NEWS
The Big Bottle Festival
1,2,3..4 flights at www.bigbottle.co.za
Left first flight
Midle second flight
Right flight number 4
11 masterpieces for the Champagne Tasting
The 21 August 2015...
1,2,3..4 flights at www.bigbottle.co.za
Left first flight
Midle second flight
Right flight number 4
11 masterpieces for the Champagne Tasting
The 21 August 2015...
1st flight
Showing the best examples of individual cultivars in ChampagneJacquart Blanc de Blancs 2006
Phillipponnat Blanc de Noirs - Pinot Noir 100%
Cedric Mousse Cuvée Club -Pinot Meunier 100%
2nd Flight
The elegance and importance of oak in ChampagneAlfred Gratien Blanc de Blancs
Bollinger La Grande Année 2002
3rd Flight
Aspiration Champagnes from the heart of Champagne: Côtes des Blancs, Legendary Terroir of the village:
Le Mesnil sur OgerLe Mesnil UPR - Special Vintage
Salon 2002
Pierre Peters - Special Vintage
4th Flight
Great Vintage and Prestige Cuvées
Jacquart Cuvée Nominée magnum 2002
Dom Pérignon Rose Oenothèque 1995
For more info: http://www.bigbottle.co.za/the-hedonist
Showing the best examples of individual cultivars in ChampagneJacquart Blanc de Blancs 2006
Phillipponnat Blanc de Noirs - Pinot Noir 100%
Cedric Mousse Cuvée Club -Pinot Meunier 100%
2nd Flight
The elegance and importance of oak in ChampagneAlfred Gratien Blanc de Blancs
Bollinger La Grande Année 2002
3rd Flight
Aspiration Champagnes from the heart of Champagne: Côtes des Blancs, Legendary Terroir of the village:
Le Mesnil sur OgerLe Mesnil UPR - Special Vintage
Salon 2002
Pierre Peters - Special Vintage
4th Flight
Great Vintage and Prestige Cuvées
Jacquart Cuvée Nominée magnum 2002
Dom Pérignon Rose Oenothèque 1995
For more info: http://www.bigbottle.co.za/the-hedonist
We were not at Mullineux winery but at "Awesome winery"
So we taste Awesome White Blend 2013, Awesome Syrah 2013 and Awesome Natural sweet dessert wine.straw wine of 7 years, Solera call Olerasay..
3 wines at 5 stars and half Platters.. Congrats Andrea Mullineux and Chris Mullineux..with Pardon Taguzu and Tongai Joseph Dhafana
Mister Chris Mullineux is "Mister Awesome".
So we taste Awesome White Blend 2013, Awesome Syrah 2013 and Awesome Natural sweet dessert wine.straw wine of 7 years, Solera call Olerasay..
3 wines at 5 stars and half Platters.. Congrats Andrea Mullineux and Chris Mullineux..with Pardon Taguzu and Tongai Joseph Dhafana
Mister Chris Mullineux is "Mister Awesome".
The Franschhoek Champagne Festival ,November 2014
You cannot drink a good champagne in a terrible flute glass: Something interesting!
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The Team Jacquart at work before the Tasting! |
Denis Garret Buyer at CWIG Auction: October 2014
So I got soon two cases ok Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc 2013 "Lynx" very close too the Family reserve 2013,
voted Grand Prix trophy 2014 at Michelangelo by the judges.
New records made this year Cape Winemakers Guildauction! Total sales: R11,929,600 or over 1million U$ or EUR 850,000 (!) Wow! Highest price per case: R8,600 #CWGAuction #wine #SouthAfrica
Big Bottle Festival , the Jacquart Team is ready 29&30 August 2014
For more info, visit the site www.jacquart-champagne.com
For more info, visit the site www.jacquart-champagne.com
Denis at the Michelangelo, August 2014
To get an insight, you can visit the following link www.michelangeloawards.com
To get an insight, you can visit the following link www.michelangeloawards.com
The Panel of judges from 12 countries
Cognac Tasting at home, with Tim James: 14 July 2014, The Bastille day!
