Oeno-File, the Wine & Gastronomy Column

by Frank Ward

A Fresh Look at Some Top Bordeaux Estates III – Pontet Canet and Pichon Baron

Posted by Frank Ward on January 26, 2015

AvatarJanuary 2015. I first visited Château Pontet Canet, the Pauillac Fifth Growth, in the early 1980s (for more details, see below). It was then undergoing yet another of the many upheavals it had been through since it was first “pieced together” (in David Peppercorn’s words) by Jean-Francois Pontet in the second quarter of the 18th century. He was eventually succeeded by Pierre-Bernard de Pontet, under whose stewardship the Château’s reputation grew markedly. After his death in 1836 it dipped again, which is the reason why, less than two decades later, this fine estate was accorded only Fifth Growth status in the 1855 classification. [….]

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Wine & Health

Posted by Frank Ward on December 15, 2014

AvatarDecember 2014. When President John F. Kennedy once received a whole party of Nobel prize-winners in the Oval Office he told them that their presence represented the biggest concentration of human intellect in that building since President Thomas Jefferson had sat there alone during his own presidency, 1801-1809. Jefferson certainly was an exceptional man: lawyer, statesman, architect, oenophile, scholar, and all-round man of the enlightenment. [….]

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A Fresh Look at Some Top Bordeaux Estates Part II : The Médoc

Posted by Frank Ward on November 11, 2014

AvatarOctober 2014. We’re up early the next morning to cover the not inconsiderable distance from Pomerol, land of the Merlot and Cabernet-Franc, to Pauillac, in the Médoc, principal home of the Cabernet-Sauvignon. In between: the vast spread of Bordeaux – the most beautiful city of France, according to Stendhal – that needed to be circumnavigated. Though this was a bit of a chore, the crossing of the soaring Pont d’Aquitaine always gives rise to certain exhilaration. I never tire, either, of reading the names of the various wine communes as one progresses northwards though the Médoc: Macau, Margaux, Moulis, Listrac, Saint Julien, Pauillac. [….]

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A Tale of Three (Italian) Cities

Posted by Frank Ward on October 5, 2014

AvatarOctober 2014. On a quick visit to three north-Italian cities – Verona, Mantua, and Bologna – I was able to sample a few delicious dishes (and some appalling ones too) and a couple of splendid reds. One of the best meals was also the cheapest: A lovely cep risotto taken in a tiny, unpretentious bistro, l’Orlogio in Verona, chosen more or less at random. It came with a perfectly decent glass of red and finished with one of the best espressos I’ve had in years [….]

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A Fresh Look at Some Top Bordeaux Estates – Part I : POMEROL

Posted by Frank Ward on September 28, 2014

AvatarSeptember 2014. In April of this year thousands of wine writers and members of the wine trade flocked to Bordeaux to taste the 2013s – a vintage they already suspected was “disastrous”, or simply downright bad. I was not among them. At that stage the only ’13 claret I‘d tried was the Mouton Rothschild 2013, sampled at a vertical tasting in London in February. I found it very good, within the context of the vintage. I travelled to Bordeaux three months later, in late May, not specifically to look at 2013s but to visit a few great estates that had always been among my favourites. While happy to sample any 2013s that came my way while there, my main purpose was just to see [….]

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Defining Vinosity

Posted by Frank Ward on September 8, 2014

Andrew Jefford in Jefford on Monday, Behind the vinous eyes. With a contribution from Frank Ward.

 

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July Samplings in Kent

Posted by Frank Ward on August 31, 2014

AvatarAugust 2014. The month of July got off to an excellent start with another evening with our friends Keith and Clare Powis in their home near Whistable. To accompany a sequence of dishes – pea soup, guinea fowl, an assortment of cheeses, and dessert – we had a fascinating sequence of wines from a whole range of vintages, regions, and countries. As aperitif, a forceful, full-bodied Perrier-Jouet Belle Époque which showed great richness but was (to my taste) unduly bitter. A Margaret Thatcher of a wine, it brooked no opposition and took over full control of the palate.

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Tasting 13 mature wines from Domaine de la Romanée Conti

Posted by Frank Ward on May 24, 2014

AvatarMay 2014. In vinous terms, the commune of Vosne-Romanée has often been described as the jewel in Burgundy’s crown. In particular, the wines from Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC), based in that commune, are possibly the most sought-after reds in the entire world. They are also astronomically expensive. This means that scarcely anybody who is not extremely wealthy ever gets a chance to taste them. Or even to sniff the cork. And that’s just the young vintages.

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Counting Moutons

Posted by Frank Ward on April 5, 2014

AvatarApril 2014. Trinity House, overlooking the Tower of London, was the recent venue for a tasting of every vintage of Château Mouton Rothschild from 2011 to 2003, together with a mock-up of the infant 2013. Philippe Dhalluin, the man in charge at this renowned First Growth, was there to talk about the wines. In a daring – and unconventional – move, a sample was offered of Mouton’s grand vin from the 2013 vintage, a year that’s largely been written off by trade and collectors alike [….]

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Tasting le Pin for Two Pins!

Posted by Frank Ward on March 5, 2014

AvatarMarch 2014. Together with Andrew Jefford, well-known wine writer, I am poised to taste two vintages of Château Le Pin, a Pomerol that, since its creation in the early 1980s, has achieved what’s called cult status. Collectors have shown themselves willing to pay several thousand pounds for a single bottle, especially for the 1982. The 1982 was, in fact, the very first vintage of this rare wine, made from a plot measuring a mere one-third of a hectare. The most amazing of all, the vines – mostly Merlot – in that first vintage were only four years old [….]

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