The restaurant Aubergine was Gordon Ramsay launch pad and he went on to win its first Michelin star fourteen months after opening in 1993. In 1997, Aubergine won its second Michelin star. Ramsay leave this partnership in 1997.Today, it is a realm of superb chef William Drabble, who retains one Michelin from 1998.The beige interior, wooden floor and contemporary, if somewhat abstract paintings, portray a formal, but relaxed and cozy atmosphere. Nonetheless, the French flawless service and intimidating wine list does give the exact context.After a wile we decide on Gourmand Menu, a 7-course tasting menu with matching wine.
Scallops with ginger and apple purée, smooth and pleasurable
Lobster Ravioli topped generously with a slice of winter truffle. Melting lobster, delicate pasta, and truffle of an amazing intensity. It was accompanied with ridiculously smooth Alsace Riesling. With an easy, this can become my signature dish!
Foie gras served on pear, very, very rich. It has been served with Banylus aged in old oak barrels, Southern France aperitif which is a fortified wine similar to Port...
Sea bass with crisp skin and artichokes, in red wine sauce, melted in the mouth... accompanied with Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon! No comment, but it has been a real delight... I'll meditate on this issue...
My good friend Darko, enjoying the food
Roasted Lamb, cooked pink with spinach... Deeply and wonderfully flavored
Pinocolada accompanied with Semillon Blanc from Sauternes... mmmm...
Lemon pudding did not work for me, so I've skip itAt about 200€ per person, with matching wine, throw Aubergine into serious gastronomic league. Nonetheless, when one takes everything in account, the price tag is justified.Everything was structured and detailed with the careful balance of ingredients… and… I got a perfect cumulative effect! Highly recommended.Rating: 9.0 (out of 10.0)Aubergine Restaurant11 Park WalkLondon SW10
Unfortunately, guest from Den Jyske Opera in Det Kongelige Teater production of L'Elisir d’Amore that I’ve seen it on the February the 18th, hasn’t delivered their maximum… I’ve missed intrigue, almost always delivered by Det Kongelige Teater… at the end of the day this is a bel canto comedy… but this time around, something was mixed up.The voice of Nemorino, tenor David Danholt hasn’t been blessed with freshness, especially during Una furtiva lagrima, which always brings nostalgic filings for me… 
Quite the contrary Adina (Sine Bundgaard), Belcore (Michael Lindberg) and especially Dulcamara (Jørn Pedersen), where unquestionably kicking up the performance. Dulcamara moved perfectly and his voice was especially strong and seductive.Anyway, it was like… well boring Champagne… in other words Champagne without fizz.
So I headed off for this year’s Decanter French Fine Wine Encounter on Saturday. For me, this was an opportunity to taste some of the best French wines as well as to talk about them with the producers.
On the way... the sun...
It has featured ca. 300 wines from various regions and producers in France.
Couple of halls at the Landmark Hotel in central London, were occupied with ca. 70 stands offering different blends and vintages. You name it, they’ve got it: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Côtes du Rhône, Languedoc…
The event also included special Master Classes and I’ve attended Three Great Terroirs, Master class and tasted some of magnificent wines from three legendary chateaux, Chateau Palmer, Vieux Chateau Certan and Chateau Haut Bailly. All were presented with a range of exciting vintages, as well as a speaker.
Véronique Sanders, Thomas Duroux, Alexandre Thienpont and Sarah Kemp, the publishing director of the Decanter.
I’m pleased to share with you some of my tasting notes and remarks.
1995 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Eye: Deep ruby
Nose: Chocolate, red currant and spices… very elegant…
Palate: Cigar box, cedar, dark fruit,. It is very rich, rounded on the palate …
Finish: Once more… ridiculously long and seductive finish…
Decanted: 2 hr.
Note: Amazing complexity and elegance. (95 pts.)
1999 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Eye: Deep purple
Nose: Licorice and earthy-leathery notes… mmmm…
Palate: Very complex black fruit, tar... Perfectly rip tannins and soft french oak feels elegant and velvety. A full boded wine and in the same time so rounded and charming…
Finish: Long and charming …
Decanted: 1 1/2 hr. (96 pts.)
2005 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Eye: Dark red
Nose: Some minerality, but it is very, very closed…
Palate: Creamy black fruit... also some spices…
Finish: Long …
Decanted: 0 hr.
Note: Today, I can’t rate this wine, but I feel that this is a Great wine and looking forward to taste it once more in the near future.
1998 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Eye: Dark red
Nose: Dark chocolate, pencil shavings and game...
Palate: Quite concentrated. The fruit aspect is very strong, but also some mineral flavors. Fantastic balance, almost as cashmere like on the palate. This is a complex vine…
Finish: Very long and almost seductive.
Decanted: ca. 1 hr.
Note: I’ll definitely buy this wine. (95 pts.)
2000 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Eye: Dark red
Nose: Cigar box and liquorices...
Palate: Quite forward, dark fruits and black pepper, round on the palate, balanced with good acidity...
Finish: Long and memorable.
Decanted: ca. 1 hr. (90 pts.)
2005 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Eye: Dark red
Nose: Floral…
Palate: Much better on the palate. Vibrant, round and balanced, but to young…
Finish: Very long and almost seductive.
Decanted: 0 hr. (90 pts.)
2001 Château Haut-Bailly - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Eye: Dark red and clear
Nose: Cigar box, and black berries …
Palate: Quite fresh and forward with very pleasant taste of black, almost juice like
Finish: Long…
Decanted: ca. 1 hr.