Old cognacs – and a prospect of old Cape brandy
Last week I organised a tasting for the Sommeliers Association of South Africa (SASA) of some serious South African brandies and a few well-reputed cognacs. The point was to show how difficult it can be to distinguish between the two of them in terms of origin and quality, at fairly comparable ages: I showed a range of local potstill brandies ranging from about 5 years of age to 20 years – Boplaas and KWV representing the oldest, as well as representing the smallish category of estate brandy and the overwhelming category of big-producer stuff.
That ploy succeeded, on the whole. I asked for a show of hands as to origin for each of the brandies, and none was correctly identified by all as from South Africa or Cognac – generally the voting was pretty equal. Much the same with regard to preference – few of the examples were not the favourite of someone. Probably the most generally favoured of the line-up of 12 (3 cognacs and 9 brandies) was Richelieu XO Cognac, not the famous South African brand, but a small cognac house also owned by Distell; Richelieu XO recently won a major international competition, incidentally, and that seemed quite justified.
The Richelieu XO cognac costs around R1750 per bottle – as opposed to the R1000 you’ll hae to fork out for the likes of KWV 20 year old, and my own favourite local brandy, Oude Meester Souverein 18 Year Old. The younger cognac we included was Courvoisier VSOP, at a pretty hefty R550, but not a single person at the tasting listed it as a favourite.
Personally, I think you have to be pretty daft to buy the lower grades of cognac (VS, VSOP) in South Africa, when you can get really good local stuff – even 10 and 12 year old brandies – for a third or half of the price. (Incidentally, I’ve recently written an article on the subject for Good Taste magazine – no idea when it’s appearing.) But there’s a lot of cultural cringe when it comes to brandy-versus-cognac, not just from inexperienced drinkers who assume that cognac MUST be better, at least partly because it’s more expensive, but also from the sommeliers and restaurateurs who serve them – people who should know better, but don’t’ always.
Enough rant about that, and enough sticking up for the locals. What was totally missing from my little comparative tasting was an example of the really old stuff – 30, 40, 50 years old, ormore. The reason is twofold – one: those really old cognacs cost a fortune; two: there are no locals available for comparison. The Van Ryn Au.Ra (oh, how I dislike typing that sadly pretentious name!) was released a year or more ago, as the oldest commercially available Cape brandy, with the youngest component being 30 years old. It’s lovely brandy, hugely expensive and only a tiny quantity was made.
But today I had a real treat. Amongst the SASA tasters last week was Denis Garret, a splendidly eccentric Frenchman, with impressive credentials as sommelier and wine educator (and clearly pretty impressive on a motorbike too, given his past performances in international rallies).
Denis kindly invited me to taste some samples of the cognacs of the small, highly regarded cognac house of Lhéraud. The young ones, designed for cocktails and mixing, were fine; the 10- and 20- year olds were impressive but not mind-blowing, but the Grande Champagne 1979 (vintage cognac is rare, but this house clear makes something of a specialty of it) was totally revelatory to a novice about the finesse and fascinating complexity that great older cognac can offer. Much the same with the lighter-styled and equally brilliant old Camus – a blend that my host had himself put together in winning a grand blending competition (his prize was a dozen bottles of the cognac assembled according to his formula).
We also this afternoon tried some similarly oldish armagnacs – the country cousin of cognac – which would have been marvellous to me in any context other than what we’d already tried, but lacked the grace and finesse of the Lhérauds.
With any luck, Denis will find an importer for the splendid range of cognacs, armagnacs and calvados he wants to introduce to South Africa. Beyond my own wallet’s capabilities, but perhaps I’ll get some more sips….
As to really old Cape brandies – well, as stocks of excellent old brandy start becoming available to the blenders (as they will, given that ambitions were really only kindled from the early 1990s on, which is also when estate brandies became legal), we should start having more really old brandies, and it is going to be fascinating to see just how good they are.
I wish I thought I’d be around to see what a fine 50-year-old Cape brandy tastes like, but it’s somewhat more than unlikely. And perhaps when my dust has long been scattered, there’ll be even older, rare Van Ryn or Oude Meester or Boplaas brandies, and they’ll be magnificent and comparable to equivalent cognacs. I hope so, and now happily raise a glass of Souverein to the prospect.
