Hommage à Notre Père: Henry James Budd 25.4.1919 – 30.1.2015

 December 2014: the last photos I took of my father 

Still bright eyed.

(above and below)

My father died quite suddenly late yesterday afternoon aged 95. I had last seen him a week last Thursday at Halden Heights Care Home (High Halden, Kent) before leaving for Millésime Bio. He seemed physically well, although he was confused and probably didn't really know who we were. 

We had had to move him into Halden Heights Care Home in April 2013 because we couldn't give him the specialist care that his dementia needed. He was very well cared for there – seeming happy, contented and had a good appetite right up until the end. 

This week Henry developed a chest infection, which antibiotics didn't fix, and he died peacefully while asleep. He just stopped breathing. Given that he smoked 40 untipped cigarettes a day until he was 50, that he lived to be 95 is a testimony to his strength!  

For all of us, especially his four offspring – David, Henrietta, Andrew and myself – his death is a sad shock. I was confident that he would see his 96th birthday this April. In any sense, however, it is good that he died quickly and peacefully. Had he lived his dementia would have got worse and he would have become more and more incapacitated. He died while he still had some dignity left and he didn't suffer a lingering death. I'm so thankful for that!

October 2006: My mother and father celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary 

She died the following March aged 87

 

25.4.2014: at the wedding of Richard (my nephew) and Rosie

He is with Martha – one of the carers from High Halden. 

She was particularly kind to him

 

Christmas 2011

July 2012 

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2014: Henry with Alice, his great grand-daughter 

Christmas 2014: four generations: my father, my brother David, 
his son Richard and Alice Richard's baby daughter born in early October 

 1919 Le Mont Moelleux, Vouvray 

In April 2009 our family celebrated Henry's 90th birthday with this amazing bottle of 1919 Le Mont Moelleux, which was so remarkably fresh and together. Tasted blind you would never guess that it was 90 years old!   

Les 5 du Vin: post on 'agreeable, little wines from the Loire'

Un petit vin?!: 1919 Le Mont Vouvray Moelleux@90 years young 

My post on Les 5 du Vin this week centres around a conversation in a brasserie in Troyes and the view of the Loire as the home of modest little wines.

1919 Le Mont Vouvray Moelleux Huet

1919 Le Mont: 90 years young!

1919 Le Mont Moelleux

Yesterday was my father's 90th birthday and we celebrated with a party: 44 of us – extended family and friends. Today we have a brunch with this 1919 Le Mont Moelleux as the aperitif. It will have to go around 12, so it will be a generous tasting sample each and I hope the wine will be OK as I have yet to pull the cork. The level looks good only slightly down and the wine appears clear. This Le Mont predates the founding of Domaine Huet, which happened nine years later.


As I hoped the 1919 Le Mont turned out to be a remarkable wine as youthful as the amazing 1924 Le Haut Lieu Moelleux tasted in May 2004 at the Christie's pre-auction tasting. Although a a little less perfumed than the 1924, the 1919 had similar vitality and, at just under 90 years old, has remained incredibly youthful. Mild gold, crystal clear and lightly viscous, complex honeyed nose with touches of sous bois which gave way to notes of sweet almond and citrus fruit. Very little noticeable oxidation. Honeyed mid-weight on the palate with long clean, citric finish. Some of us managed to keep some in the glass for well over 30 minutes and it showed no sign of of tiring. Poured blind it would I'm sure to impossible to think that this Le Mont is effectively 90 years old. Instead one would be more likely to guess that it was 25-35 years old.