It was a very happy afternoon yesterday with Wales beating France 16-9 to win the Grand Slam. It was an extremely physical match, but we deservedly came out as winners, especially as Wales scored the only try of the match.

As a celebration, I opened a special bottle of wine for lunch today (photo above), La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890 1995. I decantered it an hour or so before lunch which helped the wine to open up very nicely. I must say this is one of the best wines that I have drunk for some time. It had a fantastic nose of red fruit, spice, coffee and leather, all in harmony. On the palate the wine was immense without being full-bodied. It showed incredible complexity and elegance with a very long finish. I wish I could afford to drink wines like this every day.