been growing apples in North Yorkshire's Howardian Hills for more than two hundred years - but their cider production is a quite recent innovation. The Abbey now has the most commercially important orchard in the North of England, a model of viable, modern fruit farming that belies its compact size: extending to just over six acres (2.5 hectares), the orchard actually has more than 2,000 trees, densely planted for optimal intensity of flavours in the harvested fruit. This contemporary enterprise has debunked an old myth that you can't grow good cider apples this far north, at the extreme limit of their cold tolerance. One man, an outsider and late entrant to the enclosed world of high English monasticism, has been the motor of change.

Father Rainer was born in another cold place, the village of Zaller in the Munster province of north west Germany. So, from an early age he knew all about producing exceptional fruit in a hostile climate -like the Mosel and Saar wines of his homeland, or, one could add, French Champagne and Scottish raspberries - products that have a purity and dynamism of flavour largely because of the brisk weather in their own locales.

Father Reiner

Rainer has an unusual background for a Benedictine. As an orthopaedic surgeon, he came to Britain in the late 1980s because he admired our National Health Service and wanted to work here. He later came to teach biology and health education at Ampleforth College, one of England's top public schools, the 'Catholic Eton', so to speak. Juggling his teaching responsibilties with added work managing the orchards, Rainer, after a great deal of soul searching, began to consider the monastic life. He went to see the Abbot, who asked him, “do you want to come into the monastery?". "No, I'm not at all sure" said Rainer. “Well, it may be true then!" was the Abbot's riposte. Rainer has been a monk since 1998 and he quickly took the decision that it would not be fair to his pupils if he continued to split his time between the schoolroom and the orchards. He chose the trees.

Rainer has been pressing apples in the Ampleforth Cider Mill since 2002. He took this initiative because the sale of the Abbey's apples had fallen off due to the insidious influence on consumer preferences exercised by powerful supermarket buyers: they insisted of course on bright, rosy and uniformly shaped apples. So very different from the 46 different varieties grown at Ampleforth, coming in all colours, shapes and sizes – to say nothing of the complexity of tastes that such a repertoire can bring. The juice of these myriad fruits are stored in massive vats. Then following a two-month fermentation process, the cider - dry, pure, frothy and clean – is siphoned off and allowed to mature for a further four months before being bottled and sold from April onwards. The next step, a cider brandy, was more ambitious. The whole process is much longer than for making cider. The juice ferments for more than eight months, then is taken to a cider distillery in Somerset. After distillation, the infant spirit is aged in oak barrels (mainly French) for 4-5 years. Recently, I had the chance to taste the five-year-old before the press lunch for Ampleforth Apples at London's Cafe Anglais, hosted by Father Rainer and the Cafe's admired chef-patron and columnist, Rowley Leigh. Still pale, with green lights, this cider brandy looked like one of those Alsacien eaux de vie: but its taste was indubitably English. The first airing effects of oak ageing were starting to soften and mellow the alcohol burn, giving tones of vanilla and a flick of caramel (entirely natural, there's no added colouring). All the while, it had a wonderful apple-fruity flavour that was also precise and elegant. As production increases, it'll be good to taste the brandy again when it's a 10-year-old: at that age, it should really show its paces and be serious competion for a Calvados Hors d'Age.

Ampleforth Amber... is Father Rainer's latest product and my personal favourite. Of shimmering amber hue, it's like a French pommeau, made from a mix of fresh apple juice and cider brandy. Weighing in at 21 per cent alcohol, it's half the strength of calvados or cognac, yet it's punchy enough to give you renewed energy. Amber is the most versatile of drinks combining freshness, and mellow warmth. Its trump card is a perfect balance of ripe fruit and cleansing acidity that is shaped by Rainer's artful blend of delicious full eating apple varieties like Kidd's Orange Red with the bracing bite of say a cooking one such as Bramley.

The orchards

Drink Amber slightly chilled as an aperitif, at cellar temperature as a digestif, or any way you like with Rainer's favourite dish - Himmel und Erde, which is an inspired marriage of mashed potarto and Ampleforth apples with maybe black pudding as a finishing touch. Heaven and Earth, indeed!

Ampleforth Abbey, York YO62 4EN
www.abbey.ampleforth.org.uk