Tim James
Old cognacs – and a prospect of old Cape brandy
Last week I organised a tasting for the Sommeliers Association of South Africa (SASA) of some serious South African brandies and a few well-reputed cognacs. The point was to show how difficult it can be to distinguish between the two of them in terms of origin and quality, at fairly comparable ages: I showed a range of local potstill brandies ranging from about 5 years of age to 20 years – Boplaas and KWV representing the oldest, as well as representing the smallish category of estate brandy and the overwhelming category of big-producer stuff.
That ploy succeeded, on the whole. I asked for a show of hands as to origin for each of the brandies, and none was correctly identified by all as from South Africa or Cognac – generally the voting was pretty equal. Much the same with regard to preference – few of the examples were not the favourite of someone. Probably the most generally favoured of the line-up of 12 (3 cognacs and 9 brandies) was Richelieu XO Cognac, not the famous South African brand, but a small cognac house also owned by Distell; Richelieu XO recently won a major international competition, incidentally, and that seemed quite justified.
The Richelieu XO cognac costs around R1750 per bottle – as opposed to the R1000 you’ll hae to fork out for the likes of KWV 20 year old, and my own favourite local brandy, Oude Meester Souverein 18 Year Old. The younger cognac we included was Courvoisier VSOP, at a pretty hefty R550, but not a single person at the tasting listed it as a favourite.
Personally, I think you have to be pretty daft to buy the lower grades of cognac (VS, VSOP) in South Africa, when you can get really good local stuff – even 10 and 12 year old brandies – for a third or half of the price. (Incidentally, I’ve recently written an article on the subject for Good Taste magazine – no idea when it’s appearing.) But there’s a lot of cultural cringe when it comes to brandy-versus-cognac, not just from inexperienced drinkers who assume that cognac MUST be better, at least partly because it’s more expensive, but also from the sommeliers and restaurateurs who serve them – people who should know better, but don’t’ always.
Enough rant about that, and enough sticking up for the locals. What was totally missing from my little comparative tasting was an example of the really old stuff – 30, 40, 50 years old, ormore. The reason is twofold – one: those really old cognacs cost a fortune; two: there are no locals available for comparison. The Van Ryn Au.Ra (oh, how I dislike typing that sadly pretentious name!) was released a year or more ago, as the oldest commercially available Cape brandy, with the youngest component being 30 years old. It’s lovely brandy, hugely expensive and only a tiny quantity was made.
But today I had a real treat. Amongst the SASA tasters last week was Denis Garret, a splendidly eccentric Frenchman, with impressive credentials as sommelier and wine educator (and clearly pretty impressive on a motorbike too, given his past performances in international rallies).
Denis kindly invited me to taste some samples of the cognacs of the small, highly regarded cognac house of Lhéraud. The young ones, designed for cocktails and mixing, were fine; the 10- and 20- year olds were impressive but not mind-blowing, but the Grande Champagne 1979 (vintage cognac is rare, but this house clear makes something of a specialty of it) was totally revelatory to a novice about the finesse and fascinating complexity that great older cognac can offer. Much the same with the lighter-styled and equally brilliant old Camus – a blend that my host had himself put together in winning a grand blending competition (his prize was a dozen bottles of the cognac assembled according to his formula).
We also this afternoon tried some similarly oldish armagnacs – the country cousin of cognac – which would have been marvellous to me in any context other than what we’d already tried, but lacked the grace and finesse of the Lhérauds.
With any luck, Denis will find an importer for the splendid range of cognacs, armagnacs and calvados he wants to introduce to South Africa. Beyond my own wallet’s capabilities, but perhaps I’ll get some more sips….
As to really old Cape brandies – well, as stocks of excellent old brandy start becoming available to the blenders (as they will, given that ambitions were really only kindled from the early 1990s on, which is also when estate brandies became legal), we should start having more really old brandies, and it is going to be fascinating to see just how good they are.
