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E U R O P E N F I N E W I N E M A G A Z I N E C O N T E N T S PAGE 18 A New Perspective On Napa Terroir PAGE 28 Le Pin - Success From The Smallest Scale PAGE 36 FINE Life Award PAGE 90 Fine Wine Auction Report 2009 PAGE 64 Louis Jadot ­ The Secret Of Eternal Life PAGE 76 Tinto Pesquera ­ Pétrus Of Spain 8 F I N E

E U R O P E A N F I N E W I N E M A G A Z I N E C O N T E N T S 11 FINEEDITORIAL 15 FINENUIKKI 18 FINEGALLERY 28 FINEESTATE 36 FINELIFEAWARD 52 FINEREGION PAGE 52 Two-Hour Vintage The Day Jefferson Turned In His Grave A New Perspective On Napa Terroir Le Pin ­ Success From the Smallest Scale Bill Harlan Burgundy ­ In the Grip Of `Terroirism' Louis Jadot­ The Secret Of Eternal Life The Perennial Search For Truffles Tinto Pesquera ­ Pétrus Of Spain Football Legend Paolo Rossi's Wine Oasis Auction Action In Hong Kong Fine Wine Auction Report 2009 The Art Of Tasting Wine Blind Wine Tasting & Art II ­ Mouton-Rothschild 1952­1959 Recent Tastings Wine On The Web Must Have Wine Gadgets Dom Perignon ­ Against The Bubbles Champagne Without The Pop Enoteca Pinchiorri ­ Three-Star Wine Bar Hooper's Vintage Port 1944 Burgundy ­ In The Grip Of `Terroirism' 64 FINEESTATE 74 FINEAHM 76 FINELEGEND 84 FINEVISIT 88 FINESCULATTI 90 FINEINVESTING 96 FINEPAULSON 98 FINEART&WINE 105 FINETASTINGS PAGE 126 Dom Perignon ­ Against The Bubbles 116 FINEONLINE 124 FINEDEVICE 126 FINELEGEND 140 FINEAVELLAN 142 FINEDINING 150 FINECHRONICLES PAGE 116 Wine On The Web C O N T E N T S FINE CoNtENts 9

E U R O P E A N F I N E W I N E M A G A Z I N E FINEMAGAZINES 100 Pall Mall St James, London SW1Y 5HP United Kingdom WWW.FINE-MAGAZINES.COM Tel: +44 (0) 20 76648800 fax: +44 (0) 20 73213738 W r i t e r s Pekka Nuikki Editor-in-Chief Pekka Nuikki, founder and editor-in-chief of FINE Magazines, is an author and one of the leading experts on fine wines in Europe. He has published over twenty international wine and art books, among them In Vino Veritas, a book on investing in wines, Drinking History on fine wines and their vintages between 1870­1970, a book about the Château Mouton-Rothschild ­ Wine and Art 1924­2003 and most recently a book about the best German white wines. Mr Nuikki is also an award-winning photographer, who has exhibited his artwork all over the world and he has worked as creative director of advertising agency group. He is also the luckiest man in the world, having hit seven hole-in-ones. Juha Lihtonen Managing Editor Juha Lihtonen is the managing editor of European, American and Scandinavian FINE Wine Magazine and manyfold Finnish sommelier champion. He was selected as the best sommelier in the Nordic countries in 2003. Mr Lihtonen has worked as a wine educator, a wine host on a radio programme, as well as the wine buyer of a major cruise line. He has written books on combining wine and food. Besides his day job, Mr Lihtonen studies for the Master of Wine qualification. Essi Avellan MW Contributor Essi Avellan is the first Master of Wine from Finland and second ever from the Nordic countries. She was awarded the Lily Bollinger Medal as the best taster and the Tim Derouet Memorial Award as the best overall student in the Master of Wine examination. In addition to writing her wine buying guide, Ms Avellan contributes to several newspapers and wine magazines internationally. She judges at several wine competitions, such as the Decanter World Wine Awards and the Wines of Argentina Awards. Ms Avellan has been awarded the title of Dame Chevalier of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne. Jan-Erik Paulson Contributor Jan-Erik Paulson is one of Europe's leading authorities on mature wines, specialising in Bordeaux and Austria. Mr Paulson has been internationally renowned for his top tastings for over thirty years and for his RareWine.com online shop. He is a passionate golfer and lives in Germany with his family. Andreas Larsson Contributor Andreas Larsson is the editor of FINE Exclusive and a regular FINE columnist. The 2007 Best Sommelier of the World, the best sommelier in Europe in 2004 and the best sommelier in the Nordic countries in 2002, Mr Larsson has worked as a sommelier in the best restaurants in Stockholm and won the Wine International Sommelier Challenge in 2005. He is a member of the Grand Jury Européen and has occupied many wine juror positions around the world. Mr Larsson is also a wine writer and educator. Meri Kukkavaara Publishing Editor Meri Kukkavaara is an interior designer by trade, who has a wide range of interests in the field of art, as well as education. Since completing her art studies in Florence, Italy she has worked extensively with art exhibitions and antiques, while occasionally contributing to art exhibitions as a free artist. She is also an art therapist, with more than ten years experience. Ms Kukkavaara is a keen student of life and in her free time enjoys taking up courses such as drumming, Indian cooking and tango. Stuart George Contributor Stuart George is an awarded English freelance wine writer, who is known for his writing for The World of Fine Wine. Mr George studied English and European Literature at The University of Warwick. He has worked as a wine merchant, travelling widely in different wine regions, before turning to wine writing. In his free time Mr George listens to music, plays guitar and follows cricket. Mario Roam Sculatti Contributor Mario Roam Sculatti is the Director of Sales and Consigments for Spectrum Wine Auctions, with offices based in Napa Valley and Orange County, California and Hong Kong. Mr Sculatti grew up in Saint Helena, California, in the heart of the Napa Valley. His family has mostly farmed vineyards and worked with wine for over a hundred years. The original family vineyard is located in Madronna area of Saint Helena. Mr Sculatti's love and taste in wine has evolved by simply being around great winemaker friends and making his own cabernet. He has traveled the wine world extensively and is now most intrigued by the growing interest in wine in Asia. Editor-in-Chief Pekka Nuikki pekka.nuikki@fine-magazines.com Managing Editor Juha Lihtonen juha.lihtonen@fine-magazines.com Deputy Editor Anne Lepola anne.lepola@fine-magazines.com Publishing Editor Meri Kukkavaara meri@fine-magazines.com Copy Editor Craig Houston craig.houston@fine-magazines.com Editorial Assistant Milla Mäkinen milla.makinen@fine-magazines.com Creative Director Teemu Timperi teemu.timperi@fine-magazines.com Art Director Jouna Lehikoinen jouna.lehikoinen@fine-magazines.com AD Assistant Julia Ruottinen julia.ruottinen@fine-magazines.com Senior Advisers Charles A. Banks, Martti Viitamäki, Tuomas Hirvonen, Sami Martinkauppi Contributors Marie Ahm, Kavita Faiella Photographers Pekka Nuikki, Johannes Grau Publishing Director Jarmo Hietaranta jarmo.hietaranta@fine-magazines.com iDirector Rehne Thomsen rehne.thompsen@fine-magazines.com CCO Markku Vartiainen markku.vartiainen@fine-magazines.com Media Sales Executive Isaac Svirskis isaac.svirskis@fine-magazines.com CBDO Pauliina Savolainen pauliina.savolainen@fine-magazines.com Orders & Queries Cover photograph: Pekka Nuikki subs@fine-magazines.com +358 (0)10 289 1000 Price Single Issue 30 including delivery Single PPDM, Password Protected Digital Magazine, 15 www.fine-magazines.com Publisher Fine Publishing Helsinki Ltd. Vattuniemenkuja 4 E 00210 Helsinki, FINLAND Printed in Finland by Libris Oy Ltd FINE Magazines does not keep nor return illustrations or other materials that have been sent to us without request. The opinions of contributors or interviewees presented in this magazine do not necessarily correspond to the opinions of the publisher or editorial staff. We withhold the right to make any modifications in texts and pictures published in Fine Magazines. We reserve the right to refuse or suspend advertisements. © Copyright: European Fine Wine Magazine Ltd European Fine Wine Magazine ISSN 1797-0636 American Fine Wine Magazine ISSN 1797-4348 Scandinavian Fine Wine Magazine ISSN 1796-3338 International Distribution - Pineapple Media Limited 10 F I N E

E U R O P E A N F I N E W I N E M A G A Z I N E March 04, 2010 Two Hour Vintage A flock of geese flies over me, signalling the imminent arrival of spring in Bordeaux. Indeed, a spring-like sun is beaming from the sky above Pauillac, lifting everyone's mood. Optimism is also the prevalent mood in the area's first-rate wineries ­ not just due to the sunshine and fast-approaching spring, but thanks to the 2009 vintage that is maturing in their barrels. The abundant and high-quality harvest awaits its en primeur campaign, set to begin in a few weeks, which will determine the price of the new vintage. "Judging by past en primeur experiences of top-quality vintages, the wines of 2009 will be sold out, at a good price, in two hours," boasts one First Growth estate director. I am not smiling. The continuous rise in wine prices since the beginning of the millennium has turned First Growth wines into luxury items that are seldom bought to be enjoyed. Increasingly often they are destined for investors' cellars, there to increase in value and await their sale on the secondary market. The high price of wine is often an obstacle to the bottle being opened: more and more people feel that a wine is more valuable in its bottle than when shared among friends. Those who do open a bottle in defiance of the high prices, often fail to let it mature for long enough, meaning the recently paid sum won't deliver the expected quality on the palate. Now that the prices of the superior vintages of First Growths have shot TASTE OF FINE out of range, many have found comfort in lesser vintages that have lower demand on the secondary market. Does that mean that oenophiles must settle for mediocre vintages if they want to enjoy the First Growth wines? Yes it does. But being prepared to forgo the First Growths does not mean that you cannot enjoy some of the finest wines of Bordeaux. There are still numerous top vintages from lesser growths on the market. Some of the best of these can be priced at just one third of the price of First Growth off-vintages. Therefore one question remains: which do you prefer to pay for ­ quality or status? Juha Lihtonen Managing Editor E D I T O R I A L FINE EdItorIal 11

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F I N E The Day Jefferson Turned in His Grave S ome years ago, I received a phone call from Central Europe. On the line was a friendlysounding stranger, asking whether I was interested in purchasing two bottles of the world's most famous wine. Regardless of the day or the occasion, my answer is ­ and will always be ­ yes, of course I am. What wine collector or oenophile could resist the thought? As long as the price is right, and now it was ­ even too much so; the wines were offered to me at just a tenth of their true market value. On the phone, I tried to hide my excitement and calmly enquired about the bottles' origin and state. It all sounded good. I asked the seller to quickly email me the most accurate photographs that he could get of the bottles before making my decision. Just ten minutes after I put the phone down, I was looking at photographs of two bottles that were in perfect outward condition. Their shape and form closely resembled images I had found of similar bottles, and the hand-engraved vineyard name and vintage looked exactly as they should. Even the famous initials Th. J., etched into the surface of the glass, were clearly visible. I zoomed in on the photographs and even made use of a magnifying glass. The wines' surface and colour were excellent, considering the age, and the capsules were still firmly in place. The idea that two bottles of Château Lafite 1787 that had belonged to US President Thomas Jefferson could soon be the crown jewels in my cellar, for the "low" price of 12 000, seized control of my mind. My desire for possession was naturally fuelled by the knowledge that an identical bottle had been auctioned at Christie's for US$140 000. In the last twenty years I had successfully acquired a reasonable number of mature wines and sometimes felt lucky doing so, but never this lucky. The wines had to be fakes, or the seller had dropped a zero off the price tag, I thought. I had an even closer look at the bottles. The capsules drew my attention: they were in too good a condition to be genuine. Their tops were so smooth and unworn that the name of Château Lafite was clearly visible, as was the picture of the estate's main building. The seller affirmed that the foils were original, which could not be true, because the name Lafite was spelt differently from the bottle, with just one "f ". I found it hard to believe that even Jefferson could have bought bottles in the late eighteenth century equipped with foils and a spelling that Laffite would only adopt a century later. Disappointment and relief rushed over me and I decided to forget all about it. the unbearable lightness of sharing I chose not to buy those bottles, either then or later, and soon another opportunity arose ­ this time publicly and in the open. Very similar bottles came on sale on eBay in Germany. A bitter price war ensued over the next seven days, resulting in an end price of Pekka Nuikki 15 000 per bottle. I was surprised. The fact that the Editor-in-chief wines were even sold on eBay with a starting price of one euro should have rung warning bells regarding their origin and authenticity. But apparently it didn't, because nearly fifty bidders were prepared to pay the price of a small car for them. This bothered me, and after the auction I contacted one of the winning bidders to enquire after the reason for the expensive purchase. Surprisingly the German wine collector responded, although anonymously, to tell me that he didn't really care whether the wine was genuine or not. For him, the smallest chance that it might be was enough; after all, the purchase price was only a tenth of the real bottle's value. He had no intention of either selling on the wine or drinking it himself. When a wine collector is possessed by such a blind possessive mania that he is prepared to pay thousands simply for a mirage and for the possibility of showing up his neighbours, the fraudster's job becomes easy. Even spelling mistakes are permitted. But there is a limit to everything. If you can find a bottle labelled Romani-Conti 1985 for £2200 at a renowned London wine merchant house, you can expect almost anything from the wine market. Therefore, care is required. I contend that one in ten fine wines being sold for more than 500 euros on the secondary market is a fake. In fact, I fear that the now infamous court case over the supposed Jefferson Lafite 1787 between the American billionaire Bill Koch and the German wine collector Hardy Rodenstock is just a drop in the ocean. Although I dislike blind tasting, especially of top-quality wines, I have probably been guilty of it more often than I know. I have knowingly tasted a few dozen fake wines, and unknowingly probably hundreds ­ hopefully not thousands. What the most skilfully forged bottles have in common is that they usually contain excellent wine, sometimes so perfect that the world's most experienced critics are prepared to believe in a miracle. On the other hand, any perfect wine is always a miracle, achieved through the collaboration of man and nature. We should be able to enjoy it heart and soul, regardless of the questionable nature of the information on its label. My best advice to serious wine collectors is therefore to buy carefully, drink cheerfully! > 15 N U I K K I FINE NUIKKI

text: Meri Kukkava ra Photographs: Pekka Nuikki 18 F I N E

P hotographer Pekka Nuikki has been behind the images of all the FINE Magazines from the beginning. He has worked as a professional photographer and also as an advertisement film director. His photographs have been displayed in hundreds of magazines and publications. Nuikki has had numerous solo exhibitions around the world since 1990 and a number of museums, wine estates and private collectors have his works in their collections. Most recently his wine-related work was exhibited at the Bordeaux festival Fête de la Fleur and in Vienna at the Coburg Palace. Several books have also been published on his art photography, the latest concerning the subject of wine, Wine Views (2009). The `Napa Terroir' exhibition was organised to raise funds for St. Helena Hospital Foundation and Auction Napa Valley, with Meadowood and The Napa Valley Reserve offering beautiful settings for this charity event. Meadowood Napa Valley is a heavenly resort, a real centre of social and viticultural life in the area. It offers guest rooms and suites to the discerning traveller, as well as two restaurants, one of them boasting two Michelin stars. This marvellous wine country destination, with its diverse amenities, was the perfect venue for a wine photography exhibition. The exhibition was displayed in the Vintner's Room. Nuikki's large works filled this classically designed room with a powerful sense of awe, as guests were unable to direct their gaze away from these dominant images. The photographs were all hand printed on watercolour paper, hand painted and unique, with the mere size of the works drawing the viewer into the landscapes. The photographs of this exhibition portrayed Napa Valley's own vineyards, and reflected the photographer's relationship with the wine scenery ­ that of depth, absence of time, nature confronting man. As the guests of the opening night started to arrive and wander amongst the works, it was the new and unfamiliar way of seeing their own neighbourhood that evoked the most interest. During the night, the wine growers in particular were keen to acquire a different take on their home terrain. After the success at Meadowood, the exhibition moved to The Napa Valley Reserve, where it arrived just in time for the big annual harvest celebration. Opening night at The Napa Valley Reserve The Napa Valley Reserve is an estate and private club offering its members the opportunity to experience and enjoy the way of life that surrounds the production of wine. The exhibition, held on a mellow September night, complemented beautifully the splendid harvest celebration. Here the images had a different dialogue with the setting, as the exhibition was arranged in East Ag Barn, one of the Reserve's buildings that follows a more contemporary architectural style. Just outside the barns, vine fields with ripe grapes spread out in the fading evening light, and as the night grew darker a moment occurred when there were no boundaries between nature and art. Instead, on both sides of the threshold there was beauty, tranquillity and balance. The curator of the exhibitions: Nina Wemyss, The Napa Valley Reserve www.meadowood.com www.thenapavalleyreserve.com N A P A T E R R O I R 19 FINE GALLERY

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LE PIN S U C C E S S F RO M THE SMALLEST SCALE Text: JAN-ERIK PAULSON Photographs: PEKKA NUIKKI IF A WINE'S SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY THE PRICE IT COMMANDS, THEN NO WINE HAS BEEN MORE SUCCESSFUL IN THE PAST THIRTY YEARS THAN THAT PRODUCED AT THE TINY POMEROL ESTATE, LE PIN. HOWEVER, WHY SHOULD CHÂTEAU PÉTRUS? ANYONE BE PREPARED TO PAY MORE FOR A WINE MADE IN A GARAGE THAN FOR A WORLD-RENOWNED OFFERING SUCH AS Le Pin is a wine of power but also of style, elegance and balance; it may appear overoaked when young, but after ten years this has been well-integrated. Owner Jacques Thienpont is striving for the perfectly ripe grape and the years he manages to achieve this, the wine becomes magnificent. For this reason, Le Pin has not been able to avoid comparisons with Château Pétrus, the undisputed king of Pomerol since the 1960s. 28 F I N E

L E P I N 29 F I N E E S TAT E Fi n e Stat e

L E P I N ­ S UC C E SS F RO M T H E S M A L L E ST S C A L E LE PIN VERSUS PÉTRUS The varietal composition between these two wines is more or less identical, as both contain almost 100 per cent Merlot with a small percentage of Cabernet Franc. Le Pin's soil consists of gravel and sand on top of iron-rich clay, whereas Pétrus lies on a unique patch of dark clay. They also tend to harvest earlier at Pétrus than Le Pin. It is more a matter of taste than quality as to which wine one prefers. Having reviewed my own tasting notes I found that I have mostly given Pétrus a half to one point more than Le Pin ­ high praise indeed. The two exceptions have come in the form of the 1982 and 1983, where Le Pin was ahead on my scorecard. GARAGE WINE Le Pin has often wrongly been named as one of the so-called vin de garage ­ a phenomenon that started in the early 1990s. The estate began its existence more than ten years before the first `garagiste' Jean-Luc Thunevin of Château Valandraud made his first vintage. Contrary to this popular misconception, Le Pin's winemaking is basically traditional and it has an excellent terroir. The vineyards surrounding the winery total nearly two hectares and are forty years old on average, with 92 per cent consisting of Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. The wine is made in the vineyard rather than the cellar. The truth is that many of the garagistes have copied several of Le Pin's methods ­ low yields, 100 per cent new oak, malolactic fermentation and no filtration ­ in the hope that they will be able to repeat Le Pin's success. On my last visit to Pomerol, I paid a visit to Château Le Pin. The estate is tremendously difficult to find despite its location at the very centre of Pomerol and at the highest point of the area. Only a tiny worn-out, poorly pasted sticker on a post box confirmed I was standing in the right courtyard. The day was hot, and my car's thermometer had consistently been above 31°C/87,8°F, but at Le Pin it shot up to 36°C/96,8°F. Talk of the estate having its own microclimate was accurate, it would seem. Jacques Thienpont and his wife Fiona live permanently in Belgium at the family ranch Hof te Cattebeke, but one of them travels once a week to France to overlook the estate. At more crucial times they spend longer periods in Pomerol, where they own a comfortable house not far from Le Pin. A vineyard worker lives in the small building of the estate ­ it was a condition of the insurance company insuring the wine of Le Pin that the building was inhabited. become the concentrated nucleus of Le Pin. These two properties were at opposite ends of Pomerol's `social ladder'; Vieux Château Certan had long been recognised as the premier château in Pomerol, whereas the Loubies sold their wine simply as generic Pomerol wine. Fifty-five years later the paths of these two estates crossed. Georges Thienpont's grandson Alexandre, the current manager of Vieux Château Certan, offered in 1979 to buy the small plot of Le Pin upon the death of Madame Loubie. However, the requested price was deemed too high and he withdrew from the purchase. Alexandre's father, Leon Thienpont, was aware that his nephew Jacques had been looking to buy a wine property for himself and so advised him about the offer. A DEAR INFATUATION Jacques Thienpont was born in Belgium in 1946 and a career as a wine merchant was the expected future for him. Having spent a large part of his childhood and youth at Vieux Château Certan, a love for the region and its wines had emerged. Therefore, the opportunity to become a wine grower interested him greatly, particularly on a terroir with unique potential. Le Pin had it all. The price of one million French Francs ­ about 165 000 euros or 225 000 US dollars ­ appears a bargain today, particularly considering the present prices of Le Pin wines; but it was outrageously expensive for a plot of just over one hectare, taking into account the wine and vineyard prices at the time. ROOTS IN BELGIUM Prosperity for this humble estate began with the Thienpont family, who were originally from Etikhove in Belgium where the family has run a wine import company since 1842. Georges Thienpont established the company to import wines from France and Spain, and in the 1900s he was one of the first merchants to discover the potential of the Pomerol wines for international markets. With such promise evident in the region, Thienpont purchased the Pomerol estate of Vieux Château Certan in 1924, the same year the Loubie family acquired a plot in the centre of Pomerol, which would eventually 30 F I N E

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Comparing it to the price of Château Margaux, which was sold in 1977 for 72 million Francs, it appears ludicrous. The Château Margaux deal constituted 250 hectares of land, of which 75 hectares was planted. It also included a magnificent château, winemaking facilities and three vintages ­ 1974, 1975 and 1976 ­ in the cellar. Therefore, in effect, this small plot of land was valued at a higher price per hectare than that of Château Margaux, which is arguably the most famous property in Bordeaux. Jacques Thienpont managed, however, to raise the money to purchase the estate with the help of his father and uncle. immediately needed, as a third of the vineyard needed replanting and there was no winemaking equipment onsite because the Loubies had made their wine at a winery in Lalande de Pomerol. Firstly, a stainless steel fermentation tank was bought and installed in the tiny house belonging to the property. It was Jacques Thienpont's fanaticism about cleanliness, rather than an attempt to impart oak flavours to his wine, that led him to buy new barriques instead of reusing ones from his cousin at Vieux Château Certan. new barriques as soon as possible once the alcoholic fermentation had stopped. This, combined with great terroir, low yields and the new barriques, led to wines of almost Burgundian voluptuousness and an immediate attraction in their youth. This was a style greatly appreciated by the fast growing new markets in the USA and Europe. The wine's success rose rapidly, as did the price it fetched on secondary markets. As worldwide demand for Bordeaux's best wines swelled in the 1980s and 1990s, their prices began to increase sharply and none more so than the price of Le Pin. The explanation lies in the fact that Le Pin is a very good wine but also in its minuscule production. The average production is about 7000 bottles per year, compared to about 35 000 bottles of Pétrus or 300 000 bottles of Mouton-Rothschild. THE NEED FOR A RAPID SOLUTION It is interesting to note that the concept of having malolactic fermentation in barriques was facilitated by a lack of money rather than intentionally trying to affect the style of the wine. Until the 1950s no one quite knew what malolactic fermentation was and even less was known about how to control it. In those days one only knew that something happened to wine when temperatures in the cellars increased, usually during the following spring. We now know that this is the sharp malic acid changing into softer lactic acid and that it may be induced by raising the temperature to around 20°C/68°F after the alcoholic fermentation is finished and while the wine is still in the fermentation tanks. Thus, fermentation has become easier to control than before when it was allowed to occur unassisted in the barriques. As Thienpont didn't have enough space for all his wine in the stainless steel fermentation tank, he transferred it to his HOW GOOD IS LE PIN? There is no second wine produced at Le Pin and I assume that whatever isn't good enough for the Grand Vin is consumed privately. Curiously, no Le Pin was bottled in 2003. The heat and ensuing drought were so extreme during the year that the grapes were roasting on the vines, leading Jacques Thienpont to playfully call it pin rôtie ­ pain rôtie being French for toasted bread. Having tasted most vintages produced, I find Le Pin very good indeed and would personally put it in the small elite group of the `Super Seconds'. I have taken part in several major `10 years after' blind tastings where the jury has voted it top of not only the Pomerol flight, but in the case of a major 1990 tasting, it was deemed to be the favourite wine tasted. In order to join the unofficial group of the Premier Crus though, the wine will need to show greater consistency over a longer period than it has been able to thus far. > TINY AND TIDY An acquisition of an additional hectare took place in three separate deals during the 1980s and allowed Le Pin to reach its present size of 2.2 hectares, all within one plot. I asked Jacques' wife, Fiona Morrison, a British Master of Wine, if they are planning to expand their holdings. They are, after all, entitled to buy any land within the appellation and bring grapes from there under the label of Le Pin ­ an extremely profitable proposition. She vehemently denied any such plans, arguing that only adjacent land with similarly good terroir would be of interest should it ever come on the market. Anything else would not meet with their high standard of quality and philosophy. Upon purchase of the estate, it was realised that further investments were 32 F I N E

FINE' S 98P BEST LE PIN 98P EXPERIENCES 1982 CHÂTEAU LE PIN (POMEROL) 2006/2020 X7 · D 3 H / G 2 H 1979 CHÂTEAU LE PIN (POMEROL) 2006/2020 X5 · D 1 H / G 1 H The vines' average age at Le Pin is forty years and nowadays the 2.2-hectare vineyard yields around 7000 bottles annually. The 1979 vintage was not superb overall, but it did turn out well in Pomerol. A wet winter led into a wet spring. The growing season was mostly dry and the temperatures remained low. Both Merlot and Cabernet Franc were harvested in perfectly ripe condition, resulting in wines with a luscious and rich texture. Moderately dark ruby colour with an orange hue. An intense spicy nose with roasted nuts, lovely ripe plums, fruitcake and delicate floral aromas, along with fascinating evolved, leathery and earthy nuances. A lovely concentration on the palate ­ medium-bodied style with intense red fruit flavours, elegant but still firm tannic structure and balancing acidity that escorts the lingering and harmonious finish. This is a wine with finesse and opulence, which is now beautifully exposed after decent bottle ageing. The wine is drinking perfectly but will keep for another fifteen years. This wine has existed under the Le Pin name since 1967, when the property owner Madame Laubie leased her one-hectare vineyard to a grower who named it Le Pin à Lalande. The name derives from the pine tree located next to the winemaking facilities. After being owned by the Laubie family for 55 years, the estate was acquired by the Thienpont wine merchant family upon the death of Madame Laubie. It was this vintage 1982 that made Le Pin one of the most sought after wines of the world. The small property is located at the edge of the Pomerol plateau, with soil made up of mainly gravel and clay lying on the iron-rich base. Very moderate yields were seen this year, with only 30 hectolitres per hectare. Wonderful Le Pin! Dark red colour up to the tight rim and no fading. A meaty and fruity complex nose with hints of black fruits and roasted coffee beans. A giant body, with a rich and smoothly tannic mouthfeel. The pure and concentrated fruit is beginning to show complexity. An incredible finish, this is still on the upswing. Improves over the several hours it is in the glass. Best Le Pin ever! 97P 1998 CHÂTEAU LE PIN (POMEROL) 2005/2030 X3 · D 3 H / G 2 H 94P 2000 CHÂTEAU LE PIN (POMEROL) 2006/2025 X3 · D 5 H / G 3 H Decanted three hours. A deep, purple wine showing no sign of age. A rich, inviting nose of roasted nuts, black cherries and vanilla. Full-bodied, fleshy and opulent entry with fruitcake, ripe black fruits and cherry-like flavours, although it is not really giving much away yet. Firm and velvety-textured with layers of concentration and well-integrated tannins. Good acidity carried through into a sensational fat and long finish. A well-balanced wine with a high level of dense tannin. This might be as good as Le Pin 1982 in the near future. Starting to drink well now, but will be outstanding in 15 to 20 years. Decanted six hours. Very dark and deep in colour. The nose shows highly toned black fruit, smoke, soft vanilla oak, minerals and a note of coffee. On the palate it had a good concentration of fruit that was balanced by some soft tannins, but the wine finished surprisingly rapidly. The structure was alright, but there was still something missing. It just generally lacked excitement. However, it is definitely the second best Pomerol of this great vintage, after Pétrus. 98P 1990 CHÂTEAU LE PIN (POMEROL) 2008/2030 X3 · D 3 H / G 3 H 33 L E P I N F I N E E S TAT E

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Sarpaneva Watches - click the picture Handmade Timepiece by Sarpaneva 36 F I N E

The FINE Life Award is presented by FINE Magazines to individuals whose long-term contribution has been of outstanding significance to the greater cultural field of wine. With this award FINE Magazines wishes to both recognise the recipient's achievements and encourage them to continue on the path of developing the culture of wine. FINE Life Award This inaugural FINE Life Award takes the form of a bespoke handcrafted Sarpaneva Korona 2 timepiece, which operates using kinetic energy, made by Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva. Symbolising the ethos of the FINE Life Award, in order to run, the timepiece requires its master to move. As long as there is movement, there is time for new accomplishments. B I L L H A R L A N 37 F I N E L I F E A wA r d

Bill Harlan interview - click the video 38 F I N E

The clock over the tennis court said 5:32pm and the scoreboard in my head showed that I was losing. I prepared to deliver my second serve. As usual, my opponent stood, virtually immobile, on the opposite side of the net with the same calculated expression on his face, a face that I had stared into for more than two hours. I placed my serve to his backhand and rushed to the net. His return floated back so softly you could almost hear the ball purring; but also so sharply, and with such an accuracy Bill Harlan FINE Life Award Te xt & p h oto grap h s: Pe k k a Nui k k i that I reached it only with a great deal of effort. However, my return succeeded and I was ready to kill the ball with my next volley, but all I succeeded in killing was any hope of victory I may have had. The yellow ball met the blue sky high out of my reach and purposefully hovered over me before landing on the back line behind my back. The lob was hit so skilfully and unpredictably that only a whisper of surprise had time to pass through my brain. Game, set and match Bill Harlan. It wasn't the first victorious game for the modest and sporting Bill Harlan, and it will surely not be the last. It's not just his will to win, but his will to achieve perfection in everything he undertakes that sets him apart from others. Bill Harlan puts everything, body and soul, into his game. He plays with a joyous, competitive zeal that is contagious ­ even in tennis, which is more of a hobby for the man. Wine is his game ­ a game in which he has showed a champion's resilience, touch and style throughout the last three decades. Bill Harlan is a genuinely good guy, who appears to have an impressively professional game. Although he has already reached the age of a senior player, he still plays and competes at the top level and is continually striving for the Grand Slam. B I L L H A R L A N 39 F I N E L I F E A wA r d

