For Ken Gargett, the Veuve Clicquot 2012 La Grande Dame is a special champagne. It walks the tightrope between dense and coiled power with delicacy, finesse, and elegance. Great intensity, finally balanced acidity, early complexity, and it is still wonderfully youthful with a long future ahead of it. But what interesting story lies behind this fantastic champagne?
Ken Gargett’s recent champagne extravaganza lunch might seem like an exercise in utter hedonism (and it pretty much was), but as an exercise in showing how versatile and how incredibly varied champagnes can be, it was a masterclass. Ken even compares the 1993 Dom Pérignon to itself!
Ken Gargett is delighted to see the Champagne Charlie make such an impressive return, but he prefers Charles Heidsieck’s wonderful Blanc des Millénaires 2007 and here he explains why.
For many people, anchovies are one of those foods to be avoided like the plague. But for Ken Gargett anchovies are not a love-it-or-hate it food. Rather, they are a love-it-or-you-have-not-discovered-how-good-they-can-be food. A lunch of a freshly baked loaf of hot, crusty bread smothered in good quality anchovies is just magic. Here he takes you on an aquatic journey through the culinary aspects of this small fish.
Graham’s releases a trio of Single Harvest Tawny Ports called the Cellar Master’s Trilogy comprising The Apprentice, The Artisan, and The Master. Ken Gargett gives us the lowdown on how it’s made and how it tastes.
For Ken Gargett, Champagne de Venoge seems more like background music than a headline act. It seems to have been around forever, usually within reach, but not chased after. However, now under new management, Ken thinks it might be worth looking out.
There is one wine producer that has taken on almost mythical status in recent years: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. And one of its wines, Romanée-Conti, stands out above all others. Many wine lovers, perhaps most, consider it to be the very best wine in the world. Ken Gargett is one of them.
The Foradori family believes that It is its duty and privilege to wake up every morning and to be free to work according to the message that the earth conveys in that moment. And according to Ken Gargett, this approach tastes divine!
Top Burgundy has exploded like a firecracker factory set alight. From very much a second fiddle to Bordeaux when it comes to the great wines of France, Burgundy is now the flavor of the month, attracting prices that have skyrocketed into the stratosphere and beyond, both on release and on the secondary market. Everyone wants the great Burgundies. And Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret is one of the crown jewels.
When Ken Gargett first heard mention of a gin called Monkey 47, he assumed it must fall very much in the novelty category. Then he tried it and it has been his favorite gin ever since. Here Ken shares the story, more than likely a mix of fact and the apocryphal, of how Monkey 47 gin came to be. And it involves a watchmaker!
