What we were drinking - early November 2011

This month we enjoyed the fruits of the supermarket wine fairs - a Chateau de Fesles Coteaux du Layon bought in Leclerc, which reminded us of our visit to the domaine during a Loire trip and stay in Angers around 2000; 2 excellent bottles from the Bourdic co-op near Uzès, a dry muscat and a lovely sweet late-picked viognier 'Les vignes rousses', a splendid Jacob Savigny blanc and a Soltane dry muscat made by the Drôme winemaker Didier Cornillon but in his Tunisian winery.

Reds included a new discovery at our local caviste ô Pecheur Devin, a Côtes du Rousillon called Perle et Pépin; Richard Maby's excellent Lirac which was one of our Wine Society discoveries during our exploration of the area in the early 2000s, and the Secret de Frère Nonenque from the Abbay de Valmagne near Mèze.

Among fortified and sparkling wines and spirits were a Macvin de Jura, an excellent sweet apéritif made from grape juice and alcohol, some lovely PX (the grape variety is Pedro Ximenes, which on its own makes a rich dark sweet wine in the Xeres area of SW Spain, and is also mixed with drier wines to make the cream sherry the English love!), a Blanquette de Limoux, and some Linie akvavit brought to us from Norway by our friend Rydar.