Making the vision In the context of Napa Valley wines and the future of the region, Bill Harlan is often mentioned as a great visionary, and there is no doubt that he is just that. Great visions are needed to prevent the current of daily life from sweeping us towards what is merely good or an extension of the past without breaking away from the potential or the great. Because, as we know, good is the enemy of great. If you don't want to go with the flow you must take concrete action, and I feel that Harlan is at his best when asserting his ideas. His visions are fulfilled, which is rare even in America. He is not satisfied with one major title; year after year he reaches for the Grand Slam. It was not enough for him to have created one of the best wines in the Napa Valley and indeed the world: he is also the originator of unique service concepts in his region, and has developed new fine wines for our enjoyment. We are seated in the spacious and airy living room of Harlan's winery, Bond. Although he has just played a couple of hours of tennis, he is so full of energy and enthusiasm that I jump-start the conversation straight into the future and to coming decades. "We have had a good start. It has now been 25 years. A part of that is having clarity, and living it and communicatingittothenextgeneration­notonlyofour familybutoftheteamthatworkstogetherasanextended familyandcarriesusintothefuture.Itisimportantforusto writedownthethingsthataremostimportant,notonlyfor ourchildren,butforourgrandchildrenandthoseafterthat. ThesearesomeofthethingsthatIneedtoworkonforthe next25years." Purpose of actions People are paying less and less for products and services, and more for the meanings and significances that they contribute. This means that all those involved in the service process must acquire a deep understanding of what is essential and meaningful in the creation, purchase and use of products. Harlan has such an understanding. Even interviewing Him is a unique experience, because it entails counter-questions that are always analytical and perspicacious. Speaking with him, it is not enough to know how to ask questions: you also have to be able to answer them, which unsettles many journalists. I'm now happy to throw Harlan's favourite question back at him: What is the purpose of your actions? "Thepurposeistobringpeopletoaplacethattheymay nothavereachedhadtheynotrunintous.Ifwecanenrich people'slives,andjustmaybeinspirethemtodosomething beyondwhattheymightotherwisehavedone,thatbrings us great satisfaction. Sometimes we forget how much work it takes on the part of the audience to understand, appreciateanddevelopadiscernmentforworksofartto bethatvisual,music,orevenwine. SoIwouldsaythatourpurposeistohelpourpatronsto haveanevenmoreenjoyableandhealthylife." The children are young adults ­ one is still in school, the otheronehasjustleftschool­sotheirlearningcurveisstill steep. I feel things are in place and that we have a very goodteam,inboththefirstandthesecondgeneration.But I feel that until we have created something that can last waybeyondourlifetimes,IwillnothavecompletedwhatI setouttodo. Itisimportanttocontinuetodothethingsthatweneed to do for succession, and that is my goal here and now, andforthenext25years.Ourchildrenarereadytobegin figuring out what they really want to do and my dream is thatthewinegrowingestatecouldbeanimportantfacet oftheirlives.Willitbetheonlythingintheirlives?Hopefully not.Willeitheroneofthembeawinemaker?Probablynot, but I feel that we have a great winegrowing team going forward. They are preparing to take on the responsibility, carryonthefamilyvalues,thecultureandthepassion,as wemoveintothefuture. In this first quarter of a century, the team has certainly had the respect for the land, the passion for building a winegrowing estate, the passion for wine and the perseverance to follow through. And so, just as important as creating the physical winegrowing operations, is the creation of the family culture that can last through the generations. Positive meanings Understanding the nature of humanity is a big enough challenge to last a lifetime. The aim should not be to become great in others' eyes, but to recognise one's own value. Understanding this ultimately implies identifying one's own life values and living according to them. It is not easy, but Harlan appears to have succeeded. The positive impact of his and his team's actions on the surrounding environment and its inhabitants is resoundingly evident in many things. Some of the establishments created by Harlan and his team include one of the most desirable wines from Napa Valley, Harlan Estate, and the unique Napa Valley Reserve wine club with more than five hundred 40 F I N E

It is important to continue to do the things that we need to do for succession, and that is my goal here and now, and for the next 25 years. members, as well as the five-star Meadowood leisure resort, which is where the Napa Valley Vintners host the annual charity event, Auction Napa Valley. All these offer the public opportunities to acquire personal experiences of the Napa Valley and thus to be a part of the swiftly developing winegrowing culture in the United States. In Harlan's own view, however, he is still in the early stages: "We are still learning to understand our valley, just as one of the largest China Towns in the west and is considered to be one of the gay and lesbian capitals of the world. The maxims "let all the flowers bloom" and "anything goes" are apt characterisations of the inhabitants of the narrow strip of land on the continental rift between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The population of Haight-Ashbury was initially a mixed bunch of radicals, artists and musicians, an extension of the nearby university town, Berkeley, where psychedelic drugs and a wish to escape the stranglehold of organised society replaced the academic environment of the university. The Berkeley environment and the diverse alternative cultures and countercultures of the 1960s provided a heterogeneous breeding ground for Harlan and his dreams. "The United States is still a young country. We must not losethepioneeringspiritthatbroughtushere.Atthesame time,Imyselfknow­afterlivinginCaliforniaalltheseyears ­ that you can live in the moment and move to a point of disequilibrium, where you don't know what is going to happenintheverynextsecond.Itreallymakesyoulivein thenow. mucheachyearaswehaveinpreviousyears.Thereisso muchyettolearnaboutgrape-growingandwinemaking here. Due to the late nineteenth century phylloxera, the WorldWars,prohibitionandtheDepression,ourwineculture did not begin to grow until the 1970s, I would say. That is only35to40yearsago,sowearestillatthebeginningin thiscountry. Wewillcontinuetolearnjustasmuchoverthenext60 yearsaswehaveinthepast60years.Ifeelwehaveonly seen a small percentage of the actual potential of the NapaValley,sowearemaybeaquarterofthewaythere." Living in a flower box Harlan lives and breathes the rich Californian soil and the region's colourful culture. He has been immersed in these surroundings since his university days: his first place of study, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, was the University of California at Berkeley, situated just one hour from Napa Valley. The USA is often perceived as a liberal melting pot of diverse cultures, where a free man is able to achieve anything. Attitudes become significantly less liberal, however, as you leave the large cities for the Midwest and the Deep South. In the 1960s, San Francisco was considered the global heart of the beatnik movement. In addition to the cradle of the hippie subculture in Haight-Ashbury, the city contains Living in that zone of the moment is very exciting, but it's ephemeral, you are not really building for the future. Tostayinthiszoneofdisequilibriumyoumusttakegreater andgreaterrisks.Totakegreaterrisksuptoapointisone thing; you can take physical risks, you can gamble with money,youcangamblewithwomen,youcangambleina lotofdifferentways.Butastimegoeson,theconsequences become greater, the rewards are fleeting, and the consequencescanbepermanent.Thedaycomeswhenit maybetimetothinktowardsthelongerterm. WhenImovedtoNorthernCaliforniainmylateteensto attenduniversity,Irealisedthatthelegendarywineregion ofNapaValleywasonlyanhouraway.IfirstarrivedinNapa inthelate1950s.In1959Ididalittle"documentary"onthe valleytogetinbehindthescenes,toseehowitallworked. B I L L H A R L A N F I N E L I F E A wA r d 41

Isaidthatsomeday,ifIcouldearnenoughmoney,Iwould love to have a vineyard and make wine. This was one of threedreamsIhad." Harlan's other two dreams were to sail a boat around the world, and to get married and raise a family - the boat was the first dream to come true after he traded a dozen parcels of land for a sailing boat. During the 1960s Harlan often visited Napa Valley, and then in 1966 he went to the opening of the Robert Mondavi winery. It was this visit that opened his eyes. He realised that he could start his own winery rather than buying an existing one. "In 1979 I finally acquired the property in Napa Valley knownasMeadowood.Itwasasmallclubfoundedin1964 for people who lived in and visited the area. By the end of the 1970s it had fallen into foreclosure and I ended up acquiringittogetherwithmytworealestateassociates.As asmall,shadowedvalley,itwasnotanidealpropertyfor winegrowing. IntheAutumnof1979,RobertMondavicontactedme through a mutual friend. He talked about his idea of a charity wine auction, hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners and modelled somewhat on the Hospice de Beaune in Burgundy.Thepurposewastwofold:toraisemoneyfortthe localhospitalsandtocreateawarenessthatNapaValley was among the finest winegrowing regions in the world. HethoughtMeadowoodwouldbetheperfect"common ground". Key to Napa Valley By the 1970s, Harlan had begun to grow up and was involved in several investment projects related to real estate and land in areas including Napa Valley. A successful career in real estate development and investment and a deep interest in wines soon led Bill Harlan to start fulfilling his second dream: finding his own winery. His objective was to produce not just any wine, but the best possible wine. This required extensive research, and a decade passed before he had found and acquired the rocky forest plot he identified in Oakville. Harlan says that the greatest risk he ever took was buying that land, because there were A steep learning curve The first charity auction was held at Meadowood in 1981. Over the years, the auction has become one of the most important wine events in the world. It has raised over 85 million US dollars to support local healthcare and youth programmes. TeamHarlanplusFINE no guarantees of the suitability of the soil for winegrowing. However, he was convinced that the area had potential. Just below his estate was the legendary Martha's Vineyard, and next door was Robert Mondavi's To Kalon. Before developing his own vineyard, Harlan had got his foot in the Napa Valley door and its local community by acquiring the Meadowood property and its surrounding land. "In 1980 I took the most inspirational five-week wine trip toFrance,organisedbyRobertMondavi,withvisitstothe finest châteaux of Bordeaux and then on to the Grand Crus of Burgundy. After the trip, it was very clear to me whatIwantedtodo.Mydreamwasnolongertohavea littlevineyardandtomakewine:Iwantedtocreatea"first growth"ofCalifornia.IrealisedthatIneededtolearnand understandmoreabout"terroir"beforeacquiringtheideal land. I travelled several times to Bordeaux and Burgundy to try to find out the common thread among the most valuablevineyardpropertiesintheworld. 42 F I N E

Bill Harlan interview - click the video B I L L H A R L A N 43 F I N E L I F E A wA r d

Myexplorationledmetolookforlandthatwasnoton ThisprojectbecameMerryvaleandprovidedaverysteep the valley floor but on a hillside. I wanted to have history onmyside,andthebestredwinesproducedintheUnited Statesoverthelongestperiodoftimehadoriginatedinthe NapaValley,alongapproximatelyathree-milestriponthe westsideofHighway29knownastheRutherford­Oakville Bench. I wanted to buy land in that area, but above the valleyfloor.ThelandthatIconsideredtohavetheverybest potentialforwinegrowingwasaforest,andtheownerlived inCanada. It took me a while to assemble the land, since I knew I needed a large enough property to produce grapes to makeenoughhigh-qualitywinefortheglobalmarket. WhileIwasdoingmyresearchandlookingfortheland of my dreams, I was desperately wanting to make wine. I toldmytwopartnersatMeadowoodofmyplanstostarta wineryandtheyjoinedin.Westartedmakingwinein1982 withRobinLailandherhusbandJon.Atfirstwedidnotown awineryoranyland:weboughtgrapesandlearnthowto makewine.Weendedupbuyingawinery­infactitwas thefirstwinerythattheMondavi'sowned,theoldSunnySt. HelenawinerybuiltbyRobertandPeterMondavi'sfather rightaftertherepealofprohibition.Robertgaveusalotof ideasandtoldusinterestingstoriesaboutwhatitwaslike growingupthereasakidandlearningtomakewinewith hisbrother,Peter. learning curve. Learning about vineyard land, learning about Napa Valley, learning about what varietals really workedbestinthisvalleyandinwhatareas.Itgavemethe opportunity to learn how to put together a team, to find a great winemaker, to work with different distributors and importers.Wefoundoutwhichimporterswererightforour culture, and which distributors. We learnt what works and whatdoesn't,welearntthatwiththevagariesofnature,we havegoodtimesandtoughtimes." Lucky with people Many management guides turn leaders into heroes. That may suit some management types who are prone to selfadmiration and power thirst, but it is not Harlan's style. He knows that even the best managers cannot lift operations to a new level by themselves; it takes a committed group of enthusiastic and reliable teammates. When people work together in a positive atmosphere, it leads to new ideas that no one could generate alone. Bill Harlan is a team player and considers finding the right partners to be the most crucial element of his success. "While Merryvale was a learning project for all of us, I managedtobuytheinitiallandfromtheCanadianowner in1984.Thedreamofcreatinga"firstgrowth"wasmoving "I would say that I am very fortunate ­ one of life's finest gifts has been shared among great people!" 44 F I N E BillHarlanandPhilipNorfleet

tothenextstep.TheleadershipfromMerryvale­BobLevy andDonWeaver­joinedme.By1985webeganplanting ourfirstvineyardatHarlanEstate.Itwasclearwewereonly goingtoproduceonewine,aCabernetSauvignon-based redwine.Ittookaboutadecadeofacquiringmoreland, startingwithfortyacresandreachingalmosttwohundred andfortytoday. Itwasherethatthevisionbegantoevolve.Itwashere that we could carve from the raw land something new andinspiring.BobLevyiscertainlyagreatwinemaker.while DonWeaverisanaturalatbuildingrelationships.Theyare peopleenjoyingtheirliveswhiletheydotheirwork,creating what they want to create and what they have a passion for.Itisalsoaboutthewholeteam­ourextendedfamily­ fulfillingtheirpotential,abouthavingamediuminwhichto followtheirpassion.Weworktoinspireandassistthosewho havethepotentialandthecommitment.Ifeelthisculture nurturesameaningfullife,bothhappyandsuccessful. IwouldsaythatIamveryfortunate­oneoflife'sfinest giftshasbeensharedamonggreatpeople!" Shine to stand out Living at the receiving end of today's abundant supply, Americans are not satisfied with things being good, or there being just a little of it. The extensive supply has led to a buyer's market. Unprofessional operators disappear quickly from the market, because they have no attraction. That leaves only the professionals, which means that even high-quality operations cannot guarantee success ­ you have to shine to stand out. Bill Harlan shines, both in his visions and in his actions. Everything Harlan does has two major aspects in common: striving for excellence and a passion for balance between tradition and new things. In Harlan's view, a person who thinks he knows stops investigating new things. He becomes a prisoner of his own thoughts. On the other hand, those who are curious and explore come alive and give rise to great possibilities. "To me, it is important to follow our passion, to follow whatisreallyinterestingandimportanttousduringeach phaseofourlife.AndIthinkitisimportanttodoourvery best, do what we really think is right, for if we don't, we havenochancetoreachourpotentialorknowwhatwe reallywanttodo. Ifwehaveclarityofvisionastowhatwewanttodoand reachacertainautonomy,wecanfigureouthowtoget to where we want, still have a good connection and an abilitytodealwithpeople,anddothethingsweneedto stayhealthy. We are not doing things because we think we have toorbecausesomeoneelseorsocietywantsustodoit: we are doing what we are really drawn to, realising our vision and having that drive that doesn't feel like work. Withtheenergyandadirectioninwhichtochannelit,life isveryexciting,andifit'salignedwithouressence,it'svery fulfilling." Fear of action is blind On the surface, Harlan exudes wisdom and serenity, which are emphasised by his stylish, precisely trimmed white beard and observant light-blue eyes. He sits calmly throughout the interview and uses little body language to accentuate his speech. He keeps his slim figure in good shape and says he enjoys exercise daily. In fact, the only distraction to our conversation is provided by the window and its view over a faraway tennis court, to which Bill's gaze will sometimes stray. "Ilikedoingoutdoorthings,especiallyplayingtennis.We needtofeelgoodtosucceedinlifeingeneral,andtofeel goodweneedtostayfairlyfitandeatafairlybalanceddiet. We need stress, but not too much stress. I feel time spent withfamilyandgoodfriendsmaybethemostvaluableof all.OnapersonalnoteIlikedowntime,timealone,timeto think,timeforcontemplation.Asthesayinggoes,`alifeof actionisblind,ofcontemplationisimpotent',andweneed abalancebetweenthetwo." Blind date Our conversation is momentarily interrupted by the phone. It is the most important member of Harlan's team: his delightful wife Deborah, to whom Bill owes a lot of his success. As a young man, he loved to gamble and take B I L L H A R L A N 45 F I N E L I F E A wA r d

risks, and it is no surprise that Bill and Deborah should have met on a blind date arranged by friends. And so Bill Harlan fulfilled his third dream by marrying in 1986. In 1987 they had their first child, a son named Will. In 1989, Amanda arrived. The family has evolved together with Harlan Estate. "Deborah's role is to do what she likes to do, where her interests lie in a way that supports the family and the enterprise. The kinds of things we have been talking about here, the family, the culture, building for the future and the Harlan Estate team, our "extended family"... we think of this place as a winery, not only for us but it is really a winery of people who love our wines. I think she sees that a bit too. She enjoys meeting people and genuinely helps in building relationships. She is more of a natural at it than I am." Social responsibility In three decades, the Napa Valley has become one of the world's wine districts whose desirability can challenge that of Bordeaux or Burgundy. It is not just a question of producing high-quality wines, but of understanding their significance. Napa Valley's winegrowers and service providers have been among the best at understanding what customers appreciate, how products and services are linked to customers' life values, and how they can improve the customers' experience of life. Discerning customers want to gain meaningful experiences through consumption; to be convinced of the fact that as people they can change, grow, be renewed and become different. In this case, the objective is not an impulse buy but a long-term, close customer relationship. The best example of this idea is in Harlan's service and product concepts. Napa Valley wine and service producers are also characterised by an enormous desire for success and demonstration, as well as by respect for each other and, particularly, for the history and terroir of the valley. "WehaveagreatresponsibilityinNapaValley.Weare veryfortunateinwhatwasbroughttousbyourforebears­ theearlypioneerswhoplantedthefirstvinesinthevalley. Those who were the stewards of this land from the days of the pioneers, families that came here from all different partsoftheworldinthe1800s.Theykeptitgoingthrough prohibition and, after prohibition, regrouped and helped makethevalleywhatithasslowlybecome.Theywereable tocreatetheagriculturalpreservein1968,helpingtoturn NapaValleyintowhatsomecallanationaltreasure. So we have a great responsibility as stewards of this valley.Notjustintermsofthevineyardsandwinegrowing, butalsoinoureconomiccontributiontothevalleyandthe environmentalconcernsofthevalley.Wealsohavesocial responsibilityforthosewholivehereandthosewhoworkin allitsdifferentfacets. One of the most exciting things is that this is a very homogeneous,active,workingcommunity.Itisnotaplace forthenon-working,madeupofwealthycitizenswhomove forrecreationorretirement.No,thisisanactivecommunity wherethosewhodealwithagricultureandthevagariesof MotherNaturehavegreatrespectforthelandandeach other. We all need each other to make this community work,nottomentionourresponsibilitytopassontheregion tothenextgenerationinabetterstatethanthatinwhich wereceivedit." 46 F I N E BillandDeborahHarlan

The Last one per cent Listening to Harlan, I am struck by an all-encompassing insight: it is the last one per cent that is decisive. A large-scale change often begins with a small shift. Things can change through slow development or sudden revolution. In Napa Valley's case it has been both, however, most recently it has been a radical transformation effected by just a few generations. One of the major injections of energy for this transformation was provided by Bill Harlan. What makes Harlan stand out from the rest of us is his yearning for that last one per cent. He knows what distinguishes the best work from good work, just as one point sets a perfect wine apart from a 99-point wine. Often that last one per cent requires as much time and dedication as the previous 99 per cent: this, too, is something that Harlan has learnt, the hard way. His attitude towards his own achievements and his future is humble and sensitive. "For perspective,, we are still 100 to 200 years behind Bordeaux, maybe 500 to 600 years behind Burgundy. We haveabigtaskincontinuingtoproducethelevelofquality wine that warrants respect among the discerning public worldwide. We must continue to learn more about our terroirandmakebetterwines,andwealsoneedtoreach outtoallthekeymarketsintheworldtoletpeopleknow aboutus. PeoplelikeBobMondaviandsomeoftheearlierpioneers, aswellasthosethatstartedinthe60s,70sand80s,really helpedtobringNapaValleytotheawarenessoftheglobal wineworld.Nowweneedtocontinuetakingourwinesto theworld'smarketsandplacingthemwiththegreatwines oftheoldworld. I can say that it is an exciting way to live, both in the moment and while also working on things that can last beyond our lifetime. Working on leaving the Napa Valley betterthanwefounditalsohelpstogiveusacertainsense offulfillment." Bill Harlan interview - click the video B I L L H A R L A N 47 F I N E L I F E A wA r d

The Napa Valley Wine Auction "In 1980 Robert Mondavi sent three of us ­ Robin Lail, Jon Lail and myself ­ on a most inspirational wine trip to France, first to Bordeaux, with visits to its finest cheateaux, and then Burgundy, where the world-famous Hospice de Beaune wine auction was taking place. Robin Lail was Robert Mondavi's assistant and is also the daughter of Napa Valley's legendary wine producer, John Daniels from Inglenook. In Burgundy we were guests of Robert Drouhin, the chair of the auction that year. Robert Mondavi had arranged this for us so that we had the opportunity to see how the auction was formulated and get ideas for the potential auction in Napa Valley. In 1981,with the inspiration of Robert Mondavi, the administrative leadership of Robin Lail, the support of the board of the Napa Valley Vintners association and fewer than a dozen "Founders", the Napa Valley Wine Auction debuted at Meadowood. It was hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners association. "The Napa Valley Wine Auction was successful from its very first year. It managed to increase awareness of our region, raise money for charity and, most of all, bring the local community together in a way in which it had never worked before. This community of volunteers, nowadays comprising more than one thousand people, has been a major influence on the spirit and culture of Napa Valley. We are celebrating the thirtieth Auction Napa Valley in June 2010." Meadowood Video Collection- click the picture Bond Winery Bond "It was during the period that we created Merryvale, 1983 to 1997, that Bob Levy discovered an exceptional grape quality in a handful of the more than sixty vineyards we had worked with over the years. When we sold the Merryvale winery, we retained a few of the key vineyards and they were the foundation of BOND estates. In this respect the concept of BOND actually predates Harlan Estate. The first vintage of BOND was the 1997. BOND was created for three reasons. First, these select vineyards with grand cru potential deserved to be vinified separately and have a label of their own. Second, I had learnt on my trips to Bordeaux and Burgundy that the sharing of information between producers and growers was often limited, which was something we needed to avoid here in our culture. As we were buying grape from many different growers, we efficiently learnt more about the different terroirs and our learning curve was very steep. While at Harlan Estate we focused primarily on our own land. BOND gave us the opportunity to work with other growers and constantly learn more about other terroirs of Napa Valley, as well as the winegrowing that best expressed the character of these unique properties. The third reason for establishing BOND was that we wanted to be able to groom the next generation. Our goal was to create a winegrowing estate that would last for many generations. To do that, it takes a long time before you really understand the land, so no matter how good your vineyard manager is, or your winemaker, they don't really begin to understand that land for at least a decade. It takes a generation to really know the land. So the whole idea of the mentor, of the master teaching the apprentice from the next generation, seemed very important to us. Any one of us could be hit by a truck one day, so I wanted to make sure that if something happened to any person on the team, we could still survive. I thought that we needed to groom the best and the brightest of the next generation, as well as making sure we could keep the best and the brightest of this generation. So I felt that the concept of BOND could enable us to have the critical mass to do both, and Harlan Estate alone was really quite small to accomplish both at the level we thought was important." Bond Winery - click the picture 48 F I N E

The Napa Valley Reserve "Of all the things I have done, the most satisfying and fulfilling, second only to raising my family, has been to create our winegrowing estate; to grow grapes and make wine and be able to share it with family and friends. I was sure there would be enough people in this world who would relate to the things that have most resonated with us. There are a lot more people who drink wine than play golf. There are over 8000 golf clubs in the USA alone, of which about 3500 are private. Of those, a few hundred make up the really prominent clubs in America, and a handful are some of the greatest golf clubs in the world. I felt that if this country could support that many golf clubs, and more people drink wine than play golf, then there had to be room for a wine club. That gave me a certain confidence. You can drink wine when your back hurts, you can drink wine when your knees hurt, and when you get too old or tired to walk around a golf course, you can always have a great glass of wine. So I felt that we should go for it. Quite a few people thought I was crazy and said that no one would join such a club, no one would pay the kind of money that it would take to create the quality of facility that would attract the potential members who could afford to be there ­ that kind of thing." Philip Norfleet, Director of the Napa Valley Reserve continues: "It is an exclusive wine club, whose members also become winegrowers. You receive your own rows of vines and our winemakers help you follow and influence the wine's production from cultivation to bottling. In addition, all members have direct access to our staff and our facilities for learning, gatherings, tastings, lunches and dinners, or just for relaxing. We also arrange members' events, education and interesting trips". Harlan Estate The 240-acre Harlan Estate is located in the western hills above Oakville, at an elevation of between 225 and 1225 feet. The hillside vineyards enjoy a northern, southern, western and eastern orientation. The land cultivated with vines makes up just 40 acres of the entire estate, and is located at an elevation of between 325 and 525 feet. The subsoil is volcanic and oceanic sedimentary subsoil. "It was here that I saw my passion and vision begin to unite. It was here that a team could realise a shared vision from the very beginning, including shaping the land and cultivating the vines." After ten years of research into Bordeaux and Burgundy, as well as into the valuable vineyard lands and the history of Napa Valley, Harlan believed he had found the ideal place to establish roots. Beginning with their first harvest in 1987, the Harlan Estate team has been dedicated to expressing the character of the land. The best clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are grafted to the most suitable rootstocks. The vineyard is nurtured with ultimate care throughout the growing season to gain the purest grape with the expression of the site. Many of the workers in the vineyard have been with Harlan Estate from the very beginning. The harvest is carried out by these experienced workers through several pickings, cluster by cluster. This is often repeated more than a dozen times, and after each picking the fruit is selected grape by grape. This is done to ensure perfect ripeness and avoid anything other than grape material, such as leaves or stems, getting into the fermentation tank. Every picking lot is processed separately. The lots are vinified separately, in either small stainless steel or wooden fermentors. The lots are then aged separately in French barriques for two years. There is as little interference as possible with the vinification process, in order to obtain the purest character of the estate. B I L L H A R L A N 49 F I N E L I F E A wA r d

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Domaine Leroy TEXT: ESSI AVELLAN MW PHOTOGRAPHS: PEKKA NUIKKI I n Burgundy, it is impossible to converse with winemakers without the word `terroir' entering the discussion at some point. The mythic terroir, a notion begun by the French, is an all-embracing term that is often used indiscriminately to conceal ignorance and a general lack of wine cultivation and production skills. However, in the proper context, terroir can be tasted in the top wines of Burgundy: wines made using exactly the same methods, by the same producer, but from adjacent plots taste for some fascinating reason or other entirely different to one another. We met Burgundy's top producers to find out how the taste of the terroir finds it way into the glass. 53 T E R R O I R I S T F I N E B u r g u n dy

The new world, which long poured scorn on the whole notion of `terroir', believed the key considerations in winemaking were the variety of grape and the production methods used. However, with ever more knowledge and experience, even winemakers in the new world are turning their attention to the uniqueness of individual growing sites and to a new understanding of them in the context of wine production. The word `terroir', often used unreliably and inconsistently, has nearly become an expletive of sorts in some circles. As an alternative, the term `sense of place' is often used ­ meaning that a wine truly conveys the physical characteristics of the place where it originated. Terroir is a general term for the whole combined impact of nature and humans on a wine. It, therefore, covers human accomplishments, climate, sunlight, landforms, geology and hydrology. CHALLENGES The Burgundy soil and climate have been studied in more detail than any other region. Nevertheless, just what makes one plot a starting point for legendary wines remains unclear, as does why the rows of vines right next to them merely yield something to wash your food down with. Burgundy is a wine freak's paradise. Moreover, since its red wine grape variety, Pinot Noir, is the world's most challenging grape to grow and produce wine from, it is easy to understand why many perfectionist winemakers end up as producers of red Burgundy. Jean-Luc Pepin, the Estate Manager of Comte Georges de Vogüé, remarks: Bernard Dugat-Py 54 F I N E

"In Burgundy, every vintage presents difficulties in the vineyard and in the cellar. You have to be able to get used to the idea that every year is going to be different. Historical information is vitally important ­ sometimes over quite a long period. In 2003, the crop was harvested in August. The last time that had happened was in 1893!" THE NÉGOCIANT COLLECTS FRAGMENTS All the wines of Burgundy are terroir wines in the broadest sense of the term. They are clearly distinct from the Bordeauxs, for example. In a stricter interpretation, however, terroir means a well-defined area, with fixed boundaries, such as a parcelle or village. For something to be a terroir wine, one must be able to identify its personality and quality potential ­ which are what the winemaking process attempts to highlight ­ from its origin. Jacques Lardière, who is Louis Jadot's winemaker, explains: "We primarily make red Burgundy wine, not Pinot Noir. We look for what is typical of the appellation rather than any Jadot house style. Pinot Noir is the perfect grape variety in the sense that it reflects the properties of where it is grown better than any other grape." Louis Jadot is a quality-oriented négociant, wine merchant. As far back as the 1970s, Burgundy was a market dominated by merchants. They always buy grapes or wines from small producers and growers and mix them, in order to obtain a commercially viable amount of wine from Burgundy's tiny, fragmented vine plots. Mixing perhaps hides the subtler nuances, but a blend can reveal the real soul of a plot. The Clos de Vougeot's Grand Cru plot is 50.59 hectares and is relatively large for Burgundy. It is shared between eighty wine producers, so a blend from different parts of the plot could be regarded as the essential nature of Clos de Vougeot. The small producers, who seem to view terroir almost as a religion, have received increased attention over the last thirty years or so. They are now considered to be the most interesting Burgundies, as well as the most outstanding in quality and, in particular, personality. Such names as Comte Georges de Vogüé, Armand Rousseau, Méo-Camuzet, Domaine Leroy, Comte Lafon, Ramonet, Dugat-Py, and, above all, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, put a smile on the face of all Burgundy lovers. 55 T E R R O I R I S T F I N E B u r g u n dy

"Much trouble has gone into the improvement of the quality of the wine. However, the market is becoming ever more demanding. In the future, I would like to see a Burgundy where fewer `labels' were sold, i.e. a situation where unpretentious wine is sold under a good appellation. Then, we would be drinking far better wines." Jean-Nicolas Méo 56 F I N E

Clos de Vougeot 57 T E R R O I R I S T F I N E B u r g u n dy

A RESPECT FOR TRADITION When Burgundy growers are asked about their production methods, they most often reply `traditional methods', whatever that might mean. According to historical researcher Jean Lavelle, from 500 AD or so right up to the 19th century, it was `traditional' to put whole bunches of grapes in an open fermentation vat, let the wine ferment, crush the grapes and then press them. The end of the fermentation process was often left until the wine was in the barrels to prevent the wine from coming into contact with the skins and seeds for a long time. It was not until the invention of chaptalisation ­ adding sugar to increase the alcohol content ­ at the start of the 19th century that Burgundy wines became stronger. At the same time, rail connections meant that it was possible to bring stronger wines from the south into the region and mix them to create a more full-bodied Burgundy. White Burgundy was traditionally strong, with an alcohol content of up to 13.5 per cent. Jean Thévent of Domaine de la Bongran, who specialises in historically stylish white wines at Mâcon Viré-Clessé, remarks: "The Côte de Beaune white grape crop was harvested when it was overripe. It possessed much better ageing potential back then. The wines were allowed to ferment for a long time in large oak vats and there was often no malolactic fermentation until the following summer. Things changed, however, in the 1950s and 1960s when people opted for something less risky." PRODUCTION RESTRICTIONS There are as many traditional methods as there are producers, although perhaps more than anywhere else the quality and taste of the terroir comes from the vineyards. According to Australian wine writer James Halliday, Pinot Noir is the most precarious of the grape varieties in terms of yield. He thinks that in order to bring out the characteristics of the grape variety and location, the crop should not exceed 48 hectolitres per hectare, and that first-rate quality requires an even stricter ­ no more than 30 hectolitres per hectare ­ crop. In the 1960s and 1970s, with the increase in popularity of cloning, Pinot Noir yielded some productive and healthy versions, but the quality suffered tremendously. The effects of the first wave of cloning are still conspicuous in Burgundy, although there is now great respect for quality clones and biodiversity. Technology has brought other problems for the region's terroir, as heavy fertilisation has increased the amount of potassium in the soil, which in turn reduces the wine's acidity. The use of fertilisers makes the terroir less apparent in the wine that is finally produced. Burgundy has seen top producers move more in the direction of organic and, in particular, biodynamic winemaking. Such names as Leroy, Leflaive and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti have long favoured natural growing methods. There is even a trend among wine merchants to provide more attention to biodynamic production. Lardière says: "How then can the terroir of a vineyard and its organic grapes be made in order to be noticeable within the wine?" Lardière believes that grapes from the best growing sites can give the wine the most `life'. Like many others in Burgundy, he has no faith in cultivated yeasts. Some experts claim that every clod of earth contains its own mixture of bacteria and yeast. The same mixture occurs in the grape skins, so this suggests that wild yeasts should be allowed to ferment in order to maximise the taste of the terroir. Opinion is also divided on whether to include the stems at the extraction and fermentation stages. Removal of the stems results in a slightly higher alcohol content and acidity, lower tannin content and minimal vegetal aromas. In poorer years, the softness and elegance that are obtained in this manner can make for a better end result. Many producers include some or all the stems in the fermentation process. More tannins and structure are obtained if the stems turn to wood. The stems help guarantee a more even fermentation process, as there is more air in the mixture and that allows the juice to move more freely in the grape mash. David Croix, the winemaker for Camille Giroud, however, has clear views on the matter: "Stems conceal the taste of the terroir." Burgundy has seen a more obvious trend towards cold maceration prior to fermentation, because colour and flavour are best extracted at the juice stage, whereas alcohol efficiently extracts tannins after fermentation. The colour of Pinot Noir is naturally pale, and the flavour does not need rich tannins, so winemakers such as Jadot and Méo-Camuzet use this method to produce fullbodied, dark and strong wines. Comte de Vogüé and Armand Rousseau, both known for their more delicate style, are against this practice. Dominique Lafon (left) and Stéphane Thibodaux, Domaine Comtes Lafon. 58 F I N E

