Category Archives: In English

The Many Faces of Pinot Noir in Champagne: G.H. Mumm

Posted on April 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

A rare opportunity arose to taste vins clairs, the base wine for champagne after alcoholic fermentation is finished. Such a stating is exciting, because it allows for insight into what goes on behind the curtains on the backstage, so to say. Didier Mariotti, Chef de Caves at G.H. Mumm, presented a couple of Chardonnays and a wider selection of Pinot Noirs in order to illustrate the differences between the terroirs within the Champagne region. Continue reading →

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Chardonnay and Bottle-ageing: Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Blanc

Posted on February 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

The beautifully restored London St Pancras, now home to the Renaissance Hotel and the Gilbert Scott fine-dining restaurant, radiates the grandeur of 19th-century rail travel. It provided a splendid venue for this year’s Champagne Assembly. The tasting room evoked a Parisian atmosphere with its steel and glass structure, whilst the backdrop of towers and turrets were unmistakably Victorian.

Perrier-Jouët Chef de Caves, Hervé Deschamps, led the first tasting and presented six vintages of Belle Epoque to demonstrate Continue reading →

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A Teaser Portion of Lebanon

Posted on January 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Comte de M de Ch Kefraya

One week late last year it was just one of those madly busy days, but there was something in my diary that I really did not want to miss: the Lebanese Tasting. I thought I would have to come by even if I could just whizz through the wines without chatting much to the producers. This is what happened.
It was taking place at the L’atelier des Chefs, conveniently located in Mayfair’s Wigmore Street. It was full of people swirling and gargling wine when I arrived. I had to change my plan slightly, as it would not have been Continue reading →

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Climats Cote Chalonnaise – 2009s and 2010s

Posted on November 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

Terroirs of Dom. Ragot in Givry, Cote Chalonnaise

There could not have been a better start to the week last Monday when 10 domaines from the Cote Chalonnaise assembled at The Groucho Club in Soho, London’s bohemian heartland. The producers came to show mainly two vintages: 2009 and 2010.
With regards to the whites, the defining character is that Continue reading →

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Award Winning Sakes – IWC 2011

Posted on September 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

One of those charming early autumn afternoons it was this Thursday – I thought, as I was rushing from Green Park tube station to the Japanese Embassy. Pleasantly warm, the lush green of the trees from the park was striking against the greyness of Piccadilly and the gently red sky-line.
It was slightly after 5pm and I had promised to be there in time for the gate opening at 4.30pm. Rie Yoshitake, one of the organisers, had asked me to come as early as possible as they were expecting almost 300 guests. You are heard it well. Almost 300!!! Why? For the tasting of 27 sakes from breweries, whose products had won Gold or Trophy at this year’s International Wine Challenge in London. Continue reading →

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