I forget what we did if anything; I suspect nothing. The weather was
fine, and I'd suggested, as for the previous day, that Lilli just
sit in the sun and soak up the rays. Probably playing with Basil and
Rosie, the resident terror cats, was involved.

Apple french toast (Lilli's inspiration, my execution) for
them, spag bol with hot pepper, garlic, and Parmesan for me.

A celebratory last meal in Forges, with interesting wines and a
rarity for us Americans, veal (though Swisher had gotten that
blanquette a week before for that very reason).

Ian had pulled out a substantially overage white wine for this,
figuring that if it was still at all good, it'd be a bit oxidized
and adding complexity to the meat, with a backup red. Both wines
were of a certain eminence.

The main event was veal sous vided at 57 or so so just a bit pink
and very tender. The flavor is delicate and really wants substantial
browning, so this isn't my favorite treatment, but then I really like
beef better except maybe in cutlet, and beef cutlet doesn't get the
respect it deserves. This was accompanied by chard and boiled potatoes,
both from the garden and very good for what tey were. I am guessing
that Jacquie had added a bunch of extra cream to the greens to make
them more palatable to the likes of me.

The featured wine was Meursault-Perrieres 96 from a winemaker whose
name I didn't recognize starting with B, so either Boyer-Martenot or Ballot-Millot. It was actually still pretty fresh, with herbal and
citrus and quite flinty still despite a touch of rancio. A really
long finish aided by the viscid nature. We finished it off in due
course, so it was decided that the red be opened up anyway.

This was a red Meursault, the Volnay Santenots du Milieu (Mikulski)
07, considered one of the most suave of its kind. It had lots of
berry jam on top but with a tannic fundament, not a surprise as the
wine is just coming into its maturity. Coffee and chocolate as well.
For Ian's cellar this was just a babe but was probably there because
of the Hoares' friendship with the grower.

Dessert was pears poached in honey according to an ancient Hoare
family recipe. Along with this the Bera Moscato d'Asti 11 was as
bubbly and fresh as the day it was made, with typical Muscat aromas
and pleasing not too intense sweetness.

For me, tea again to finish, which I chugged rather ungracefully so
as to look in on Lilli, who had taken her leave a little early.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)