T E R R O I R I S T 59 F I N E B u r g u n dy

The Clos de Vougeot's Grand Cru plot is 50.5 hectares and is relatively large for Burgundy. It is shared between eighty wine producers, so a blend from different parts of the plot could be regarded as the essential nature of Clos de Vougeot. Eric Rousseau explains: "Extraction prior to fermentation evens out the differences between the vintages and terroirs, and creates a darker kind of fruitiness. We are more interested in the delicate perfume of the wine." Jean-Luc Pepin of Comte Georges de Vogüé agrees: "Extraction, particularly when heavy sulphur dioxide is used in abundance, makes all terroirs universal. It is easy to make `great' wines, but managing to make terroir wines at the same time is another thing." Chaptalisation is the rule more than the exception. As the natural alcohol content increases as a result of advanced growing methods and global warming, adding sugar seems an odd thing to do. Grand Crus 60 F I N E

Jean-Nicolas Méo can have an alcohol content of anywhere up to 14 per cent, which can easily disturb Pinot Noir's delicate balance. Lardière remarks: "We do not chaptalise in order to increase the alcohol content. Fermentation frequently needs a bit of a nudge and the glycerol that is obtained as a byproduct also makes for a fuller mouthfeel." Adding sugar, however, is something of a contradiction, because it dilutes the wine, hides the mistakes and above all diminishes the features of the terroir that make it stand out. The use of oak in Burgundy is generally well controlled, giving priority to the wine's fruitiness and natural character. New oak can easily conceal the taste of a terroir. As Pepin says: "For us, using 100 per cent new oak or no new oak at all is a mistake. The ideal amount varies, depending on the vintage and the wine." These various production philosophies and experiences of Burgundy wine have not diminished the region's mythical status, at least. In recent years, Burgundy wines have developed at a rapid pace thanks to the quality and terroir-oriented small producers. Jean-Nicolas Méo of Méo-Camuzet states: "Much trouble has gone into the improvement of the quality of the wine. However, the market is becoming ever more demanding. In the future, I would like to see a Burgundy where fewer `labels' were sold, i.e. a situation where unpretentious wine is sold under a good appellation. Then, we would be drinking far better wines." Burgundy is the birthplace of wine parcelles and the notion of terroir and the entire world of wine has since followed its example. The concept of the single vineyard wine has spread like wildfire. However, in Burgundy, they still make an awful lot of poor quality wine and buying it is something of a lucky dip for the uninitiated consumer. The `terroirists' have made the quality of Burgundy better than ever, but the majority of producers have a long way to go both in the vineyard and the cellar. Every now and then it is quite fitting to point out that not every terroir is worthy of producing wine. > 61 T E R R O I R I S T F I N E B u r g u n dy

Jacques Lardière 64 F I N E

Jacques Lardiére - Click the Video Text/Photographs: Pekka Nuikki At the very outset, I have to confess to my personal relationship with Jadot wines: They are very much to my taste and represent what i am looking for in Pinot Noir. my first experience with Jadot wines, at the end of the 1980s (musigny 1971 and clos des ursules 1978), made me rather interested immediately. The wines were impressive, nearly irritatingly overbearing, but nonetheless offered what I wanted from pinot noir: delicacy, refinement and balance. this contradiction fascinated my sense of taste and mind. The wines were top quality, no doubt about it, and modern in character, but at the same time they were very distinctive and heavy with personality. These were wines that i would not have expected from a producer of wine on this sort of scale and who is better known as a négociant. I can well understand why so many people like Jadot's wines today, just as i do. but of course, my own rewarding relationship goes back to wine that was produced a hundred years ago. Lardière sums up his own philosophy of wine production in two words: "delivering life." He believes the winemaker's role is to take over where nature leaves off, i.e. give the grapes `eternal life' in the shape of sublime wine. L O U I S J A D O T 65 F I N E E s tat E

Lardière only allows the grapes to be hand-picked and the wines to be moved to the cellars by means of gravity, when the position of the moon is favourable. HIDDEN TREASURE At the start of the 20th century there lived, in the Belgian countryside, a couple who had been collecting wines in their cellars for a very long time. The master of the house was especially interested in Burgundy wines, in particular those of Domaine Louis Jadot, which seemed to be well represented in the cellar. The wooden shelves were loaded down with numerous bottles of vintage Chambertin and Clos des Ursules. The years passed. When World War II broke out, the couple was worried about their future ­ and that of their wine! To prevent German soldiers from looting the place, they, like so many others, built a false wall to conceal part of their collection. Most of the wines, especially the best Burgundies, were hidden away in this manner. They further disguised the wall by wallpapering it over. They then hid some of their wines in the attic and the garden as well, to act as `bait': the soldiers would hopefully find those and that would be that. The Germans occupied Belgium in June 1940. One night, a few years later, this wine-loving couple met a cruel fate. The aforementioned soldiers forced them out of the house ­ and they would never return. They were childless and there was no one who would legally inherit the house, so after the war, it was put up for auction and bought. Over the years that followed the house changed hands several times but nobody discovered the secret that lay hidden behind the wall. It was not until 2003, when a young couple who had moved to the countryside from Brussels bought the house that the story of the wine continues. They were renovating the basement and were given quite a surprise when they demolished a partition wall and came across a wine cellar that had remained hidden for more than 60 years. There before them were hundreds of bottles of old Burgundy and Bordeauxs. The labels on most of the bottles had worn away with the years, but otherwise they were in excellent condition. Dusty tags hung from the necks of the bottles declaring the vintage and recalling the best Burgundy years of more than a century before. Most of the wines were Jadot's best single vineyard wines from 1882, 1888, 1890, 1894, and 1904, for example. The wines were in prime condition and had been stored using Jadot's own seals and corks. I also felt a lucky fellow when I had the chance to acquire these historic wines, which had lain in ideal conditions for such a long time, for my friends as well as me. They were renovating the basement and were given quite a surprise when they demolished a partition wall and came across a wine cellar that had remained hidden for more than 60 years. There before them were hundreds of bottles of old burgundy and bordeauxs. 66 F I N E

Lardière firmly believes that it is nature itself and not humans that produces good wine. 67 L O U I S J A D O T F Ir i E k iSn A T Hi s t o r y D Nn E Tg E

Lardière believes in biodynamic cultivation and carries out biodynamic experiments on jadot's own plots. He knows 68 F I N E

that the vines will only produce perfect grapes if they are in natural harmony with their environment and its energy field. 69 L O U I S J A D O T F Ir i E k iSn A T Hi s t o r y D Nn E Tg E

"Louis Jadot has always let its land and the terroir speak for themselves. The less we try to control them the better the wines are and the longer we can enjoy them." Now that 50 of th bottles have been opened, I am almost as speechless the as I was after the first one. The wines have been excellent ­ some even quite perfect. N one of them was dead: indeed, they all had plenty of Not life left in the None of them were corked either, and only one in ten them. was oxidised, being over-aged. It was excellent proof of the longevity of Burgundy wines and of Jadot's ability to produce superb wine from the sensitive Pinot Noir grape. risks associated with all this, because biodynamic cultivation is more prone to attack by pests and more exposed to changeable weather conditions. According to Lardière, however, tragedy is also a part of the great natural cycle. He also follows the position of heavenly bodies closely. Lardière only allows the grapes to be hand-picked and the wines to be moved to the cellars by means of gravity when the position of the moon is favourable. THE BIRTH OF LIFE PASSION IS THE SECRET When a few years ago I received an invitation to come and taste the best wines of recent vintages at the Louis Jadot estate, I gladly accepted and eagerly set off to discover the secret behind the eternal life of their wines! However, I was a bit worried: would I again discover the same genuine Pinot Noir wines, made with such passion, as those wonderful vintages I had tasted that dated back to the late 19th century? Passion is a word that is bandied about among most winemakers to describe their relationship with wine and its production. The word is unfortunately rather overused. As no matter how hard you try to find the sort of red-faced enthusiasm that comes from passion and the feeling of being carried away that goes along with it, you will not find them in the face of the storyteller or in the wine itself. But is it not passion that makes the good become excellent and the mediocre become good? Passion is also what sets Jadot apart from many other good, large estates. Lardière sums up his own philosophy of wine production in two words: "delivering life". He believes the winemaker's role is to take over where nature leaves off, i.e. give the grapes `eternal life' in the shape of sublime wine. This was the philosophy at Jadot, apparently, even before Lardière came along. The evidence of eternal life provided by the wines in that Belgian cellar is quite persuasive. I asked him about the future of the current wine stock and he was quite convinced of their longevity and added that it was precisely his job to ensure that Jadot's wines were drinkable both now and in a 100 years' time. THE CRITICS' BLESSING Jacques Lardière is one of those rare individuals whose reliability with regard to quality Robert Parker, Decanter, Clive Coates and Wine Spectator all agree on. And I can count myself among them, because tasting his latest vintages definitely put a smile on my face. Jadot's own Clos des Ursules and Chambertin vineyards' vintages 2003 and 2004 were already immensely enjoyable and fine-tuned. For the most part, the wines were superbly made, stylish and fairly personal, which is good for an estate that produces around 150 different wines each year and for which the grapes are mainly purchased from contracted growers. Of course, among all these, there were some mediocre and modest wines, but I did not taste a really bad one either. The scores I gave ranged between 82 and 96. The very best wines came up to the level of the smaller top Burgundy producers. They, very naturally, conveyed that mutual sense of respect that winemaker and nature have for one another. It has been Jacques Lardière's calling to primarily use the forces of nature to produce genuine Burgundy wine with its own distinct terroir and that is also the passionate embodiment of perfection. It has already yielded good results ­ wines with a seductive personality that will tell their tale for many generations to come. FROM THE EARTH'S ENERGY FIELD TO THE POSITION OF THE MOON Passion simply radiates from Jacques Lardière, Jadot's head winemaker. His passion for his job engulfs anyone who listens to him. It is a bit like being in a trance at a revivalist gathering. Although Lardière has been responsible for the quality of the wines at Jadot for 30 years now, he is still boyishly enthusiastic about telling the numerous secrets surrounding the production of his wines. He believes in biodynamic cultivation and carries out biodynamic experiments on Jadot's own plots. He knows that the vines will only produce perfect grapes if they are in natural harmony with their environment and its energy field. No chemical protective agents or fertilisers are used to upset the natural, sacred balance of things. Lardière believes that chemical additives, if used, can end up in the final product and harm its natural equilibrium. Lardière does not speak about harvesting grapes so much as harnessing the earth's energy. He harvests his crop as late as possible and is one of the last growers to do so in the region. He is also adventurous enough to let nature control the fermentation temperature of the wine. There are 70 F I N E

Lardière does not speak about harvesting grapes so much as harnessing the earth's energy. 71 L O U I S J A D O T F Ir i E k iSn A T Hi s t o r y D Nn E Tg E

REVIEWS AND POINTS Pekka Nuikki 93p 1888 Clos-de-Vougeot Louis Jadot (Côte de Nuits) 2004/now x4 D 45 min / G 1 h 95p 1911 Le Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Louis Jadot (Côte de Nuits) 2005/now x3 D1h/G1h Superb looking bottle, covered in dust and mud. Has outstanding by-theneck level. Decanted 45 minutes. Quite deep, bright and pure, brownish red colour. Open and sound nose with glamorous, sweet fruit, chocolate, caramel, and old leather aromas. A gentle and charming wine with lots of its fundamental power and backbone left. On the palate gentle, sweet, with nice acidity. Rich and quite firm, and has good balance and complexity. A bit modest, dry and short aftertaste. An ancient wine from a great terroir. Wonderful bottle with 4 cm level. Decanted one hour. Dark, mature evolved colour. Fair amount of sediment. Very sweet, gentle and intense old-Pinot Noir on both nose and palate. Very forward and mature. Certainly plenty of finesse in here. Lots of extract and ripe, intense, sweet fruit. Long and appealing finish. A charming old wine! 92p 1914 Le Chambertin Louis Jadot (Côte de Nuits) 2009/now x3 D 30 min / G 1 h 94p 1892 Clos-des-Ursules Louis Jadot (Côte de Beaune) 2009/now x4 D 15 min / G 1 h A fine looking bottle with 2 cm level. A fully mature medium-deep brownish colour. A soft and chocolaty nose of tar, dust and plums. The aroma profile is complex with a great bundle of tertiary aromas. The palate is thick and chocolaty with low tannin and a balanced acidic backbone. The wine has still fruit to it and a structure to keep for another decade or so. This Jadot was another treasure from a long-lost Belgian cellar. The bottle looked very old, but the original domaine capsule and cork were in excellent condition. Ullage was only 3 cm. This wine had a very fine and deep colour for its age. A rich, fragrant and wide, complex bouquet, which got better and better in the glass and was still very alive after three hours. A delicious, opulent, overripe old classic Pinot Noir taste. Beautiful acidity. A surprisingly rich wine that gave a sweet impression. Chocolaty, and fleshy, elegant aftertaste. A complete wine and a very good example of the importance of first-class storage conditions. 94p 1929 Le Chambertin Louis Jadot (Côte de Nuits) 2004/now x2 D1h/G1h The bottle was in fine condition and ullage was only 3 cm. Decanted for one hour. Deep colour, already mature at the rim. Immensely aromatic, wild meaty bouquet that reached all corners of the nose. Intensive and rich on the palate. Delicate flavours of coffee, truffles and violets. Not a very robust or multi-dimensional wine but has a lovely sweetness of 93p 1898 La Romanée Louis Jadot (Côte de Nuits) 2005/now x1 D 30 min / G 1 h soft tannins and fruit at the end. A very satisfactory Burgundy from this ordinary vintage. Estate bottled. Fill level 3 cm. A fairly intensive, slightly cloudy cherry red colour. A very delicious cherry nose with hints of violet and intensive fruit. Decayed meaty aromas create additional fragrance dimensions. The vividly acidic, fairly full palate is complemented by an intensive, silky mouth-feel. The abundant taste is complemented by fairly high alcohol and slight volatility. Sweet nuances of boiled root vegetables in the aftertaste. An incredibly vivid Burgundy with a lot of personality and a great expression of classic, refined Pinot Noir properties. Will not develop positively any more, but will keep for a few more years. 97p 1964 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Louis Jadot (Côte de Beaune) 2009/2015 x4 D 15 min / G 1 h Healthy looking bottle. Ullage was 3 cm. Decanted for one hour. Beautiful, bright medium-gold colour. Wide and sound toasty bouquet. Very rich, creamy and elegant on the palate. Great length and complexity. Almost everything about this wine is perfect. Yet it is not as commanding and luscious as DRC Montrachet 1966, but really not far away. One of the tastiest and loveliest white B urgundies from the 1960s. 94p 1900 Cuvée Nicolas Rolin Louis Jadot (Côte de Beaune) 2004/now x2 D 30 min / G 1 h 94p 1985 Le Chambertin Clos St. Jacques Louis Jadot (Côte de Nuits) 2007/2020 x3 D 1 h / G 2.5 h Superior looking bottle. Level was only 3cm. Decanted 30 minutes. Fully mature, bright colour. Sound and open nose with bitter chocolate and cherry flavours. No hard edges. Some volatile acidity, but otherwise very sweet, full and intense. Brilliantly balanced. Very fine grip and superb length. Lovely wine. This vintage is best recalled not only for its extremely cold winter in no Burgundy with temperatures below -25 ºC, but a also for the superb weather conditions throughout the rest of the year that generated one the greatest vintages in Burgundy. This wine is a great expression of this wonderful vintage. 72 F I N E

Excellent appearance. Level was 2 cm below the cork. Decanted one hour. Clear, bright, beautiful brick red colour with an orange rim. The nose is very complex, opulent, developed, and intensive with sweet root vegetable aromas, tints of café latte and pralines. The medium-bodied palate has a fresh acidity, refined firm tannins, moderate fruit intensity and delicate fragrant aromas with vegetal traces. The lingering finish shows beautiful finesse. THE BEST HISTORICAL JADOT VINTAGES WE HAVE TASTED 1888 Louis Jadot CLOS-DE-VOUGEOT 1892 Louis Jadot CLOS-DES-URSULES 1894 Louis Jadot BEAUNE CLOS-DES-AVAUX 1896 Louis Jadot LES CLOS-DES-CORTON 1898 Louis Jadot LE CHAMBERTIN 1898 Louis Jadot LA ROMANÉE 1900 Louis Jadot CORTON 1900 Louis Jadot CUVÉE NICOLAS ROLIN 1904 Louis Jadot LE CHAMBERTIN 1906 Louis Jadot CLOS-DES-URSULES 1906 Louis Jadot NUIT-SAINT-GEORGES 1911 1911 Louis Jadot LE CHAMBERTIN CLOS DE BEZE Louis Jadot CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN 93p 2006 94p 2006 90p 2004 92p 2004 95p 2010 93p 2005 96p 2003 94p 2004 98p 2006 97p 2003 87p 2004 95p 2008 95p 2006 94p 2009 97p 2006 90p 2006 94p 2006 95p 2009 94p 2009 96p 1986 Bâtard-Montrachet Louis Jadot (Côte de Beaune) 2009/2020 x4 D 45 min / G 45 h This appealing wine derives from the vintage of the challenges. A cold weather in winter was followed by a cold and wet spring. The summer enjoyed ideally warm and sunny weather conditions until the heavy storms rolled over the area in late August and September causing severe rot problems. Towards the end of September the weather improved and the harvest ended as a large one and especially good for whites. Jadot nailed the vintage with their wonderful Bâtard-Montrachet. Moderately intense, bright and deep yellow colour. Intense nutty and beautifully developed nose with butter, spices, pineapple, and truffles. Dry and crisp palate with sophisticated richness of tropical fruits, butter flavours and oakiness. Concentrated, complex and harmonious taste with mineral, spicy, smoky, and vanilla flavours. Opulent and subtle long lingering finish. A white wine with power and concentration to age still easily another ten years, if one just has patience to wait. For the ones that cannot, the wine offers great pleasure already now. 1914 Louis Jadot LE MONTRACHET 1923 Louis Jadot CLOS-DES-URSULES 1926 Louis Jadot LE CHAMBERTIN 1929 Louis Jadot LE CHAMBERTIN 1937 Louis Jadot LE CHAMBERTIN 1937 Louis Jadot CLOS-DES-URSULES 92p 1970 Corton-Pougets Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot (Côte de Beaune) 2006/2010 x3 D 15 min / G 1 h BEST WINES OF THE 2005 VINTAGE: 2005 Louis Jadot CHAMBERTIN Grand Cru 2005 Louis Jadot CHARMES-CHAMBERTIN Grand Cru 2005 Louis Jadot RUCHOTTES-CHAMBERTIN Grand Cru 2005 Louis Jadot MAZIS-CHAMBERTIN Grand Cru 2005 Louis Jadot LATRICIÈRES-CHAMBERTIN Grand Cru 2005 Louis Jadot BONNES MARES Grand Cru 93p 2009 90p 2006 88p 2006 89p 2006 85p 2006 91p 2006 Jadot's Grand Cru Corton Les Pougets is a great showpiece of their long history. The Grand Cru vineyard of Corton Les Pougets is directly adjacent to the Le Charlemagne climat, on the upper and mid-slope. The bottle was in fine condition and ullage was only 2 cm down. Decanted for 15 minutes. Deep colour, maturity already showing on the rim. An immensely aromatic, wild meaty bouquet, reaching all corners of the nose. Intensive and rich on the palate. Delicate flavours of coffee, truffles and violets. Not a very robust or multi-dimensional wine, but it has a lovely sweetness of soft tannins and fruit at the end. A very pleasing Burgundy from this ordinary vintage. 2005 Louis Jadot GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN "Clos Saint Jacques" 87p 2006 2005 Louis Jadot CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 1er Cru "Amoureuses" 86p 2008 2005 Louis Jadot CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 1er Cru "Baudes" 87p 2006 2005 Louis Jadot CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 1er Cru 86p 2006 2005 Louis Jadot VOSNE-ROMANÉE 1er Cru "Beaux Monts" 84p 2006 2005 Louis Jadot NUITS-ST-GEORGES 1er Cru "Vaucrains" 84p 2006 2005 Louis Jadot CLOS VOUGEOT Grand Cru 2005 Louis Jadot GRANDS-ÉCHEZEAUX Grand Cru 91p 2010 91p 2006 91p 2006 87p 2005 Clos-des-Ursules Louis Jadot (Côte de Beaune) 2010/2035 D4h/G3h 2005 Louis Jadot ÉCHEZEAUX Grand Cru Moderately light ruby-red colour. Intense, complex and floral nose with violets, ripe black fruits of blueberries and brambles, hints of liquorice and pronounced toastiness. Refined mouthfeel with crisp acidity, finegrained tannins and intense red fruit character. Restrained toasty finish, which closes from mid palate. The wine is definitely too young to drink. Keep at least for fifteen y years. 2005 Louis Jadot SAVIGNY LES BEAUNE 1er Cru "Lavières" 86p 2009 2005 Louis Jadot SAVIGNY-LES BEAUNE 1er Cru "Vergelesses" 88p 2006 2005 Louis Jadot CLOS-DES-URSULES 87p 2010 73 L O U I S J A D O T F Ir i E k iSn A T Hi s t o r y D Nn E Tg E

The Perennial Search for Truffles T ruffle! Just the word itself makes me excited. If I close my eyes I can smell imaginative aromas of a fresh white truffle being shaved over freshly cooked pasta with butter and my mouth immediately starts watering. Truffles are, for me, one of the absolute beauties of the gastronomic world. Since tasting my first fresh white Alba truffle nearly ten years ago, I have been in love with this amazing fungus. I happily travel around the world in search of the best truffles when in season, and this often leads me to the home of my personal favourite, the white winter truffles from Alba. Perhaps most commonly associated with Mediterranean cooking, the truffle has been a prized delicacy since the Middle Ages. They are often located using truffle pigs and dogs, both of which are able to pick up the unique smell of the truffle, which attaches itself to the roots of trees. Due to their high price, they are keenly sought after and this is why I jump at any opportunity, near or far, to indulge myself. I let my senses guide me and I love giving in to them, forgetting everything else around me. My heart beats for good wine and food and I sometimes get so overwhelmed tasting and smelling that I can feel the joy and enthusiasm trying to burst out of me. Perhaps the last time I experienced this kind of joy overload was during my last visit to Piedmont. It was in November last year, just at the start of the white truffle season. I was invited to a small rustic restaurant close to the Barolo municipality by a local wine producer, who was also a good friend of mine. This was one of those restaurants you would never have been able to find on your own. A very anonymous, private house tucked away beside an old monastery, in a small remote village. I was told that the place was run by one of the good local truffle hunters and his wife and that we may be able to taste some of the very best white truffles of the region. The amazing smell that met me when I entered the house was already enticing. The waves of aromas that kept emerging from the small kitchen were impressive and they evoked my senses so much that I started to feel like a child on Christmas Eve, waiting impatiently for what was to come. My expectations were met tenfold when the owner of the restaurant, a weather-beaten old man with the most lively and warm eyes I have ever seen, came to the table holding in his hands the most beautiful white truffles, brought in from the cold and humid autumn forests of Piedmont. White truffles, despite the name, come in many different colours and the first I laid eyes on was a beautiful pink truffle with the most delicate, fresh, feminine aroma, which was found growing at the roots of a linden tree. Next was a big greybrown truffle from an old oak tree with such masculine, almost heavy and pungent aromas that I had to gasp! Finally, he revealed a light cream coloured truffle from a popplar tree, which possessed an amazingly pure, fresh and intensive smell... What a discovery! I did not know that the white truffles changed so much in character depending on which host tree they are colonising. As is usually the case with the best things in life, simplicity is the key with truffles. I find that they show their best when shaved 74 F I N E

over a simple egg, pasta or potato dish directly at the table. On this particular sunny November day, at this small restaurant called "Tra Arte e Querce", I had the best fried eggs and homemade pasta I have ever tasted; of course they were served with the three different truffles in thick layers. The old man handled the truffles with so much care and attention that it almost seemed like he was holding his most precious belongings right there at the table. He shaved the different truffles generously over each dish, one by one so the different aromas could show, before finally combining them into an amazingly complex symphony. The sensory experience was nothing less than divine and so emotional for me that I could barely speak. The accompanying bottle of old Barolo just made everything even more perfect, and sharing all this with a good friend was an immense experience. The combination of simplicity, passion and quality of truffles will rank this lunch very high on the list of the best restaurant experiences I have ever had. Truffles are amazing, but when served with such love and understanding they become supreme, unearthly, celestial...>. Marie Ahm 75 C O L U M N FINE AHM

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Tinto PESQUERA ­ Pétrus of Spain text : Juha Lihtonen photographs : Pekka Nuikki IN 1972 ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ JUST COULD NOT HAVE IMAGINED THAT HE WOULD BE MAKING WINE THAT WOULD BE THE TALK OF SPAIN, AND, INDEED, THE WHOLE WORLD. THE DAY FINALLY CAME ­ SIXTEEN YEARS LATER ­ WHEN FERNÁNDEZ PRESENTED HIS 100 PER CENT TEMPRANILLO TINTO PESQUERA TO THE WORLD. IT IS WITH GOOD REASON THAT ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ, THE CREATOR OF THE WINE THAT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE `PÉTRUS OF SPAIN', IS REGARDED AS A REVOLUTIONARY LEADER IN MODERN SPANISH WINE PRODUCTION. P E S Q U E R A 77 FINE Legend

Alejandro Fernández and one of his daughters, Mary Cruz O n this particular Sunday, the tiny village of Pesquera del Duero is bathing in the hot midday sunshine. The streets are empty, as families enjoy their long weekend. It is quite something to know that Alejandro Fernández, a living legend in Spain's world of wine and along with his daughter, have promised to see us. A darkhaired gentleman appears behind an iron gate that is set into a shiny white wall. He opens it and beckons us in. We step into the courtyard where you might say Spain's modern wine revolution began. The man opening the gate introduces himself as Pesquera's longstanding Marketing Manager, Agustín Goytre. He states that he had just enough time to get here from Madrid before Alejandro Fernández was due to arrive. No time at all actually, as a dark Volkswagen Touareg V10 sweeps though the gates. At the wheel is a small, grey-haired man wearing a pale blue check shirt. "Well here he is: Alejandro in his mobile office," laughs Goytre. The 77-year-old Alejandro Fernández has no office, calendar or wristwatch. He spends most of his time in his car or his vineyards. The working day starts before seven every morning and he drives up to 400 kilometres a day. "No office, no, no, no!" Fernández shakes his head and goes on: "The wines are created in the vineyards and that is where I have to be. What would I do in an office? I have to be where the vines grow and wine is made, so that I can imbue my wines with the unique flavour of Tempranillo." VILLAGE WINE FOR THE WHOLE WORLD Although Ribera del Duero's legendary Vega Sicilia had established its reputation around the world a hundred years earlier, it was Alejandro Fernández who put the region firmly on the map. His focus on developing the quality of the Tempranillo grape made him a pioneer of modern wine production in Spain. Fernández describes Tempranillo as the queen of the Spanish grape varieties. Being a modest man, he does not mention that it was he who placed the crown on her head. Fernández did for Tempranillo what Château Pétrus did for Merlot. He was the first in the world to create a top quality wine made entirely of Tempranillo grapes ­ Tinto Pesquera ­ in 1975. In just over 30 years he has increased production from 15 000 to a million bottles a year, with the production of Tempranillo wines going on in three different regions. But Fernández could never have dreamt of all this: "It was my dream to own a vineyard and produce fine red wines from Tempranillo. However, I saw myself producing it for the villagers, not for the whole of Spain, let alone the entire world," recalls Fernández. He says that he chose the name of the estate because of his love for the area in which he was brought up. Fernández worked hard when he was a young boy to save enough money to make his dream come true. He was an industrious farmer who sold agricultural machinery. At the age of sixteen he won several competitions at agricultural fairs, in which the villagers nicknamed him `chichombre' ­ the boy man. Besides being a hard worker, he was also an inventor who developed and manufactured new machines to make farm work easier. Having eventually purchased a vineyard in the 1970s, Fernández continued to work with agricultural machinery. Fernández reminisces: "I brought my wines along to agricultural fairs and marketed them, alongside the machinery, to the farmers in the area. I soon realised that the visitors were more interested in my wines than my machines. My first customers were farming colleagues." GRAPES LIKE DAUGHTERS While we tour the Pesquera production area and the cellars, I get the firm impression from what Fernández says, along with his general body language, that these facilities are of secondary importance. As he leads us on through the building, Marketing Manager Agustín Goytre points out that having first-rate facilities such as these are nevertheless essential to ensure that the quality of the wine is maintained, although, of course, the real quality is generated in the vineyards. Alejandro continues: "Here we have the ideal weather conditions for growing Tempranillo. The climate is generally favourable and we don't get any frost, as we are fairly high up. Because it is dry, there are no problems with mould and we don't need to use any pesticides. To improve the quality we can only thin The 77-year-old Alejandro Fernández has no office, calendar or wristwatch. He spends most of his time in his car or his vineyards. 78 F I N E

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The most important thing for us is choosing the exact right time to pick the grapes. out the vines during the growing season. The most important thing for us is choosing the exact right time to pick the grapes. I always pick too early rather than too late. The be-all and end-all with Pesquera is preserving the acidity. To guarantee the wines' longevity, we pick the grapes when they are soft and springy to the touch." The quality control phase comes when the grapes are being picked; there is no sorting table in use on the estate. The grapes, once picked, are immediately sent off to be pressed, in order to preserve the delicacy and richness of their aroma. They are pressed gently so that they do not lose their natural flavours and fruitiness. After this, the wine is allowed to ferment with natural yeasts at a low temperature. Fernández is not in favour of cold maceration. The wines are not stabilised or filtered but matured and clarified naturally, primarily in American oak, which is something Fernández swears by. PEEPING INTO THE PAST Fernández leads us towards a new cellar. The new building provides additional storage space for the bottles and tanks. The cellar building's 850 square metres include a rooftop terrace for social gatherings and receptions. Alejandro Fernández looks at the building with an admiring glance. Agustín Goytre whispers: "He loves the construction work, it is in his blood. He was actively involved in building the cellar and devoted his precious time to it." Although Fernández is proud of the new cellar, he has enormous respect for the oldest building on the estate. The small wine press building stands by the side of the entrance gate. Built in the 16th century, it is like a cross between a shrine and a museum, with its massive, manually operated wooden press and two concrete basins. Fernández takes his hat off and looks around appreciatively. "This is the village's old wine press building and production facility. All the villagers would meet here to make their wine. For my wife, Esperanza, and me this has always been the most important building in our lives. Everything began here. We all worked very hard here as a family. Our four daughters also used to come home from school and help us. This is where we produced all of our wines up until 1982." A LEGEND IS BORN The year 1982 turned out to be one that the Fernández family would never forget. Ribera del Duero was blessed with exceptionally favourable weather conditions that year and the result was some top quality grapes. Those of the Fernández estate were better than ever. Although the new production facilities had been completed, that year Alejandro was doubtful about producing wine from his top quality grapes in their new environment. So he decided to spread the risk and vinify half the crop in the 400-year-old press house and the other half in the new cellar. Both did incredibly well. The wine that was made in the old facility was sold on the domestic market under the name Tinto Pesquera and the wine made in the new facility was bottled for the international market, on which Tinto Pesquera appeared for the first time. Fernández's keenness to experiment, however, led him to blend the remaining 2000 litres of wine that had been produced on the various estates and continue to mature them for a further three years in American oak. The wine was bottled in 1986 and launched on the market in 1988 under the name Tinto Pesquera Janus Reserva Especial. A legend had been born. "I decided to name the wine after the ancient Roman god Janus, as he is known for his two faces, one looking to the future and the other to the past. Since this wine was made partly in the old historical facility and partly in modern one it had the two faces," Fernández explains. Robert Parker, who had previously introduced Tinto Pesquera as the Château Pétrus of Spain, awarded the 1982 Janus Reserva Especial 100 points and declared it to be one of the top three wines in the country. P E S Q U E R A FINE Legend 81

