a lick and a promise

Out tasting. Back soon! 

Stay tuned. 

Beyond brand - the real revolution in perfume

Edmond Roudnitska in his garden

creator of perfumes for Dior, Rochas and Hermes

Oh you lovely reclusive Perfumers! 

Come out from hiding behind those faceless multinationals! 

Ever since Frederic Malle's Editions de Parfums (2000) there has been a profound new interest in the people behind the famous signature perfumes. For the first time the author of the perfume is promoted on the label just as an author on the cover of a book. 

So who are these artists behind the perfumes we wear and cherish?

In the spirit of celebrating the 'perfume authors,' Basenotes website interviewed 50 of the most famous Perfumers in the world today and asked them, who would they choose, "if they could travel back to the time of their choosing to meet, chat and co-create with a perfumer past?" 

Like other arts, it shows how scent has the power to traverse space and time. This is a most fascinating collection of interviews, thanks to Marian Bendeth of Basenotes. 

Link: Scent Treks through Time

 

back to basics

3 types of French Lavender 

Vouillez Patienter. That's the command from ATM machines and toll-gates in France. Oh, how I enjoyed the irony of a machine telling me to have patience. 

Lately I have had a happy respite from machines, including computers; instead, I have been taking in the smells of the ocean road in France along the Basque country between Biarritz and San Sebastien.

There's something wild about this country, similar in many ways to the Australian coastline. Although the smells were different - not mint or menthol, instead, thyme and lavender. Both have the lovely fresh spray of the sea. 

So thanks for being patient. For a while there, I only had the ability to smell disgusting things! Now I have refreshed the senses I am back to enjoying wine aromas with renewed awareness. 

I hope you can join me for a glass or six. 

P.S. If you are serious in fine-tuning your sense of smell then I recommend the Le Nez du Vin set of 54 wine aromas in phials. Just as you learn the piano from practicing scales, you learn scents from isolating smells to the nose. This is how I started out learning about wine tasting ten years ago and I highly recommend the investment. 

 

who's that girl?

Link: bruised Madonna

subatomic

"These days the scientists are looking for quarks, strange subatomic entities, having qualities which they describe with such words as upness, downness, charm, strangeness, truth, beauty, colour, and flavor." - Mu Soeng Sunim

Link: whisky river

waiting for Brunello di Montalcino 2004

I've been in the lush waiting room for what seems like forever.

The agony and the ecstasy!

I'm talking about the forthcoming release of the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino.

If you love Brunelli, you'll know what I'm talking about.

The 2004 vintage.

And maybe you'll even agree with me when I say Riserva Brunello di Montalcino has a strong semblance to a premier cru Burgundy from the Cote d'Or (even though of course, Brunello is made from Sangiovese and Burgundy is made from Pinot). At nearly half to two-thirds the price.

The best of both wines from these regions have an ethereal quality, sometimes a lighter rose colour, layers of complexity and elegance.

Although, to my mind, Brunello has a "savoury" character rather than the classic Burgundy "barnyard".

To give you an idea of what to expect, here is my tasting notes for the 2003 Poggio di Sotto (£69 per bottle), which is a 'lesser vintage' than 2004 (!) -

Infinite jest. Light in colour, light-bodied but also complex like a gymnast with an intricate ribbon routine (erm, yes I did write that!). Licorice, red cherry, white pepper and smooth balsamic notes with a deliciously tannic finish that becomes more refined over time. Want more and more. Where does the story go...? A revelation.

Another good thing about Brunello di Montalcino, especially en primeur Brunello (and most will be sold this way due to the high demand and the small boutique nature of the producers in Tuscany) is you know what to expect when you put in an order.

This is because the a part of the Brunello wine can be put aside for the Rosso di Montalcino,which is released soon after the vintage (from a year to 18 months afterwards). I guess it's a way for everyone to have something to drink, and sell, while the Brunelli is holding in oak for five years.

Hence all this salivation in anticipation.

What do I want to taste?

I am looking forward to tasting Brunello di Montalcino Riserva from Poggio di Sotto, Tenuta il Poggione, Salvioni and Livio Sassetti's Pertimali (if I can find it).

Like the equally anticipated vintage release of 2005 Bordeaux, these will be good to drink now as well as have excellent cellaring potential.

