ENGLAND'S much revered wine writer Harry Waugh once said: "You must taste every wine, you do not need to finish it."

Mindful of that, last week I opened a bottle that had recently been kindly given to me by the son of a very dear friend and surgical mentor, now sadly passed on. The wine was a Syrah - "Syrah Leone" 2003 - from Domaine Peyre Rose, Coteaux du Languedoc.

The name of the wine and winery were totally new to me. Dining quietly at home last week with family, and looking for a wine to wash down some home-cooked food, I picked it out of the wine-cooler (it happened to be in the front row).