I took my wife out to dinner at Racine, a short walk from the V&A, for what is known in the matrimonial trade as a VIB.
Racine is one of her favourite restaurants, and mine too, for that matter. It’s a Paris bistro more properly Parisian than many you would find in Paris itself – though there wasn’t a scowl on the faces of any of the front-of-house staff.
A VIB meal requires at least one VIB wine, and ours was Lirac Domaine Maby La Fermade 2011. If you like Châteauneuf-du-Pape but don’t have the dosh to buy the best of them, this wine is your new best friend. It encapsulates all the wonders of southern Rhône reds: herbs, spice, breadth on the palate, muscular tannins. And you can buy it retail from Yapp Brothers. They have moved on to the 2012 vintage, which I have not tasted. But I have never tasted a vintage of this wine that was less than excellent. £12.95 a bottle. Pounce.
As this was a VIB, the celebration took place over several days. And it featured several cruel moments at which there was no alternative to drinking a glass of Champagne.
