THE ARKLE RESTAURANT AT THE CHESTER GROSVENOR HOTEL HOSTS A SUPERB AND REFINED FINE WINE DINNER, THE WINES OF AGE DINNER.

SPONSORED BY THE LIBERATION TARDIVE FOUNDATION WITH ALL WINES OF TEN PLUS YEARS FROM THE WONDERFUL HOTEL CELLAR.

A full restaurant on the evening of 18th of July, experienced a somewhat unique dining occasion. The Master Chef of the Arkle restaurant, Elliot Hill and his team, had spent a great deal of time sampling and honeing the selection of dishes to pair with a superb selection of wines from 2012 back to 1997.

The full menu of wine and food is displayed at the end of this piece.

One participant commented; “Thank you for a splendid evening yesterday, Deborah and I thoroughly enjoyed your words of wisdom, most entertaining.

Attached are pictures of 3 bottles, one I mentioned was not 1954 but 1989, wine may improve with age, my memory certainly does not!”

Head Sommelier, Boris Filip put together a fabulous selection, starting with 2012 Vintage Taittinger, and finishing with Klein Constantia’s historic Vin de Constance, a favourite of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Russian Czars as well as Queen Victoria, and written about in Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensability, and by many other writers including Charles Dickens and Baudelaire.

Christopher Burr, Master of Wine and one of the founders of Liberation Tardive, along with David Pinchard, another of the original founders of the foundation team, were honoured to present the wines, whilst Chef Elliot explained his team’s food selection, which included a little surprise at the end not shown on the menu, of a blue cheese savoury, as Christopher wanted to demonstrate how the Vin de Constance performs with both desert and savoury dishes.

Christopher asked several guests at the end of dinner what they felt the highlights of the dinner were? Some found the German Kallstadter Dry Riesling a wonderful surprise, and the combination with the beautifully sweet Isle of Wight baby tomatoes and basil was certainly one of the pairing highlights.

Others found the Chateau Pape Clement Blanc incredibly intense and wonderfully complex, a wonderful counterpoint to wild Halibut with a champagne sauce.

For many, a real highlight were the Magnums of Domaine de Montille 1er Cru Rugiens 1997, for its lovely gentle texture, complex fruit and soft minerality, and the graceful and slow way this wine is ageing.

Alongside it was another highlight for many guests, the Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2008, one of the best wines from Bordeaux of that vintage, and now with an intensity and gentle power to pair with Chef’s exquisite Fillet of Beef with smoked marrow.

Christopher filled his comments about the wines with a mass of stories about his life’s experience in wine, and with most of the producers of the evening’s treats. At one stage he stood on his chair to explain the elements which make a wine balanced and complex, much to the constanation of the Grosvenor’s General Manager, Neil Butler, who hung on to him in case he fell, nervous if the Hotel’s insurance would cover such an accident!

Other attendees said: “What a splendid evening at The Grosvenor. Christopher’s unbounded knowledge of wine was most illuminating and his jocular anecdotes very entertaining. Chef Elliot’s menu was exceptional, it was interesting to hear of how he went about matching the food to wine, the opposite of a normal pairing.”
David & Deborah Starbuck-Edwards

Other comments and observations were that the superb food was served in absolutely the right size portions, and that the service, masterminded by Boris the Sommelier and Restaurant Manager Piotri Kasprzyk, was seamlessly smooth, timely and charmingly polite.

This was a triumph for the team at the Chester Grosvenor and a memorable occasion for all who attended.

THE MENU and WINES OF AGE:

Taittinger Brut Vintage 2012 Champagne	with Arkle canapes.
Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling 2015, Pfalz.	Isle of Wight tomatoes, essence, basil.
Chateau Pape Clement Blanc, 2012, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux.	Wild Halibut, champagne sauce, fennel, cucumber.
Domaine de Montille, Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens, 1997 en magnum, Burgundy. Chateau Leoville Poyferre,2008, Saint Julien Bordeaux.	Fillet of beef, smoked marrow, Roscoff onions. ” ” “
Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance 2014 South Africa.	Eton Mess, gin, English strawberries, verbena. Surprise, blue cheese and home-made sweet biscuit.

NB: A proper costing of the wines alone, compared with top London Hotel wine lists, was £400 per person, which made the evening phenomenal value.