Book Review
‘The Emperor of Wine – The Rise of Robert E Parker and the Reign of American Taste’- Elin McCoy
After reading the rather pompous title to this book, I was expecting gushing adoration about how the wine world was saved by one man!
Maybe you don’t have any grandchildren now, but it’s quite possible that one day you might. So when the time comes – maybe their 18th or 21st birthday, in several decades time – giving them a case of top class Bordeaux from the 2005 will give them either a fabulous gift of wine or a serious return on investment.
Even those not involved in the wine trade may have heard some of the hype surrounding this vintage which the Bordelais are comparing to other great years such as 1982 and 1990. Often French winemakers can be heard proclaiming each year as the ‘vintage of zee century’ but this time it looks pretty genuine. Having been to Bordeaux recently, the quote of the visit was from Frédéric Engerer, the top-man at Château Latour, who told me that after this vintage they might as well all retire as their best work would have been done.
A long-standing joke amongst sommeliers is the one about a customer who states that they dislike chardonnay – but love Chablis. The joke being that Chablis is made from the chardonnay grape.
In fact about 99% of all white Burgundy is chardonnay – Mâcon, St Véran, Pouilly-Fuissé, Meursault, to name but a few. The differences being very slight climatic and soil variances between villages and how the winemaker likes to make his wine.
If riesling seems to becoming more popular lately and people requesting less oaky fresher styles of wine, so why are the wines from the riesling heartland – Germany – still struggling for sales?
Maybe it’s the connotations of the seventies; flared trousers, bad haircuts and dinner parties have kept us away from these wines. At this time, mass produced cheap, one dimensional wines paid for a lot of new Mercedes but did irreparable damage to the German reputation for quality (ironically most of the liebfraumilch produced was made by the müller-thurgau and not the riesling grape – but its image was forever tarnished)
Recently I went on a trip to Burgundy organised by Boutinot wines. We were going to Gevrey-Chambertin, hopefully to catch the tail end of the vendange and participate in a bit of pigeage with the fermenting pinot noir must.
Vallet Frères is the négociant side of Domaine Pierre Bourée, they own 5ha made up from some Charmes-Chambertin, Gevrey 1er cru Champeaux, village Gevrey (including the lieu-dit monopole Clos de la Justice) and some Beaune 1er cru les Epenottes. Father Louis (now in his 80’s) is ‘retired’ but still keeps a watchful (if not interfering) eye on his son Bernard.
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We held a very exclusive £2,000 a ticket dinner featuring the wines of Latour with the gerant (manager) Frederic Engerer at the Greenhouse restaurant. Frederic is an amazing hands-on manager, who is involved in every stage of the wines journey from the vines, winemaking and the final sales and marketing. His contribution to the quality of Latour and his attention to the details have resulted in a wine that can proclaim to be one of the best in the world.
Ronan is a very valuable member of the Master Sommelier Organisation.
His knowledge and passion for wine is frequently passed on to candidates at all levels of our education programmes.
He is an accomplished lecturer, and has a way of putting his subject matter over to candidates in a manner which promotes the learning process. Candidates respond positively to his approach and up to date knowledge of the subject.
Ronan's skills also extend to his practical work in the restaurant where he demonstrates benchmark standards.
His ability to taste and analyse wine has been proved with his success in gaining the Master Sommelier Award.
Bryan Dawes, Education chair, Court of Master Sommeliers