"Family and friends are the most important Pore, things in my life." ut odit auditi beatus, te nulpario deligna tendigni ommodit aeceperferae et lis doluptibus dolent ditatur? THE CHÂTEAU CONCEPT In the same year that saw the bottling of Janus, the ever-zestful Fernández wanted to expand. He found an abandoned farm and plots of land close to the village of Haza. The unique soil, consisting of a mixture of gravel, clay and gypsum, as well as the location ­ ideal in terms of sunshine ­ inspired him to produce wines based on the concept of the château. Following three years of negotiations, the estate known as Condado de Haza was finally owned by Fernández, and 80 hectares were planted in 1989. The first vintage was in 1993 and the first of any commercial value was in 1994. At that time, the wines were still being produced on the Tinto Pesquera estates. Alejandro Fernández dreamt of the château concept with Haza. This required that the grapes grown around the estate were also produced on estate. This was not completely realised until 1995, when the estate became independent. Now Fernández and his daughter EvaMaría produce three different wines ­ Condado de Haza Crianza, Reserva and, in the best years, Alenza ­ from the two hundred hectares of vineyards that surround the old castle. Alenza is made using traditional oxidative methods, which sets it apart from the other wines on the estate. The name comes from a combination of the name Alejandro and his wife's name, Esperanza. Condado de Haza only differs from the classical French château concept insofar as American barrels are used. GLANCING INTO THE FUTURE Our visit to Tinto Pesquera ends with a tasting, during which Alejandro Fernández proudly presents his lifetime achievement: 100 per cent Tempranillo wines from four different estates in three different wine regions. He expanded outside Ribera del Duero and set up operations in Zamora, which is close to the Toro wine region, in 1998, and La Mancha in 1999. When I enquire as to what he intends to do next, he smiles and says: "With La Mancha I would like to prove the region's potential for producing good Tempranillo wines, and I think El Vínculo is an excellent indication of this. My passion for the Dehesa La Granja near Toro, in Zamora, was of an entirely different kind. When I bought the old ranch where they bred bulls for bullfighting I suddenly had somewhere I could produce Tempranillo wines and also raise livestock. I now have 550 Limousin cattle there plus 2000 sheep for cheese production. This would be a way for me to move into the food industry, which I am interested in doing." His daughters have been an immense help in the expansion of his operations as far as the winemaking itself is concerned. Alejandro is delighted that his daughter, EvaMaría, has shown the ability to follow in his footsteps. She trained in enology in Madrid, Tarragona and Bordeaux, and remembers that working with her father afterwards was difficult at first. She did not feel that she was learning anything from him, as he just used to tell her to follow him around and watch what he did. After three years Eva-María had learned more than she had in eight years of study. Now she is ready to take on the responsibility for the entire winemaking operations when her father retires. But retiring is something Alejandro plans never to do. Marketing Manager Agustín Goytre agrees and says that Alejandro has already set his sights on a new project ­ a four-star hotel in Peñafiel. Fernández is known to those closest to him as someone who is always embarking on something new, and they do not think it at all unrealistic that he should be moving now into the hotel business. The only serious challenge would seem to be a lack of time. When Fernández is away from his vineyards he is travelling the world marketing his wines and lecturing on the uniqueness of Tempranillo. Agustín Goytre jokingly asks us not to suggest any more new projects to Alejandro, as his seven granddaughters and the latest apple of his eye, Alejandro II, his first grandson, want their share of grandfather's busy time. Fernández smiles and looks at the latest addition to the family: "Family and friends are the most important things in my life." This was confirmed a while later when we sat down with the family to a late Sunday lunch. Their idyllic old hunting lodge, which is situated in the middle of the Pesquera vineyards, was a cosy and restful setting in which to enjoy each other's company. However, the only one not sitting was Alejandro Fernández. He was busy the fireplace: "Grandfather! Can I have more chops, please?" shouts one of the granddaughters, as Alejandro turns some meat over on the big fireplace. It turns out the man of many roles is also a master chef. 82 F I N E

PESQUERA DEL DUERO Alejandro Fernández emphasises a cool serving temperature (16 to 18 °C) and sufficiently early decantation ­ about two hours before serving for all his wines. With regards to style, Fernández says that Tempranillo behaves very differently in different wines. El Vinculo in La Mancha produces sweet and straightforward Tempranillos, Dehesa La Granja in warm Zamora produces tasty and robust Tempranillos, in Pesquera they become delicate and rich in nuances, and the wines of Condado de Haza are cool and herbal, fragrant or aromatic. el vinculo 2004 84P 2007/2014 Very intensive blueberry colour. Fleshy, fruity aroma with ripe, dark brambles and chocolate. Rich and round wine with gentle acids, soft tannins and intensive ripe dark berry taste. Long aftertaste with flavours of of chocolate. Drinking well now. el vinculo reserva 2003 88P 2007/2013 Dark, purple colour. Toasty aromas with ripe, dark berries, plums, raspberries and nuts. Rich and concentrated palate with balanced acidity and velvety tannic structure. Intense fruitiness delivers plenty of dark berries. Long finish. Drinking well now, but potential for 3-5 years ageing. Dehesa la GranJa 2002 88P 2007/2012 Deep ruby colour. Strong, extracted blueberry aroma with a lot of spices and a tinge of salmiac. A full-flavoured wine with lively, vivid acidity, luscious fruit and long, elegant aftertaste. On the whole, a nicely balanced wine that can be stored for 2 years, but is perfectly enjoyable now. conDaDo De haza 2004 89P 2007/2015 Dark, deep purple colour. Sweet and ripe fruity aroma. Lovely toastiness of coconut and chocolate. Intensive, full-bodied taste with luscious fruit and ripe tannins. Toasty and velvety aftertaste lasts moderately well. The wine can be stored for 3-5 more years, but is drinking lovely now. alenza Gran reserva 1999 87P 2007/2012 Medium intense bright cherry colour with a tinge of orange. Floral and herbal aroma - wild strawberry, dill and nettle. Very dry and powerful on the palate with marked acidity, elegant tannins and less intense fruitiness with flavours of leather, herbs and red berries. Matured and oxidative style with lingering aftertaste marked by austerity. Peaking already but can be stored for another 2-4 years. Pesquera 2009 86P 2007/2016 Purple, quite deep colour. Delicate, fresh aroma, dark berries, brambles, flowers and salmiac. Rich, medium-bodied palate tinted by vivid acidity and delicate tannins. Intensive dark berries and floral aromas escort the relatively long aftertaste. The wine will evolve next 4-6 years, but is enjoyable already. Decanted 3 hours, and keeps well in a glass for 2 hours. Pesquera MilleniuM reserva 2002 91P 2007/2017 Medium deep ruby colour. Delicately toasted aromas of vanilla and spices. Delicious, full-bodied palate with crisp acids, firm tannins, great concentration and ripe, dark fruitiness. Aftertaste is long and chocolatey. Will reach its peak in 5-7 years. Decant 4 hours if you wish to enjoy the wine now. Pesquera reserva 1978 92P 2007/now Clear raspberry colour. Medium strong, elegantly developed, seductive, leathery aroma. Lively and vibrant, medium-bodied wine with quite robust, meaty tannins. Beautifully evolved wine with concentrated, satin-like structure and long, nutty aftertaste. Enjoyable right now. Decanted 30 minutes, and keeps well in a glass for 30 minutes. Pesquera Janus Gran reserva 1995 93P 2010/2022 Moderately dark brick-red colour. The nose shows intense, spirity aromas with toastiness and burnt wood. Underneath lies sweet, spicy, dark chocolate tones combined with ripe brambles and prunes. A full-bodied wine with moderate acidity, silky tannins and elegantly intense black fruit character. Toasty aftertaste with high alcohol and a lingering, long finish. Decanted 2 hours, and keeps well in a glass for 90 minutes. P E S Q U E R A 83 FINE Legend ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ TASTING

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IN SOME FORMER LIFE I MUST HAVE GROWN ROOTS DEEP INTO THE OCHRE SOIL OF TUSCANY, I FIND MYSELF RETURNING TO THE REGION AGAIN AND AGAIN, ALWAYS TO REJOICE IN THE RE-ENCOUNTER. THE TUSCAN LANDSCAPE WITH ITS HILLS AND CYPRESSES, THE REGION'S COLOURS AND SMELLS, AND THE WAY IN WHICH THE SUN LIGHTS UP THE VALLEYS ON ITS DAILY PASSAGE,DEEPLY CALL OUT TO SOME PART OF ME, AS CLICHÉD AS THAT MAY SOUND. BUT I AM NOT ALONE. TUSCANY IS ONE OF EUROPE'S MOST FAVOURED TRAVEL DESTINATIONS AND HAS PLAYED HOST TO MASSES OF TOURISTS FROM ACROSS SOCIAL CLASSES FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY. SINCE text: M eri Kukkavaar a photographs: Pekka Nuikki T he tourism industry is advanced in the region and has become significantly more interesting in the last fifteen selections, and gave our specific criteria to the search engine. We settled on Poggio Cennina, which is a small group of houses on a mountainside, literally the "small village of Cennina". The village is located in the south of the Chianti wine district, and is surrounded by vineyards. It is not far from the beautiful old Tuscan towns; just 35 km from Sienna, 60 km from Florence and 34 km from Arezzo. Poggio Cennina was a nineteenthcentury farm. In addition to agriculture, the owners carried out beekeeping, and grapes, olives and fruits are still cultivated on the land. Of the buildings found on the site today, two are original nineteenth-century constructions, one of them originally the main building of the former estate. The others were built in 2000, but following the old style, using recycled materials such as stones and beams extracted from gently demolished buildings. The eleven stone houses that now stand on the hillside look as if they have always been there, overlooking the Ambra valley. years. Rural entrepreneurs have realised the attraction of rusticity, and old country houses and villas have been renovated for accommodation use. This has been a real boon for the region, as it has allowed formerly uninhabited places to flourish while protecting the land from the excessive strain of new developments. Today's tourists are offered unique facilities ranging from bed and breakfasts to luxury villas, all of which are infused with the region's history and the personal style of their hosts and hostesses. In order for these individual treasures to be easier to locate and book, many places have signed up with an online accommodation provider. For our spring visit to Tuscany we decided to take a look at what was available within the Internet's vast Modern Rustic The houses are an interesting mix of old and new. In the "new" buildings, the interior architecture with its spacious rooms, is in line with today's living ideals. It feels as if you are stepping into modern times through an ancient shell. The spaces are cleanly designed and equipped with new furniture in the rustic style. The colours in the accommodation units are delicious, with terracotta floors and yellow, ochre, red, green and purple walls. Guests can choose either an apartment or a whole house. We settled upon Villa della Volpe, the "House of the Fox", where we could enjoy our breakfast on our own patio, accompanied 85 V I S I T I N G P A O L O R O S S I FINE VISIT

AGRITURISMO POGGIO CENNINA Via per Cennina 10/11 Loc. Cennina 52021 Bucine www.tuscany.net/poggio-cennina Our lunch restaurant in Arezzo: TRATTORIA LA LANCIA D'ORO LOGGE VASARI - Piazza Grande 18-19 52100 Arezzo www.loggevasari.it by the crowing of cocks carried on the wind from the valley, and by a beautiful vista. dominating because it is partly built inside the hill. That allowed us to retain the balance between buildings and nature that is so important to us. The new section contains a reception area and ballroom, and we will complete it with a restaurant to supplement our breakfast facilities. The entire valleyfacing wall is glass, so the view is fantastic. There will also be a rooftop garden." Rossi also told us about the old village at the top of the hill: "If you follow the road that passes by here up to the peak, you will arrive at a walled village from the 12th century, Castello di Cennina. It is renowned for its musical events, and even oenophiles have grown to be fond of the ancient hilltop fortress for its small-scale wine tastings." Cennina was named after an Etruscan fertility Goddess, and it has been inhabited since 800 BC. Curious as I am, I had naturally found my way to Castello di Cennina by the second morning. The winding uphill road tempted me out on a morning hike after sunrise and I plodded on tenaciously, despite the steep rises and my aching feet. I was hoping that the path would take me up to the fortress I had seen silhouetted against the morning sky from below. And indeed it did: I finally arrived at a small, sleepy village and its castle ruins. I sat on a bench by a small church and relished the almost endless view unfolding before me. In the world that spread out below I could see several villages and towns waking up to a new day. Set in wine country, Poggio Cennina will organise wine tastings and Italian cooking courses on request. You can also buy the farm's organic products ­ wines and the first-rate Borgaccio olive oil. My own suitcase gained a dangerous amount of weight due to that divine oil. Football Legend's Oasis The man behind this travellers' oasis is ­ surprisingly ­ the Italian football legend Paolo Rossi, along with his friend Luigi Pelaggi. Rossi went down in football history in 1982, when he led the Italian side to win the World Cup and was crowned as the top scorer and awarded the Golden Ball for the best player. That same year he was also given the titles of European Footballer of the Year and World Player of the Year. The two friends had a dream of building a place that respected the surrounding nature, where people could leave behind the dust of the city and enjoy the natural environment, relax, watch the sun rise and set, and take care of themselves. Guests have access to a gym, a pool, tennis court, Turkish bath and cross-country bikes. Rossi's background is also evident in the estate's own football pitch. The award-winning footballer can occasionally be found kicking a ball on his own pitch, as he lives only a stone's throw away. A Timeless Travel Destination If you are able to spend several days in Tuscany, it is worth doing some exploring in the area. The entire Tuscan region is full of little towns and villages, each more charming than the last, replete with art treasures and delicious Tuscan cuisine. Suitable day-trip destinations in the Poggio Cennina area include Sienna, Arezzo, Volterra and Montepulciano; a little more time is needed for Florence. We headed for and Arezzo, popped the wandered into its old streets and the antique that shops enjoyed lunch out in the spring sunshine, under arches surround central square. This visit to Tuscany gave us some longedfor spring sunshine and warmth, culture and culinary delights. We loved "our" house in Poggio Cennina, our breakfasts in its red kitchen, the peacefulness of the valley and the possibility of looking after not only our minds but also our bodies in this enchanting environment. All this, combined with the opportunity to experience one of the world's foremost wine districts, makes it an excellent way to broaden one's horizons. Once again, Tuscany delivered on its promise to provide visitors with good wine, good food and nourishment for the soul. Etruscan Inheritance Poggio Cennina also has a wine bar that offers some of the wines made from the estate's own grapes: the organic Borgo Cennina red, the Pietraviva Chardonnay and the Borghetto Brut sparkling wine. We spent a while in the wine bar with Rossi as he told us about his new project: "We are putting the finishing touches on a new part of Poggio Cennina. A larger building has been completed on the hillside, but it is not too 86 F I N E

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Mario Sculatti Auction Action in Hong Kong Just a quick 10-minute taxi ride from Hong Kong Central, on the other side of the Aberdeen Tunnel up to Shouson Hill, there is the discrete entrance to Crown. This is hallowed ground in the wine world, as it is probably the single greatest wine depository system in Asia. These converted underground Second World War ammunition bunkers are historical strongholds, and proved to be a special venue for our first live auction on Hong Kong Island. The morning had a cool freshness to it and I felt a happy anticipation as the pallet of Spectrum's pre-auction tasting wines arrived in perfect shape. It was an honour to protect and escort this specific prize from California into Asia: the cargo was in fact a complete 20-year vertical of Harlan Estate in magnum form, direct from the estate, including nearimpossible to find 1987, 1988 and 1989 vintages. Indeed, these were the very first wines Harlan Estate produced and had never before released to the public ­ the estate's official first vintage was 1990. The collection belonged to a gentleman I call "Tai Pan", a good friend and client of mine who had purchased this historic lot at Auction Napa Valley earlier in the year. One of the most enjoyable parts about being in the rare wine business right now is that we can increasingly make use of technology to better document and authenticate wines. In this vertical of Harlan Estate, for example, the estate had commissioned a firm called iProof to affix RFID (radio-frequency identification) chips to each of these bottles, making them scannable by all relatively new mobile phones worldwide. This is an amazing innovation that may someday prove able to give all wine collectors a true geo-location provenance list for their wines. The excitement amongst both local aficionados and old Hong Kong friends was palpable at the pre-auction tasting event at Crown Cellars, in what proved to be a fantastic affair! The highlight of the night for me was the arrival of our surprise guests. Don Weaver from Harlan Estate and Tuck Beckstoffer of the famous vineyard dynasty in Napa Valley of the 88 F I N E

F I N E same name were both in attendance, on their way back from a Shanghai tour, and provided us with a little hometown good luck. As the party got rolling at about 8pm, we opened a quantity of truly great bottles. It was a cross-section of wines direct from the 3000-bottle Aubrey McClendon Collection listed in the auction, so bidders could taste how the bottles had been cared for. The mark of a great tasting event, to me, is when seasoned and firsttime auction buyers can converge upon the common ground of just drinking and appreciating the same wines together. I looked across the crowded main bunker clubhouse at Crown, and saw one of our older clients in deep debate with a new 22-year-old buyer from Singapore. These two gentlemen were happily harassing each other about the pros and cons of new world Napa fruit plushness versus old school Bordeaux acidity and longevity, and the younger guy was the one extolling the virtues of the old-school Bordelaise finesse! The plan for the auction was the first in the wine world: to connect Hong Kong and California in a real-time live video exchange ­ bridging 7300 miles across the Pacific Ocean ­ so we could literally wave our bidding paddles at each other across the world! We wanted all the bidders in each auction to feel like their counterparts were sitting in the room next to them. You have to love technology. Our first auction opened on Sunday morning at 9am Hong Kong time, in the Crown Cellars. With the video link streaming to big LCD screens, we were fully connected and corresponding exactly to the 6pm Saturday start back at Laguna, California ballroom at the St. Regis Monarch Beach. It was a complete honour and privilege to have Ms Ursula Hermacinski as our auctioneer in California, who was taking a weekend break away from her day job as Estate Manager of Screaming Eagle in Oakville. Standing at the podium, Ursula welcomed us all to the event, and then raised her gavel as if to signal that "now we're off to the races." From lot number one all the way through to number 686, it was a battle to procure the best of the best wines. Bidding started fiercely for one of the most coveted of the First Growth Bordeaux, Lafite-Rothschild. Among the lots offered from the McClendon Collection were 16 full cases of 1998 Lafite, bringing in US$111 000; the 12 bottles of 1982 Lafite went for US$38 000. When the hammer fell in our room on an Imperial of 1996 Lafite-Rothschild, the under bidder, Tai Kor, threw his paddle at me and said, with a smile on his face: "Mark my words, I will win the rest of the lots I want!" He took another swirl of the 1990 Latour I had just poured him, and we were on good terms again. Sure enough, Tai Kor ended up taking a considerable chunk of the greatest lots, including the majority of the own wooden case and large format Pétrus. Another gentleman took on gem-cut precise positions of own wooden case Mouton-Rothschild and Léoville-Las Cases across his favourite vintages. The 2000 Mouton-Rothschild was really hot at the sale. A total of 16 lots, in cases, jeroboam and imperial format were adorned with those iconic golden rams. One of our most successful winning phone bidders had called in from his mobile while driving his sports car out near the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Sha Tin Racecourse. He was running down lots of 2000 Cheval Blanc by furlongs, like he was the white racehorse, beating out his competitors in our Hong Kong and California rooms. I was really impressed by how much activity we were getting from our Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong-based Internet bidders. Because of the live video feed and simple bidding interface, buyers were happy bidding privately from their homes or offices. Access, ease and privacy are important. A surprise case in point was the 12-bottle lot of 1962 DRC Romanée-Conti that went for US$109 000 to a mystery absentee bidder from Macau. After such a long day of competing for these treasures, the auction ended strongly with all 686 lots sold, reaching a combined total of US$3 490 000. Hong Kong has truly become the new international wine hub in the past year and we were thrilled to make our own mark with this debut auction. 89 C O L U M N F I N E S C U L AT T I

FINE Wine Auction Report 2009 FINE reviews the fine wine market in 2009, a year that was buttressed by the Asian market and the Lafite brand. Orient Express Text: Stuart George As 2010 began, the fine wine market was as ambiguous as the snowfall described in Tove Jansson's The True Deceiver: "The continuous snowfall carried with it an imprecise darkness that was neither dusk nor dawn, and it depressed people." We may now be over the worst but we are still far from where we were before the crisis. If 2007 was the Everest of the fine wine market, then October 2008 was its Mariana Trench. As a chill economic wind blew through salesrooms in January 2009, merchants and auctioneers looked to the year ahead gloomily. But it could have been much worse. Clearance rates were excellent, even if the lengthy lists of recordbreaking prices that were sent out by PRs to impecunious wine hacks at the end of 2007 were now just a distant memory. The market cooled like a barren Sahara evening. In 2006, it was the hottest summer in Britain since 1772; in January 2010, it was the coldest spell of weather for nearly fifty years. In 2006 there were 26 US$100 000+ bids. In 2007, helped by the strength of the pound against the dollar, there were exactly twice as many; additionally, there were at least another thirty lots that made over $50 000. In 2008 45 lots fetched $50 000+. In 2009, allowing for exchange rates, only about fifteen lots sold for $50 000+ at wine auctions. Blue-chip wines, especially Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, sank but the ripples had not yet subsided. 90 F I N E

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FINE Wine Auction Report 2009 Crashing symbols The New York wine retailer and auctioneer Zachys claimed the highest turnover of any wine auction house in 2009. Its total volume was $50 733 970 ­ including twenty per cent premium ­ from fourteen auctions. In 2008 Zachys totalled $29.84 million, which was over a third less than 2007's $52.44 million. Interviewed in September, Zachys' President Jeff Zacharia said: "We're doing about the same volume as last year, a couple hundred more lots. Value is down but it's coming back up again. We're starting to raise estimates again when appropriate. Prices have come down but let's not forget we had a six-year bull run. Prices haven't gone back to where they were six years ago, so they're still pretty strong." As in 2008, Christie's reported that its global sales of wine "surpassed the US$50 million mark" ­ including premiums ­ in 2009. Sotheby's total for wine auctions last year was US$41 755 284 ­ including premiums ­ below 2008's US$44 625 346. Its London wine sales for 2009 totalled last five years." Acker Merrall & Condit totalled, including 21 per cent premium, US$44 212 698 from its eleven sales held in New York and Hong Kong. Online sales accounted for US$5 428 392, with Hong Kong making US$20 729 447 and New York US$18 054 859. In 2008 Acker Merrall & Condit totalled US$59 783 368 from twelve New York and two Hong Kong sales, as well as its monthly Internet auctions. In Chicago, Hart Davis Hart made US$24 008 542 compared to US$32 273 540 in 2008. Despite the publicity it generates ­ or used to generate ­ from high prices and rare wines, the auction market constitutes only a tenth of the annual US$3 billion global fine wine market ­ a figure that has trebled since 2004, according to the London-based fine wine exchange Liv-ex, whose membership comprises the world's major trade buyers and sellers, including merchants, brokers, retailers, importers, exporters and wine funds. All three of the primary Liv-ex indices showed a year-on-year increase of twelve per cent or more. Trading on the Liv-ex exchange in 2009 saw twenty per cent more transactions going through than in 2008, which itself was a record year. £9 297 980, which, claimed Sotheby's, made for "more than 100% increase in wine sales in London over the table. Fuelled by hubristic amounts of money, the market was like Krakatoa: intense seismic activity, finally ending in a huge explosion that left a gaping hole in the landscape. That hole was quickly filled by Hong Kong, where the removal of tax on wine in April 2008 saw international auctioneers and merchants charging into Kowloon like bulls in a china shop. In 2009 the fragile market relied heavily on two things: Château Lafite and Hong Kong. As it says in Sun Tzu's The Art of War: "it is the nature of logs and boulders that on flat ground, they are stationery, but on steep ground, they roll." Imagine those logs and boulders as Lafite and that steep ground as the hills of Kowloon. If G. H. Hardy had ranked wines instead of mathematicians, he would have put Lafite first. It is the Newton or Archimedes of wine, with the figures to match. The price gains of Lafite 1982 over the past ten years have been astonishing. According to Liv-ex, it went from £2613 in December 1999 to £25 000 by November 2009, an increase of 856.9 per cent. If that rate were maintained until December 2019, a case of Lafite 1982 would then be worth nearly £250 000. Even if Parker's recalibrated score for the 1982 suggests that the wine might become more renowned for achievement than longevity, it still shines in the market as brightly as the sun: after falling, it invariably rises. The Liv-ex Lafite Index, which tracks six vintages of both Lafite and Carruades, rose more than forty per cent last year. The best-performing wine was Lafite 1999, which rose 125 per cent during 2009, up from £2000 per case to £4500. Asia's gluttonous adoration of Lafite, which saw the 1982 achieve the equivalent of US$45 000 at Acker Merrall & Condit's November Hong Kong sale, will surely see its price continue to rise like lions after slumber. Go East, young man There is a simple explanation for Lafite's supernova prices in recent years. To paraphrase Robert Browning, the Chinese like whatever they look on, and their looks go everywhere. In China, everyone ­ or at least every billionaire ­ must have Lafite. It is France's greatest export to Asia since influential 17th century missionary, Father Alexander de Rhodes. Clearly, the Chinese adore Lafite. But it is less obvious why they are drawn to it like iron filings to a magnet. Apparently the name is memorable and easy to pronounce, though it tends to be called "Lafay" by Chinese speakers. Some suggest that the etched label is also an attraction; this Wine of desolation The steady growth seen in 2009 was reassuring after the events of October 2008, when prices collapsed like a cheap flat-packed coffee 92 F I N E

might also at least partly explain the increasing interest in Duhart-Milon, Clerc-Milon and Beychevelle in the Far East. Asians also appreciate some of the broader cultural implications of Lafite and other fine wines. They like the "invented tradition", to use Eric Hobsbawm's phrase, of fine claret. There is a nascent interest and understanding in China, or at least in Confucianism, of what fine wine supposedly represents ­ balance, harmony ­ or ho ­ and a sense of place, and that this ho comes from the unique conditions of a specific geographical site. But perhaps the greatest reason for Lafite's success is its embrace of the free market economy. It releases its wines to the world and then lets the market do its work. By contrast Latour, which is arguably as great a wine and brand as Lafite, maintains a dirigiste regime and keeps a tight rein on its sales. Consequently it has had nowhere near as much impact on the Asian market. 93 A U C T I O N R E P O R T 2 0 0 9 FINE INVESTING

FINE Wine Auction Report 2009 A wind blows from the East Twenty-five years ago, tourists could take a day-trip from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, the town across the river that separates Hong Kong from the mainland. At the border post of Lo Wu sparse shops sold cheap clothes and souvenirs. Today, the border post resembles an international airport, with Bentley showrooms and shiny towers. Hong Kong has become the Monte Carlo of China, a rich person's playground where the high rollers come to do business. While the US remains mired in an economic funk, China drives forward ceaselessly. The fine wine market increasingly reflects the changing balance of global economic power. In the 1980s and 1990s US collectors dominated the market. But now Asia, and particularly China, is in the ascendancy. Auctions in Hong Kong totalled the equivalent of US$70 million in 2009, which represents about a quarter of all wine sales there. London, long considered the de facto capital of global fine wine trading, totalled US$34 million. New York remained top at US$135 million. Asian collectors have become the most important buyers at Sotheby's, purchasing 57 per cent of total sales. At its three Hong Kong sales, buyers were predominantly Asian, with roughly forty per cent coming from Hong Kong, forty per cent from China, around ten per cent from Taiwan and the remaining ten per cent from other countries in Asia and elsewhere. US collectors bought less than one per cent of the wine sold. In 2009 Asian collectors bought 32 per cent of wine sold at Sotheby's New York, up from four per cent just four years ago. Asian activity was exceptionally strong in London too: 44 per cent of wine sold by value through Sotheby's London up to November 2009 was sold to Asian buyers. It is not coincidental that, at £1509 per lot, the average lot value for wine sold at Sotheby's London this year was the second highest ever. The greater part of Acker Merrall & Condit's turnover is now in Hong Kong. In 2010 it plans to hold six live sales there, as many as it is likely to hold in New York. Such bold moves show that China is not just the future ­ it is the present. The Chinese are becoming rich and they want people to know it. A French wine merchant friend of mine in Shanghai told me: "China is still a nouveau riche country, all about face and `bling'. A Chinese customer opens the wine list and points at the most expensive thing, usually Lafite, which they have a fetish for. You could replace it with corked Shiraz ­ they wouldn't tell the difference." Despite this apparent sciolism by China's bao fa hu, the explosive rich, he says: The Danish scientist Niels Bohr said: "Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future." Some things, however, are near certainties for 2010. Auction catalogues in Hong Kong and New York will continue to bulge like a gavage-inflicted goose. Even during these difficult times auctions of a couple of hundred lots would be considered barely quorate in those cities. Prices for the most sought-after wines will continue to rise, though probably not to the heights of the Burj Khalifa ­ recently deigned the world's tallest man-made structure. 2010 is the year of the tiger ­ will it roar? ­ but it might also be the year of the lamb. There is increasing interest in Mouton-Rothschild, which might become more lucrative in 2010. The 1989, 1990, 1996 and 1998 vintages all traded at new highs on the Liv-ex exchange in December. Champagne is likely to continue to struggle. It was rumoured recently that several houses were looking to offload stock, which would depress prices. The 2009 Bordeaux en primeur campaign could be challenging. Although the hype has already started, with suggestions that the wines will be high quality, the UK and US economies are still weak. Recent currency movements could make it a very expensive vintage for these two important markets. But if the wines really are good, then there is likely to be intense competition for allocations. With anniversary wines, those celebrating their 18th birthday in 2010 are unlucky with most of the classics, though some good Tokaji and red and white Burgundies were made in 1992. 1989 is one of the great Bordeaux vintages; the Rhône, white Burgundy and Barolo were also distinguished. Silver wedding anniversaries might be toasted with Champagne, Rhône, red Burgundy or an outstanding Lafite. Centenarians can enjoy a glass of 1910 Madeira. As for the long-term prospects for fine wine in China and elsewhere, as Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1949 until 1976, replied when asked about the impact of the French Revolution of 1789: "It is too soon to say." "Everyone is waiting for the rise of the middle class. Once they're rich enough, educated enough, curious enough, then... BOOM! We're getting there." O tempora! O mores! > 94 F I N E

A BREAKTHROUGH TO THE 21ST CENTURY TURBINE TITANIUM A5006/1 www.perrelet.com

The Art of Tasting Wine Blind and Learning Humility Jan-Erik Paulson A n old acquaintance of mine that I hadn't met for many years handed me a glass of wine and asked me to guess what it was. He had heard that I was now supposed to be "something of a wine expert" and wanted to test me. The wine showed cassis flavours and was quite alcoholic and overripe in style. Therefore, my spontaneous guess was that it could be a Cabernet Sauvignon from a warm region. My acquaintance seemed a bit disappointed that I had guessed the correct grape variety but now he wanted to know exactly which country the wine came from. He grinned widely when I guessed that it was from Australia and pronounced loudly that I didn't know all that much about wine after all, as the wine came from Mexico ­ which is more or less on the opposite side of the planet. It happens frequently that I am asked to guess wines blind and I enjoy doing this, assuming it is with people who really are knowledgeable about wine. This is because they know how difficult it is to even get it nearly right. It is a challenge and nothing ­ except maybe golf ­ teaches you humility as fast. I do not consider myself to be a great taster and my guesses are often spectacularly wrong, but I still think it is a fun mental test to "have a go at it". There are days when I just can't seem to guess either the grape variety or the region of the wine, and then there are days when, through logical thinking, I manage to get its geographical region and the age of the wine more or less right. 96 F I N E