I wish I thought I’d be around to see what a fine 50-year-old Cape brandy tastes like, but it’s somewhat more than unlikely. And perhaps when my dust has long been scattered, there’ll be even older, rare Van Ryn or Oude Meester or Boplaas brandies, and they’ll be magnificent and comparable to equivalent cognacs. I hope so, and now happily raise a glass of Souverein to the prospect.
Tim James
Cognac Educator/Formateur Cognac : Denis Garret
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List of participants

- Jürgen Diebel (All 2009)
- Bridget Albert (US 2010)
- Peter Dreykluft (All 2010)
- Phil Duffy (GB 2010)
- Sandrine Houdré Grégoire (F 2010)
- Vincent Pateux (F 2010)
- Miguel Figueredo Lancha (ES 2011)
- Denis Garret (F 2011)
- Hoke Harden (US 2011)
- Yasuhiro Koinuma (Jap 2011)
- Linda Pettine (US 2011)
- Anthony Stockbridge (GB 2011)
Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac
Champion Team of Cognac with competitors since 2009!
Took place from 1 to 4 july 2014, with the BNIC and Cognac Educator.
All the participants in the exam room. 50 questions per QCM...
For the love of food: A magnificent desert and cognac.
Indeed this was a spectacular experience!
CONSTANTIA FRESH 2014
Fine wine & food Pairing Exhibition
Fresh and french Champagne!
22 February 2014 3pm to 8pm
Denis Garret will be attending the Constantia Fresh organized by his friend sommelier Jorg Pfutzner. For more info. about the event, visit the following site: www.constantiafresh.com
So you can taste the products of 40 Top winemakers and get wonderful dish from 5 top chefs from Constantia. And, of course from the Jacquart Ambassador Champagne, Denis Garret, Sommelier.
Jacquart is the only Champagne House on the show!
www.champagne-jacquart.com
You can taste and buy on the place
Brut Mosaique
Brut Mosaique rose
International Cape Classique Trophy 2014
On November 2014, for the first time in South Africa, the best Sparkling Wine Tasters of the World will Judge South Africa’s Best MCC!
The Jury:
-Richard Juhlin, the partner in Champagne Club, author of many authoritative books on Champagne. (400 Champagne) and dubbed as The Champagne Master!
-Philippe Faure-Brac, Best Sommelier of the World 1992, owner of Bistrot du Sommelier in Paris, and author of many books on wine, wine tasting and wine pairing.
-Around them, a few international judges, including Finalist of competition CIVC Ambassador Europeen du Champagne Denis Garret International Sommelier,and winemaker and CEO at Cape-Town of Signal Hill Winery, Jean Vincent Ridon.
The awards:
A few highly recognized award will be given by this Jury of exception:
Best MCC of the year top3 Main sponsor Trophy
Best MCC Vintage top3 Hospitality Sponsor Trophy
Best MCC Blanc de Blancs top3 Member of the Jury Trophy
Best MCC blush top3 Member of the Jury Trophy
Best MCC Winemaker of the year Sponsor Trophy
Partners:
On November 2014, for the first time in South Africa, the best Sparkling Wine Tasters of the World will Judge South Africa’s Best MCC!
The Jury:
-Richard Juhlin, the partner in Champagne Club, author of many authoritative books on Champagne. (400 Champagne) and dubbed as The Champagne Master!
-Philippe Faure-Brac, Best Sommelier of the World 1992, owner of Bistrot du Sommelier in Paris, and author of many books on wine, wine tasting and wine pairing.
-Around them, a few international judges, including Finalist of competition CIVC Ambassador Europeen du Champagne Denis Garret International Sommelier,and winemaker and CEO at Cape-Town of Signal Hill Winery, Jean Vincent Ridon.
The awards:
A few highly recognized award will be given by this Jury of exception:
Best MCC of the year top3 Main sponsor Trophy
Best MCC Vintage top3 Hospitality Sponsor Trophy
Best MCC Blanc de Blancs top3 Member of the Jury Trophy
Best MCC blush top3 Member of the Jury Trophy
Best MCC Winemaker of the year Sponsor Trophy
Partners: