My picks for March...

2000 Louis Jadot, Clos de Loyse, Château des Jacques, Blanc, Bourgogne
Vanilla, delicious, alive. Quite impressive. (85 pts)


2003 Viña Cono Sur Pinot Noir 20 Barrels, Chile
Ruby color, cherry, earthiness, leather. Outstanding balance and perfect mach for the food. (88 pts)


1998 Château Haut Marbuzet, Saint-Estèphe
Structured, silky, affectionate... (92 pts)


2004 Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion, Bordeaux, Pessac-Léognan
Smooth, silky and rich. Fantastic balance. The fact that this is only an entry level white Bordeaux... well it makes this wine simply amazing. (91 pts)

La Bouqueria, Barcelona, a guest blog post

This is a contribution from Christina.

La Bouqueria, Barcelona


La Bouqueria sign

La Bouqueria, the fabulous food market in Barcelona, has it all. From delicate handmade chocolates to severed pigs' heads.

The moment we stepped under the glass sign, we entered a world where there is only one rule: to let all your senses run wild. Let yourself go! Like an Aladdin's cave of food, the stalls just kept multiplying. Fruit, vegetables, cheese, spices, herbs, fish, meat, poultry, sweets, specialities.. everything you could possibly dream of right there, within reach.


vegetables and fruit


vegetables and Zoran


peppers


fish


miss piggy


spices


chocolate


chocolate detail

The markets in Paris, Venice, London, etc. all compare to this one, but La Bouqueria definitely has its own almost carnivalesque character. Emphasized perhaps by the dozens of street performers who lined La Rambla in their colourful costumes.

We were happily wandering around in there for more than four hours, with a lunch break down the far end. Psst, next time we need to try tapas at the famous Pinotxo bar (remember it is close to the entrance).


after lunch enjoyment

There where actually too many impressions to write down, but one special one deserves to be mentioned here: Zoran's joy when he found huge truffles at a bargain price!! :-)


truffles

For those of you who haven't been yet, La Bouqueria has got to be your next weekend destination.

Here are a few other pictures from Barcelona at Spring time...


Zoce the blogger


breakfast


dreaming


spring atmosphere


departure

Master Classes, Château Pontet Canet vertical tasting

Once more a unique chance to experience a superb wine vertical tasting.


The rise Pauillac Fifth Growth Pontet-Canet is one of the success stories of Bordeaux and the owner Alfred Tesseron tells the story...


A tasting of 12 vintages from 1990 to 2008, a vertical tasting to remember.


Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Medoc, Pauillac

First Flight: 1990, 1994, 1999

1990 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Nice deep red color. Leather, earth... (88 pts.)

1994 Chateau Pontet-Canet
At the beginning closet but it has opened later. Floral, earth... tannins not well structured. Drink now. (89 pts.)

1999 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Good 1999. Complex nose, well integrated, sweet tannins, refreshing acidity, liquorice on the finish. Excellent and classic. (94 pts.)

Second Flight 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

2000 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Opulent but very closed. Need time but it will be perfect. (93 pts.)

2001 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Deep, dark, tobacco, blackberry aroma, a full bodied. Drink well now. (92 pts.)

2002 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Nice! Starting to open and it has superb earthy components. Very well balanced with silky tannins. (91 pts.)

2003 Chateau Pontet-Canet
This is amazing stuff. Fresh, fragrant... so atypical for the 2003 vintage. Full bodied. Need time. (93 pts.)

Third Flight: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008

2004 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Drinks well right now. Walnut, chocolate, coffee... Long and sweet tannins and good minerality. (90 pts.)

2005 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Almost violet. Beginning to close down and will stay like that for a long time. KEEP as this is going to be one of the most amazing wine one can have. (95 pts.)

2006 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Tasting 2005 and 2006, back-to-back, prompting the inevitable comparisons. Well made, but far a way from 2005. (89 pts.)

2007 Chateau Pontet-Canet
This is nice wine. Tannic but it will drink very well soon. (89 pts.)

2008 Chateau Pontet-Canet
Barrel sample. I can't access fully but it taste promising...

Alfred's good humor and sincerity is amazing and I'm looking forward for my visit to Bordeaux...

Haiku Sushi

Haiku Sushi is an pleasant surprise and definitely a different experience compared to other mid-tier sushi places.

Obviously, businesses wise, this eatery is struggling bit more compared to for example some well know sushi chains.

In any case what was interesting to me is American or better say San Francisco sushi style; different and more crisp/crunch/mayo orientate.


Batter fried shrimp and vegetables tempura...


Rainbow roll, Dynamite roll, Spicy Crunch Roll, Tuna, Salomon and King Fish Nigiri, etc.