And then there are these extremely rare and glorious moments when you manage to get all the elements right. These are moments to savour and the more witnesses to your moment of glory there are, the greater the joy. Sometimes this is a result of sudden inspiration and often this "gut-feeling" can be quite a good guess. But if it doesn't make something instantly click within your mind, the best way is to work it out in a logical manner: Bouquet of cassis: Cabernet Sauvignon. Elegance and style: I'm going for a Bordeaux. A hint of eucalyptus on the nose: Let me try Pauillac. Majestic and restrained palate: It has to be Château Latour. Now, what about the vintage? The colour shows a slightly tawny rim: Probably older than 25 years. The palate is ripe with mellow acidity.It must be a very good vintage. Now we come to the "excluding technique": possibilities in the 1950s. The 1953 was not that successful at Latour, which leaves just 1959. From older vintages the 1928, 1929, 1945 and 1949 come into the equation. It can't be the 1945 as it doesn't show the typical volatile acidity of the vintage. 1928 is more robust in its structure and the 1929 is sweeter. So this leaves 1949, 1959 and 1961. 1961 should be more concentrated and youthful than this and the 1949 should be slightly more mature. So this leaves only the 1959. This is where I loudly declare that it must be a 1959 Château Latour. It is a moment of pure ecstasy if this happens to be right. It can't be from the 1980s ­ too mature. In the 1970s only the very first year of the decade produced a Latour of this quality, however that is still younger and has more acidity. Four wines in the 1960s could be possibilities: 1961, 1962, 1964 and 1966. 1962 and 1964 should be more developed and 1966 shows more tannins and structure. Could be 1961. 1953 and 1959 are If it turns out to be a 1953 Château Mouton-Rothschild, I can, with a certain amount of pride, declare that I was not that far off and that my way of reasoning showed a certain amount of logic. It is however one of these moments when you promise yourself you will never, ever to try guess a wine blind again if the wine in the glass turns out to be a 1990 Barolo ­ until next time, of course. > 97 C O L U M N FINE PAULSON

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Tasting & Art II 1952-1959 Premier Cru Classé, Château Mouton-Rothschild is today regarded as one of the world's greatest wines. The château is owned by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and consists of 205 acres of vines near Pauillac, in the Médoc to the north west of the city of Bordeaux. This Premier Cru benefits from exceptionally good natural conditions: the quality of the soil, the position of its vines and their exposure to the sun. The estate was bought in 1853 by Philippe de Rothschild's great-grandfather. It was in fairly bad shape and when the classification of 1855 was set up, Château Mouton-Rothschild was not deemed good enough to qualify as a first growth but instead was placed first amongst the second growths ­ an injustice which took Philippe de Rothschild until 1973 to rectify. In the 1920s Philippe de Rothschild called together the owners of Châteaux Haut-Brion, Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Yquem to talk about the idea of bottling and marketing their wines on their own. The first vintage to be bottled exclusively at the château was the 1924 vintage. To commemorate this, the cubistic painter Carlu was asked to design the label ­ another revolutionary idea in this most conservative of surroundings. The idea of an artist designing the labels was dropped until 1945, at which time Baron Philippe had the idea of embellishing the Mouton-Rothschild 1945 label with artwork: on this occasion a symbolic design intended to commemorate the Allied victory and celebrate the return of peace. He commissioned this from a young unknown artist, Philippe Julian. Julian submitted several drafts for the label and the final one is based on the "V for Victory", made famous by Winston Churchill throughout the war as he rallied the forces of freedom. This marked the beginning of a series of specially designed labels for each vintage, for each year a different artist was commissioned and the payment was in wine. Since then works of such famous artists such as Picasso, Miró, Dali, Chagall and of personalities like John Huston and Prince Charles have been used for the labels. Vintages 1924/1945­1951 were featured in the previous issue of this magazine. A The German gourmet and wine book publisher Tre Torri and wine expert, writer and artist Pekka Nuikki have published a book in English and German on the wines of Château Mouton-Rothschild and their artistic labels: Château Mouton-Rothschild Tasting&Art 1924/1945­2003. This book about one of the bestknown wines of France is a beautiful, in-depth work of 256 pages, available at fine-magazines.com M O U T O N R O T H S C H I L D 99 FINE ART & WINE

Warm spring with a lovely blossom. It was followed by a hot July and August with very little rain. September was cold and conditions were unfavourable when the harvest began in mid-September Spring began early, but brought quite a few night frosts. Beautiful blossom in the vines, but the cold nights led to bud damage. A hot June was followed by exceptionally good weather in August. Due to heavy rain, the harvest was delayed until late September.. 1952 Léonor Fini Mysterious Elf with Ram's Horns Léonor Fini (1908­1996) was born in Buenos Aires, but grew up in Trieste, Italy, in an exclusively feminine household surrounded by her mother, grandmother and great-aunts. With her androgynous appearance, she was described as very beautiful and eccentric. As a young girl, Fini had already refused to be conformist in any way, dedicating herself to painting instead. As a self-taught artist, she practiced anatomical drawings in morgues, while as a mysterious bird of paradise, she caused a sensation in Paris society circles. Without identifying with surrealism, she kept in close touch with its protagonists such as André Breton, Max Ernst and Man Ray. She enjoyed high regard as a book illustrator and as a set and costume designer for the theatre and opera. Léonor Fini's paintings document her delight in the unreal and mysterious. There were often hermaphroditic figures, catlike women and mythical beasts. This is also the style of her label for Baron Philippe de Rothschild, as she decided to draw a feminine, elfin face with prominent ram horns. 1953 Année duCentenaire Mouton Rothschild ­ 100 years of Family Ownership The 1953 label breaks with the tradition of a design by a contemporary artist, showing instead the portrait of his great-grandfather, Baron Nathaniel, the man who purchased Mouton. On 11 May 1853, Nathaniel de Rothschild signed the bill of sale for the winery Château Brane-Mouton, which he immediately renamed Château Mouton-Rothschild. 100 years of Château Mouton-Rothschild being in the family was celebrated in 1953. The label also states the names of Baron Philippe's father Henri and his grandfather James. 93P Château Mouton-Rothschild 1953 2007/2015 x5, D 1 h/G 1 h 90P Château Mouton-Rothschild 1952 2009/Now x7, D 1 h/G 2 h This old looking bottle with wine level at the neck, was tasted in August 2009. Dark, healthy colour that looked like purple velvet. Not as tight and hard as the magnum I tasted two years previously. This beauty was a lovely, open and giving wine almost instantly. Full, rich and quite well-balanced, but the fruit seemed weak, which was the case with many left-bank wines in 1952 and it also lacked intensity. While it was certainly good and still very drinkable, it was not nearly as great as a Mouton can be. Drink now, it won't get any better in the future. A healthy, fresh-looking mature colour on this Mouton, which was tasted in January 2007. Very delicate and sensitive wine with sweet concentrated flavours of red fruits and chocolate. The best feature of this wine was its elegance and faultless mouthfeel, which was decadently silky and classy. Very fragrant and smooth wine, almost as great as the 1955 Mouton, which has merely a slightly better balance and complexity, but they both share the same very long and concentrated finish. At 57 years of age, this Mouton is at its peak now, but should easily live on for at least one more decade. A genuinely classic and vigorous Mouton. 100 F I N E

The winter was long and very cold, before a beautiful spring followed. July brought the lowest temperatures since 1880, while heavy rains characterised a cold August. Finally, a few hot days occurred in September. Then downpours. On October 11, a very late harvest began at Mouton. Changeable weather in the first half of the year: a wet January, mild February, frosty March and cold May. In the hot month of June, it rained occasionally. In July and August recorded there was no recorded precipitation at all, meaning the rain in September was more than welcome. 1954 ­ Jean Carzou Fortuna's Wheel The French painter and graphic artist Jean Carzou (1907­2000) had Armenian ancestors. He studied architecture before developing an interest in painting. Jean Carzou also became a well-known set designer for the theatre and ballet at the Paris opera house, and for the famous Comédie Française. His paintings and drawings mostly depicted urban, industrial scenes, deserted places and destroyed landscapes. He contrasts geometric forms and structures with the design of free space. In his paintings, lines run into nothing, while perspective is covered and deconstructed by a dense net of lines. He often depicted people as a mesh of organic lines in seemingly irrational movements. The label designed by him shows an allegory on the wheel of fortune and Man's, especially winegrowers', dependence on nature's whims. 1955 ­ Georges Braque Wine: Minimalist Interpretation Georges Braque (1882­1963) was without doubt one of the most important artists of the 20th century. He was the first artist of outstanding international reputation to design a label for Mouton-Rothschild. As a painter, he worked with a wide variety of materials. He also worked in this free, open style on his woodcuts, copperplates, etchings and lithographs. As one of the first artists, he worked with sand, newspaper clippings or other findings that he combined into very colourful paintings and collages. The artist concentrated on a limited number of motifs, which he condensed constantly. With his congenial friend Pablo Picasso, he created the foundation of Cubism. They broke all rules of perspective, showed their motifs from several angles at the same time and reduced complex figures to simple geometric forms. For the label of the Mouton, however, Braque chose an almost minimalist scene, in a clear interpretation that could not have described the subject of wine more precisely or in a more literate manner: a table with grapes and a half-filled glass of wine. 68p Château Mouton-Rothschild 2006/Now x3, D 30 Min/G 1 h 1954 Opened in January 2006, this bottle came along when I bought a lot of Moutons from different off-vintages, such as the 1951, 1954, 1956, 1960 and 1965, just for the novelty of it. Very good condition, top-shoulder and promising vital colour. Not a bad nose for a wine of over fifty years and off-vintage ­ sound, aromatic and over-mature, but on the palate soft and light with the fruit completely dried up. Not the most exhilarating finish either, but still a drinkable wine. 97p Château Mouton-Rothschild 1955 2009/2020 x11, D 1 h/G 2 h One hour of decanting had opened this lovely looking 1955 Mouton wonderfully, and its nose in the glass was open and charming with lots of berries, vanilla and a touch of cellar. The mouthfeel was extremely refined. The opulent, full wine was so delicately perfect that it required its taster to really concentrate and put his soul into the exercise. The wine was not as aggressively full as Mouton can quite often be, but still very sophisticated and complex wine. An intellectual, multilayered and balanced wine. The strong aftertaste lingered in my thoughts for a long time. A wine you feel you should kneel down before and meditate. Drink between now and 2020. 101 M O U T O N R O T H S C H I L D FINE ART & WINE

In Médoc, 8cm of snow fell in February. This was the coldest winter since 1709. The vines suffered severe frost damage and the late and insufficient blossom did not allow for a good harvest. The second half of August was wet and cold, with heavy rain in September, too. A year of constantly changing weather: a warm February and hot March, followed by a cool April and unexpected frost in May. Late blossom during a rainy, cold June. The autumn was hot and dry. 1956 ­ Pavel Tchelitchew The Wine Stain Pavel Tchelitchew (1898­1957), who came from a Russian aristocratic family, studied at the Academy of the Arts in Kiev, before emigrating to Germany in 1920. For a few years, he worked as a set designer in Berlin, before moving on to Paris. His early paintings and drawings were neo-Romantic, his later works rather Surrealist. He was friends with the protagonists of the Surrealist movement surrounding André Breton, Yves Tanguy and Max Ernst. His design for the Mouton label, impressive in its technical precision, was one of his last works before his death. Tchelitchew called the gouache "La tache de vin". And, indeed, in the background you can see a wine stain on which the ram, the crest of arms of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, seems to hover in perspective construction. 1957 ­ André Masson Blissfully Happy Wine Drinker The work of painter André Masson (1896­1987) is hard to categorise. With his first paintings, he was seen as one of the late Cubists, but he was also an early Surrealist. His works show the tendency of "écriture automatique", a precursor of the American style of Action Painting, a technique that channels the subconscious uncontrolled into artistic activity. It was very important to Masson not to be pinned down. He changed his techniques and themes constantly and never remained true to one style. To the beholder, all the elements of his paintings seem to move. Figures blend into one another, then separate and create new shapes. His works possess a sensuous quality and very little illustrative power. On the label for the 1957 Mouton, Masson sketches a human body shape that seems to merge contentedly with the contours of the wines. This motif of a blissful wine drinker surrounded by vines is an homage to the happy, exhilarating phase of intoxication. 65p Château Mouton-Rothschild 1956 2006/now x3, D 15 min/G 30 min Last tasted in September 2006. Fill level up to the neck. Fairly deep, darkish-brown colour. Simple cedary nose with some mint and dried fruit. A basic wine with gentle acids and soft tannins. A little vegetal and slightly astringent on the palate. A lot of alcohol in the aftertaste. An unbalanced wine with a one-dimensional taste. Not to be stored or tasted any longer. 85p Château Mouton-Rothschild 1957 2006/now x5, D 1 h/G 1 h Tasted five times with quite similar notes. Today`s bottle was in decent condition with a good-looking label and fill level by the neck. Good, dark and deep colour. Quite open and clean, fresh nose with hints of blackberry and mint aromas. Still quite hard and tannic, but has a lot of character. Still a very vigorous wine, but unquestionably lacks charm and roundness. Warm and bitter finish, but the overall quality is quite far from first-cru quality! Nevertheless, a very good result from this difficult vintage. 102 F I N E

Although February was fairly mild, there was hail and snow in March. April, too, was unusually cold. The weather was mostly amiable in May, with a lot of precipitation in the last few days. June and July were dry and warm, while the harvest began late but under promising conditions in the second week of October February and March showed their best side. April was very hot and the weather remained warm in May. June and July were dominated by great heat, while August was pleasantly warm and dry. There was enough rain in September. 1958 ­ Salvador Dalí "Aussi très bon" Eccentric, excessive, narcissistic ­ that is how Salvador Dalí (1904­1989) presented himself in many public scandals and exhibitionistic self-promotions as an artist. Dalí always took an interest in the economic aspect of art. His works attained international fame and fetched record prices. Influenced by Spanish realism and the impressionists, he turned to Surrealism early on. At 25 years of age, he had his first big exhibition in Paris, the catalogue of which was written by André Breton, the pioneer of the surrealist movement. With his collaboration of the Luis Buñuel movies "Un chien Andalou" and "L'Age d'or" he became one of art's most colourful figures. Dalí's philosophy of life was strongly influenced by Sigmund Freud, whom he met in person. In his work, he played with the subconscious and the deconstruction of time and space. The backgrounds in his paintings were often overly perspective open places, wide spaces and involved harsh lighting conditions. With his imagery and recurring themes such as melting clocks, shapeless figures supported by crutches, and torn limbs, Dalí created icons of modern art. The small ram Salvador Dalí immortalised on the Mouton label poses a contrast to his detailed works with their technically brilliant execution. In ink, with organic, circular motions, the eccentric artist drew the Rothschild ram, skillfully integrating his autograph and the year in the centre. The background of the original drawing, that cannot be seen on the label, bears an almost provocative inscription in gold by Dalí: "Aussi très bon" ­ also very good. 1959 ­ Richard Lippold Bright Red Grapes The German-American artist Richard Lippold (1915­2002) began his career as an industrial designer. In the early 1940s, he came to fame with his linear metal sculptures. His first major work was bought right away by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Some of his often monumental sculptures are displayed in similarly prominent American places, such as the Lincoln Center, the former Pan-American Building and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Lippold's great technical skill creates the impression of an almost weightless use of metal. With his compositions, he managed to design divided spaces and rearrange them in a geographic manner. The weightlessness of Lippold's art and his understanding of three-dimensional geometry are apparent in his design for the Mouton label. The colours and shapes of Richard Lippold's abstract drawing are reminiscent of rows of vines with bright red grapes. 99p Château Mouton-Rothschild 1959 2009/2020 x7, D 1 h/G 3 h 84p Château Mouton-Rothschild 1958 2008/now x3, D 15 min/G 30 min This singular bottle came with a mixed lot from a small Cannes auction. Perfect bottle condition, level high-shoulder. Deep, surprisingly youthful, clean colour. Promising mature, cedary and sound nose. Not much weight or complexity but still has some gentle tannins and dry fruit flavours left. A slightly too acidic and rather one-dimensional wine, with a tough and long finish. Even though it has probably never been a great or a big wine, it has held surprisingly well, and is still fairly drinkable today. A unique experience! In 1960, when the Bordeaux 1959 vintage came onto the market, some critics predicted the wines would not age in a good way because of their low acidity and high alcohol. But excellent years such as 1947, 1945 and 1928 were all characterised by low acidity and high alcohol, and as we all acknowledge, these vintages are still generous to drink, as is this marvellous Mouton. Excellent appearance; level by the neck. This was, as expected, a gorgeous and approachable wine. At first quite closed and blank, but after half an hour it had a sound, sensual and reduced nose, and became rich and intense. It is all there, and it is graceful and exciting; Mouton 1959 really takes you to another planet. This is one of those rare "feet off the ground" wines, with unbelievable presence. When people talk about great claret, this is what they are talking about. Classic stuff! Drink now to 2020. M O U T O N R O T H S C H I L D 103 FINE ART & WINE

Wine Evaluation and Point System FINE evaluates all wines in circumstances as similar as possible to those which our readers would encounter them. In order for the evaluations to be truly beneficial for the reader we always act upon the following norms: We always evaluate the wines in good company ­ We strongly believe that the best part in enjoying a wine is in sharing the joy and pleasure. We do not taste the wines blind ­ Our readers do not usually drink their wines blind, so we are always aware of its name, origin or vintage when tasting. These factors naturally have an effect on the experience of the wine. We evaluate the wine within an hour of its opening ­ This is when most of our readers also have their wines. We give points to the wines based on their current enjoyment possibility ­ We believe that the most significant factor is how the wine in your glass tastes today, not ten years from now. This is why one of our most important tasks is to find amongst the thousands of wines we taste, those that are at their peak right now. In most cases we evaluate the wines in Riedel tasting glasses ­ As our readers do not always have the possibility to enjoy wine in the perfect glass, we have chosen the neutral Riedel tasting glass for our evaluations. Together with the wine evaluation we also advise how the wine should be served to enable best enjoyment. With each evaluation there is a mention of the most suitable glass shape, decanting time and serving temperature for the wine. As one of FINE's fundamental values is to support excellence, we have made the decision to not publish wines that receive below 79 points in our evaluations. We also appreciate wines that represent excellent value in their price to quality ratio and we present these for our readers' benefit. TASTING NOTE EXPLANATION We use a 100-point evaluation system, where the wines have been divided into the following categories: 99­100p A wine with the wow-effect. Sheer perfection to all senses by every parameter of wine quality. A true gift from nature. 86­89p A good wine with balance and complexity. 80­85p An average, though well-made wine. Nose and palate are somewhat one-dimensional and impersonal. 95­98p An outstanding wine that leaves an unforgettable tasting experience with its perfect structure, complexity and personality. 50­79p 90­94p An excellent wine, that stands out by balance, intensity, complexity and character. A modest and straightforward wine lacking life and harmony. This wine is excluded from appearing in FINE Tastings. 104 F I N E

The Premier Wine Club Tasting 1827­2000 page 106 Château Brane-Cantenac Vertical 1962­1981 page 107 Don Melchor Vertical 1987­2007 page 107 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Burgundy 2006 Tasting page 109 FINE Tasting Club 1929­2001 page 110 Bordeaux Super-Second Vertical 1928­2003 page 111 Fine & Rare Tasting 1917­2000 page 113 105 T A S T I N G S Fi n e Ta s t i n g s

The Premier Wine Club Tasting 1827­2000 1827 1934 1985 1900 1996 1947 1990 2000 1870 Quinta do Noval Nacional DRC Romanée-Conti Henri Jayer Richebourg Château Mouton-Rothschild Krug Vintage Champagne Château Pétrus DRC Montrachet Clos de Goisses Juste Rosé Brut Château Lafite-Rothschild 100p 99p 98p 95p 95p 94p 93p 91p 90p 99p 1934 DRC Romanée-Conti, Bourgogne ­ France 2009/now · D 20 min / G 45 min Medium intense brick red colour with ruby tints. Rich and complex nose with opulence and great depth. The nose derives the immensely rich profile of aromas from smokiness to tar and liquorice, flowers, brambles, earthiness, farmyard, animal and violets with hints of burnt sugar. It truly is all that one can wish from a mature burgundy. The broad, medium-bodied and concentrated palate has a nicely balanced acidity and subtle texture, with vibrant energy derived from the sweet red fruit character. Long and harmonious finish. The wine is perfect ­ merely lacking that extra unexplained "wow-factor" that would have given the wine 100 points. CHAMPAGNES 95p 1996 Krug, Champagne ­ France 2009/2030 · D 1 h / G 3 h Intense, rich yellow colour. Pronounced, complex and tight nose delivers toasty aromas with citrus, brioche, and coffee nuances. Dry palate with crisp and vivid acidity, elegantly toasty, mineral character which is still tight but showing clear citrus notes. Long, lingering finish. Wonderfully lean and complex champagne which will definitely show its entire potential within 10 to 15 years, while evolving and lasting well after that. 98p 1985 Henri Jayer Richebourg, Bourgogne ­ France (220 bottles made) 2009/2025 · D 3 h / G 3 h Moderately intense cherry-red colour. A pronounced, charming and very complex burgundy nose with rich red fruit aromas of wild strawberries, liquorice, forest floor, mushrooms, root vegetables and flowers. The medium-bodied palate is vivid and intense with loads of sweet red fruits. The texture is silky and concentrated with subtle tannins. The vibrant mouthfeel is immensely balanced and enriched with well-integrated, high alcohol. Extensive finish. An enormous yet elegant wine that is still in a very youthful phase, revealing just the tip of the iceberg for now. This wine has what it takes to grow into a 100-point wine. 91p 2000 Philipponnat Clos de Goisses Juste Rosé Brut, Champagne ­ France 2009/2025 · D 2 h / G 4 h Moderately pale salmon-rose colour. Intense and tight nose reveals hints of dried apricots, candied red fruits and brioche. The dry, crisp and broad palate is concentrated, with pronounced red fruit character. The concentrated and long finish is highlighted by candied aromas. The wine will definitely benefit from at least ten years of ageing. WHITE WINE 95p 1900 Château Mouton-Rothschild, A. De Luze & Fils Pauillac ­ France 2009/now · D 10 min / G 2 h Deep, intense maroon colour. Opulent and rich, leathery nose with black fruits, smoke, ashes and char. The very concentrated palate has a firm structure, thanks to vivid acidity and supple tannins. The fruit is restrained in style, revealing black fruits. Long and intense aftertaste with leathery tones. Although an evolved wine, it really shows lovely energy and beautiful complexity. 93p 1990 DRC Montrachet, Bourgogne ­ France 2009/2015 · D 2h / G 2 h Golden yellow colour. Pronounced nose delivers complex aromas of toffee, dried fruits, smoke, nuttiness, and even honeyed overtones. The dry palate is broad with an oily texture, nuttiness and dried fruits. Intense, long finish with waxy tones. A very complex and open wine but lacks some of the energetic vibrancy that is commonly found in DRC Montrachets, even in lesser vintages. 94p 1947 Château Pétrus, Pomerol ­ France 2009/2015 · D 45 min / G 1 h Medium intense ruby-red colour. Open, rich and evolved nose of forest floor, black fruits, wet mushroomy tones, smoke and rich floral nuances. Medium-bodied, vivid acidity and powdery tannins are married well with sweet red fruits. The finish is rich but the wine lacks of dimensions and layers, suggesting that this particular bottle is not on a par with many other Pétrus bottles we have tasted from this spectacular vintage. REDS 100p 1827 Quinta do Noval Nacional, Douro ­ Portugal 2009/now · D 30 min / G 3 h Medium intense tawny colour, Very intense, rich and tantalising nose shows a plethora of aromas, from caramelised beetroots to jammed cherries, hazelnuts, sweeten orange peel, dark chocolate, flowers, and cardamom. Full-bodied, intense mouthfilling glycerollike texture rounded with high alcohol and spiced with grinded cardamom flavours. Superb balance and velvety smoothness. Powerful wine with a long, refined and harmonious aftertaste. Considering the perfect condition of the wine at this age, it astonishes and left everyone speechless. 90p 1870 Château Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac ­ France 2009/now · D 10 min / G 35 min Medium intense brick red-colour. Evolved, earthy nose with dried fruits, meatiness, smokiness, dark chocolate and restrained black fruit. The dry palate shows vivid acidity and evolved, dried fruit character with red fruits. A very intense and savoury wine with high concentration and a crisp finish. Such an energetic wine for its age. 106 F I N E

Château Brane-Cantenac Vertical 1962­1981 88p 1981 Château Brane-Cantenac 2009/now · D 1 h / G 1 h Clear, moderately light brick-red colour. Open, seductive, smoky, toasty and leathery nose with bell pepper and cassis notes. Medium-bodied wine with moderate acidity, mellow tannins and dried black fruits. Moderately short, savory finish with smokiness and touch of green notes. 89p 1987 Don Melchor 2010/now · D 2 h / G 2 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Elegant nose with roundness, ripe blackcurrants and hints of herbaceousness, tar and smoke. Medium to light-bodied, vivid acidity and long harmonious finish with mellow tobacco flavours and rounded tannic structure. 85p 1988 Don Melchor 2010/2013 · D 1.5 h / G 2 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Intense, tight, nutty and herbaceous nose with mint, smoke and black fruit aromas. Full-bodied, austere and tight palate which is dominated by firm tannins over the less exposed fruit. The high alcohol adds roundness to the moderately long aftertaste. The wine is restrained in style. It also lacks depth and complexity. 87p 1976 Château Brane-Cantenac 2009/now · D 1 h / G 1 h Clear, medium-intense brick-red colour. Tight nose with floral tones, earthiness, liquorice, cedar and smoke, with blackcurrant notes. Medium-bodied palate with vivid acidity, firm, silky tannic structure and dry fruitiness with blackcurrants. Medium-long, savoury finish. 88p 1989 Don Melchor 2010/2014 · D 2 h / G 2 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Pronounced meaty tones and consommé with root vegetables. Medium-bodied wine with rich black fruit and tight acidity. High alcohol overpowers the astringent savoury finish. 90p 1975 Château Brane-Cantenac 2009/now · D 1.5 h / G 1.5 h Clear, medium-intense brick-red colour. Developed, complex, toasty nose with bell peppers, chocolate and roasted coffee. Medium-bodied, vivid acidity, supple tannins and delicious dark fruit. An elegant wine that is drinking perfectly. 91p 1990 Don Melchor 2010/2020 · D 3 h / G 3 h Moderately light in colour. Intense, deep, earthy and herbaceous nose. Mint chocolate combined with beef stock. The mellow, fullbodied, gentle tannins form a broad velvety texture with cedary nuances. Ripe dark fruits, including black currants. Intense high alcohol but persistent finish. 86p 1970 Château Brane-Cantenac 2009/now · D 30 min / G 30 min Clear, medium-intense brick-red colour. Earthy, less lean, oxidative. Yoghurt, nutty, hints of tar, smoke and violets. Light-bodied, moderately high acidity, leathery, volatile, drying fruit with supple tannins. Lingering finish. 89p 1991 Don Melchor 2010/2015 · D 2 h / G 2 h Moderately intense cherry-red colour. Intense nose with toasty, sweet jammed cassis notes. Full-bodied, vivid acidity and firm big ripe tannins. Juicy balance with lean restrained fruit. Mouthdrying long finish with cigar flavours and high alcohol mintiness. Persistent and long. 89p 1964 Château Brane-Cantenac 2009/now · D 30 min / G 30 min Clear, medium-intense tawny red colour. Peculiar, complex, harmonious nose with brown sugar, cacao, tobacco, leather, smoke and rubber. Medium-bodied silky strutucre, with mellow acidity and supple tannins. Broad mouthfeel with cigar, dried fruits and slightly powdery tannins. A harmonious and supple wine with finesse and complexity. 90p 1992 Don Melchor 2010/2017 · D 2 h / G 2 h Moderately intense cherry-red colour. Slightly closed but very elegant and refined nose with floral and earthy tar aromas. Fullbodied, vivid acidity, firm tannins, youthful energy and tight tannic structure, with sour black fruit character in persistent lean finish. Don Melchor Vertical 1987­2007 Tasting over 20 vintage verticals is always fascinating, but there was a certain special excitement in the air, as this flight came from Chile. Concha y Toro's Don Melchor is, without doubt, the only premium Chilean wine that can set such an extensive vertical. The results of this tasting surprised us with a few different factors. Firstly, the oldest wines did not live up to expectation, as they were lacking both depth and complexity. On the other hand there were surprising differences between the styles of the vintages, which is not a characteristic generally expected from a Chilean wine. While the quality of the wines has been constantly improving, it is fair to say that the younger vintages have much more potential to show their complexity and depth in the future. 89p 1993 Don Melchor 2010/2020 · D 3 h / G 2 h Moderately intense cherry-red colour. Rich, chocolatey and minty nose with liquorice and cassis overtones. Medium-bodied, firm mouthfeel with energetic fruit character. Black fruits, liquorice, and tobacco. A long, high alcohol finish with moderately tight tannic finish. Refined and powerful wine. 88p 1994 Don Melchor 2010/2025 · D 3 h / G 2 h Moderately deep ruby colour. Intense, opulent, jammed cassis. Herbaceous, minty, dark chocolate, sweet spiciy nose, root vegetables. Full-bodied, round, jammed and fruity palate with fresh acidity and mouthpuckering refined tannins. Big, cedary and firm oaky finish. Great potential! 107 T A S T I N G S Fi n e Ta s t i n g s

87p 1995 Don Melchor 2010/2018 · D 3 h / G 3 h Moderately intense ruby colour. Elegant, minty nose with lean, jammed ripe black fruit. Full-bodied, smooth, high alcohol, round tannins, high alchol, jammed cassis and long warm finish. Lacks complexity but rich in style. acidity and round, subtle tannins. High alcohol adds roundness to the wine. Very opulent and fruit-driven wine. A rich and harmonious blockbuster that will benefit from further ageing. 84p 2003 Don Melchor 2010/2017 · D 2 h / G 2 h Moderately intense purple colour. Intense, pronounced, smoky and blackcurrant jam aromas with liquorice tones. Full-bodied, vivid acidity with intense and firm gentle tannins that dry the mouthfeel essentially. Tight, less complex finish with high alcohol. Overpowered by alcohol. 86p 1996 Don Melchor 2010/2014 · D 3 h / G 3 h Moderately intense ruby colour. Closed, odd nose with mousiness, gluey and animal tones. Medium-bodied, refined, mellow acidity, rustic in style, restrained fruit and mouthpuckering tannic structure with tobacco character. 91p 2004 Don Melchor 2010/2022 · D 5 h / G 3 h Moderately intense purple colour. Closed, tight, jammed black fruit character. Intense spicy aromas with floral tones. Full-bodied, smooth, elegant mouthfeel. Long, very harmonious palate with high alcohol and mouthdrying finish, roasted coffee flavours and ripe blackcurrant tones. Rich but elegant in style. Very wellintegrated alcohol. 91p 1997 Don Melchor 2010/2027 · D 3 h / G 3 h Moderately intense ruby colour. Intense, herbaceous nose with jammy cassis fruit, liquorice, smoke, dark chocolate and mint. Fullbodied, mellow acidity, jammed black fruit, refined texture and long harmonious finish with lovely intensity. Well balanced high alcohol with spiciness. Big subtle tannins. 85p 1998 Don Melchor 2010/2012 · D 2 h / G 2 h Moderately intense ruby colour. Rich, complex, meaty, beef stock nose with cigar and dry herbaceous aromas. Full-bodied, jammed fruit, moderately high acidity, subtle round tannins and high alcohol, although lacking focus and persistence. Mouth-drying finish. 90p 1999 Don Melchor 2010/2030 · D 3 h / G 3 h Moderately intense ruby colour. Very jammed, intense black currantand bramble nose with heavy toast and sweet spiciness. Full-bodied, jammed fruit, mellow tannins and juicy acidity; velvety texture, high alcohol, round and opulent style with high extraction. Very concentrated and long finish. Drinking well already but will evolve in the future to a much greater wine. 88p 2000 Don Melchor 2010/2015 · D 3 h / G 2 h Moderately intense ruby colour with high extraction. Intense, oaky, vanilla nose with ripe black fruits and a delicate spiciness of mint and dark chocolate. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, round and rich. The acidity is moderately low while the fruit is ripe and jammy. Spicy and oaky characters stand out well in the toasty finish. Good subtle wine but lacking the vibrancy and elegance of greatness. 93p 2005 Don Melchor 2010/2014 · D 6 h / G 3 h Moderately intense purple colour. Elegant, refined nose with chocolate and smoke, as well as hints of perfumy aromas. Fullbodied, silky texture, intense and refined bramble character. Elegant, less mouthpuckering syle, yet still rich. Satiny finish. 90p 2001 Don Melchor 2010/2035 · D 4 h / G 3 h Moderately intense purple colour. Complex and refined nose with roasted coffee, blackcurrant leaves and sweet spicy nose. Fullbodied, elegant structure, concentrated and long finish with high alcohol and jammed black fruit elegantly integrated in the tight package. Very focused and long, intense finish with very refined texture. Sophisticated style. Big, extracted, loads of everything. Toasty vanilla and sweet spiciness. Gentle blockbuster. 89p 2006 Don Melchor 2010/2016 · D 8 h / G 5 h Moderately intense purple colour. Opulent, open nose with rich blackcurrant jamminess, violets, vanilla, smoke and cinnamonsweet spices. Full-bodied, supple texture. Less expressive, but with finesse and refined black fruit character and persitant finish. Feminine in style. 88p 2007 Don Melchor 2010/2035 · D 10 h / G 5 h Highly concentrated appearance, it is highly extracted. Moderately intense purple colour. Rich, floral nose with ripe blackcurrants and sweet cocolate tones. Full-bodied, intense black and red fruits and a highly concentrated, long and intense finish. Explosive fruit and acidity. Long finish with gently mouthpuckering tannins. 87p 2002 Don Melchor 2010/2017 · D 3 h / G 3 h Moderately intense purple colour. Jammed black fruits, cassis, liquorice and tar. Full-bodied, sweet jammed black fruits, mellow 108 F I N E

