The United States celebrated several historic milestones in 2019, and Nancy Olson shares these events – which includes both trains and the moon – commemorated by four luxury writing instruments.
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.
Humans have long had a fascination with the depths of the ocean, striving to go ever deeper, ever further, and ever faster by pushing the limits of the human body, technology, and advancing modern science. But like all things, we are often faced with limits. And the helium escape valve was invented to push one of those limits as watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains.
Pol was the first champagne Ken Gargett ever tried – a sneak swig under the kitchen table from a bottle at one of my parents’ dinner parties. And he particularly loves the Sir Winston Churchill.
Ken Gargett thinks that the 2015 Cristal is a wine of purity. Wonderfully fresh, we have notes of white florals, citrus, honey and chalk. Gentle notes of stonefruit emerge, with a walnut backing, all held together by that line of salinity. This is layered and complex, a beautiful Cristal with serious intensity. Great focus and such length. Impeccably balanced and with a lingering finish. It should drink beautifully for the next 10 to 20 years.
Rebecca Struthers: “Hands of Time. A Watchmaker´s History of Time” is a journey through history, a comprehensive compendium, a rich historical reference book about time, clocks, movements, craft, material, significant inventions, and the people who made them.
The Punch ManTua cigar has serious oomph throughout. Some find a slight sweetness, but Ken Gargett’s had no evidence of it. This cigar has considerable complexity and there is no hint of anything out of place or any of the awkwardness that sometimes afflicts younger cigars.
Hunter Valley Semillon is one of the more curious styles of wine likely to be encountered. Most wine lovers from outside Australia (indeed outside of the eastern Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland) treat it with a little disdain, have never tried it or perhaps even heard of it. Ken Gargett explains why it should be on any wine lover’s radar.
There are many styles of sherry, but there is one which is perhaps the most perplexing and confusing of all – Palo Cortado. An accidental wine if ever there was one, but a glorious one. Ken Gargett explains.
Ken Gargett reports that the sensational Bollinger RD 2008 is a deep golden bronze colour. The immediate impression was two things. First, an impressive array of nutty notes. Hazelnuts certainly, but also walnuts and a touch of almond. Fuller than many, as one expects from Bolly, but the balance never wavers. It shows just how much time on lees can bring about changes in a wine.