After a long week JMS arrived chez moi directly from Spain

JMS brought with him about 80 beautiful bite size lamb cutlets and of course, some melt-in-the-mouth Spanish jambon!

I decided to open, for the first time in a year, one of my six remaining 2002 Domaine de La Pertuisane bottles made with my own fair hands from my own vineyards in the Roussillon.

It is quite a feeling to open something that close to my heart and as the cork came out and I smelt the first aromas, all the memories of the blood, sweat, tears and laughter whilst making it came flooding back! It still tasting great and has many years left. Only my 2008 Un Vent de Folie, now made in the same village, is on par for me.

Even though it was rather windy and cold we made a fire from vineyard canes to barbeque the lamb on. The lamb was cooked to perfection and the Grenache-based wine was the perfect match.

Visit laithwaites.co.uk