Bottling Château La Clariere 2009

Today … quick flit over to Bordeaux to see the bottling of the 2009. It is tasting very good indeed. A vintage which, for younger palates – or palates that like their claret younger – might only need six months or so to round off nicely. It’s a very 'forward' vintage. We had a bottle straight off the bottling line, with Bernadette's garlic-soused roast leg of lamb and it was so good. So very good. One of those moments.

Henry is pretty proud of it. As he is with his own Château Verniotte which he will bottle next, when the La Clariere is done.

He already did a small bottling over the weekend when a bunch of rough lads – accountants, finance guys, I.T. people, you know the type – came over from the UK and US to bottle a barrel they'd persuaded Henry to let them make in his cellar in '09. I warned him. But he's a big hearted lad. They call themselves the 'Grape Pretenders' and their label shows a British Bulldog wearing a French beret. Rather cute. H says the wine isn't bad at all. Well, 2009? Could hardly fail. They intend to drink it all. I'll have to try steal a bottle.

With the lunch in our hall surrounded by the sacks of corks and boxes of capsules, labels etc, and the yard full of wooden boxes, we also had a bottle or two of our 2005 which is coming along very nicely indeed. That was a big vintage too. You don't even have to taste it for proof; when you've poured a few glasses, you clearly see how the bottles already have a great, dark encrustation of tannins inside, round the shoulders, left behind on the glass. That's something you hardly ever see these days because people are frightened of it. Frightened of really natural wine. But that's the best sign of what I call a real, proper, honest wine.

Bernadette had made all 15 of us a real Easter meal. Fresh local asparagus with her superb but, alas, very secret vinaigrette-type sauce. Then a village speciality: omelette of fresh wild garlic. 'Aillet' grows all over our vineyards this time of year. Eggs from next door's scraggy-necked hens. Then The Lamb which must be about 50/50 with garlic. Pow! All finished off with chocolate pud of course … Easter!

And all of us expected to work after.

Nothing cerebral for me; I only have to pose for photos again; my new career as supermodel having really kicked off! It’s for the new Chai website coming out next month on the occasion of the celebrations (for the sailing of the old 'Irene' for Tower Bridge wharf with a cargo of Chai Castillon wine.)

Have tasters of Hoddy's latest Chai bottlings - both his Vent de Folie white Vermentino and his '09 Syrah de Folie are stunning. Really. His Syrah '09 is, I do believe, as good as anything made in France today - Hermitage included.

Great day. Back to the airport, up, up and away. TL signing off from just over Cherbourg.