These are the kind of wines I live to drink

The partner and I went for a romantic meal at [link2post id=”1093″]Andrew Edmunds[/link2post] last night. We drank staggeringly well for not much money at all.

Volnay Premier Cru Clos de la Bousse d’Or 1993, Domaine Pousse d’Or

The nose is charged with beautiful fruit: strawberries and raspberries we feel. A good earthy, mineral tang is there too giving it real dimension, but the primary character on the nose is the super lovely fruit. This speaks to me. It loves me as much as I love it. The palate is soft with more of that lovely, lovely fruit, plenty of minerality and a really refined tannic structure. This is sexy and sophisticated on the palate. I am totally compelled. The partner is too. I must have tried this wine about 20 times during my life and it has never failed to deliver the goods; tonight is one of the best bottles of it I’ve had. This is an amazingly good wine for the lover of fine things.

Hermitage 1997, J. L. Chave

Plenty of dark fruit on the nose with a hint of meatiness. This is big and bold, but there is elegance, refinement and sophistication to the aromas. I am a bit surprised that this still seems so youthful, being 12 years old and all, the fruit is very fresh. This smells like a beautiful, beguiling Hermitage of style and class. Yeah, man! The palate has some good acidity, truly lovely fruit and lots of minerality. Once again, this seems quite masculine and bold, but there is plenty of grace and classiness to it. This is really stylish Hermitage which is incredibly grown-up. Quite brilliant.

If I may take a moment to thank the partner for the meal and his wonderful company last night (and over the past eight years come to think of it). There are lots of people I would be happy to share such wines with, but it was a real treat to share them with him.