The skies were clear and a warm evening sun bathed the vast upper terrace of the newly opened cellars of Pavie, Gerard & Chantel Perse welcomed those lucky enough to have secured a private invitation and Cult Wines were honoured to have been included on the guest list.

Having passed by the estate some 5 hours earlier it was amusing to watch the last minute preparations as dozens of workman scurried around finishing various jobs as the deadline loomed! By 7pm it was ready to welcome the guests, a tour of the vast cellars set on two levels was quite breath-taking, classical design with some modern twists including some dramatic artwork, very impressive visually and I am sure it makes practical sense as well.

Onto the terrace for a Champagne reception with a jazz band to be followed by 6 courses of superbly presented food matched with the Monbousquet 2010 white, Pavie 1998 & 2000 vintages finished with a 1988 Doisy Daene Sauternes.

Our entertainment consisted of that French theatrical classic, mime supported by a ‘troupe’ of jugglers, singers and finally having been coaxed onto the rear terrace we were treated to a dramatic show ‘drive-in movie style of the Perse story.

It would be interesting to understand the overall cost of this project, it clearly fits well with the Classé A status granted last year and no doubt places this estate on a different plane to much of competition. It is also interesting to compare the final results with those of Château Cheval Blanc who opted for a much more modernistic design, and ignites the debate on what style is more acceptable to the local environment. Whatever the outcome of that debate there is surely one question which is on everyone’s lips, and that is who will ultimately be paying for these grand edifices rising out of the modest St Emilion soil?

One final comment is that I personally admire and enjoy the Pavie style of doing things, the wine is in my humble opinion quite sensational, but here again Gerard Perse has divided opinion just look at the spat between Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker over the infamous 2003! But this has become part of the story, Pavie and Perse have arrested the attention of the wine world over the past few years and regardless of your personal preferences, I doubt that these beautiful new cellars will divide opinion so dramatically!

PG

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, editor-in-chief of The Wine Advocate, has disputed recent allegations stating that Robert Parker is involved with the sale of branded wine cases.

Drinks Buisness.com reported earlier this week that négociant Bordeaux Vins Selection (BVS), was to release cases of wine awarded 100 Parker points, in a tailor made, Parker signed, wooden gift box.

This was contested by Perrotti-Brown, last week on The Wine Advocate bulletin board, where she stated that:

“Robert Parker did not give permission for his signature to be used on any such packaging, and after speaking with Bordeaux Vins Selection, they will no longer be using his signature at all.

“We spoke with BVS last night to confirm that Robert Parker’s signature was not to be used in their packaging, in the format of our logo or otherwise,” she said.

“Some of the claims in the media suggest that we are profiting from the marketing and packaging of wines. This is not true. We continue to maintain our strict policy of not profiting from the sale of wine.

“Endorsing wines for profit is in direct conflict with the policy we have maintained for more than 34 years. We have no plans to change this policy,” she added.

The Wine Advocate recently branched out into the sale of commercial licenses, which allows merchants like Bordeaux Vins Selection to use the 100 points scoring system as a marketing tool. However, the use of Parker’s signature is not permitted within the agreement.

“This deal is in no way exclusive to BVS – other merchants are free to put together their own selections of Robert Parker rated wines,” Perrotti-Brown clarified.

“Neither Parker nor the TWA team have had any part in the selection of wines. We are not endorsing or profiting from the packaging or sales of the BVS cases,” she added.

Source: www.thedrinksbusiness.com

Last night we were proud to host our first wine event held in the Amaryllis Room, at Gordon Ramsay’s Claridges. We were honoured to be joined by Philippe Magrez, of the Magrez family estate, who was there to show case selected wines from his family’s estate. As well as being charming and funny, Philippe displayed an incisive knowledge of the wines and estates, which provided a fascinating element to the evening. The Magrez family own four Grand Crus Classés in the most prestigious Bordeaux appellations, namely; Château Pape Clément (Graves Grand Crus Classés), Château Fombrauge (Saint Emilion Grand Crus Classés), Château La Tour Carnet Médoc Grand Crus Classés) and Clos Haut-Peyraguey (Sauternes Premier Grand Cru Classé). Each estate has a lengthy and illustrious heritage, which Philippe conveyed to the audience in an animated and enlightening way.

