As we were ambling in the general direction of Baileys I was saying that there was a glass-ceiling on Fish and Chips. Unless you are beside the sea, there is a limit as to how good it can be.
How wrong was I.
Baileys in Fulham was a total revelation. One tiny room with mirrors so you can see how terrible you look shovelling chips in your mouth. A menu of all of the classic staples, including picked eggs and food that is as good as it gets. As good as fried food gets anyway. Which is pretty good. Perfectly cooked fish and chips, no corkage on wine and service so charming you could be in the Ivy.
We had some fairly basic wines which we raced through.
2012 Clos Floridene Blanc
Always the fallback when looking for a top wine at the Co-Op at short notice. The oak seems more integrated then when I’ve had it before, when it seemed a bit obvious. Really nice light tropical, citrus flavours and admirable intensity. A worthy wine also in the sense that White Bordeaux often goes from cheap plonk to ball-shrivellingly expensive with little between.
2012 Wild Boy Au Bon Climat
Not a wine I’ve often picked up because it’s quite ubiquitous in the off (and on) sector but this was lovely, really filled out and toffeeish, reminded me a bit of the Karia Stags Leap style. Much denser then I remember.
We then decamped to the Harwood Arms where we finished the night with this lovely wine. I love Clos Perdu as they are one of the producers that manage to imbue their wines with delicacy and finesse in a part of the world where cooked and flabby is usually more common.
2011 Cuvee 91 Les Clos Perdus
Quite bold and muscular in style, a Carignan / Grenache blend with the texture and salinity of the Carignan really helping to freshen up the Grenache. A really nicely balanced wine.
It also brought back good memories of a cycle trip and dinner with Ben Adams (below) from the estate. A friend and I turned up after quite an easy cycle through the mosquito infested Peyriac de Mer, downed a good deal of Campari as a health measure, tried the whole range and enjoyed wonderful Saussage casserole, great wines and conversation well into the night.
