Events

Vintage Port spends years developing in bottle which then need to be decanted, but Tawny Port with an indication of age are the finest of all Tawny Ports and are exceptionally complex and concentrated as a result of spending their time developing in oak casks, throwing their sediment and therefore do not need decanting.

We have collected a superb range of these fine wines including some rare examples.

CIRCA 1920/30 DELAFORCE SPECIAL WHITE PORT

GOULD CAMPBELL 10 YEAR OLD

DELAFORCE 'CURIOUS AND ANCIENT' LIMITED RELEASE 20 YEAR OLD

ROBERTSONS IMPERIAL 20 YEAR OLD, BOTTLED 1989

A CENTURY OF TAYLORS TAWNY
10 YEAR OLD
20 YEAR OLD
30 YEAR OLD
40 YEAR OLD

These will be accompanied by a selection of Cheese, Salad and French bread
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Venue: Doubletree Hilton Hotel, 2 Bridge Place SW1
Time: 7pm
Mobility Rating: 3 steps to the foyer, then total lift access
Nearest Train: Victoria - take the exit by platform 1
Dress: Smart casual
Price p/person: £45.00 Members / Joint Members
Guests / Non Members £49.00
Organiser: Jeffrey Benson: Tel 020 8673 4439
Email: jeffrey.benson@iwfs.co.uk

The decade of the 60's produced very few exceptional wines:
1961, 1962, 1966 with 1961 being supreme.
Our Chairman has once again selected a superb range of clarets from these vintages from his personal cellar and will tutor the tasting.

1961 Chateau Respide - Graves
1961 Chateau Pomys - Haut Medoc
1961 Chateau Bellevue - Montagne St Emilion
1961 Chateau Calon - St Emilion
1961 Chateau Lynch Moussas - 5eme Pauillac
1962 Clos L'Eglise - Pomerol
1966 Chateau Les Carmes Haut Brion - Graves
1966 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou - 2eme St Julien

The tasting will be accompanied by a selection of suitable cold meat, salad and French bread
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Venue: Hilton Doubletree Hotel, 2 Bridge Place, Victoria SW1
Nearest Tube: Victoria - take the exit next to platform 1
Time: 7.00pm
Dress: Smart Casual
Price per person: £50.00 members / Joint members
Non members / Guests £54.00
Organiser: Jeffrey Benson 020 8673 4439
Email: jeffrey.benson@iwfs.co.uk

It is not usually appreciated that some wine areas, such as England and the Loire, spread into two hemispheres. We shall have 7 examples from the Northern Hemisphere, 4 from the Southern Hemisphere, 7 from the Eastern Hemisphere and 4 from the Western Hemisphere, including a little liqueur. The ten wines vary from light medium-dry to fully luscious. They include rare and expensive classics such as the 1978 Quintarelli Recioto and the 2000 Alsace Sélection de Grains Nobles, the legendary Vin de Constance, and surprises like a late-harvest Pinot Noir and a 1985 sweetie from New Zealand. Most of the wines are no longer available.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Riesling Spätlese 1983, C. Prüm-Erben, Mosel-Saar-Ruver. N,E.

Tokay Pinot Gris Grand Cru Kloerkelberger 1983, Koeberle-Kreyer, Alsace. N,E.

Recioto della Valpollicella Classico 1978, Quintarelli Guiseppe, Veneto, 14+4%. N,E.

Les 3 Demoiselles, Coteaux de L’Aubance 1997, Loire, 12.5%. N,W.

Château Rieussec 1^er Grand Cru Classé Sauternes 2005, 14%. N,W.

Vin de Constance 2000, Klein Constantia, South Africa, 14%. S,E.

Late Harvest Gewurztraminer 1985, Matua Valley, New Zealand, 14.2%. S,E.

Tokay Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles, Altenbourg “Le Tri” 2000, Albert Mann, Alsace, 12.4%. N,E.

Pinot Noir Tardio 2010, Saury’s, Patagonia, Argentina, 16%. S,W.

Rutherglen Liqueur Muscat, Stanton & Killeen (before 1990), Victoria, Australia, 19.5%. S,E.

“Religious” liqueur. N,W.

Brenda Lamb will provide a light meal afterwards, including puddings.

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Venue: The Naval Club, 38 Hill Street, London, W1J 5NS.

Nearest tube: Green Park or Hyde Park.

Mobility rating: 5 (steep stairs).Time: 7.00 p.m.

Dress:  Respectable.

Price:    £55 members/joint members; guests £59.

Organiser: Bernard Lamb  Tel. 020 8876 0505

 The Reform Club was founded in 1836 when the founders commissioned a leading architect of the day, Charles Barry, to build an imposing and palatial clubhouse in the style of an Italian palazzo.  It is as splendid today as when it opened in 1841.  In those days membership was restricted to those who pledged support for the Great Reform Act of 1832, and the many MPs and Whig peers among the early members originally developed the Club as the political headquarters of the Liberal Party.


With many thanks to Committee member John Barker OBE (who is a member at the Reform) we are delighted to offer this very special location as the venue for this year’s Christmas dinner. (Older members may also recall that the Reform used to be the HQ of the IWFS many years ago. So we will be “returning home”).



We will be dining in the “Strangers Room” (originally the only room where non-members could meet members). In the Strangers Room appropriately hangs a picture of a very famous French chef of the day, Alexis Soyer.


In 1837 Soyer became chef de cuisine at the Reform Club. He designed the kitchens with Charles Barry when the Club was built, where his salary was to be more than £1,000 a year (a huge amount in those days). He instituted many innovations, including cooking with gas, refrigerators cooled by cold water, and ovens with adjustable temperatures. His kitchens were so famous that they were opened for conducted tours. When Queen Victoria was crowned on 28 June 1838, he prepared a breakfast for 2,000 people at the Club. Soyer's eponymous Lamb Cutlets Reform are still on the Club menu.


We will have Champagne on arrival and the chosen menu will be:-


Baked Scallop and Smoked Haddock St. Jacques

Roast 8oz Rump of Cornish Beef, Roscoff onion and peppercorn sauce

Peach & Champagne Jelly with vanilla sable biscuits

Coffee and chocolates

There is a vegetarian alternative, please ask.

Our Chairman, Jeffrey Benson, has personally chosen and will supply the wines (we have therefore decided to opt to pay the corkage).

Lanson Black Label NV

2012  Echeverria Chilean Chardonnay Reserve

2008 Ondarre Rioja Reserva (in Magnum)

2006 Vin Santo dei Chianti

NB There are nine stone steps from the pavement into the Clubhouse and a further eight steps into the main Saloon, so access is awkward for people who are physically disabled or unable to walk.  The Club does have a wheelchair stair climber and many willing hands for those that may require assistance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Venue:                 The Reform Club, 104 Pall Mall, SW1Y 5EW

Nearest Tube:     Piccadilly Circus or Green Park

Mobility Rating: 4

Time:                     7pm reception, 7.30pm dinner

Dress:                    Black Tie

Price p/ Person:  £109  Members,  Guests £113

Organiser:            Roger Ellis                Tel: 01494 837857

                                e-mail: Roger.Ellis@iwfs.co.uk