And, similar to the 2005 Bordeaux vintage, these boutique wines will be expensive. There's no doubt about it. And I'm not even factoring in the current strong Euro against the pound.

Link: Brunello di Montalcino

Link: on WWS Casanova di Nieri

Bob Dylan... on cheap wine

Hey! Thank you for sending me Theme Time Radio Hour on "Drinking" (hosted by Bob Dylan).

What's the reaction?

Satisfaction.

What's the flavour?

Ask your neighbour.

Link: More Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan on BBC Radio 2

Link: more wine and Dylan on WWS Fattoria Le Terraze and Rainy Day Women

welcome

rebel

Link: Rebel's Hotbed by Jay Trevor

Casanova di Neri

Brunello di Montalcino, Casanova di Neri, £37

Here's the dilemma.

But first let me tell you about the wine.

It is not easy. To be honest, it's downright difficult.

You won't like it.

You'll find it flat, deflated.

And it's half an hour already!

(Stop here if you have to rush off.)

The fruit reluctantly edges around the darkness with a savoury aftertaste.

Only tasted on the second swallow.

(Do you really have time for this?)

It's going to take you at least 1-2 hours to decant and then 5-7 hours to drink.

(Leaving already?)

Too bad.

Now every single taste is different, asking questions, tempting you then turning away to reveal another layer of brilliance.

Expectations are overturned, tastes are reversed, everything is a surprise.

It's a long journey with someone you just met. But at the end of the trip feel like you've known forever.

But do you have the patience to endure a wine to allow it to reveal itself, tell it's story and be itself with all its flaws and surprises. In other words, be in conversation with what your palate is asking?

I just don't know another living person who'd invest the time needed to understand it AND who'd GET IT.

The art of seduction is takes TIME.

This is a difficult wine and not many people will have the luxury of time.

Better not even start it. More than two people, it'd be wasted.

.

.

.

To understand the story.

Better to have it all,

alone.

mother's money and daddy's scotch

Link: Raymond Pettibon gallery

1934 Chateau Margaux

Marlene Dietriech, 1934, Paramount

I recently tasted the 1934 Chateau Margaux at The Sampler in Islington. 

This was one of the early 20th century's great vintages and if any wine was going to make it to the 21st century, then this big, tannic First Growth Bordeaux from this great pre-war vintage would be it (the next great vintage was the Victory Vintage of 1945). 

Notes: Translucent, like pale brown-pink tissue paper, very thin and almost dried rose leaves. The tannins exhausted (which is fair - although, who knows whether there were perfect cellaring conditions?) and unfortunately, bordering on vinegary. But, where had it been for the past 74 years? 

Cellaring has to be a consideration. Had it crossed the Atlantic a couple of times - like Marlene Deitriech? When was the rest of the case drunk - during World War II, or after World War II - as a celebration? 

The great Michael Broadbent notes on this wine are telling. He notes it is "favourite '34. So very Margaux. Yet, and yet, the decay of the 1930s noted quite early, even in the mid-1950s, certainly by the early 1970s. But it soldiers on."

Perhaps the 1934 Margaux was no longer pleasurable as a table wine, but who would buy it to drink like any other wine? Certainly, as a living time capsule, it gave a glimpse of the eternal pleasures first growth Bordeaux gives and gives and gives. 

shelves crowded with perfumes

Houses and rooms are full of perfumes, the shelves are crowded with perfumes, 

I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,

The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it. 

From Songs of Myself, Walt Whitman

Link: photo by Tim Walker 

New Years Eve champagne

Still recovering.

I know - a week after New Years' Eve. 

Drank some very good champagne - and it is worthy to note, because it happens so rarely - one after another. 

Ruinart Rose NV followed by 1999 Dom Perignon, 1995 Krug with a chaser of NV Krug. 

I've never tasted Dom Perignon beside Krug. Either it's one or the other. The two champagnes don't often mix in the same circles. 

Yin and yang. 

Dom Perignon is delicate, lacy and feminine. Krug is biscuity and masculine - although still very elegant and refined.  

At least now I know why Dom Perignon is Marlene Dietreich's favourite champagne.

Let 2009 sparkle on!