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2006 Tasting The 2006 vintage stands out the whole DRC range as a delicate and feminine vintage with vibrancy and warm spicy character, dominated by cloves and Asian spices. In ranking order: 2006 Romanée-Conti, DRC 95p 2006 La Tâche, DRC 93p 2006 Échezeaux, DRC 90p 2006 Musigny, Comte Georges de Vogüé 90p 2006 La Romanée, Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair 89p 2006 Richebourg, DRC 89p 2006 Grands-Échezeaux, DRC 88p 2006 Romanée-Saint-Vivant, DRC 87p 87p 2006 Romanée-St-Vivant, DRC 2010/2022 · D 6 h / G 4 h Medium-intense ruby colour. Very spicy red fruit nose with clove, cinnamon and vanilla aromas. The very firm palate shows crisp acidity, powdery tannic structure and delicate red fruit character. Yet the sophisticated palate shows austerity. The finish is closed and a bit harsh, with tobacco tones. 89p 2006 Richebourg, DRC 2010/2030 · D 10 h / G 5 h Moderately intense ruby colour. Elegant and complex nose with ripe wild strawberry fruit, earthiness and root vegetable aromas topped with chocolate cloves. Moderately powerful, yet surprisingly feminine style for Richebourg. Crisp and intense red fruit character and subtle structure. A cedary and gently mouthdrying long vibrant finish. CHAMPAGNES 91p 2002 Vilmart Grand Cellier Rubis 2002 Brut Premier Cru 2010/2016 · D 15 min / G 1 h Moderately light salmon-red colour. Toasty nose with great autolytic character combined with ripe strawberry aromas. The dry, supple and elegant palate shows good fruit intensity in the form of ripe red fruits. Elegant, subtle and long mineral finish. 93p 2006 La Tâche, DRC 2010/2035 · D 10 h / G 5 h Medium-intense ruby colour. Complex and rich nose with peculiar herbaceous nuances and ripe red fruits. Toasty and chocolaty aromas with peculiar smoky, grilled meat tones. A complex, vivid palate with an energetic and refined palate consisting of warm spices and ripe wild strawberry flavours. Delicate, floral aromas highlight the charming and lingering finish. 93p 2002 Bollinger Grande Année Rosé 2010/2022 · D 30 min / G 1.5 h Moderately intense salmon-red colour. Rich, toasty nose with butterscotch, red fruits and apples. Hints of oxidative character. Dry and firm, rich, vivid and crisp palate with a long mineral finish. The complex palate shows fresh red fruits and some brioche flavours. Very focused and concentrated finish. THE FLIGHT 95p 2006 Romanée-Conti, DRC 2010/2040 · D 14 h / G 8 h Moderately intense ruby-red colour. Although the complex nose shows rich, Christmas spice aromas of cloves, cinnamon and hints of liquorice, it is still closed. On the palate the wine shows greatness in its density, concentration and vibrancy, as well immense balance and elegant structure. The vivid acidity shines through the long lingering finish with tobacco, cappuccino and floral tones present. Aristocratic wine, above all the rest. 88p 2006 Chapelle-Chambertin, Camille Giroud 2010/2026 · D 6 h / G 3 h Moderately light ruby-red colour. Rich, ripe wild strawberry nose with charming aromas of violets, vanilla and milk chocolate. The lovely fresh and lean palate has supple structure with mellow tannins and vivid acidity. An opulent Burgundy. 90p 2006 Échezeaux, DRC 2010/2020 · D 5 h / G 3 h Moderately light ruby-red colour. Open floral nose with jasmine and violets, a touch of cedar, ripe wild strawberries and cappuccino nuances. Very refined silky texture, delicate ripe red fruit character combined with floral tones. Subtle and extremely polished tannins. Long, spicy finish includes clove and cinnamon flavours. Drinking superbly now. 89p 2006 La Romanée, Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair 2010/2020 · D 6 h / G 4 h Moderately intense ruby red shows volatile, animal and smoke and woodiness. The austere with restrained fruit. style. colour. The rustic and evolved nose barnyard characters with hints of crisp and intense palate is slightly Long earthy aftertaste and rustic in 88p 2006 Grands-Échezeaux, DRC 2010/2025 · D 8 h / G 4 h Medium intense ruby colour. The intense but partly closed nose still shows complex aromas of brambles, ginger, roasted sesame seeds, vanilla, chocolate and cappuccino. Elegant but firm palate and tight, polished tannins. Fresh fruitiness consisting of ripe wild strawberries and brambles. Long yet closed finish shows some floral flavours. Not a wine to drink now. 90p 2006 Musigny, Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé 2010/2040 · D 12 h / G 6 h Intense dark ruby-red colour. Focused nose with intense red fruit character ­ raspberries, wild strawberries and cranberries. Very concentrated and intense palate with silky structure. Loads of wild berries, raspberries and cranberries. Refined powdery tannins combined with intense red fruitiness form a chewy structure. Very lean and tight in style with a long and intense finish. Very promising yet tightly knitted wine that needs bottle ageing to deliver its best. 109 T A S T I N G S Fi n e Ta s t i n g s

FINE Tasting Club 1929--2001 The quarterly FINE tasting club events are always enjoyable. They offer the opportunity to taste sought-after wines, as well as a fresh menu that has been prepared using ingredients that have been fished, hunted or picked by the chef. CHAMPAGNES 89p 1969 DRC La Tache 2009/now · D 30 min / G 1 h Medium intense brownish colour. The moderately intense, very evolved and complex nose shows animal and leather aromas, prunes and hints of floral tones. Medium-bodied palate is in balance with vivid acidity, supple tannins and fruitiness. The fruit is drying, showing a mixture of dried fruits and red berries, while the finish is elegant and lingering with some milk chocolate flavours. Good wine but far from its best. The lack of depth and complexity is something that can only be explained by the bottle variations; in this case, the appearance of the bottle was flawless but the wine inside had just gone past its peak. 91p 1981 Krug Collection 2009/2015 · D 10 min / G 1 h Golden yellow colour, lacking bubbles. Pronounced and complex nose with toffee, nuttiness and dried apples. Crisp, firm and intense mouthfeel with a balanced fruitiness of dried apples and apricots. Lingering and long mineral finish with lemony tones. Drinking well now but will evolve positively still for 3 to 5 years. 90p 1978 Giacomo Conterno Barolo 2009/now · D 45 min / G 1 h Moderately intense dark brown-red colour. The closed nose delivers an intensive fruit character of black fruits but little else. On the palate, the wine is pronounced, intense, and mouthfilling. Vivid acidity, together with intense flavours of cherries, cranberries and red fruits, form an energetic taste that lasts moderately well. A harmonious wine with persistence and refinement, yet appears one-dimensional. 95p 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé 2009/2018 · D 20 min / G 2 h Moderately pale rosé colour. Lovely ripe, wild strawberry nose with delicate aromas of perfume, smoke and butterscotch. Dry, crisp, light-bodied palate with fresh fruitiness. The flavours of wild strawberries are mixed with hints of toffee and toastiness. Elegant and creamy texture. Long, intense and lingering finish. Drinking well already but will reach its optimum maturity in 6 to 8 years of ageing. WHITE WINE 94p 1929 Château Latour 2009/2012 · D 45 min / G 2 h Dark, intense brick-red colour. The charmingly evolved, moderately rich and earthy nose delivers ripe black fruit and hazelnut aromas. On the palate, the wine shows medium-bodied structure with vivid acidity and gentle tannins. The dried black fruit flavours together with tobacco and cigar notes, forms a savoury and long finish. Latour is known for its majestic wines and this wine is no exception. The well-balanced and harmonious wine will keep but will not improve further. 93p 2001 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne 2009/2020 · D 3 h / G 3 h Intense, yellow colour. Pronounced, toasty and powerful nose with oaky and seductive mint aromas. The dry, crisp and broad palate shows a moderate level of acidity, restrained tropical fruit and firm mineral character. Very concentrated and focused finish. An impressive wine that will reach its peak within the next 8 to 10 years. RED WINES 92p 1929 Château Mouton-Rothschild 2009/now · D 30 min / G 1 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Pronounced, smoky nose with tar and vegetal tones. The medium-bodied, refreshing acidity and mellow tannins form a delicate and refined structure with touches of herbaceous flavours. Harmonious and lean finish combined with medium-length. Drink up! 97p 1985 Leroy Mazis-Chambertin Hospice de Beaune 2009/2018 · D 2.5 h / G 3 h Medium-intense ruby-red colour. Rich, pronounced and intense nose with many aromatic layers of smoke, liquorice, ripe red berries and lovely floral nuances. A moderate intensity, vivid acidity and gentle tannins form a subtle structure to this charming wine, which is accentuated by violets, brambles and wild strawberries. An appealing, elegant and superbly balanced wine with a long, lingering and intense finish. Drinking perfectly now but will become greater with 5 to 8 years of ageing. FINE Tasting Club Menu Marinated whitefish toast gratinated with Finnish Black Label Emmenthaler cheese Chantarelle soup Black Grouse pâté and parsley sauce Mousse of wild Brown Trout and slightly salted wild Norwegian salmon Roast rump of moose with wild mushroom sauce Cheese trilogy Fresh pineapple and Kirschwasser 93p 1947 Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny 2009/now · D 30 min / G 1 h Medium intense colour with brown tints. Evolved, complex and moderately intense nose reveals smoky, herbaceous aromas along with rosemary and ripe red fruits. The palate is surprisingly fresh and energetic with seductive red fruit character combined with hints of earthiness and a leathery finish. The tannins are silky and the palate is very focused and subtle. This is a beautifully evolved Burgundy that is harmonious and elegant. The wine has passed its peak but will retire gracefully. 110 F I N E

Bordeaux Super-Second Vertical 1928--2003 CHÂTEAU LÉOVILLE-LAS CASES & CHÂTEAU ANGELUS Château Léoville-Las Cases, belonging to Second Growth of the legendary 1855 Bordeaux Classification system, is considered to be the number one challenger to the First Growths in left bank. On right bank, Château Angelus has been considered to hold the same position in the St-Emilion classification system. For this reason the wines are often referred to as `super-seconds' in their region. We decided to put these highly appreciated super-second wines next to each other, along a 75-year timeline, to see how consistent they are. Both wines stood up to their reputation well, with the only major difference shown in the ageing potential. Apparently Léoville-Las Cases benefits from longer bottle ageing as a Cabernet Sauvignon based left bank wine, while the Merlotbased Angelus from St-Emilion is clearly peaking earlier. All wines were tasted openly. 91p 1961 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/2020 · D 1 h / G 2 h Moderately intense, slightly hazy, brick-red colour. Rich and complex nose ­ smoky aromas and hints of mint, leather and tobacco notes. Medium-bodied palate with vivid acidity and finegrained tannins forms a firm structure that is well combined with restrained fruitiness and pronounced mineral flavours. The long aftertaste shows walnut, bell pepper and leather tones. A savoury and classy wine with a cool and restrained character. 93p 1962 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/now · D 1.5 h / G 3 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Youthful and lovely, opulent nose with complex aromas of bell pepper, chocolate and vanilla. The satiny texture is formed by refined tannins, elegant acidity and moderately intense fruitiness. Elegant wine with black fruit and chocolate flavours in the lingering finish. CHÂTEAU LÉOVILLE-LAS CASES ­ St-Julien 94p 1945 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/now · D 45 min / G 1.5 h Medium-intense brick-red colour. Rich, complex and classic nose shows lead pencil, mint, blackcurrant and farmyard aromas. Intense and rich mouthfeel with great acidic and tannic grip. The aftertaste shows firm tannins and concentrated fruit of blackcurrants. The aftertaste lasts long and has cedary aromas. A beautiful and seductive wine. 87p 1964 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/now · D 1 h / G 2 h Moderately intense garnet-red colour. Opulent, perfumey, spicy and floral nose with ripe dark fruits and gentle toastiness. Light to medium-bodied round mouthfeel with mellow tannins and vivid acidity. Savoury finish. Promising nose but modest and simple palate. 86p 1949 Château Angelus 2009/now · D 30 min / G 1 h Medium-intense brick-red colour. Partly oxidised nose with smoky and leathery aromas combined with nuts and dried fruits. The medium-bodied palate has a moderately low level of acidity, round tannins and medium-intense black fruit character. Restrained finish with leathery and earthy aftertaste. A one-dimensional wine that is drinking well but retiring slowly. 91p 1966 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/2015 · D 2 h / G 2 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Rich and deep nose reveals an abundance of aromas ­ black fruits, rubber, smoke, bell pepper, classic, and mineral tones. Intense palate with surprisingly fresh fruit. The mellow acidity and gentle tannins form a round palate with intense blackcurrant fruit. Moderately long aftertaste with astringency and spiciness. The wine will most likely not improve largely but will keep well for years still. 93p 1955 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/2018 · D 2 h / G 2 h Intense, dark garnet-red colour. Charming bouquet delivers black fruits, smoke, vegetal aromas, cedar, chocolate and dry spices. Firm and restrained palate with crisp acidity, concentrated fruit and supple tannins. Classic claret flavours of cassis and cedar in the long finish. A robust style but very balanced. Surprisingly energetic wine for its age. 89p 1970 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/now · D 45 min / G 1 h Intense ruby-red colour. Classic claret nose of cassis, cedar and smoke, with hints of violets. The palate is restrained and a little austere in style with firm tannins, good acidic backbone and dried fruitiness. Aftertaste is tight but savoury. Not a great wine but classy. 94p 1985 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/2020 · D 2 h / G 3 h Deep, ruby and almost purple colour. Pronounced yet elegant nose shows the beautiful complexity ­ cassis, wild strawberries and black fruits combined with cedary spiciness and dark chocolate. The powerful but sophisticated palate is very vivid, intense and subtle. The aromas in the nose are followed in the palate. Harmonious wine with long, lingering finish. Great, energetic wine which will gain more complexity with ageing for at least five to seven years and most likely more than that. 95p 1959 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/2015 · D 1 h / G 2 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Opulent, classic and seductive nose with many layers revealing cigar box, blackcurrants and roasted coffee. Medium-bodied palate is extremely balanced with vivid acidity, refined round tannins and intense fruitiness. A long, concentrated finish with subtleness and elegance. A classic and sophisticated claret. 111 T A S T I N G S Fi n e Ta s t i n g s

92p 1998 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/2018 · D 6 h / G 3 h Intense dark purple colour. Nose shows great depth and complexity ­ cassis, vanilla, smoke, tobacco and sweet spices. Very refined and focused palate with vivid acidity, mellow tannins and restrained black fruitiness. Elegantly integrated oak adds a delicate spiciness to the taste.. A long, polished finish. A sophisticated and classy claret that will evolve nicely in the next six to eight years. 81p 1967 Château Angelus 2009/now · D 30 min / G 20 min Medium intense, garnet-red colour. Vibrant nose shows complex aromas of smoke, liquorice, plums and jammed raspberries. The palate fails to live up to the expectations in the nose. An aggressive palate with austere tannins, pungent acidity, which is highlighted as sour cherry flavours. Short, sour finish. Certainly not a wine to remember. 87p 2000 Château Léoville-Las Cases 2009/2030 · D 12 h / G 3 h Deep and intense ruby colour. The very classic and complex nose is dominated by chocolate, cappuccino, toast and roasted coffee aromas. The fruit is still masked underneath them. The palate is medium-bodied with mouth-drying tannins, balancing acidity and restrained fruitiness. Moderately short finish. The wine has a hidden elegance which does not show yet. To deliver its full potential it needs to age for at least twenty years, if not thirty. 86p 1969 Château Angelus Magnum 2009/now · D 30 min / G 1 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Promising nose with rich aromas of chocolate, pralines, flowers and earthiness. Some vegetal notes, including beetroot. The medium-bodied palate is high in acidity with mouth-drying, gentle tannins. The fruit is very restrained style and it is lacking the dimensions to form an intriguing experience. Short finish. 84p 1970 Château Angelus 2009/2014 · D 1 h / G 1.5 h Medium intense orange-red colour. Peculiar and strange nose for a red wine. Intense, dried yellow fruit aromas and honeyed overtones with mineral nuances. The palate is round and loosely structured with soft tannins, mellow acidity and raisin-like fruitiness. Moderately long one-dimensional finish. This particular wine was pleasant but by no means a great wine. For the great vintage of St-Emilion, the wine was a disappointment, suggesting that we were just unlucky with the bottle. CHÂTEAU ANGELUS ­ St-Emilion 86p 1928 Château Angelus 2009/now · D 30 min / G 45 min Medium-intense tawny colour. The developed nose delivers delicate and complex aromas of leather, chocolate, ash, tobacco and toastiness. Dry and crisp on the palate with dried black fruits. Pronounced mineral and savoury aftertaste is escorted with leathery tones and restrained fruit. The nose promised more than taste delivered. The wine is passed its peak and fading. 89p 1975 Château Angelus 2009/2015 · D 1.5 h / G 1.5 h Moderately light brick-red colour. Pronounced tobacco nose with black fruits and hints of varnish. Firm and fairly intense palate. Good concentration of black fruits, balancing acidity and tannins. Spicy, liquorice finish. Austere style wine that will age gracefully for a few years but will not become more mellow or round. 86p 1949 Château Angelus 2009/now · D 30 min / G 1 h Medium-intense brick-red colour. Partly oxidised nose with smoky and leathery aromas combined with nuts and dried fruits. The medium-bodied palate has a moderately low level of acidity, round tannins and medium-intense black fruit character. Restrained finish with leathery and earthy aftertaste. A one-dimensional wine that is drinking well but retiring slowly. 92p 1982 Château Angelus 2009/2018 · D 2 h / G 3 h Medium intense ruby-red colour. Lovely nose with an intense and rich nose of black fruits, chocolate, spices and violets. Mediumbodied, round and soft palate. Moderately low acidic mouthfeel and mellow tannins. The ripe black fruit aromas are nicely integrated with spicy, chocolate aromas. Moderately long and generous finish. Very appealing wine to drink now but will evolve nicely within the next six to eight years. 87p 1959 Château Angelus 2009/now · D 30 min / G 1 h Moderately intense tawny-red colour. Sweet, rich and spirity nose with liquorice, dark chocolate, and toastiness. Medium-bodied palate with vivid acidity, mellow tannins and restrained, dried fruitiness. The moderately long aftertaste becomes less focused in the end, leaving the taste one-dimensional and less exciting. 93p 1985 Château Angelus 2009/2020 · D 2.5 h / G 3 h Moderately intense garnet-red colour. Fascinating nose with intense meaty and smoky aromas, wild strawberries, brambles and blackcurrants, and even some lead pencil tones. The rich and youthful palate shows a great balance of firm tannins, lively acidity and intense ripe black fruit character. Great length. An opulent and charming wine. 91p 1953 Château Angelus 2009/2012 · D 1 h / G 1.5 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Peculiar nose shows pronounced wild strawberry and raspberry aromas. Firm and fresh palate. Vivid acidity, gentle tannins and charming pure red fruit character. An elegant and unique style of wine with persistent, lingering finish. 92p 1966 Château Angelus 2009/now · D 1.5 / G 2 h Medium intense brick-red colour. Open, complex and seductive nose has smoky, mineral aromas combined with wild black fruits, chocolate and ground pepper. Broad and moderately intense mouthfeel. Sweet fruitiness, mellow tannins and vivid acidity, all in great balance. Long finish with wild black fruit flavours. A lovely wine that is drinking perfectly now. 92p 1989 Château Angelus 2010/2017 · D 2 h / G 3 h Moderately dark tawny colour. Complex, smoky and earthy nose with tobacco, mocha and dark cacao. Medium-bodied, moderate acidity and a concentrated palate with restrained fruit, firm powdery tannins and harmonious finish. Smoky, tobacco and black fruit flavours in long, silky finish. 112 F I N E

90p 1990 Château Angelus 2010/2030 · D 4 h / G 4 h Moderately dark tawny colour. Intense, complex, rich and leathery nose with black currants, cigar box, liquorice and a touch of mint. Medium-bodied, vivid acidity and subtle tannins with a concentrated and elegant taste that closes in the mid-palate. Great potential but in order to reach its ideal drinkability, it will need to be aged for at least ten to fifteen years. 97p 1985 Dom Pérignon Magnum 2009/2020 · D 15 min / G 1 h Golden yellow colour with refined, small bubbles. Rich and seductively toasty nose with roasted coffee and hints of brioche, almonds and dried fruits. Crisp and broad palate, with mouthfilling mousse, shows various flavour layers of dried fruits, butterscotch, roasted coffee and nuts. Intense, long aftertaste. A charming champagne, which will reach its peak within the next five to ten years. 93p 2000 Château Angelus 2009/2030 · D 10 h / G 3 h Deep, dark ruby colour. Intense, refined and seductive nose of ripe cassis, dark chocolate, vanilla and sweet spicy aromas. Full-bodied, supple palate with vivid acidity, round tannins and delicately intense fruit. Black fruit and dark chocolate flavours escort the opulent and long finish. The harmoniously balanced wine has such a pleasant and opulent character that is, despite the young age of the wine, already being delivered and enjoyed. The wine has, however, great potential and will only improve within the next few decades. 89p 1999 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 2009/2020 · D 30 min / G 1 h Moderately intense straw yellow colour. Intense nose with lovely yeasty character combined with marshmallows and tropical fruits. Dry and broad palate with rich fruit flavours, as well as floral and vanilla aromas in the long and harmonious finish. Drinking well now but has great potential to age for decades. 91p 1983 Taittinger Collection "Vieira da Silva" Champagne ­ France 2009/now · D - / G 15 min Slightly hazy, golden yellow colour. Intense, oxidative, nutty, mushroomy and rich toasty nose. Dry, crisp, fresh palate with nice complexity. Long, lingering finish with a nutty and butterscotch character. 92p 2003 Château Angelus 2009/2030 · D 10 h / G 3 h Dark ruby colour. Very concentrated and intense nose with loads of ripe black fruits combined with chocolate, vanilla and toasty nuances. Opulent on the palate and richly structured. Intense fruit of ripe black cassis, satiny tannins and balancing acidity. Harmonious oak influence is detected, with gentle spices and toastiness in the lingering, chocolaty aftertaste. Drinking beautifully already but will deliver much more in next ten to fifteen years. 90p 1990 Pol Roger Brut Champagne ­ France 2009/2013 · D - / G 1 h Golden colour and vivid bubbles. Developed, elegant nose with dried fruits, brioche and hints of smoke. The dry and crisp palate shows good intense structure. Dried fruit aromas combined with citrus and toasty flavours form a nice balance in the lingering aftertaste. 92p 1907 Heidsieck & Co Monopole Gôut Américan, Champagne ­ France 2010/now · D - / G 30 min Intense, little hazy golden colour. Rich hazelnut nose with preserved yellow fruit, bisquit, caramelised almond and toasty aromas. Medium-sweet intense palate with broad mouthfeel, dried apricots, prunes and lemony tones. Moderately long, nutty finish with hints mineral and smoky tones. Although the wine is lacking the mousse and vividness due to the evaporated carbon dioxide, it is lovely and drinking charmingly still. WHITE WINE 90p 2000 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Fine and Rare Tasting CHAMPAGNES 97p 1961 Dom Pérignon Champagne ­ France 2009/now · D - / G 30 min Intense golden yellow colour with lazy bubbles. Impressive, voluptuous and creamy nose full of toastiness, roasted coffee, ripe apricots with honeyed overtones and autolytic characters. Crisp, dry and broad palate with lovely texture. Vivid, toasty and citrusy flavours with a lingering, long finish. Fresh palate and beautifully evolved flavours. Auslese Gold Capsule Nahe ­ Germany 2009/2030 · D 1 h / G 3 h Intense, golden colour. Pronounced botrytis nose with apricot marmalade, honey, lime and floral nuances. Luscious and broad palate with intense texture and light-bodied style. High acidity dries the lingering aftertaste. Harmonious and delicate wine with lovely intensity and concentration, which indicates great future potential. 113 T A S T I N G S Fi n e Ta s t i n g s

RED WINES 97p 1982 Château Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac ­ France 2009/2020 · D 2.5 h / G 2 h Brick-red colour with brown tints. Perfumey, rich and seductive nose with black fruits, toastiness, smoke and ripe fruity nose. Medium-bodied and very subtle palate with vivid acidity, black fruits and silky tannins. Round and harmonious wine with a long, savoury finish. Drinking well now but will evolve and keep for a further 10 to 15 years. 89p 1999 Ridge Montebello, California ­ USA 2010/now · D 3 h / G 2h Medium intense ruby-red colour. Pronounced, perfumey nose with ripe blackcurrants, cedar, smoke and tobacco. Medium-bodied, moderate acidity, supple tannins, with a vivid and fresh palate. Restrained fruitiness with blackcurrants and brambles. Tar and smoky flavours in aftertaste. Elegant and refined, yet restrained in style. 96p 1992 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée Cros-Parantoux, Bourgogne - France 2009/2025 · D 3 h / G 3 h Moderately light cherry-red colour with narrow watery rim. Very intense and perfumey nose full of promise. Intense ripe red fruit with lovely toasty aromas, while the medium-bodied palate offers superb, mouthwatering acidic structure. This wine is in great balance with supple tannins and almost jammed fruitiness; still very youthful and elegant and the style is almost new world-like. A very seductive wine with a harmonious finish. 86p 1905 Château Pape Clement, Graves ­ France 2010/now · D 10 min / G 15 min Moderately light, hazy, evolved tawny colour. Pronounced, leathery nose with earthy, tarry and smoky aromas with black olive notes. Medium-intense, moderate acidity, mellow tannins and round mouthfeel. Leathery, savory aftertaste with restrained, dried fruit flavour and a gentle, mouthdrying tannic bite in the end. PORT 94p 1921 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St-Julien ­ France 2009/2015 · D 2 h / G 2 h Moderately intense brick-red colour. Youthful nose with classic left bank character of pronounced mint and cassis aromas with hints of toastiness. Rich, medium-bodied wine with mellow acidity and round tannic structure. Very ripe and almost jammed dark fruit. Milk chocolate flavours in the long and lingering finish. Opulent wine with a refined and surprisingly youthful style. 91p 1917 Vintage Port, Douro ­ Portugal 2010/now · D 3 h / G 3 h Hazy, amber colour. Intense, raisiny nose with a touch of burnt wood. Sweet, intense, raisiny fruit, well integrated alcohol and a long vivid finish. A very well-balanced wine with good structure. Not the most complex Port but very appealing. 94p 1971 Côte-Rôtie La Mouline, E.Guigal, Rhône ­ France 2009/now · D 2 h / G 2 h Moderately intense brick-red colour. Evolved, complex, animal nose with toasty, smoky and ripe dried fruit aromas. Broad and vivid palate with full-bodied silky structure formed by supple tannins, intense flavour of dried fruits and mineral nuances. Chocolate and toasty coffee flavours escort the long and harmonious finish. Seductive wine that is drinking superbly now. 91p 1958 DRC Romanée-Conti, Bourgogne ­ France 2010/now · D 30 min / G 1 h Moderately pale brown colour. Evolved, complex and earthy nose with smoke, leather and violet tones. Medium-bodied palate, delicate mouthfeel formed by refined tannins, vivid acidity and dried red fruit character. Lingering finish with a touch of woody tannins. Still a very appealing and elegant wine. 91p 1943 Château Cheval Blanc, St-Emilion ­ France 2010/now · D 30 min / G 45 min Hazy, brownish colour. The rich nose is very wild with leather, animal, smoke, sweet dried fruits and earthy tones. The mediumbodied palate is subtle, with a silky structure and lingering finish. Dried fruits and earthiness are predominant in the savoury aftertaste. A truly appealing wine from a difficult vintage. 114 F I N E

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> Winespecials www.winespecials.de 116 F I N E

Text: Pekka Nuikki The wine collector seeking to build up a well-stocked cellar filled with a wide and varied collection of wines, often soon comes up against a hurdle in the shape of the limited stock held by local wine retailers. Getting hold of expensive, mature wines in particular is likely to mean venturing much further afield. These days, however, there is no need for this to involve anything more taxing than switching on your computer. On the Internet you will find over 10 000 sites selling wine. Plenty of people are already buying wine online without batting an eyelid. Many of us, however, have our slight suspicions about wine retailers on the Internet, their product range and the payment methods, and not without reason. People these days are more worried about encountering problems when buying online than ever before. 117 W I N E O N T H E W E B FINE ONLINE