On the way home... so, be careful what you are doing; SpiderMan is around...

I'm not saying I adore the style, but it is fun to try it out.

Rating: -

Haiku Sushi
Nytorv 19,
1450 København K

Nobu London, a new wave of Japanese cooking

I consider Nobu as one of the leaders in new wave Japanese cooking. It has an original vision and quite a few signature dishes.

Unfortunately this time around, I haven't had a chance to have a full blown dinner because... simply, we arrived very late (23h) as I had some more important place to attend (read my blog post) :-)

However, what we had, although simple, everything tasted simply delicious:


Sushi dinner


Tenderloin of beef with teriyaki source


Tempura dinner

All this washed down by Hokusetsu Junmai Dai-Ginjo a very very silky and in the same time passionate sake.

This is no doubt one of the very top Japanese restaurants in Europe I've visited.

All operation are smooth and on time, it has a fantastic sake and wine list by the glass and by the way, this restaurant is rated number 34 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Recommended.

Rating: 8.6 (out of 10.0)

Nobu
15 Berkeley Street
London W1J 8DY

Rambling Portobello Road Market, in a thousand words...

The entire day could have easily been spent rambling, browsing, eating... on the Portobello Road Market which runs the length of Portobello Road. It offers everything, like antiques, fashion, second hand goods, even fruit and veg ;-)

In reality one can even sleep around... Not to mention, this is one of the very trendy part of the city full of designer shops and top-notch restaurants on the crossing streets.


Pizzeria and Fiat 500...


sand time-warp...


good old cameras from good old Germany...


famous singer... actually hundreds of these...


also safety equipment, like for example, gas mask :@


some tasty food...


in different flavors...


strangers...


weird Ferrari...

Go for it!

Master Classes, Crus Classés de Graves

One can immediately recognize a strong masterclass, look at the stage... there isn't enough room for all representatives from the the châteaux in question.


Eric Perrin, Ch Carbonnieux; Gilles Maligne, Ch Fieuzal; Clément Bouriez, Ch Couhins; Karim Nasser, Ch Malartic-Lagravière and Laurent Lebrun, Ch Olivier. Of course Decanter publishing director Sarah Kemp is around.


In front of me, David Ornon, Ch Smith Haut Lafite and Andrée Ebersole, Ch Couhins-Lurton

I has been great experience and rare chance to explore the fascinating terroir of the Graves. Wines I've tested includes legendary Graves producers like for example Château Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion, and more.


First flight - red wine:


Château Carbonnieux Rouge 2003
Cedar-wood and earthy (mushrooms/wet wood). Nutty finish. (88pts.)


Domaine de Chevalier Rouge 2003
Cedar-wood, smoky pencil lead. very elegant. Light (medium) bodied and excellent minerality. (89pts.)


Château de Fieuzal 2003
Fresh fruit, graphite, pencil lead and toasted oak. Drinks very well now. Good acidity with creamy/rounded and smooth tannins. (89pts.)


Château Haut Bailly 2003
Tobacco, smoke and spice. Quite complex, fresh and elegant. Superb minerality on the finish, the hallmark of this château. (90pts.)


Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2003
Cedar-wood, concentrated, masculine, very silky and rip tannins, long and pleasant finish. Beautiful wine. (93pts.)


Château Pape Clément 2003
Floral, cedar-wood, hay concentrated, masculine, very silky and rip tannins, long and pleasant finish. Still young but a wonderful wine; I want a box of this wine... (94pts.)


Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2003
Dark ruby, smoke, flint-stone, red fruit, tobacco... lots going on and lot of flagrance. Concentrated but not over extracted, sweet and round finish. (92pts.)


Château Haut-Brion 2003
Flagrant, chocolate, tar, and tobacco. Smooth, rounded, silky and very very long finish. Outstanding! (94pts.)


Second flight - 2007 white and they have everything – the complexity, the richness and the finesse.


Château Bouscaut Blanc 2007
A vibrant nose and notes of smoky barrels. Bit grassy. (87pts.)


Château Couhins 2007
Gooseberry, fresh and lovely(88pts.)


Château Couhins-Lurton 2007
Citrus, grapefruit, mineral, fresh, fruity, long and lovely finish. (89pts.)


Château Latour-Martillac Blanc 2007
Clean nose, lively, floral. Fresh, slightly creamy but full of exuberant fruit;(91pts.)


Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 2007
In my opinion, this is fantastic wine for Asian food. (89pts.)


Château Olivier Blanc 2007
And this, in my opinion a perfect wine for seafood or fresh salads.(89pts.)


At the end, I been lucky enough to win a book on Grave signed by all representatives and an open invitation for visiting château at the beginning of June.

I'll exercise my rights :-)