Fab weekend...

I've now experienced the delights of Hotel Du Vin Henley and it's another notch on my HDV tour guide. I love this hotel chain. They never fail to exceed my expectations. This time it was another girly evening with Geoff Merrill and his wonderful Australian wine adventures. The man himself was there to entertain us with some of his raw Aussie charm and wit. First we were served crisp, fresh asparagus spears with hollandaise and mini crab tarts for aperitifs with a crisp white. Then we sat down to dinner with a light fish and herb roulade, followed by a glorious caramelized small onion tart with a smidgen of goats cheese. Both served with white and a rose. The main course was very pink duck breast with courgette and glazed potato and this was accompanied by a choice or cabernet and shiraz. I loved this shiraz best of all. The last course was a selection of cheese and biscuits with the piece du resistance - a 11 year old shiraz which retailed at around £150 a bottle! I must admit I only found out that fact today and I wish I'd know earlier because I might just have taken a little more notice of this wine and appreciated it a little more. But sad to say, I didn't. It seemed like a lighter, younger wine and as such, didn't have the interest and body of the earlier, cheaper shiraz. It just goes to show how much I know about wine!