That said, purchasers buying wine online are in many ways better placed than they would be wandering into a wine shop on the nearest street corner. The range to be found on the net is almost unimaginably wide; comparing prices is easy and well worth doing; wine search engines produce precisely the wine you are looking for at the touch of a button, and payment is made smoothly either by credit card or through your bank. Your wine is delivered at a time to suit you and in most cases right to your door. With more recent vintages in particular, the wine purchaser buying online is in an enviable position. Sit back in an armchair browsing a range of tens of thousands of wines for the best offers, fastest delivery speeds and easiest payment method, and a few days later the wine arrives on your doorstep. Easy and perfectly possible for the past decade or so. The greatest risk in buying anything over the Internet is generally associated with the payment method. You pay for your purchases in advance by credit card and simply have to trust that the seller will deliver the goods you ordered, on time and all in one piece. When it comes to buying wine, there is an additional concern about the condition and the genuineness of the products you are buying. A badly stored or otherwise poor bottle will tend not to survive the journey. Because it is hard to tell the true condition of a wine from photographs alone, professional and responsible vendors are worth their weight in gold. Fakes are increasingly encountered and in the most unexpected places. Pirate wines are already getting to be so good that even professionals are hard pushed to spot them without opening the bottle. Be on your guard, in other words. As a general rule, I recommend following practical tips when buying wine on the Internet: ends the moment the rear lights of the courier van vanish around the corner. Check with the retailer beforehand what happens if the wine is damaged. Insurance policies will not pay out, for example, if the cork has become loose in transit and wine has leaked out of the bottle. Many wine retailers generally have a minimum purchase limit and a minimum delivery amount. This is usually one case (12 bottles). dollars. Shipping the same amount between Europe and America or Australia will cost between 130 and 180 euros, 175 to 245 US dollars. To get it the next day, you are looking at about 300 euros, 400 US dollars. >ALWAYS COMPARE PRICES before you buy. Due to the different winedrinking habits of different countries, pricing may vary hugely from country to country. Try and buy your wine from somewhere the wines you are looking for are not currently fashionable. I often find that I have bought port from America, bordeaux from Germany, Spanish wine from America, and so on. France is usually the most expensive country from which to buy wine. When selling your own wine, ask several different sites to give you a comparative quote. >WHEN BUYING older vintages, check that the seller actually has the wine in stock and can prove it is genuine. Often, private individuals selling wine through merchants have their wine handled by several agents at the same time. This means that the broker you have picked may not even have seen the wine they are selling and may not hold any bottles of it either. In the worstcase scenario, "your" wine may turn out to be non-existent because the bottle in question has already been sold by a competitor. There are several retailers on the net who operate entirely on this principle. In other words, the shop doesn't own any of the wines on its list, so steer well clear of these sites. >MANY WINE SITES will only deliver to addresses within their own country. Check before you buy that the seller will also deliver the wine to your country and is prepared to pay any taxes due. >REMEMBER TO ASK the seller to insure the wine you have bought during the transportation period. Sellers often automatically insure shipments or at least discuss the need for insurance with customers. You should also insure wines you are sending to be sold. You can do this at the post office and it is not normally very expensive. Do not ask the seller to ship wine at the hottest time of year ­ just one sweltering day in a van could ruin your wine. >PAYING BY CREDIT CARD is the most practical payment method. One of the easiest and safest methods is to pay by credit card using PayPal. This is an Internet-based payment system intended to replace traditional payment methods and a popular and reliable way of paying for online purchases. If you are suspicious of paying over the Internet, you can always give the seller your credit card details by fax or over the phone. Many wine merchants have sales in August and December. The discount is usually between ten and thirty per cent, or you might be offered free delivery. >WHEN SELLING your own wines via a wine merchant, check that the broker will pay you for your wines either directly into your account or credit your credit card. In many countries cashing cheques is difficult, takes a great deal of time and incurs additional costs. >WHERE TO BUY? In the following list I have selected only wine merchants with whom I or friends of mine have done business successfully and who I can sincerely recommend to wine purchasers on the basis of years of experience. >SHOP only at recognised and reputable wine merchants and auction houses. Choose your representative carefully, especially when asking them to sell your wine on your behalf. >ONLY BUY WINES from retailers who provide photographs of the external condition of the bottle as well as describing it in words. The responsibility of many wine retailers >CHOOSE YOUR DELIVERY method with care. If you want your wine delivered to your door tomorrow, this can usually be arranged, but it might cost more than five times as much as having it arrive in a couple of weeks' time. Within Europe, delivery of a case of 12 bottles within a week costs about sixty to ninety euros, eighty to 120 US 118 F I N E

Paulson Rare Wine > www.rare-wine.com · Tel. +49 858 191 0145 Swedish-born Jan-Erik Paulson's rare-wine.com offers an excellent range of mature French wines from as far back as the late nineteenth century. Their range of Austrian cult wines is the best to be found anywhere on the net. All the wines for sale are shown with pictures and the necessary information about the wine's condition and vintage. All the wines for sale are also in stock. The prices are extremely competitive, sometimes even cheaper than global auction prices. Your wine will usually arrive by post about a week after ordering and shipping is always insured. Payment is safe either by credit card or via your bank and, with their extremely friendly service, it is a pleasure doing business here. Jan-Erik Paulson is also interested in buying wine, so you can always send in a list of any wines you would like to get rid of. Having done business with this merchant since its inception, I can sincerely recommend rare-wine.com and, in my opinion, especially regarding service, it is one of the best wine merchants to be found on the net today. The most recent wine list includes the legendary Château Latour 1961 ¤2950, Cheval Blanc 1947 ¤1950 and Pétrus 1959 ¤1100. Lay & Wheeler Ltd > www.laywheeler.com · Tel. +44 845 330 1855 Lay & Wheeler is a family business founded in 1854, and is now into its sixth generation. One of the most prestigious and successful private wine merchants in Europe, they offer a wide range of quality wines. Prices are in line with the level of service, i.e. on the more expensive side. Lay & Wheeler specialises in gift services, helping you to buy distinguished vintage gifts to mark special occasions. The en primeur service is excellent and the most reliable in the sector. Berry Bros & Rudd > www.bbr.com · Tel. +44 870 900 4300 BBR is Britain's oldest wine merchant, with over three hundred successful years of history under its belt. BBR opened its Internet outlet in 1994 and was one of the first wine merchants with which I did business online. While the range is not the widest or the cheapest to be found, the service is flawless and very reliable. A visit to the shop and its cellar on St. James's Street ­ which dates back to 1698 ­ is an experience not to be missed when visiting London. The most recent list includes Château Mouton-Rothschild 1961 at £595/375ml, Château Haut-Brion 1982 at £659 and Krug 1990 for £278. 119 W I N E O N T H E W E B FINE ONLINE

Winespecials > www.winespecials.de · Tel. +49 (70 22) 99 91 14 Jens Greschner founded the Winespecials wine outlet in 2003. He specialises in the best Bordeaux wines and large bottle sizes in particular. Service is fast and reliable. The prices are undoubtedly towards the cheaper end of the online retailer spectrum but the range is not particularly large. But then when a top condition Pétrus 1961 magnum is offered for ¤3900 ­ average wine auction price ¤7400 ­ or when a La Tâche 1928 costs only ¤1100, you can cheerfully do business with slightly smaller vendors. Most recently I bought a Pétrus 1981 double magnum for ¤1800. The latest wine list included a Pétrus 1986 at ¤649 and a Krug Clos d'Ambonnay 1995 for ¤2049. Rarest Wines > www.rarest-wines.com Rarest Wines specialises in the best burgundies and champagnes. The man behind the site, Burgundy-born Romain Virion, studied banking in London before moving to Italy and setting up as a wine merchant. Italy is one of the best places to buy mature champagnes; the prices are good and Romain is precise about the origin and condition of the wines he sells. The range in his online store is not huge but it is of very high quality and one of the best when it comes to price. For example a 1997 Pétrus costs about 600 euros and a 1970 Dom Pérignon 250 euros. Romain also specialises in, and is a genius at, finding those rare bottles that you have been searching for. He recently found me Moët champagnes from 1842 and 1846. Doing business is easy and delivery is fast. I would particularly recommend wine-lovers try his mature champagnes and Romanée-Conti, Méo-Camuzet and Domaine Leroy. The latest list includes Pommery Vintage Champagne 1979 9L at ¤1000, Dom Pérignon 1982 at ¤200 and Romanée-Conti 1974 at ¤1800. Farr Vintners > www.farr-vintners.com · Tel. +44 207 821 2000 One of the largest and most trustworthy wine merchants in the world. An excellent list of vintage Bordeaux wines updated weekly, this is one of the best on the Internet for wine by the case. Good, flexible service, but payments can only be made by bank transfer. The price level is one of the lowest around, especially for older vintages. Farr Vintners provides wine investors with their own expert contact and other services such as vintage reports, price trend statistics, etc. at no extra charge. They are also happy to buy wellcellared wines from private collections; a very reliable and friendly place to deal with. The most recent list includes a case of Château La Mission Haut-Brion 1961 for £24 000, a case of Mouton-Rothschild 1945 at £100 000 and Latour 1982 at £1000 per bottle. 120 F I N E

Seckford Wines Ltd > www.seckfordwines.co.uk · Tel. +44 139 444 6622 Seckford Wines specialises in quality wines. Their range is wide and their new cellar contains over 500 000 bottles eagerly awaiting buyers. As a place to shop, Seckford Wines is very reliable as they check every bottle and pass on its documented history to the purchaser. They will also sell your quality wine on your behalf. The prices are reasonable and are negotiable when buying by the case. Marcus Titley is an expert and it is well worth picking his brain if you are considering buying or selling wine. Seckford Wines is also an easy and trustworthy site for buying wine futures. With their relaxed yet speedy service, I recommend them as a place to buy wine and especially to sell it. Winebid.Com > www.winebid.com Although winebid.com is a wine auction site, it makes it onto this list thanks to its excellent sales service. It is a very easy site to use to convert the wine sitting in your cellar into cash when necessary. As a seller, all you have to do is send an e-mail to Winebid listing the wine you want to sell. You will receive estimated prices by return within twenty-four hours. Then you just pack the wine into cases and ship them over. The wines are usually put straight into the next auction and you will receive payment for your wine about six weeks after the sale. With their friendly and reliable service, this is one of the easiest ways of selling wines bought for investment, even a bottle at a time. Purchasing wine from winebid.com runs smoothly too, confirmed by the fact that their website has frequently been voted the best in the industry. Bidding is quick and easy after registration. Winebid ships the wine within about six weeks of the end of the auction. I would recommend the site to wine collectors venturing into auctions for the first time ­ particularly the range of older vintage American wines as well as Australian cult wines is excellent. finest wine > www.finestwine.com · Tel. +33 556 680 545 Finest Wine, founded in 1997, has one of the widest ranges of French wines in the world. Even in the beginning of the business, the range was extremely broad and included almost all the twentieth century vintages of the official quality classification of 1855. They will also search for virtually any French wine if it can't be found on their list. Finest Wine stores its wines for sale in its cellars in France. The service is faultless and friendly and the shipments ordered have always arrived undamaged and on time. Orders worth over five hundred dollars are normally shipped free of charge and you can also have daily offers sent to you by e-mail. The prices are mid-range, but it's also possible to discover real finds here, especially in less popular vintages. All major credit cards are accepted. Finest Wine is currently selling the Château d'Yquem Collection 1883­1989. 121 W I N E O N T H E W E B FINE ONLINE

eBay > www.ebay.co.uk eBay is both heaven and hell for wine buyers. The range is endless and constantly changing ­ as I write there are 62 700 bottles of wine for sale and thousands of new bottles will replace them next week ­ but their quality is varied, to say the least. In practice you can find any wine under the sun on eBay, from the famous Lafite 1787 vintage to a more recent Romanée-Conti collection. The prices are often only ten per cent of the wine's international auction price, but your chance of a successful deal is about the same. I have personally bought a couple of hundred bottles of wine from various countries' eBay sites. Most of these have been in good condition, genuine and well-packed. But a regrettably large number have also arrived broken or turned out to be fakes. About one wine in ten has failed to arrive at all. It is possible to make real finds on eBay because the people selling wine here tend to be private individuals selling directly from their own cellar and without an intermediary. The biggest problem with private sellers is not whether they are trustworthy, but rather shipping. Only a few sellers have the right packaging materials available for shipping wine and even fewer think to insure the shipment. On average two bottles in ten arrive broken. There are also hundreds of "real" wine merchants on eBay, but many of them regularly use the site to dump poor quality wines onto the market. eBay is also a paradise for wine fakers and consequently an excellent place for us professionals to practise spotting fakes. I would say that over half of the wines for sale on eBay at prices over ¤1000 or US$1300 are fakes. Some are blindingly obvious, like that Lafite 1787 I mentioned earlier ­ although the price asked for that one was over 15 000 euros, 20 000 US dollars ­ while others are incredibly skilfully done, such as the DRC Montrachet from 1982 I bought recently. Unfortunately, dealers also lurk on eBay who sell wines, they do not even own, and once they have received payment vanish without trace, only to re-register the next day under a new name. If you do nevertheless buy wine from eBay, check that the seller has positive feedback of at least 100 and that they include good photographs of the wines they are selling. It is only worth buying wine on eBay if you are prepared to accept the risk of the wine's genuineness, shipping, condition and whether it in fact exists at all. I would, however, recommend eBay without risk if you are looking to sell your wine. Selling on eBay is easy and when it comes to customers, the world is your oyster. And it is perfectly acceptable to ship the wine to the buyer only once the money has arrived in your bank account. Simple and safe. > 122 F I N E

FINE DEVICE This section introduces devices which bring even greater enjoyment of wine Simply the best A wine expert's most important tool is surprisingly not expensive or complicated; it's small, simple and easy to carry with you. Nothing can replace it if you don't have one and it is a tool that all wine lovers can buy themselves. It is widely available and costs very little. This particular example is better and more practical than other similar but more expensive versions. Indeed, It has saved me from many embarrassing situations. text and photograph: Pekka Nuikki Only a few weeks ago, I was in a situation where I had to open dozens of bottles of older wines in front of approximately fifty people. In these circumstances the most important tool is a functional corkscrew, an implement often taken for granted. Therefore, I always carry at least one Pulltap's corkscrew with me. This simple opener is a classic and belongs in almost every wine expert's tool kit. The Pulltap's corkscrew is characterised by a beautifully designed, slightly S-shaped ergonomic handle. It has an ingenious two-phase support which directs the spiral's force directly upwards and not to the sides like many other openers. Even an older cork can be removed easily and remain intact. The heart of a good corkscrew is the spiral and the spiral of this model is top quality. It is a strong, five-turn steel spiral coated with Teflon. The spiral sinks straight and easily into the cork without breaking it, unlike many older drill-type corkscrews. Its long handle works well as a lever making it easy to remove even the tightest corks, while a handy, serrated knife with a spring lock mechanism adds to the user-friendly design. The Pulltap's opener is brilliant in its simplicity and the price is well under ten euros, fifteen US dollars, at its cheapest ­ excellent news for wine lovers. After a few attempts, the opener is extremely easy to use, but the only thing I feel is missing are the instructions. They are not included, at least not with the cheapest models, so here are my instructions for opening a bottle successfully: ­ If the bottle has been stored horizontally, it should be put in an upright position at least 6 to 24 hours before opening, depending on the bottle's age. This gives time for the sediments to settle on the bottom of the bottle before the wine is poured. Before lifting the bottle into an upright position, you should also check the foil capsule's condition, the tightness of the cork and the colour of the wine. If you have more than one bottle of the same wine, first select the bottle in the worst condition. ­ Carefully unfold the Pulltap's serrated foil knife, neatly cut open the protective capsule and remove it. Fold the foil knife back into its non-use position. Wipe the mouth of the bottle and the exposed cork surface clean of any mildew or other impurities. ­ Unfold the corkscrew and its hinged support. Place the sharp tip at the end of the spiral in the centre of the cork and drive it straight down into the cork so that only the last turn is visible. Do not drive the corkscrew through the cork, because displaced cork pieces may contaminate the wine. ­ Place the hinged support on the side of the bottle's neck so that the upper lip sits firmly on the mouth of the bottle. Hold the bottle firmly, keep it upright and lift up the Pulltap's lever with your other hand so that the cork comes up halfway. Do this with care to avoid breaking the cork. ­ Remove the lip from the mouth of the bottle and place the lower lip of the support on the mouth. Lever the cork directly up, guiding it with your hand.­ especially with older vintages, the corks tend to split in two. The best way to make sure that the rest of the cork comes up in one piece is to insert the corkscrew into the cork at the widest possible angle and pull it up manually, not using the lever. ­ Finally, remove the cork from the corkscrew once it has separated from the bottle. Check that the information on the cork corresponds with the information on the label. It is not worth smelling the cork as it won't tell you anything about the wine itself. Smelling the cork is more a part of the opening ritual in restaurants. Wipe the mouth of the bottle once more with a clean cloth and pour a drop of wine into a glass. Taste it to make sure that the wine is in good condition, not corked or otherwise defective. Clean the corkscrew and put it in a place where you can easily find it the next time you need to open a bottle. Spanish PULLTEX, S.L. is part of the Spanish TEX Group established in 1985. The developer of Pulltap's is Ramón Brucart who started working at the company in 1994. Within a couple of years, the internationally patented Pulltap's became one of the best-known corkscrew brands. 124 F I N E

One Bottle 30 Guests One of the best things about wine is its capacity to bring people together. The finer the wine, the more likely it is to attract a group of its owner's friends. Wine usually also tastes better in good company; a pleasure shared is a pleasure multiplied, so to speak. But what if you want to enjoy a last bottle or rare vintage, and are expecting dozens of friends? Can one bottle be enough ­ not just to satisfy, but to ensure each guest's full enjoyment of the wine? text and photograph: Pekka Nuikki I have often spent evenings with unique bottles of wine, among dozens of other guests. Rare bottles are mostly characterised by their very rarity; in other words, usually only one is available. Sharing it evenly among tens of guests is not easy, especially not in any way worthy of the wine. Most commonly it is done using an ordinary measuring glass, for instance the measure from a medicine bottle. Sure, it enables the wine to be shared, but combined with an ordinary wine glass this method does not allow for a complete experience or evaluation of the wine. The use of a medicine measure or kitchen measuring spoon is also guaranteed to ruin the atmosphere of the evening and the wine's magic. At worst, I have seen wine measured out with a tablespoon. That is far removed from romance or enjoyment. This used to be yet another problem that has now thankfully been solved by the guru of the wine glass world, Georg Riedel. His tasting glass is ingeniously simple. It superbly combines Riedel's technical innovation ability and the importance of wine glass design. The basic philosophy behind Riedel's glasses lies in the physiology of tasting and the importance of the first impression. His glasses are designed to bring out the best characteristics of different grape varieties. Riedel's tasting glass allows for comprehensive information to be gained from even a small quantity of wine, and also allows for the precise and easy measurement of portions. The stem of the glass is designed to hold 20 millilitres, which means that a standard wine bottle can easily be shared between 35 guests. The instructions for glass usage are revolutionary. In order to fully experience the wine, the drinker is invited to lower the glass onto the tabletop and rotate it by 360 degrees. The wine flows evenly from the stem, coating the ample inner surface of the bowl, maximising the aeration of the wine and permitting an accurate perception of its appearance. Not a drop of wine is spilled from the horizontal glass. I feel that the minimum portion a bottle should be divided into is exactly these 20 millilitres. The quantity allows for the requisite two sips, the first for evaluation and the second for pure enjoyment. Riedel's tasting glass provides the optimal taste experience for a small portion, and does it with style. The glass is suitable for all wine varieties except champagne. It is important to remember that a wine glass is the final link in the long chain that brings us full enjoyment of a wine, reaching from the vineyard to the taster's lips. The significance of the glass is particularly emphasised for especially noteworthy and rare wines, as even the best wine will lose some of its soul if incorrectly served. In light of this, too many of us enjoy expensive wines out of poor quality glasses. A good wine glass is a oneoff investment on which one should not economise. 125 F I N E D E V I C E FINE DEVICE

he battle t against bubbles Text: Pekka Nuikki photographs: Pekka Nuikki & Johannes Grau My car's summer tyres are slipping on the frozen road, and the monastery of Hautvillers, perched on a high hill, does not seem to get any nearer. The gusty blizzard rocks and jerks my minivan, and snowflakes almost the size of my palm make visibility close to nil. The town of Epernay, huddled in snow, is slowly disappearing behind me, and the journey to the home of perhaps the best known man in wine history is finally coming to an end as I turn into the yard of the monastery. 126 F I N E

D O M P É R I G N O N 127 FINE LEgENd

The gates, the height of three men, quietly close behind me. The silence is as if the entire world around me had suddenly ceased to exist. The virginity of the moment is enhanced by the untouched snow covering the entire yard. A dizzying view of the Marne river valley opens up from beyond the old vineyards, terraced on several levels along the hillside. The monastery itself is a solid, ascetic greystone building erected in the seventh century. The rain and the twilight make it look spooky, almost like a tomb -- which, in fact, it is. Beneath the chapel, deep inside the hill, is the last resting-place of Dom Pierre Pérignon (1638­1715). He was a monk whose existence many French people still doub ­ according to these people, he is a legend created by marketers. As I stand above his grave, Dom Pérignon feels very real. In my mind I smile at the thought that the marketing apparatus of the 17th century could have created the first and best-known personal legend just by using its imagination. On the other hand, the destruction of the monastery's archives during the French revolution has made it impossible to either confirm or dispute these claims. He was a monk whose existence many French people still doubt. the battle against bubbles 128 F I N E

"He took ordinary wine and gave it soul, structure and elegance -- but no bubbles" the battle against bubbles Pierre Pérignon, now resting beneath my feet, was born in autumn 1638. His family had for generations lived in the Champagne-Lorraine area. They had reputation of being decent people,and this was reinforced by the choice of professions of many of the family members; the Pérignons had been respected lawyers and notaries for generations. Pierre, however, was to become the exception. He went to the Saint-Vannes monastery at the age of 19. What he studied or how long he spent there, though, is shrouded in history, because the next documented information on his movements emerged as late as 1668. That is when he arrived at the Hautvillers monastery, where he became cellar master and treasurer, holding these positions until his death. When the then 29-year-old Dom Pérignon was appointed treasurer of Hautvillers, the monastery was just getting back on its feet following the occupation and destruction of the 30 Years' War. The situation could not have been better for introducing changes. Pierre is reputed to have been a learned, intelligent, unprejudiced and very ambitious man who was very exact in his religious duties, as well as other tasks. This man of small build had a modest character and way of life -- abstinent and good-hearted. According to tradition, Pierre's personality seems to have had many ingredients of the legend told about him as a winemaker. The wines of Hautvillers were held in high regard in the Champagne region even before Pierre arrived there - they sold at twice the price paid for other wines of the region. In those days, however, champagne was not known; instead, the Champagne region produced traditional wines. With good reason, Dom Pérignon may be considered the greatest individual developer of the region's reputation. He took ordinary wine and gave it soul, structure and elegance -- but no bubbles. D O M P É R I G N O N 129 FINE LEgENd

At the end of the 17th century, England was the largest and most important export market for Champagne wines. Profitable and well-organised smuggling avoided the government's high taxes and contributed to the rapid growth of exports. Worried about the significant loss of taxes and fees, the "Sun King" Louis XIV made it law that wines could only be transported and sold in barrels, which were much more difficult to smuggle than bottles. When the wines arrived in England, they were moved into bottles, which were known to keep the wine fresher for a longer time. When the wines were consumed, often only after many months or even years, they had become sparkling. This was because fermentation that had ended in Champagne, due to the region's cold weather, started again in the bottles due to the change of climate. The English liked the 130 F I N E

the battle against bubbles Dom Pérignon shared the view of the intelligentsia and struggled against bubbles every day. sparkling white wine very much, and it soon became the daily source of enjoyment for the Sun King and his court. In contrast, the cultural circles and the intelligentsia considered sparkling wine the drink of vain and immoral people and preferred refined, non-sparkling white wines. Dom Pérignon shared the view of the intelligentsia and struggled against bubbles every day. His goal was to earn well-deserved appreciation for this refined, enchantingly fragrant white wine in the court of the Sun King. D O M P É R I G N O N 131 FINE LEgENd

He also understood that the best champagne can only be produced in a First-Class cellar. RIPENED BY REST After accepting the post of cellar master, Pierre introduced many changes that improved the quality of the wines even more. His ambition was to turn facilities, starting from the vineyards. In other words, "To make the finest non-sparkling wine in the world." His first endeavour was to renew the vineyards, which had fallen into a state of neglect and disrepair, by planting local vines that produced very small, soft and dark-skinned grapes. They yielded considerably better wine than the earlier vines. Pierre tended the vineyards with great care and tenderness. He also ordered two new, large presses and had a large wine cellar built deep into the earth under the monastery's courtyard. He may have been the first person to understand that champagne needs many years of rest in an even, low temperature to ripen perfectly. He also realised that the best champagne can only be produced in a first-class ce llar. the monastery's resources into lucrative production WHITE WINE FROM RED GRAPES One of the problems with the wines of the Champagne region was their colour. Although they were made from red grapes, the wines were a diluted greyish colour -- far from the normal colour of red wine. In those days, approximately one-third of the region's wines were made from red grapes. As distasteful and commercially unviable as the thought of a grey-red wine may seem, it was a natural consequence of the northern location of the Champagne region, where a normal summer cannot give the grapes enough sunlight. Dom Pérignon's wisdom, however, allowed him to produce a full red wine. He even wrote a pamphlet, using three chapters to cover the noble principles of winemaking. Even today, these principles form the basis of quality winemaking all over the world. 132 F I N E

THESE QUALITYIMPROVING PRINCIPLES: -- Primarily, make wine from the grapes of older Pinot Noir vines. They have a softer skin than the grapes of younger vines, which enable them to more easily give colour to the juice. -- Cut the vines so that they never reach a height of more than one metre, otherwise the grapes are left in the shade. -- Pick the grapes early in the morning, when they are as cool as possible and very carefully, so that they stay whole and fresh. -- Discard grapes that are not fully ripened or whole. Locate the press as close to the vineyard as possible so As the cool climate of the Champagne region seldom allows the full ripening of red grapes, it is possible to produce good red wine only three times a decade on average. Although the quality of the region's red wines improved, one of the basic problems of winemaking remained unsolved: financial gain. It was not profitable, even for the monastery, to produce wine only a few times in ten years. that the grapes can be transported there immediately after picking when they are still fresh. Dom Pérignon successfully solved the problem by developing gentler presses. He managed to have the grape juice pressed so quickly and gently that only the clear, pure juice flowed out without blending with the strong colour of the grapes' dark skin. This process enabled the production of highquality white wine from red grapes. It proved to be a crucial step forward, particularly as far as profit was concerned. Now the Champagne growers could offer their clients wine with a more even quality, golden colour and delicious bouquet year after year, regardless of the weather conditions. WINE SYNERGY The greatest merit of our innovative, industrious monk, however, was surely the skill of blending different wines. As opposed to winemakers before and during his time, Dom Pérignon was very particular about the origin of his wines and the quality of the crop. In those days, wines from different vineyards were taken to the press unselected and blended together without a second thought. Dom Pérignon, to whom large amounts of grapes and wines were available from many villages, such as Le Mesnil sur Oger, Avize and Avenay, noticed how significant it was to the quality of the wine that grapes from different vineyards were selected carefully and blended in just the right proportions. By balancing the proportions of grapes before pressing, he was able to produce wines that had significantly better quality and stronger character. This was a totally new way of thinking in winemaking. Although two or more wines had been blended earlier, it was a complete surprise how well the wines of Champagne reacted to skillful, balanced blending. In Champagne, skilled blending enhances the properties of individual wines, resulting in an end product that is more complete and balanced than its parts. This gave the wines not only better quality, but also more personality. D O M P É R I G N O N 133 FINE LEgENd

A VILLAGE CALLED DOM PÉRIGNON By the beginning of the 18th century, Dom Pérignon was so famous that many French people thought the name denoted a village or monastery and tried to find the name on the map. Today, his name is no less famous, and at the same time symbolises genuine, noble champagne throughout the world. I returned to reality and left Pérignon to continue his eternal sleep. I made my way towards a small, winding staircase leading to the Dom Pérignon library on the upper floor. There, waiting for me at a long wooden table, was the present winemaker of Dom Pérignon wines. The last light of dusk sifting in through the windows illuminated the clean-shaped champagne bottles sitting on the table. Surrounded by complete silence and the falling darkness, we embarked on our journey into the historic Dom Pérignon vintages. the battle against bubbles 134 F I N E

1921-1996 BEST VINTAGES 1921 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 98p 2007/now x4 The 1921 vintage in Champagne escorted in a new phenomenon to the world of glorious wines. This was the prestige cuvée called Dom Pérignon. The very small vintage 1921 yielded only 1400 bottles of the first Dom Pérignon ever. The bottle was in fine condition. The appearance of a hazy golden colour with broad, watery rim and no bubbles did not promise much. Luckily the nose erased all doubts. Beautifully developed, restrained nose showed dried fruits, figs and seductive by Pekka Nuikki toastiness, biscuity tones and a dose of toffee. Crisp and still beuatifully fresh, light-bodied taste with a gentle mousse. Toasty finish with restrained fruit of red apples. Very balanced and delicious aftertaste with moderate length. 1928 1929 1934 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 95p 2005/2010 x2 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 94p 2006/now x3 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 98p 2005/now x3 coffee with hints of tiramisu. Dry and crisp on the palate with a delicate mousse. Harmonious finish with smokiness and hints of bitter almonds and oxidative nuances. Enjoy now in good company. No further ageing recommended. The 1934 vintage was a pleasant exception in the quality of Champagne vintages in the 1930s. A healthy and large (10 500 kg/ha) crop was harvested after a fairly unproblematic growing season. Moët & Chandon produced only 1200 cases of this third official vintage of Dom Pérignon (50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir blend). This wine really astonished us with its vibrancy and elegance. Clear, golden colour with some refined bubbles left. The gracefully developed and rich nose highlights the wine's complexity ­ oxidative mushroomy aromas turn into powerful roasted 1937 1947 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 95p 2006/now x1 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 97p 2006/now x3 finish, leaving a satisfying impression on the palate. Full of life, this wine has held very well. A fabulous looking bottle. Decanted for only five minutes. Clear, bright golden colour. Tiny, vivid bubbles make up the fine mousse. Elegant and complex nose with a hint of coffee and nut aromas. Smooth and creamy, nicely balanced structure. Very full-bodied and rich with a mature, fresh and long D O M P É R I G N O N 135 FINE LEgENd DOM PÉRIGNON

1949 1952 1955 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 94p 2005/now x5 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 93p 2006/now x3 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 96p 2006/2010 x3 Fine bottle with good level. Decanted ten minutes. A very pale, light colour with a steady spray of fine, small and intense bubbles. Wide and overwhelming bouquet. Massively fullbodied and powerful wine. This is even richer than Krug 1955, but lacks some freshness and fruitiness. What an elegant, Montrachet-like wine! 1959 1961 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne 96p 2009/now x11 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 99p 2009/now x18 This vintage Dom Pérignon has been tasted several times but this particular bottle was something much more than just a regular offering. The magnum bottle contained a special label made for the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana on June 19 1981. These bottles were disgorged late in 1981, carrying more autolytic characters than regular Dom Pérignons of this year. Bright, golden yellow colour with energetic, fine bubbles. Very rich nose of milk chocolate, roasted coffee beans and bready tones. Dry, crisp acidity with light-bodied style and vibrant, rich mousse. Extremely refined, elegant and opulent wine with toastiness, butterscotch and dried fruit, such as date flavours. Mineral lemony bite in the long finish. Still a very youthful wine. 1962 1964 1966 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 93p 2009/2010 x10 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 95p 2010/now x14 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 96p 2009/now x9 Fine looking magnum. Decanted 15 minutes. This is probably one of the most appealing Dom Pérignons at the moment. Very alive with a beautiful and intense structure. It has a fine, yeasty nose that is clean and fresh, yet has good richness and minerality. The palate is balanced between very stylish, intense fruit and a rounder creamy character. The mousse is fine and broad, and it has plenty of fresh acidity without being at all sharp. A wonderful champagne that offers real finesse and a long, attractive ending. 1969 1970 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 90p 2010/now x7 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 91p 2008/now x9 136 F I N E

A moderately good vintage with a hot and dry summer but very wet September. A few premium champagne producers still succeeded in making wonderful wines. Dom Pérignon was one of them. Bright, golden colour with attractive, playful, small bubbles. The pronounced nose is broad and very toasty with chocolate and smoky mineral tones. Quite dry, medium level of acidity and very rich mousse. Fresh and elegant toastiness with good fruitiness and hints of yeasty aromas. The finish is delicate and medium long. Overall the wine was very humble in style and reflected the innocence of its pure character. 1976 1978 1982 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 96p 2009/now x17 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 90p 2009/now x8 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 93p 2010/2020 x11 Dom Pérignon is reputedly a wine that requires time to show its greatness. This 1982 was a great example of the potential of Dom Pérignon. This ripe but firml structured vintage produced a spectacular DP, which is only just starting to open up. Developed, crystal clear golden colour. Developing, creamy and tropical nose of nuts, honey and creamy toastiness. Ripe, pronounced palate with tightly knit fruitiness and charming minerality. Stylishly steely and linear acidity, promising a great future. Creamy and silky texture with great length and finesse. All the pieces are in place for this great Dom Pérignon. Give it a decade and it will excel. 1990 1995 1996 1998 1999 1966 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 92p 2009/2025 x16 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 92p 2009/2025 x8 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 93p 2010/2030 x13 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 94p 2010/2025 x 21 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 91p 2008/2030 x4 Dom Pérignon Rosé Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 96p 2001/now x8 All six bottles were in good condition with perfect levels. A developed, orange-hued, deep golden colour. Elegant, light effervescence left in the wine. Rich and pronounced nose of toast, mushrooms and honey. Marked acidity on the palate. Fruitiness remains high enough to balance it. However, slight drying of the wine is evident. Full and round wine with a long toasty finish. Drinking very well now but declining slowly. 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 92p 2009/2030 x4 D O M P É R I G N O N 137 FINE LEgENd 1973 Dom Pérignon Moët & Chandon (Champagne) 95p 2008/2020 x10