This event was an unashamedly opulent affair. Even the most seasoned bon vivant would agree that the range of wines and seven course taster menu were exquisite:

The potential apex of the night was the tasting the Château Pape Clément Blanc 2009 which was awarded a faultless 100 points by Parker, and was accompanied by pressed smoked pork belly with crispy bantam, egg, celeriac, apple and fresh truffle. This velvety textured wine is truly lavish, displaying notes of exotic fruits, Cointreau, and marzipan, harmonised perfectly with the complexity of the food. The 2009 was served next to the Château Pape Clément Blanc 2010, awarded 95 points by Parker, and quite different in style, this vintage is more poised whilst still being bountiful in aromatics of lemon grass, golden kiwis and jasmine. This provided a seriously unforgettable taste comparison exercise, and illustrates the genius production whereby such different styles are achieved, beautifully epitomising the uniqueness of the vintage.

We were also honoured to taste The Magrez Fombrauge 2000, which is on the verge of extinction as there are only 24 bottles left at the estate! This wine has everlasting length and warrants a substantial lexicon of descriptor terms in order to convey the complexity of the flavours and aromas; everything from blueberries and chocolate right through to flinty mineral notes.

The Château Pape Clément 2010 was another dazzling wine, again donned with 100 perfect Parker points, and tasted after the 2008, which received 95 points, quite literally from the sublime to the ridiculously sublime. Both wines were served with Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s Beef wellington with smoked pomme puree.

The 2010 is described by Parker as portraying, ‘sublime elegance, the power, the medium to full-bodied texture, the silky tannins, the subtle notes of smoke, lead pencil shavings, black currants, charcoal, camphor, blueberry and cassis fruit are all remarkable. It is a rich, full-throttle wine, but the elegance and the great terroir of Pape Clement come through in abundance’. The 2008 was a later harvest, hence the wine is riper, bursting wine blueberries and black cherries. The wellington worked wonderfully with both, a French English fusion executed to perfection. In fact, this was the overall theme of the night and our vision when we decided to organise the event, so far we have received excellent feedback from the 22 guests comprised of clients and industry professionals.

This is the first of many more events to come, where we plan to combine the greats of gastronomy and oenology, creating an unforgettable experience.

Some quotes from people who attended the event:

Mr. Nicholas Padfield : ‘Thank you very much for inviting me to such a splendid occasion. The food, venue and wines were out of this world and I do not know enough superlatives to do them all justice’.

Mr.Pierre-Eric Sabatier: ‘I would like to thank you for the outstanding event that you put together yesterday. I can insure you that both Philippe Magrez and I were very impressed. The event was perfectly organized, the place and the food were fantastic and the people that you invited were perfectly in line with the target’.

Mr. Antoni Daszewski: ‘I enjoyed the evening immensely, the lovely food and excellent wines and what a wonderful venue, highly civilised and delightful’.

Mr.Chris Rigby: ‘Many thanks for a splendid evening last night. Aside from the fantastic food & the wines, it was great to meet a few fellow investors & have a few words with Philippe’.

Mr.Roy Sandler: ‘Many thanks for a most memorable evening last night. It was a real treat to enjoy such fine wines and superb food whilst surrounded by cordial company’.

Mr.Richard Britten-Long: ‘Dinner last night in Claridge’s was memorable to say the least and I thoroughly enjoyed the company and wines. Superb!’.

Mr.Rob Pinchbeck: ‘Thank you very much for a wonderful evening yesterday: the wine, the foodand the company – all were excellent – most enjoyable’. 

Antonio Galloni, ex- Wine Advocate reviewer has launched his new wine-review website.

Galloni left the Advocate three months ago, since then legal action was taken against him, accusing him of ‘fraudulent and deceptive conduct’, as well as ‘non delivery of tasting notes’. However, the case has subsequently been dropped. Galloni stated that his new website will launch with a Champagne preview and reviews on the 2009 Barolo vintage. He also explained that he plans to make the website more interactive and engaging than most wine websites.

The subscription fee will be $120 for one year, or $200 for two years, more expensive than the erobertparker fee of $99 annually.

Since Galloni’s departure, Monica Larner formerly of the Wine Enthusiast has been recruited to cover Italy, Robert Parker will return to northern California, and Neal Martin will be responsible for Burgundy.

www.wine-searcher.com

As predicted, following the recent Robert Parker in-bottle ranking scores, Liv-ex have reported that 13% of all trade by value so far in March is derived from Bordeaux 2010 wines.

Whist the 2010’s still trail behind the 2009’s, the recent surge is the most concentrated activity of the past year, with the five of his 10 “perfect” wines (Latour, Cheval Blanc, Pontet-Canet, Pape Clement and Le Dome), experiencing enhanced trade.

Source: www.thedrinksbusiness.com