Week in pictures: 19 – 25 August

This week in pictures sees Douglas Blyde head to Scotland with X Muse vodka, Rémy Martin host a star-studded popup in New York, and staff writer Louis Thomas witness the start of the Moscato harvest in Asti.

X Muse vodka

Coinciding with the 19th edition of the Edinburgh Arts Festival, Douglas Blyde visited the textural Jupiter Artland, a 120-acre art park located 11 miles west of Edinburgh, and five miles from Heriot-Watt University, for the unveiling of X Muse vodka’s latest edition in its“Reveal Series”. Hand-painted, hand-foiled, and individually numbered, this takes inspiration from the work of Anglo-Argentinian artist, Pablo Bronstein, whose “Rose Walk” installation, housed at the estate, places two ten-metre-high follies in a “stand-off”, said the self-confessed “die-hard Jewish Atheist”.

The day began with a tasting of the heritage barley distillates which combine to form X Muse in a poolside “temple” created by Milan-based design studio, Formafantasma, then continued with a tour of the art park, including the Xth Muse sculpture, realised in Portland stone, which inspires the vodka’s name, and Charles Jencks’ monumental eight embankments landscape work, Cells of Life, which, via the agency, Stranger & Stranger, informs the ripple like core bottle design.

Balanced cocktails, realised by Peter Smith of Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel, followed at the Rose Walk, including the X Muse Signature Martini, featuring a trace of olive distillate and caper berry. Finally, guests were ushered to a candlelit dinner held under a thick canopy of beech and yew trees. Coinciding with the visit, it was revealed that Jupiter Artland recently received planning permission to build a distillery for X Muse on-site. Limited to 99 bottles, The X Muse Reveal Series inspired by Pablo Bronstein will be available from October via xmusevodka.com and Selfridges (£350).

Rémy Martin x Usher: Life is a Melody

The Cognac brand’s New York City popup was hosted at Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in Rockefeller Center. The event, which featured fine French spirits, music, and roller skating, featured special guests, including fashion designer Jon Stan, former NHL All-Star PK Subban, designer LaQuan Smith, and celebrity Stylist Duckie Confetti (pictured).

Asti DOCG Moscato harvest begins

db staff writer Louis Thomas headed to Asti DOCG as the Moscato harvest commenced.

After a growing season largely typified by high temperatures, with some incidences of hail causing damage to vines in the region, the harvest began yesterday (24 August) – 10 years ago, it would typically start in September. This year, berry weight is also reportedly 20% lower than usual, but optimism is high for the quality of the wines, as the Asti DOCG Consorzio rigorously and regularly tests the fruit for aroma development (especially regarding Moscato’s all important terpenes) using gas chromatography.

The particular load of grapes pictured had been hand harvested and were sent to Cuvage’s facility.

Watenshi

William Lowe, the only known figure in drinks to hold the status of both Master of Wine and Master Distiller, showcased the pinnacle product from Cambridge Distillery (2012) at 67 Pall Mall. Based on his shiso-rich Japanese gin, “Watenshi” is one of the most exclusive distillates in existence. Meaning “the Japanese Angel”, it refers to the seizing of the angel’s share.

Lowe said: “Watenshi is formed from a minute (<0.5%) element from each distillation which would otherwise evaporate was it not for our fractional condensation apparatus which collects this tiny volume (15ml per day) at a pressure less than half that at the summit of Mount Everest and at temperatures colder than the South Pole (-75c).” A 70cl bottle costs £3,000 via Cambridge Distillery and Hedonism Wines. Other expressions from the Grantchester-based distillery include Anty, the world’s first insect-based gin, Truffle, the world’s first digestif gin, and a trio of Seasonal expressions. Lowe is currently studying for a PhD at Cambridge University on the chemistry of quality in wines and spirits.

Fractal

“With the singular aim of delivering quality through complexity,” Lowe also unveiled FRACTAL Sequence 001, here pictured at IKOYI, a multi-varietal, multi-region, multi-vintage still white wine from England. A collaboration between Lowe and Defined winemaker Nick Lane, whose CV includes Dom Pérignon and Cloudy Bay, Sequence 001 combines three identified grape varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier, alongside mystery components, drawn over a decade of vintages spanning 2010 to 2020. These were reaped from sites across the South of England.

“Each parcel is individually vinified before being blended then re-co-fermented,” said Lowe, “effectively emulating the traditional method for sparkling wines and harnessing the transformative power of fermentation. The blend is then married and allowed to coalesce before being bottled as a truly unique still white wine which balances freshness of youth with depth of maturity.” Priced at £42, only 360 bottles of the fascinating, ultra-precise, orange-blossom-scented wine are available by ballot (maximum two per entrant).

To read about another recent week in pictures, click here.