Thursday 29 October 2009

Taipei is cool! Taipei loves Bordeaux!

Wide awake ! We had an outstanding dinner at Joyce East.

As this is one of Bryan’s locals, they didn’t mind that I’d brought my own bottle for the evening – a Leoville Lascases 1994 – and just look at the photo of him scrutinising the bottle !

The wine was just what we expected - still vibrantly youthful with fabulous elegance, complexity and length. Seriously scrumptious and perfect way to wind down after what felt like the longest day.


I drifted off last night to the sound of Taiwanese voices on TV, which brought back lovely memories of being out here as a child visiting my mother’s family.

Today is going to be a busy day as I’m off to check out the local wine retail scene and meet with potential business partners - it’s a long-term dream to open a Max Wine Gallery here in Taipei. One should never stop dreaming and meeting people …

greetings from Taipei !!

Back on the blog !

I finally arrived jet-lagged and tired in Taipei earlier today. After checking in to the fabulous Far Eastern Plaza Hotel (
www.shangri-la.com/en/property/taipei/fareasternplaza), I quickly went about my tried and tested ‘jet lag beating’ routine – an invigorating run to get my bearings, soak up local culture and get my legs moving after such a long time in a tin can, a luxurious warm shower and then the spiciest food I can find to wake up my palate. Works every time !

I love being in Asia and simply have to have a bowl of Wonton Noodle Soup before I do anything else. It just doesn’t taste the same anywhere else.

After a bit of email catch-up with the guys back home to see how the Wine Gallery is going, I'm now going to meet Bryan - an old friend and a BIG Bordeaux wine lover! Bryan, who is a successful private banker, is seriously passionate about Bordeaux – so much so that he’s even started blogging about it ! Check out
http://blog.xuite.net/bryan868/king868 - scroll down past the seal (yes, you read that properly) to see his tasting notes on Potensac, Angelus, Palmer, Pavillon Rouge and Petit Cheval. I can’t wait to show him the Wine Gallery – he’d go insane.

we're going to a restaurant called Joyce East, which is apparently a modern French restaurant with an amazing wine cellar. Hope they won't mind that I've brought my own surprise for Bryan ...

good news from back home

fantastic article in the local press - perfect timing just before a sunny weekend ...

http://www.bordeauxactu.com/VIN-Max-Bordeaux-et-la-Wine.html

Friday 23 October 2009

the full list of wines currently on tasting

Ausone 2006
Cheval Blanc 2006
Latour 2006
Lafite Rothschild 2006
Mouton Rothschild 2006
Haut Brion 2006
Margaux 2006
Yquem 2004
Domaine de Chevalier blanc 2006
Carbonnieux blanc 2006
Angelus 2006
Clerc Milon 2006
Armailhac 2006
Cos d’Estournel 2004
Ducru Beaucaillou 2006
Duhart Milon 2006
L’Evangile 2006
Figeac 2006
Haut Bailly 2004 & 2006
Léoville Barton 2004 & 2006
La Conseillante 2004 & 2006
La Lagune 2004 & 2006
La Mission Haut Brion 2004 & 2006
Léoville Lascases 2004 & 2006
Lynch Bages 2004 & 2006
Montrose 2004 & 2006
Palmer 2004 & 2006
Pichon Longueville Baron 2004 & 2006
Pichon Longueville Comtesse 2004 & 2006
Pontet Canet 2004 & 2006
Smith Haut Lafitte 2006
Vieux Château Certan 2004 & 2006


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the first night !!

"Stan the man" with the very first Max Bordeaux/Wine Gallery credit card.

To explain how it works - these are pay-as-you-go cards that you can credit with as much or as little money as you like. Once loaded up, you chose from the 48 wines on offer, insert the card, chose the size of glass, and off you go on your wonderful journey through Bordeaux's most famous chateaux without leaving the comfort of the city centre
.



People really got into last night - some even charged their cards up three times, which is hardly surprising when you consider the list of 48 wines available.

Note the three different tasting glass sizes.


We have six Enomatic machines at the Wine Gallery. These machines have rapidly become the "must have" in top wine bars around the world.
So how do these machines actually work ? In a nutshell,
they are pretty much like the big stainless steel tanks used in wineries. When
you remove wine from the bottle, the space is filled
with an inert gas, which prevents the rest of the bottle from oxidising. Incredibly simple, but a revolution in wine tasting as they allow a far greater number of wines to be tasted by the glass without loss or deterioration of precious wine.

For more details on how it works, click on http://www.enomatic.it/website/default.asp?catIDPadre=37&catID=38



This is the amzingly cool work of art installed high above the Wine Gallery by Bun Than Huynh.

There are over 600 glasses hanging from the ceiling. It may look like beautifully random raindrops, but the position of each glass is actually calculated to the most minute detail to correspond to an algorhythmic pattern.

a little teaser ... more photos tomorrow morning. now, I have to sleep !
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Thursday 22 October 2009

the key to happiness ...

here is this season's new "must have" accessory !

seriously, we've just checked that they work and we're all set for tonight (because wouldn't that be a nightmare to have hundreds of invitées with high expectations, 48 scrumptuous wines and not being able to get to them !)

excitement levels are currently off the radar.

more soon ...

Wednesday 21 October 2009

who says nothing ever happens in Bordeaux ?

Tomorrow sees the opening of our first Max Wine Gallery – slap-bang in the centre of Bordeaux, on the famous Cours de l’Intendance.

So, what’s a Wine Gallery?

The Wine Gallery is an informal, interactive space that offers a unique opportunity to taste some of Bordeaux’s most prestigious wines – wines that are ordinarily only available to a very lucky (and wealthy) few.

Unlike anything else that exists in Bordeaux, the Wine Gallery will allow you to make up your own tasting.

Forty-eight wines will be available at any given time from our six “enomatic” machines, the latest technology for keeping wines in optimum condition. It’s up to you whether you taste them all, go deep into a particular area, pick’n’mix from your favourites, or just pop in for a quick glass of something special after a hard day’s work. The Wine Gallery is what you make it.

We’re in the final furlong now. The official opening is tomorrow night and we’re all gripped by a mix of exhilaration and first-night nerves. I did toy with the idea of putting photos up on the blog before the big night, but I think that it’s best that you see the venue in all its (finished) splendour.

26 hours and counting …