By Christopher Matthews
Normally, the Wine Media Guild of New York’s annual Bordeaux lunch takes place in January, when the Union de Grand Crus de Bordeaux’s (UGCB) show comes through town as part of a national tour. But January’s unpredictable weather — and the harried schedules of producers during the UGCB campaign — led to a postponement from January 2018 to this past Tuesday, a beautiful, sunny day in May in Manhattan.
It was worth the wait.
With thanks to WMG co-chairs Pat Savoie and Charles Scicolone for organizing, our exceptional Grand Cru “ensemble” was composed of Château Beychevelle (Saint-Julien), Château Guiraud (Sauternes), Château Latour Martillac (Pessac-Léognan) and Château Kirwan (Margaux). Each house brought a range of wines from outstanding vintages (from 1998/2000, to 2015) for the walk-around, and some older vintages showed up at the lunch, all of which took place at Il Gattopardo.
This focused, manageable tasting/lunch illustrated top-flight Bordeaux’s enduring value: a benchmark for age worthy wines of complexity and finesse, stimulating both to the palate and the intellect, and versatile at the table.
