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Slideshow
The week in pictures
db editor Patrick Schmitt and 10 other members of the wine trade embarked on a 500km, four-day cycle across France this week to raise funds for the drinks trade charity The Benevolent. Organised by Mentzendorff managing director Andrew Hawes, this is the ninth charity cycle ride led by the head of the UK wine importer for Bollinger Champagne.
Patrick described day one of the challenge, which started from the M. Chapoutier winery in Tain l’Hermitage, as a “shaming experience”, citing a Lycra lederhosen as the cause.
Day two saw the team tackle a punishing 21km cycle up Mont Ventoux. Having reached the top, the team battled on for a further 80km to reach a town south of Avignon called Tarascon.
An injured Ian Harris after a spirited battle with a bread knife.
The WSET’s Ian Harris became the victim of a spirited battle with a crusty baguette and serrated bread knife on day three, unleashing a torrent of blood into the group’s crudités. Bandaged up, it wasn’t long before the group, and Ian, were back in the saddle for the final leg, with one day of the challenge remaining.
Should you like to make a donation, please visit Patrick’s Just Giving page here.
db attended a tasting of Château Léoube’s Lalonde “super” monopole rosé on Tuesday at Davy’s in London. Based in the Côtes de Provence, Léoube said the rosé, an equal blend of Cinsault and Grenache, was its answer to the Super Tuscans of Italy.
Guests were treated to a five-course paired menu, taking in Léoube’s Blanc de Léoube 2014, Lalonde de Léoube 2014 and its Collector 2011, and and an enlightening demonstration on the delicate art of salmon smoking from Norwegian pro-smokers Hansen & Lydersen.
The Hon. Jay Weatherill, premier of South Australia, and Penfolds Chief Winemaker Peter Gago at Magill Estate for the official opening celebration for the new Cellar Door and Kitchen.
Penfolds officially unveiled its newly developed Magill Estate this week following a multi-million dollar investment, which promises to offer guests a “world class” wine experience through its new Cellar Door and Magill Estate Kitchen. Its official launch was hosted by Penfolds winemaker Peter Gago and South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill.
db took off to the Loire this week. As the sun finally came out, UK wine writers Natasha Hughes MW, David Williams and Victoria Moore soaked up a demonstration of the finer points of the region’s intricately mapped terroir at Domaine de la Noblaie in Chinon.
Tom Nichol, Tanqueray’s master distiller, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grand Rectifier of The Gin Guild, Christopher Hayman, at the Gin Industry’s annual dinner this week. After 42 years of service and dedication to the distilling and gin industries, Tom is retiring from his position as master distiller of Tanqueray.
Craig Moody from the Stoke branch of The Whisky Shop is this year’s recipient of the Ian Murray scholarship, set up by William Grant & Sons in 2014. Having impressed judges with his passion for whisky, Craig will receive a scholarship to study at the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, funding for courses on communication and presentation skills and a visit to one of William Grant & Sons’ UK distilleries.
Bartenders gathered at Hixter Bankside in London for a masterclass on the “secrets of Sherry”, co-hosted by Rocio Benitez of Harveys, Beam Jerez. The tasting was followed by a three-course lunch and cocktail session led by drinks experts Wayne Collins and Amanda Humphrey of Maxxium UK’s MIXXIT.
(L-R) Peter Barry, Darren DeBortoli, Scott McWilliam, Stephen Henschke, Bruce & Pauline Tyrrell, Alister Purbrick, Robert Hill Smith, Colin Campbell, Kath Tidemann, Alicia & Chester Osborn, Judy & Ross Brown
Australia’s First Families of Wines (AFFW) snapped this shot to mark the end of a two-week tour of the US and Canada as part of the on the AFFW Unlocked Tour de Force, organised to spread the word of Australian wine. Led by AFFW’s fourth chairman, Yalumba’s Robert Hill-Smith, and organised to coincide with Aussie Wine Month, the 12 representatives charmed their way through San Francisco, New York, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
Marston’s master brewer Simon Yates was busy sniffing hops at an event hosted this week by Marston’s for members of the beer trade at The Market Porter, a real ale English pub near Borough Market. A selection of hop varieties were available to “rub and sniff” so that they could experience first-hand the various aromas that they give to beers.
(L-R) Greg Lambrecht, founder and inventor of Coravin, with Charles Curtis MW.
A blind tasting, attended by masters of wine and the media, was hosted at the Avenue restaurant in London this week to showcase wine gadget Coravin, a device that allows you to pour a wine without breaking its seal thus preventing unnecessary oxidation. Wines that were accessed by Coravin a year ago were compared to wines opened on that day, with only three of the 25 attendees able to guess which was which.
Barwell & Jones exhibited at the London Wine Fair for the first time this year, sending out invitation “leaves” to their customers and asking them to come and fix their “leaf” to a tree on their stand. Each leaf featured a vineyard image from a different producer. For every five leaves, the company pledged to plant a tree in the city of London. The company announced this week that they will be planting 50 trees in London in association with Trees for Cities.
db‘s Rupert Millar was also in the Loire at the end of last week to cover the 24th Concours National des Crémants which was being held there. it turned out to be a trip laced with historical backdrops. Dinner on the first night was held at the Clos Lucé in Amboise where the original “Renaissance man”, Leonardo da Vinci, lived from 1516 until his death in 1519.
A visit to producer Montmousseau in Montrichard was overlooked by the medieval castle built by Fulk of Navarre, count of Anjou, in the 12th century. The castle is supposed to have a connection with Richard “the Lionheart” of England although fact-checking so far hasn’t uncovered what exactly.
The winery’s cellars themselves included a number of strange installations and light shows. This one making db think of some of the bizarre and outlandish sets from some early German cinema like the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. The cellars, just as they were in Champagne, were originally quarries and the white “tuffeau” that came from them was used to build the Loire’s famous royal castles…
Such as the grandiose yet rather magnificent Château de Chambord, the pet project of Francis I but which continued to be added to by French kings up until Louis XIV who anchored the French monarchy at Versailles, an estate they subsequently rarely left, leaving the Loire castles to particularly honoured favourites. Marshal Saxe, the victor of Fontenoy, was one such who was granted the run of Chambord in the mid-18th century.
Jason Atherton’s newest venture, Social Wine and Tapas, opens on James’ Street in Marylebone next week. Headed up by his executive sommelier Laure Patry, in addition to a bar on the first floor and restaurant in the basement, there is a sleek wine shop selling all 500 drops.
Among them is a range by an Austrian producer Gut Oggau featuring sketches that aim to encapsulate the character of the wine inside the bottle.
Never passing up an opportunity to quaff Chablis, we headed to The Chancery restaurant this week to enjoy a dinner that paired some of the top names in the region with dishes by young gun chef Graham Long. Among the wines on pour were this trio, which showed off both Chablis’ ability to age gracefully, and how the wines act as a conduit through which to express the steely minerality of the region’s kimmeridgian limestone soils.
We were wowed by the quality of the dishes served up by head chef Graham Long, which not only looked beautiful, but took texture into account and paired thoughtfully with the wines. Among the dishes we enjoyed were raw scallops with avocado cream and shiso dressing; trout tartare with poached apple, nettle purée and macadamia nuts (pictured); and roasted quail with foie gras, sweetcorn pickled mushrooms and wild garlic.
Our affable host for the evening was wine writer and sommelier Douglas Blyde, who took to using shells as props to tell the story of Chablis’ signature minerality and saline character.