Essi Avellan MW Champagne Without The Pop? I relish the moment of opening a wine bottle, the impatient wait for the first look, smell and taste. The finer and older the bottle, the more excitement and expectations cumulate. However, there is a big difference between a fervent wait for exploring the wine's qualities and trepidation over the bottle's condition. It's the latter situation I wish to eschew. It is a well-known fact that there are no perfect wines ­ just perfect bottles ­ as there are copious factors over a bottle's lifespan that may tamper with its qualities. In addition to affects from poor storage conditions, cork taint or milder woody and tannic notes from the cork, as well as oxidation, are all too frequent conditions. In a restaurant, requesting a replacement bottle is relatively straightforward, but sometimes the bottle is just irreplaceable. For instance, I recently opened a bottle of 1996 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses champagne I had cellared for a number of years for the perfect occasion, only to find it badly corked. The mere thought of having cellared something that has spoiled is upsetting, but even more irritating was the fact that there was nothing nearly as good at hand to replace it with. The moment was ruined. To battle the problem, neutral closures ­ most prominently screw caps ­ have widely replaced natural corks for still wines. But for champagne and other sparkling wines, there are surprisingly few alternatives or even talk of them. Taking into consideration champagne's high unit price and effervescent nature, the closure's reliability and consistency should be a key priority. But in the world of fabulous fizz other values matter, too. The manoeuvre of carefully removing the muselet and the mushroom shaped cork puts on a nice show. When the champagne greets its audience with the festive "pop" sound, the fun can begin. The Champenois feel there is magic in opening the cork and they are not willing to jeopardise it. To me, the magic is in the wine, not the closure. We have learned to associate the "pop" with the following good taste and time. I argue we can get used to the lack of it just as quickly as we accepted screw caps for still wines. Curiously, an ideal closure for sparkling wines, the crown cap, has long been used by the champagne houses ­ but only in the depth of the cellars for the bottles resting during the second fermentation and subsequent ageing. The Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne's (CIVC) and champagne houses vast experience with crown caps shows outstanding consistency between bottles and 140 F I N E

with this closure the winemakers are even left with a choice of various hermetic qualities to fit peculiar house styles or vintage conditions. Most cellar masters would, in fact, gladly exchange their cork for a crown cap when it comes to the final packaging. It is the marketing departments that strongly oppose this closure and alternative solutions are franticly researched. To date, the taint problem has been quietly tackled in Champagne by the Mytik Diamant closure, which is a supercritical CO2 treated technical closure. Made of tiny cork particles, it looks as if it was made of cork dust. Some producers and consumers alike find its appearance cheap and hence detracting from champagne's prestigious image. I personally don't mind how it looks, as long as it performs. However, the Mytik is only able to solve the taint problem and none of the other sealing challenges. I admire the brave move by Carol Duval-Leroy to launch the house's single vineyard Clos de Bouveries 2004 champagne under the Maestro technical closure last spring. The Maestro is essentially a crown seal disguised or decorated to look much like the current stopper. It is equipped with a golden lever that even manages to make the closure "pop" when opened. Soon after its launch, however, the closure was deemed illegal for Champagne, but it is foreseeable that the CIVC will promptly proceed with legalising it. Personally, I don't feel the need to disguise the crown cap with something as fancy or complicated as the Maestro. Done elegantly, such as at Domaine Chandon in Australia, the cap does not deduct from a bottle's looks. Closures matter, as I learned last summer when taking part in an intriguing tasting at Domaine Chandon. Nine sparkling wine bottles from the same batch were closed with varied seals and blind tasted twelve months after disgorgement. The selection consisted of a natural cork, a plastic closure, four steam treated "cork dust" closures ­ that are supposed to be free from cork taint ­ and three crown caps of different oxygen permeability. My top three consisted of crown caps only, which I had even ranked in hermetic order. The Mytik finished fifth and the natural cork seventh, with even the plastic cork outdoing the latter. The two worst performers were both steam treated "cork dust" closures that were suffering from cork taint, even though the extraction is supposed to eliminate it. I have been a believer in crown caps ever since and consequent trial tastings have convinced me further, especially when it comes to highly reductive sparkling wine styles. Taint issue is the most important aspect but ease of use is another point. I open hundreds and hundreds of champagne bottles on a yearly basis and do not enjoy the procedure. Opening a crown cap is easy, and much safer than playing with a cork that can shoot out of the bottle at 60 km/h. But even more alluring than the ease factor is the cap's effect on the wine's longevity. Champagne is already now ­ if the cork holds ­ one of the best wines for ageing and I can only imagine its potential under crown cap. Dr Tony Jordan, the figurehead behind Domaine Chandon and a strong spokesperson for crown seals, even confesses to re-corking his Dom Pérignon's with crown seals! Champagne has always been at the forefront of sparkling wine innovation and hopefully they will take the leading role on the closures issue, too. I would love to see the crown cap pioneered by one of the iconic wines of the region to make the correct statement: qualité d'abord, or quality first, as the legendary madame Pommery famously said. After all, the romance is not in the closure. It is the closure's task to ensure the romance is delivered through a perfect wine. 141 C O L U M N FINE AVELLAN

The Michelin Th r e e - S ta r Wi n e B a r Dining for wine Te x t : Ju h a L i h t o n e n P h o t o g r a ph s: P e k k a N u i k k i Last year, seventy-two restaurants around the world were awarded the highest commendation for excellence ­ three Michelin stars. Each of these restaurants boasts food, an impressive and extensive wine and drink list, impeccable service and an exceptional setting. Enoteca Pinchiorri, set in the centre of Florence, is one of them. Unlike the rest, though, this restaurant's reputation is not based primarily on its food. The soon-to-be forty-year-old restaurant started out as a wine bar, or enoteca, in which the only food served were small bite-sized snacks, which served as modest side-line appetisers for the wines. So how did this tiny wine bar rise to become the brightest star in Italian gastronomy and with one of the rarest, most exquisite wine selections in the world? 142 F I N E

noteca Pinchiorri i as well as a success story, firstly a Pi hi i is, ll l love story. In the early 1970s Florence, the young, ambitious sommelier Giorgio Pinchiorri decided to realise his longheld dream of establishing a wine shop where customers could come not only to buy bottles of wine, but also to rest and enjoy excellent wines by the glass. Around this time, Pinchiorri also met his future love ­ a charming, adventurous French girl, Annie Féolde. Annie, having left her job as a Paris post office clerk and having lived for a brief spell in England, had arrived in Tuscany to immerse herself in the language and culture. Falling in love with the young, handsome Italian sommelier was perhaps unexpected, but not as unexpected as the exciting career that would await her. "My husband was one of the best sommeliers in Italy at the time. In the 1960s he managed a restaurant established by wine merchants and the dream of setting up his own wine restaurant venture was already well-rooted by the time we met," remembers Féolde. "But my husband's idea hadn't taken into account that wine tasting on an empty stomach can end in disaster. What we needed to do was to offer little bite-sized dishes to accompany the wines," she says. Annie was soon stood in the back room of the small Florentine wine bar with her apron on and a shopping bag full of ingredients fresh from the market. Even though she had no experience as a chef, she trusted in h ability to make appetisers f Gi i ' wines. T the d i her bili k i for Giorgio's i To h young Annie, who was barely in her twenties, Italian cuisine, let alone Tuscan, was a total unknown. She learned, experimented and soon began producing traditional Tuscan dishes. The more recipes she learned, the bolder and more adventurous she became. Cooking and experimenting with new recipes soon became a passion. Her recipes were based on old traditional Tuscan and Italian dishes, which Annie innovatively blended and modernised. The Enoteca Pinchiorri cooking philosophy, for which the restaurant is known today, was thus born. Annie's experimentations quickly grew from a few side-bites to a buffet and before long a full à la carte operation. From a small wine bar, the restaurant grew, gaining its first Michelin star in 1981, its second in 1982, and, finally, full three-star recognition in 1993. The third star made Annie Féolde the first woman outside France to be honoured with this prestigious award. Enoteca Pinchiorri later lost its third star, but earned it back in 2004. "To keep our three stars we need to focus constantly on achieving the best possible quality. I do not actually believe that absolute quality is possible to attain, but it is a goal that must be continuously striven for, and one that I will never give up on. I am a passionate person, and I demand a lot of myself. I am never satisfied with my work. I'm restless like an ever-rumbling volcano," explains Annie. Elisabetta Riccardi 143 E N O T E C A P I N C H I O R R I FINE DINING

Beneath her calm exterior, Annie's passion for cooking blazes. Without it, Enoteca Pinchiorri would probably be a very different place. As, in Annie's hands, the restaurant has gained wide acclaim for its food, Giorgio's wine selection has developed to become truly world class. His cellar stocks all the legendary French, Italian and New World classics, and not just single vintages, but multi-vintage verticals in several bottle sizes. H e a v e n u n d e r g r o u n d A visit to the Pinchiorri cellar is an unforgettable experience. In a catacomb-esque cellar beneath the restaurant floor lie a staggering 150 000 bottles of prestige wines. Pinchiorri's cellar may fall a tad short of the world's biggest wine cellars in terms of bottle numbers, but in terms of value, this is a world treasure. Scanning the racks I see, among others, over ten vintages of Henri Jayer, Romanée-Conti and Château d'Yquem. Some of the most celebrated vintages from the world's top producers are here, including magnums of Cheval Blanc 1947 (35 000 euros), Margaux 1961 (18 500 euros) and Pétrus 1949 (35 000 euros), and even double-magnums of Romanée-Conti 1985 (175 000 euros). The oldest treasures offered up by the cellar are Mouton-Rothschild 1870 and 1889 (30 000 euros) and Château d'Yquem 1896 (25 000 euros). Among the best finds in terms of price-- quality ratio are Château Haut-Brion 1989 (1250 euros), and Heitz Martha's Vineyard 1968 (500 euros). Amidst cellar corridors stacked with fine wines, there is an area holding a vast amount of bottles from varying vintages and parts of the world. "These shelves are reserved for the restaurant's wine flight packages. We offer a wide selection of aged wines, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s, and each by the glass. The selections change as the wines sell out of stock. Prices for our five-wine flights vary from 125 euros to thousands of euros depending on the value of the wines included in the selection," explains cellar sommelier Bulle Gerbert, before continuing: "Our wine flights are extremely popular. They give our customers the chance to sample a number of types and ages of wine during the meal. The different wines included in the flight selection complement the several-course menus better than a single wine would." So how are the menus designed? How are the wine flight selections taken into account? We move upstairs to the kitchen to find out. T h e k i t c h e n In the kitchen, Pinchiorri's 16-strong crew is preparing for the evening under the very capable direction of head chefs Riccardo Monco and Italo Bassi. "Pinchiorri's cuisine is simple and traditional, yet innovative. We serve classic dishes in a modern, finely-tuned way, with the emphasis on achieving pure and fine flavours. High value is placed on the Italian origin of the raw ingredients used. We experiment boldly with our recipes and we have come up with delicious new combinations, such 144 F I N E

Bulle Gerbert as our spaghetti with stewed rabbit and mussels, which is based on an ancient Roman dish," says Monco. Of the restaurant's more innovative dishes, Monco highlights Pinchiorri's double ravioli, a five-year old recipe: "We have combined two delicious flavours in a complementary way. One side of the ravioli is stuffed with Puglian-style Burrata cheese, and the other with a Tuscan-style guinea fowl filling" and goes on to explain that naturally Pinchiorri's menu selection changes seasonally according to the availability of premium, fresh ingredients. Annie Féolde is responsible for developing Pinchiorri's recipes, but as the operative managers of the restaurant's cuisine, Monco and Bassi actively participate in the process. Recipes are developed on their own merit, independent of the restaurant's wine selection. "I want absolute space and freedom to create and develop our dishes. That's why I do this work at home," says Annie. When inquired on how the wine flight selections are considered when developing new dishes, Riccardo Monco responds with conviction: "As Giorgio Pinchiorri himself says, for even the most challenging dishes, a complementary wine can always be found from the cellar." Monco's statement of confidence regarding the compatibility of the restaurant's wines with its dishes puzzles us for the time being. The reason for our confusion is that many of Pinchiorri's wine flights clearly include different types and ages of wine which present conflicting requirements regarding the types of foods with which they should, ideally, be served We await dinner at Enoteca Pinchiorri with mounting anticipation. T h e d i n i n g e x p e r i e n c e Did the restaurant experience live up to expectations? In many respects, yes. The service was highly professional, but it was also quite stiff and staid. The served dishes, wines and drinks were introduced brusquely, lacking enthusiasm. Considering the interesting wine selection, it would have been intriguing to hear the sommelier tell something about the wines he was serving. Annie Féolde's simple, honest approach to Italian cuisine was achieved with immense success by Monco and Bassi and their kitchen team. The cooking remains true to the clean and distinctive flavours of the raw ingredients, and this clearly comes through on the plate. The visually unfussy dishes are exceptionally generous, and abound with fine flavours. The uniqueness of Féolde's cuisine lies in its skilled use of flavours, and the way in which flavours are combined to create new experiences. In Féolde's hands, classic Italian cuisine has gained a new, neo-antique dimension. Her exploratory mixing and matching of traditional ingredients and flavours has generated dishes where historical flavours of ancient Rome merge effortlessly with the modern day. With our meal, it is interesting to note that it was the main courses that won the most praise. This is in stark contrast to virtually all of our 145 E N O T E C A P I N C H I O R R I FINE DINING

other dining experiences over the last few years, in which dynamic and elegant appetisers and desserts have left the main courses very much in the dust as unimaginative stomach fillers. Enoteca Pinchiorri's food is outstanding, and its wines outshine any other restaurant we have experienced. Unfortunately, apart from a few notable exceptions, these two remarkable sides did not come together to complement each other well enough to make the meal unforgettable. The two followed each other side-by-side, but did not connect as they ought to. Alongside the food, the fine wines fell short of their proper glory. This is challenging, as the varied wines of the flights will always behave differently with the dishes served than they would alone. When the customer chooses a wine flight, they should probably not be too surprised if not all of the wines in the flight ideally complement all of the dishes they choose. The Enoteca Pinchiorri team would do well to consider a solution to this conundrum, as the high prices on the restaurant's wine list will naturally raise the customer's expectations and if the wine then fails to deliver alongside the food, the disappointment is all the greater for it. This is such a pity considering the decades of innovative hard work that have been invested in developing Enoteca Pinchiorri's superb food and wine. Considering the wines' high price points and the restaurant's selection of mature wines, it would be fitting for Enoteca Pinchiorri to bring the fantastic wine and food into unison with just a little fine-tuning ­ customising each menu to match the selection of wine flights available. Perhaps the salt assortment served as one of the courses could be available from the start, as salt renders any wine suitable for any course. Decades after Annie Féolde and Giorgio Pinchiorri's love story and wine bar dream first began, their restaurant has established itself as one of the most respected restaurants in the world. Only one thing is left for them to achieve ­ absolute perfection. This is the goal that passionately drives Annie Féolde and Giorgio Pinchiorri forward. This is also the reason to return to Enoteca Pinchiorri once and again. Enoteca Pinchiorri Via Ghibellina 87 I--50122 Florence (Tuscany), Italy Tel.+39 055 24 27 77 Fax. +39 055 24 49 83 enoteca@relaischateaux.com www.enotecapinchiorri.it 146 F I N E

Menu Tradition and Innovation Poached and deep fried egg, pea soup, fried zucchini and black truffle Smoked goose liver with mandarin jelly, black salt and peanuts Sole fillets with chives in a bread crust, egg cream, fennel and Asetra caviar Deep-fried turbot scallop, with mango chutney, raisins, celery root, and olives Shellfish casserole with "fregola" Spaghetti tossed with stewed rabbit and mussels; zucchini flower "pesto" Double ravioli filled with guinea-hen and with Burrata, Fossa cheese fondue, light meat gravy and fresh thyme Veal cheek with mango sauce and lime Lamb noisette filled with lard and rosemary, tomato sauce and white beans croquettes Selection of Italian cheese Lemon mousse spiral, blackberry sauce, coconut disk and a lemon sherbet wrapped in blackberry pearls D i n n e r a t E n o t e c a P i n c h i o r r i We arrive at Enoteca Pinchiorri for dinner. As our driver stops the car, a uniformed doorman takes the door and directs us genteelly into an historic Florencian palazzo building. Inside, an impressive team of staff courteously attend to our welcome, while the charming Annie Féolde is also there to receive us. A striking figure of elegance and equipped with a heartfelt smile, our hostess warmly welcomes us and escorts us to the small main dining room. The room is full. The evening's patrons are couples, businessmen, dining parties and a single lone diner. The room is decorated in pink tones, and its fireplaces and flower arrangements give a soft, romantic setting, the whole athosphere charmingly frayed around the edges. At the table, the sommelier serves us a Delamotte Rosé aperitif, and hands us a thin volume. "The water menu," he announces, and departs promptly to the kitchen to secure our complimentary amuse bouche from the chef. 29 different water brands from every corner of the globe can be found on the list, from Japan to the Himalayas and from Fiji to Norway. We settle on Evian Special Select in a Christian Lacroix designer bottle. We order the Tradition & Innovation menu, which represents Annie Féolde's famous cooking philosophy at its purest ­ traditional flavours in a modern style. Choosing the wine for the meal is clearly going to be considerably more challenging. The wine list is colossal. It is presented in a single, formidable tome, and is heavy enough to bukle the dining table under its sheer weight. The sommelier offers his assistance, but we decline at this stage, choosing to study its delights in our own time. From our first glance over the pages we can see the prices are high ­ very high. Many are clearly overpriced. On the other hand, the list contains a good number of literally priceless collector's gems. The prices range from a few hundred euros to tens of thousands. The most expensive wine listed is a 1985 double magnum Domaine de la Romanée Conti, going for about the same as a mint Ferrari. As an inspiring alternative to the traditional wine list, Pinchiorri's wine flight selections, as encountered previously in the cellar, offer an attractive way to experience a small cross-section of the restaurant's wines at a more moderate price. We choose a flight priced at 275 euros, which includes, by the glass, prestigious wines of different ages from Italy, France and the United States. The wines are brought to an adjacent table where they are opened and presented in connection with each dish. The wine dining may start. 147 E N O T E C A P I N C H I O R R I FINE DINING

The Dining Experience Tradition and innovation Amuse Bouche 89p Delamotte Rosé Brut, Champagne ­ France 87p Wine and food combination: 85p Our appetisers come in an assortment of Mediterranean flavours. Greek kataifi pastry filled with mozzarella and anchovies; Mortadella and ham mousse; pickled onions and preserved raspberries; a lard foam-filled crispy cannoli roll and finally mini peaches. The tasters are delicious, yet surprisingly heavy for amuse bouche. That said, the accompanying Delamotte Rosé gives a pleasant lift to the palate. Deep-fried turbot scallop, with mango chutney, raisins, celery root and olives 91p Olivier Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2000, Bourgogne ­ France 88p Wine and food combination: 87p Lovely sweet and salty dish, elegant, smooth texture with intense and refined flavours. The sweetness of chutney and raisins on dish turns the taste in wine a bit coarse and oaky on the palate. However, thanks to the intense fruitiness of the wine the combination is still enjoyable although not the ideal one. Poached and deep fried egg, with pea soup , fried zucchini and black truffle 90p Olivier Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2000, Bourgogne ­ France 88p Wine and food combination: 88p The follow-up compliment from the chef consists of a thick, satiny pea soup served with salted zucchini slices, egg and truffles. It is a full, balanced dish to which the crisp and salty zucchini lends a pleasant bite. Owing to the zucchini and the richness of the soup, Olivier Leflaive's ChevalierMontrachet 2000 sits well with the dish. Shellfish casserole with "Fregola" 93p Dominique Laurent Chambertin Clos du Bèze Grand Cru 2001, Bourgogne ­ France 89p Wine and food combination: 90p The sommelier presents our first red, a Burgundy. The modern producer Dominique Laurent's Chambertin Clos du Bèze 2001 is wildly aromatic on the nose with a charred oak, yet elegant and multi-faceted, palate ­ thanks to its lively acids, gentle tannins and ripe fruit. The wine is paired is served with the famous Sardinian pasta delicacy, fregola. The fregola comes tossed with tomato and shellfish. The intensely flavoursome dish softens the bold character of the young Chambertin. The wine, in itself, brings nothing extra to the dish. Smoked goose liver with mandarin jelly, black salt and peanuts 92p Olivier Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2000, Bourgogne ­ France 88p Wine and food combination: 81p After the soup, a dreamily soft goose liver, sliced beautifully into immaculate bite-sized morsels, is presented before us. Also on the plate are sweetbread, mandarin jelly and black salt. Exquisite. The finely textured liver melts in the mouth, leaving smoky and nutty notes. Regrettably, the ChevalierMontrachet fell short of the dish. Spaghetti tossed with stewed rabbit and mussels; zucchini flower "pesto" 95p Dominique Laurent Chambertin Clos du Bèze Grand Cru 2001, Bourgogne ­ France 89p Wine and food combination: 95p Intense flavours also characterise the next dish, Enoteca Pinchiorri's famous rabbit and mussel spaghetti served with zucchini flower pesto. The combination of rabbit and mussels is unparalleled, and the dish leaves us charmed by its powerful flavours and a delicious, drawn-out aftertaste. This time the Chambertin comes into its own, ensuring this dish is the best so far. Sole fillets with chives in a bread crust; egg cream, fennel and Asetra caviar 93p Olivier Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2000, Bourgogne ­ France 88p Wine and food combination: 91p A perfect match of food and wine. The fried sole fillet with egg cream, fennel and caviar is well balanced, resulting in fine, clean flavours. The salty caviar works excellently in the dish, bringing rich nuances and edge to the harmonious flavours. The structure of the dish is in balance with that of the wine, and the salty caviar seems to bring the flatly acidic wine to life. Double ravioli filled with guinea-hen, and with Burrata, Fossa cheese fondue, light meat gravy and fresh thyme 98p Dominique Laurent Chambertin Clos du Bèze Grand Cru 2001, Bourgogne ­ France 89p Wine and food combination: 96p Now it is the turn of the double ravioli, as championed by chef Riccardo Monco. What it certainly lacks on the plate in appearance, it more than makes up for in the mouth, generously living up to Monco's promise. Simple, full of pure flavours and melt-in-the-mouth. The fine-textured, delicious guinea fowl blends immaculately with the cheese filling, while the wine's wild berry aromas are a delightful complement to the dish. Salt assortment We next get a chance to put the effect of salt on the flavour of wine to the test, as we are served bruschettas and a selection of seven speciality salts. The salts, each with its own distinctive intensity and character, are sourced from Sicily, France, England, Hawaii and Japan. Along with the bread and salt selection are two types of olive oil, both produced from the local Moraiolo and Pendolino varieties. The quick salt tasting softens the palate nicely before the transition to red wine. 148 F I N E

Veal cheek with mango sauce and lime 91p Château Valandraud 1998, Bordeaux ­ France 89p Wine and food combination: 88p The wine is changed for the first main course. The sommelier briefly presents the world-renowned Bordeaux garage wine Château Valandraud 1998 from St-Emilion. The surprisingly mature wine is promptly accompanied by a plate of slow-broiled veal cheek with mango sauce. The meat is wonderfully tender and flavoursome; this is a deliciously simple dish, less about appearance and all about the flavour. The wine and food pairing is very good, verging on delightful. Lamb noisette filled with lard and rosemary, tomato sauce and white bean croquettes 89p Dominus 1990, Dominus Estate, Napa Valley, California ­ USA 93p Wine and food combination: 89p The tender lamb noisettes, together with tomato sauce and white bean croquettes, are delicious, but the accompanying Californian Dominus 1990 steals the spotlight. In the wines of the Dominus estate, owned by Christian Mouiex ­ owner of the legendary Pétrus ­ the sound acids and balance of classic Bordeaux meet the lush ripe fruitiness of the Napa Valley. In this example, the wine's multi-faceted character, lively acids and long, intense aftertaste wonderfully underpin the dish's flavours, bringing additional nuances to the palate. 1947 Château Cheval Blanc 1947 Château Cheval Blanc Magnum 1989 Château Haut-Brion 1929 Château Haut-Brion 1961 Château Latour 1961 Château Margaux Magnum 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1889 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1949 Château Pétrus Magnum 1998 Château Valandraud Magnum 1929 Château d'Yquem 1896 Château d'Yquem Bordeaux, France 18 000 35 000 1250 10 000 9500 18 500 18 000 30 000 35 000 1050 21 000 25 000 1985 Henri Jayer Richebourg Magnum 1985 DRC Romanée-Conti Magnum 1985 DRC Romanée-Conti Double Magnum Bourgogne, France Usa 45 000 45 000 175 000 Selection of Italian cheese from the trolley 90p Castello di Ama L'Apparita 1988, Toscana ­ Italy 87p Wine and food combination: 85p Next up ­ the cheeses. From the trolley's ample selection, we plump for Italian hard cheeses from Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. To accompany these we have the pride of Chianti, a 1988 Castello di Ama L'Apparita Merlot ­ one of the most highly esteemed Merlots from Italy. Age has deprived this wine of its edge, though. Nonetheless, although slightly dispirited, the wine has retained its pleasing fruit, allowing it to work well with the ripe cheeses. 1994 Screaming Eagle 1990 Dominus 1968 Heitz Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 4250 950 500 1964 Quinta do Noval Nacional Portugal 1750 Riccardo monco Lemon mousse spiral, blackberry sauce, coconut disk and a lemon sherbet wrapped in blackberry pearls 92p The first dessert round is the house's own full pistachio ice-cream. This is followed by a spectacular finale of coconut and sherbot, lemon mousse and blackberry ice cream, coffee bavarois, and a blackberry infusion. The desserts are a firm winner, treating us to a flourish of flavours that are clean, fresh and resounding, yet also delicate. To our mild consternation at this point, the flight does not include dessert wines. An impressive list of dessert wines is, of course, offered, but on this occasion we decline the temptation. The flight selection has been generous, and we have not been left wanting. Coffee The coffee menu is comprehensive. There are speciality coffees from Hawaii, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Zimbabwe, as well as six varieties of Italian coffee and a respectable assortment of teas. The chocolate petit fours served with the coffee are a heavenly conclusion to the meal. 149 E N O T E C A P I N C H I O R R I FINE DINING Picks from the wine list :

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS : Pekka Nuikki A MUDDY TRACK FAINTLY RESEMBLING A ROAD CUT THROUGH THE RAINFOREST. ON BOTH SIDES THE DENSE FOREST APPEARED IMPENETRABLE, GLOOMY AND EVEN SCARILY SILENT, BUT WE HOPED IT WAS ON OUR SIDE AND WOULD PROTECT US FROM THE REBELLIOUS AND DRUNK SOLDIERS. It was the mid-1990s, Zaire was in revolt, hundreds of people ­ civilians, elderly, even the ambassador of France ­ had been killed in conflicts across the country. Somehow, despite the fact that my friends and I were on a road travelling through this mutinous country, I was not afraid or even worried about my future. My love of adventure had taken over. The knowledge that anything might happen gave me an enormous sense of energy. Even the slow progress of our journey felt joyous for once. The fallen trees, collapsed bridges and the "road" which reminded me of a field after torrential rains, swallowed our car in its abysmal potholes. This all just seemed to add to the feeling of adventure. Despite our almost non-existent speed we passed small local villages all the while, and always some little boy appeared mirage-like with a dead chicken, snake or some other creature that previously had a life, ­ and which was by now probably quite inedible. Occasionally there was a bottle of Coca-Cola swaying in front of a cheerful smile, and the bargaining began. Although the price of a Coke was already four times 150 F I N E

what it had been in the last village, it would be six times as much in the next, so I closed the deal with five American dollars. Never before had a cold Coke tasted so good and never before had I been so totally "robbed". A few villages later and I was silently glad when the price was now tenfold. From one village to the next our voyage was lined with pitiful monuments of exploitation and negligence. The destruction caused by western "conquerors", and a lust for power and property in this extraordinarily beautiful and formerly so prosperous continent, was so evident that my sense of humanity was put to the test each and every day. Despite all this misery I have not in any other corner of the world met people who are more sincere, happy and aware of their own human dignity than here in the midst of the densest rainforests of Zaire. In spite of difficulties such as collapsed bridges and cows standing motionless on the road, the happiness of the local people soothed my soul, and towards nightfall my ease of being got better. But only for a moment, for I was about to experience "God's" influence as powerfully as any man can. Port, our master blessed the wine and prayed for a safe continuation of our journey. Deep in Zaire, in the depths of the rainforest, inside that sanctuary I lifted to my lips this blessed drink and my thoughts returned to home, so far away and to my wife who was pregnant and in the middle of a cold winter. At that moment I wished that this wine, which burned my heart like love, would ease my endless longing. > During the past few hours we had not seen or heard a soul, until suddenly, in the middle of the forest, a vast clearing opened in front of us and on the edge of it stood an enormous church. What appeared in front of us was the most convincing and frightening symbol of the power of white man, dressed in a transparent cape of piety. Our amazement was interrupted by the opening of doors as high as trees, and towards me walked with peaceful steps a Belgian missionary couple. The promise of a hot meal, cool shower and a mattress to a man who had not washed or slept well for several days restored my faith in humanity. After a shower, which cleansed both body and soul, and a change of clothes, it was time for supper. We learned that we were the first visitors for over a month, so there was much to talk about and supper gradually became breakfast as the morning sun began to rise. Right after the supper as we comfortably sat in our chairs, feeling quite replete, the master of the house fetched from the next room an unopened bottle of vintage Port. It was, he said, his only one, a dusty bottle with no label, and on the brittle capsule was printed the words "Hooper's Vintage Port 1944". Before my glass was filled with this almost black 91p 19 1944 Vintage Port Hooper's 2009/now x3 D3h/G1h I got a chance to taste this port, once tasted with love, again at The Vine Club's Port-tasting a few years ago. It was almost as good then as in the middle of that tropical forest. Decanted for three hours. A good, deep and vigorous, dark colour. Flowery, spicy and alcoholic open nose. Full and rich and a quite forward Port. Not too much tannin left, but enough fruit and acidity to keep it alive and kicking. Warm and smooth finish. It lacks the depth and complexity of a really great vintage Port and also of course the blessing. 151 1 9 4 4 H O O P E R ' S FINECHRONICLES

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FINE CoNtENts 11 FINEEDITORIAL 15 FINENUIKKI 18 FINEGALLERY 28 FINEESTATE 36 FINELIFEAWARD 52 FINEREGION 64 FINEESTATE 74 FINEAHM 76 FINELEGEND 84 FINEVISIT 88 FINESCULATTI 90 FINEINVESTING 96 FINEPAULSON 98 FINEART&WINE Two Hour Vintage The Day Jefferson Turned In His Grave A New Perspective On Napa Terroir Le Pin ­ Success From the Smallest Scale Bill Harlan Burgundy ­ In the Grip Of `Terroirism' Louis Jadot ­ The Secret Of Eternal Life The Perennial Search For Truffles Tinto Pesquera ­ Pétrus Of Spain Soccer Legend Paolo Rossi's Wine Oasis Auction Action In Hong Kong Fine Wine Auction Report 2009 The Art Of Tasting Wine Blind Wine Tasting & Art II ­ Mouton-Rothschild 1952­1959 Recent Tastings Wine On The Web Must Have Wine Gadgets Dom Perignon ­ Against The Bubbles Champagne Without The Pop Enoteca Pinchiorri ­ Three-Star Wine Bar Hooper's Vintage Port 1944 105 FINETASTINGS 116 FINEONLINE 124 FINEDEVICE 126 FINELEGEND 140 FINEAVELLAN 142 FINEDINING 150 FINECHRONICLES <<< Return to the coverpage