For The Love Of Port

I almost posted on this after a lunch visit early last year - an early 20C vintage madeira available by the tasting portion (IIRC it was a 1913 Bual at £40 a serving including taxes). And above the bar were around 20 empty bottles of comparable age.

Sufficiently impressive that I returned this year and had their tasting menu with accompanying wines (yes, it's a splurge).
Of particular interest to readers of this forum was that, included in this menu (for everybody who ordered it - I saw it served at 3 or 4 other tables), was a 1908 vintage d'Oliveiras Bual - the wine was served (from the bottle) in a Burgundy glass and we were instructed to swirl, sniff and consume. Then a decanter was brought over, containing a dark liquid which was poured into the same glass - it was a game consommé, derived primarily from the duck juices from an earlier course we had been served.

I'm not sure I would have risked diluting the madeira with the soup, but, given that the glass was too large to get all remnants of the liquid, it was a great (and unexpected) way to enjoy madeira with a meal.

If anyone is considering a trip to Blighty, you could do a lot worse! Reservations and payment in advance are required!

You don't have to be a member?

It's a restaurant (although they do have occasional 'reserve' tastings).
No membership required - although they use the 'Tock reservation system' (pioneered by Alinea in Chicago, and now commercialized) which you must join separately (no joining fee). BUT it's essentially a ticketing system (just like theatre tickets) - you pay in advance for your meal ticket (incidentals are billed at the restaurant).

A friend just alerted me to this article
https://drinkup.london/features/7805/th ... -consomme/