January 16, 2012
What a great pleasure to have enjoyed a home-cooked meal by my sister Tina, who could have gone into the restaurant business, not just because she has a knack for making great food but also because she is very meticulous about what she buys and how she prepares her ingredients. On 13 January 2012 she invited me and [...]
January 9, 2012
A tasting that brought home to me a certain nostalgia. A poster on the wine forum wineberserkers.com recently lamented the loss of Old School Bordeaux. He went so far as to give “faint praise” to the 1982 vintage, while extolling the virtues of the 70s and 60s. I found his comments a bit strange but [...]
November 14, 2011
Achtung Weinliebhaber, Attention Wine lovers! I will be co-hosting along with Bernard de Laage de Meux, Development Director at Château Palmer, two fabulous wine dinners with Château Palmer. In Berlin on 16 November and in Frankfurt on 17 November. In Berlin: Alter Ego 2004 and four Château Palmer vintages 2004-2000-1998-1995 mit einem fünf-Gang Menü. Eintritt [...]
July 17, 2011
Dinner on 16 July with Maurice and Marie-Christine Barthelmé in Wettolsheim at their home. They are co-owners of the famous Alsatian domaine Albert Mann. Lovers of great food and wine – and good times – the Barthelmés do not preach or instruct, they just communicate a healthy passion for making one of the best wines of Alsace. [...]
March 26, 2011
Just finished tasting a series of wines at two dinners in Germany. Leoville Poyferre, Clos Fourtet, Poujeaux, Le Crock. We also tasted 2010 barrel samples. Clos Fourtet clocked in at 15% alcohol! Just as it had done in 2009. But at least the acidity is a bit higher in 2010. Co-owner Matthieu Cuvelier thinks the [...]
March 16, 2011
UPDATE! Dinners to include tastings of Bordeaux 2010 barrel samples from both the Left and Right Banks: Léoville Poyferré and Clos Fourtet! I will be co-hosting two wine dinners in Germany – at the Maingau Hotel in Frankfurt on 24 March and at the Sankt Moritz Restaurant in Berlin on 25 March – with Matthieu [...]
March 5, 2011
On October 15 in Frankfurt, I participated in a tasting organized by my good friend Harry H. Hochheimer, a passionate wine and gastronomy consultant based in Frankfurt, Germany and who, each year I think for the past few years, organizes a wine tasting called: Bordeaux : Die Mutter aller Rotweine or “Bordeaux: The Mother of all [...]
February 26, 2011
Chateau Montrose 1989 St Estephe Medoc 2eme cru classé Certainly needs time to open in glass but this wine is glorious. It reminds me of the 1986, but with greater succulence and perhaps more depth. The nose expresses its splendid complexity, at once fresh and minty, even, then also truffle: fine chocolate truffle. Perhaps a [...]
February 20, 2011
What better way to appreciate the knowledge and passion of fellow wine lovers than to put together a first growth quality Bordeaux dinner? The restaurant was a fine setting: Ruth’s Chris Steak House in the lively Dupont Circle area of Washington D.C. If driving, it is important to set the start at 6.30 pm, [...]
February 13, 2011
Château Beychevelle You have to love the label. A medieval wooden boat with an impressive dragon head, its sail at half mast, in respect of the all-powerful owner hundreds of years ago, a famous French admiral. So the story goes to explain the name of this sprawling estate: baisse-voile (lower the sail). Whether the legend is true [...]