Elderberry 2010 - Final Bottle (C2), 14th June 2014

I considered my birthday to be a special enough occasion to open this final bottle of elderberry wine. It was delicious - smoother than any elderberry I have drunk before, with a complex, earthy taste. Leaving it to mature is the way forward.

The day as a whole has been excellent. I got a grand haul of presents, including the first 3 series of Cabin Pressure on CD, and spent the afternoon driving round Harrogate and environs inspecting artists' studios. There was some beautiful work and Claire has her eyes on a particular potter - Steph Black.

At home we drank champagne in the garden with Rachel & Duncan (the cork shot into a rhubarb patch) and then ate a fabulous Balkan meal. Claire cooked an Albanian chicken and lemon soup, Bulgarian potato dumplings, Turkish lamb-stuffed tomatoes, a Romanian mushroom, cream & cheese dish (heart attack in a casserole), Yugoslavian rose-water jelly and Turkish date balls.

As I say, an excellent birthday.