Note: I’m looking forward to taste this wine in about 5-6 year from now. I suspect it will be wonderful. (90 pts.)
2003 Château Haut-Bailly - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Eye: Dark red and clear
Nose: Cigar box, and black berries …
Palate: Quite fresh and forward with very pleasant taste of black, almost juice like
Finish: Long…
Decanted: ca. 2 hr. (89 pts.)
2005 Château Haut-Bailly - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Eye: Dark red and clear
Nose: Dark fruit purée with cream…
Palate: Walnut and coffee characters…. Concentrated, complex and marvelously silky on the palate…
Finish: Ridiculously long and pleasant finish… I’m talking about 40 – 50 seconds!
Decanted: 0 hr.
Note: I’ll go for it. (95 pts)
The 100-point Rating Scale
* Extraordinary (96-100 points)
* Outstanding (90-95)
* Very Good to Excellent (85-89)
* Good (80-84)
* Average (75-79)
* Below average (70-74)
* Avoid (50-70)
It is amazing how 2005 is deep, big and strong, and yet so balanced and silky…
In addition, I had a chance to talk with Oz Clarke :-) and during our discussion regarding Macedonian wine and why it is not promoted in Decanter, in a split of second, he managed to introduce me to Sarah Kemp and Steven Spurrier!
The champion of French wine, Steven Spurrier
This was a wonderful experience and I’m looking forward for more!
This is an ambitious restaurant located inside the impressive new Royal Danish Theater - Skuespilhuset, an architectural gem, located in the heart of Nyhavn (lit. "New Harbor") on the waterfront of Copenhagen. This location, just opposite Copenhagen Opera House, makes it a perfect pre-opera dinner venue.
We went there at 17:45, approximately two hours before Donizetti's opera L'elisir d'Amore (see other post).
At the first glance, although the restaurant was quite full, it seemed to be running very smooth... in other words, we had a wrong impression.
Everything except the interior was wrong; poor service, self-absorbed staff, served food that can not live up to the menu description and the grandeur of the place...
We supposed to have a 3 course dinner accompanied with 3 glass of wine; one glass of white with the starter, one glass of red wine with the main course and Porto wine accompanied with strong Scandinavian cheeses served with side dish as a desert.
Anyway, we end up with 2/3 of the menu, by our request. After waiting approximately one hour for the starter, we ware on a tight schedule.
The food is based on the classic French cuisine and inspired by Nordic traditions.
Salmon with beetroot, warm spices, apple compote... Does not tasting any good and that's not only my opinion :-/
Christina during the degustation ;-)
Fried rose veal steak with sauter prepared cabbage, white beans and apricots. This dish was indeed tasteful.
As it is at the moment, at about 65€ per person, including a wine menu, it does not worth it. Nonetheless, I'll give it another, last shot sometime this year. It is very convenient because the place is very close to the opera house...
Rating: 5.5 (out of 10.0)
Cafe og restaurant Ofelia
Skuespilhuset
Sankt Annæ Plads 36
1250 København K
On the way to Cortina d'Ampezzo (see other post), we had a one day stop in Ingolstadt. Of course, that’s great opportunity for me to check out some fancy German restaurants/clubs, in particular in Bayern. My friend Darko, made an excellent choice: Daimlers Sixteen.
Daimlers Sixteen is in general a good restaurant with subtle music in the background. Over the course of the evening, the level of the music increase, together with increasing number of guests.
Interior design is quite inventive and sensible, with the exception of the toilet…
We had a 4 course dinner accompanied with a descent German Riesling.
Creamy and spiced pumpkin soup with bacon
Grilled Scallops
A delicious grilled pheasant dish with vegetables.
A fried parrot fish
And… after couple of vine glasses, visit to the kitschy toilet is inevitable
What is the verdict? If you are around, go for it.
Rating: 7.0 (out of 10.0)
Daimlers Sixteen
Daimlerstr. 16
85080 Gaimersheim, Germany
We've start with Daimlers Sixteen (see other post), a restaurant we stop a day before, and that's was a great experience.
I don't want to repeat my self... nonetheless, I'm trilled to say "a picture is worth a thousand words"...
It is snowing...
A big time...
This was the tenth annual “Men's Only" ski trip… and the time for Cortina d'Ampezzo...
Cortina d'Ampezzo was my suggestion. Way? Simply because I have read in Time magazine that Cortina d'Ampezzo is one of the top five place on earth for skiing.
And after visiting Cortina d'Ampezzo, can I confirm this? Not really. Don’t understand me wrong! We had a best time on the world, but we also had a better experience elseware.
The reference “this is one of the most exclusive ski resorts”, is simply… well... a big lie!
On my account, the best part has been constant “off-piste” skiing, and that’s only because it was constantly snowing… a big time! So, everything was unprepared :-D
All of a sudden... a good weather :p
Me and the Sun...
Picture of an amazing mountain...
Picture of me...
Picture of Horst...
Picture of... not so good food...
Picture of a perfect Champagne...
L'Equipe at 3200m...
Once more... 3200m...
There are enormously long ski pistes at ski resort Dolomites, something like 1500 km, but après ski does not exist! Restaurants are good, but boring... same goes for clubs... and so fort...
This is my first and definitely the last time going in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Earnestly, I don’t have time for this s…t
Anyway, I had fun on my trip back, via Skopje. A special visit to St. Trifun celebration (see other post)...
That's it! Next station, Hokkaido, Niseko - Japan :-D Now we are talking for some real powder/champagne snow.
