
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’.
