Ken Gargett takes a look at the new Bollinger Blanc de Noirs one-off, the B13 from the (unusual) 2013 vintage. And decides that this is no shrinking violet and that no one is going to taste this and start thinking how delicate, how elegant. It is a big, bold, full-of-flavor champagne.
Moët & Chandon is a champagne house deeply aware that winemaking is intimately linked to the climate and soil. Directly witnessing the impact of global warming on viticulture, Moët & Chandon is dependent on the protection of the environment for its survival, which entails the preservation of its vineyards and the natural ecosystem as well as sustainability in its supply chains. Learning from nature is tantamount. Here’s how the largest producer in Champagne is working on it.
Peter Gago has what many people in the wine world think is the best job on the planet: he is chief winemaker for Penfolds, one of Australia’s oldest wine producers. Here Ken Gargett shares the history of Penfolds and Peter Gago and reports on tasting Penfolds’ latest flagship wine, the G5.
An email arrived: would Ken Gargett be interested in tasting an original prestige champagne from the popular house of Piper-Heidsieck? This is the sort of invitation he would crawl over broken glass to be part of and he shares his experiences here. Spoiler alert: Ken rates the 50-year-old champagne 99/100!
You may be asking yourself why Ken Gargett is reviewing yet another 2008 vintage champagne. For starters, he’s doing it because 2008 is a great year. But also because the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne just might be the best of the 2008s. This champagne has a litany of high scores – most range from 98 to 100 – and praise from critics (including this one).
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.
As Sir Winston Churchill said, “My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best.” He would surely have been more than satisfied with this brilliant Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2012 champagne. The great man also thought that a magnum of champagne is the perfect size for two gentlemen to have over lunch, especially if one isn’t drinking. But what is his relationship with this great champagne house?
If you do not know what black pudding is you may be thinking a decadent dessert, perhaps a very dark chocolate cake type of thing. If you do know what it is then you are either suddenly thinking of how delicious it is and how long before you can next enjoy one or you are running for the hills, thinking how utterly disgusting and how on earth could anyone even look at one, let alone eat it. Here is all you ever needed to know about black pudding.
Hamlet Paredes is one of the planet’s great cigar rollers and a great friend of Ken Gargett’s. Here Ken provides an abbreviated account of the life and times of Hamlet, all wrapped up in tobacco leaves and entertaining dialogue.
Yamazaki 12-Year-Old from Japan is a whisky that Ken Gargett has loved every time he has had the chance to try it. The bottle he sampled for this piece was actually one from the back of his cupboard, which he has been sitting on for far too long. When a mate saw it, he implored him not to open it. But Ken of course did and shares the experience with us here.