Home alone on a Saturday night with a delicious Northern Rhône red

TLD is out tonight with her work mates on what is officially their "Christmas Meal" - in late November, for goodness' sake! Nevertheless, it gave her a chance to put the glad rags on and get out of the house without me in tow. And I have to say, she looked a pretty picture - and I am a very lucky man!

Isn't she wonderful? TLD, ready to go and set the world on fire.

Meanwhile, I'm left all alone on a Saturday night, with only a medium-rare rump steak and a delicious bottle of  red wine for company. I suppose life could be worse..........

J. Vidal-Fleurie Côte-Rôtie 1994

This is another bargain buy, which I bought via the online wine auction site BidForWine a year or two back - and if I remember correctly, it worked out at no more than about £15 a bottle, which is a bargain in any Cote-Rôtie lover's book. The colour is relatively evolved, with a deep-ish blood red core fading to a mahogany-tinged rim. The nose is beautifully evolved too, with delicious aromas of bright red fruits and perhaps a touch of bramble, togther with some really enticing savoury, slightly meaty (though just short of bretty) notes, forest floor, exceedingly subtle oak and a wonderfully high-toned suggestion of citrus. And the palate is certainly high-toned, in a way that tickles the taste buds and heightens the senses, whilst at the same time keeping all of those luscious red/black fruits and softening tannins in check. And the effect is just so alluring and captivating, in a wine of exceptional balance and supreme elegance, still grippy and taught, but with a deliciously sweet and sour red fruit finish. It is one of those wines which just happens to be in the right place at the right time - and as the old saying goes, "there are no great wines - just great bottles". And, for a relatively "humble" negociant-bottled Cote-Rôtie, this is one of them - and a wonderful surprise.

Right - I'm off to enjoy my dinner, followed by Match Of The Day - if I can manage to stay awake for that long!