The modern plain interiors of the Innside; were abuzz with excited guests and the Commanderie were looked after by professional staff at an exceedingly enjoyable evening at the Innside.
A super-abundance and variety of interesting wines were available for a wonderfully eclectic group of Commandeurs and their guests on a damp Friday evening, but all autumnal glow was blown away in a very enjoyable evening.
We also had the pleasure of entertaining guests from Salut Wines http://salut.co.uk/wine-bar; the Albert Square Chop House http://albertsquarechophouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/alberts-wine-list-2016-georges-nose-2.pdf; and colleagues from other wine and food societies including the Jurade de St Emillion http://www.jurade.org.uk/page1.html.
With over 20 wines to sample, there was something for everyone and we tasted an enjoyable Crémant de Bordeaux, a variety of dry white wines and reds from Cru Bourgeois and many appellations, including Fronsac, Blaye, Meocl, the Pomerols and Saint Emilions (including a Grand Cru Classé) and one tasty desert wine from Sauternes.
The full list was: Lateyron (Crémant de Bordeaux), Dry white Châteaux: Chantegrive Graves, Château des Tourtes, Recougne, L’insoumise, Lamothe Bergeron, Jean Dugay Grave de Vayres, Graves de Laurence, Red Châteaux: Haut Terrier Blaye, Lamothe de Haux, Cuvée Valentine, Château Gaby Canon Fronsac, Mayne Vieil, Ormeau, Grange Neuve, Du Courlat, Haut Jarmard, Puisseguin, Pindefleurs, Guadet, Sweet White Châteaux: Bastor Lamontagne Sauternes.
After such hard work, we moved through for supper; where each table had a further 5 wines to taste. We then ate an excellent starter of poached salmon and smoked salmon rillettes with a tartare pickle with micro cress. This matched particularly well with the Château Thieuley Bordeaux Blanc and got us off to a cracking start.
We then had a delicious Beoef Bordelaise (a renamed and very tasty version of Beef Bourguignon) and ended with a selection of cheeses.
We then closed with toasts to the Queen and to the Commanderie and thanked our excellent hosts from the Innside Hotel and look forward to returning.