Last of the 1980 Beaucastel....

1980 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château de Beaucastel 

Last evening we enjoyed our last bottle of the 1980 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the final bottle of a case, which we must have bought in the earlyish 1980s direct from Beaucastel. This was before we bought in the Loire and used to spend our summer holidays in campsite in a pine forest a few kilometres north of Vaison-la-Romain. 

It was perfect with our plainly roasted pheasant from Billings in Sydenham – a bargain at £5.99 a bird. The 1980 had a rich, opulent nose and very soft, caressing palate. Our bottle would doubtless still have been drinkable for a number of years. However, I doubt whether it would have developed further. 

1999 Vieilles Vignes. Domaine Gauby + pair of Billings' grouse

1999 Vieilles Vignes, 

Côtes du Roussillon Villages, Domaine Gauby

Happily there are some compensations to shorter hours of daylight etc. Along with the vintage in the Northern Hemisphere, game birds are one of them. Tonight we enjoyed a plumb brace of grouse brought from Billings, the fishmonger and butcher at 45 Sydenham Road, Sydenham, London SE26 5EX. 

Fancying a pheasant for this this evening, I phoned this morning to reserve one. Unfortunately they had no fresh pheasants only frozen, so I said I would pick one up later and look to cook it on Sunday and buy something else for today.  

Very soon after I got a call from Hugh at Billings saying that they had a couple of fresh grouse – was I interested? I certainly was as we hadn't had any grouse this year so far. At £6.99 for each plumb bird they represented good value – in a restaurant you probably don't think too hard when ordering a starter at £6.99 or more. 

Our pair of grouse deserved a special bottle so we opted for our last bottle of Gérard Gauby's 1999, which was soft, rich and excellent and a fine match with the grouse.    

Celebrating being back in the Loire – 2Gs: Saumur Blanc (Guiberteau) and Chinon (Grosbois)

We arrived in the Loire early evening yesterday just in time to settle in and relax with an apéro. We went for Domaine Guiberteau's straight 2011 Saumur Blanc refreshing and mineral and ideal after a drive from London.    

Then with our individual chicken pies bought from Billings in Sydenham and, I confess, imported into France. We buy almost everything from local shops here but we make an exception for the first meal in Epeigné because of the long journey. Anyway the pies matched Nicolas Grosbois easy drinking 2014 La Cuisine de ma mère, Chinon with its lovely juicy black fruits and soft tannins. Despite the rather iffy label Nicolas' wine was delicious and the level in the bottle slid down with alarming rapidity.  

Tomorrow another remarkable dance to the wine of time @Lamé Delisle Boucard!

Top billing for Billing's, Sydenham's butcher and fishmonger

Billing's: butcher and fishmonger – 45 Sydenham Road, London SE26

The very welcome revival of butchers and, to a lesser extent, fishmongers in this part of South London continues to gather pace. The latest arrival is the very good Billing's in Sydenham's main street – aptly named Sydenham Road in SE26. The fish section opened first in the latter part of 2010 with the butchery section last year, so now Billing's has been fully opened for a little over six months and I have been using them for two or three months and have been very pleased with the quality of their produce and the helpful and friendly service.

During the 1990s good butchers and fishmongers in this part of London became an extinct species. There used to be a very good and popular butcher in Kirkdale – Miles & Son. Sadly they disappeared overnight – perhaps they went bust? Absurdly for one of the world's leading capital cities it became necessary to travel five or six miles either to Hesters (now closed) near Vauxhall Bridge or to Portwine (Covent Garden but now also closed). For some reason I was never aware of the nearby and highly regarded K & J Libretto & Daughters in Wood Vale, which is only a 10-15 minute walk away.

Billings sign

Things got better at the end of the 1990s and beginning of the new millenium with the opening up of Borough market but that has now become more and more crowded and expensive, so it is good to see high quality local butchers coming back here. William Rose in Lordship Lane started the renaissance in 2005 when they moved from Vauxhall. Although it is very popular with queues outside the door from early on a Saturday morning this has never been a favourite of mine, partly because they don't accept credit or debit cards which is a real pain these days. I've always been much happier with the nearby fishmonger – the card-accepting Moxon's, whose East Dulwich branch is just across the road.

More recently Geoff Sargeant opened further up Lordship Lane (348) near The Plough and the Dulwich Library. His beef was particularly good but again, like William Rose, no credit or debit cards, nor was he very welcoming, although his assistant was but he has now moved to Billing's, who do take cards! With a couple of days notice they are very happy to order anything you want – we had a couple of fine hares at the beginning of December. Enjoyed a very good plump pheasant earlier this week and a delicious sea bass and some raw prawns for grilling last night.

Billing's opening hours: Monday to Saturday inclusive

So much more enjoyable buying from someone who knows what they are selling, rather than from a supermarket, and quality for quality it is no more expensive. Indeed their free-range eggs are considerably cheaper. Also it's brilliant to be able to buy fish and meat at the same time.

It looks like the apostrophe in Billings/Billing's is optional. Billing's is used on their website but on the signs outside the shop there isn't an apostrophe. Take your choice!

Billing's

45 Sydenham Road

SE26 5EX

Email: sales@shopbillings.co.uk

Phone: 020-8659 2781

Billing's shopfront