Wine Review: Montecillo Crianza 2011


Varietals: Tempranillo (90%) and Graciano (10%)
Region: Rioja, Spain
Producer: Bodegas Montecillo SA
Alcohol: 13.5%

This deep ruby wine features medium woody, spicy and fruity aromas; on the palate are flavors of cedar, vanilla and sweet, jammy red and black fruits; fleshy tannins with long length.

Suggested Food Pairing
This is a versatile food wine. Enjoy with spicy dishes, paella, tapas and beef stew.

89/100

Champagne Launch: Moët & Chandon’s Golden Premium Jeroboam… “Message ON a Bottle”

Lavishly wrapped in gold leaves and hand-gilt by French artisan Arthus Bertrand, each limited edition Golden Premium Jeroboam will come with a marked gold medallion and an Epernay wax seal. The traditional handcrafted Moet & Chandon ribbon is also part of the luxe bottle’s decoration. Moët & Chandon has made each bottle unique, by offering a special pen so the consumer can create a special moment of celebration. Personalization is very important in Moet & Chandon’s tradition, they have created numerous custom bottles for special events, including the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the wedding of Grace of Monaco.

Liz Palmer
@champagnehouses

World’s 50 Best Bars 2011 Announced

PDT, New York

The 2011 World’s 50 Best Bars list has been published, in partnership with sponsor Stolichnaya. This year, New York speakeasy PDT (“Please Don’t Tell”) took the top spot, with London hotel bars The Connaught and the Artesian in second and third place.

Back to New York for number 4 with Death & Co. A full list of the Top 50 can be seen below.

The poll was conducted by World’s 50 Best Bars editor Lucy Britner and US drinks writer Camper English. The pair canvassed around 100 bar professionals including the Playboy Club’s Salvatore Calabrese, King Cocktail Dale DeGroff, Esquire US’s David Wondrich and diamond ice-carver Hidetsugu Ueno. We believe this is the first time that the top names in the industry have come together to vote for their favourite bars – making it our most authoritative list to date.

These votes were coupled with global votes from 100 bars polled or featured in the 2010 list. Votes were received from every continent and bars in 16 countries made the top 50.

Lucy Britner said: “This year, voters have walked through phone booths and wardrobes, rung bells on unmarked doors and called to book appointments in order to file their nominations for the World’s 50 Best Bars. The list seems to pay homage to the speakeasy- style bar, which goes hand-in-hand with knowing how to create the classics, unearth old recipes and recreate forgotten ingredients.

“At the same time, voters are romanced by exquisitely decorated hotel bars that serve beautifully prepared drinks, made by immaculately turned-out bartenders. The wealth of diversity and expertise in the bar scene makes this one of the most exciting lists to date.”

1. PDT, New York

2 Connaught, London

3 Artesian, London

4 Death & Co. New York

5 Milk & Honey, London

6 American Bar at the Savoy, London

7 69 Colebrooke Row, London

8 Drink, Boston US

9 Harry’s New York Bar, Paris

10 Black Pearl, Melbourne, Australia

11 Pegu Club, NY

12 Dry Martini Bar, Barcelona

13 Eau De Vie, Sydney

14 Bramble, Edinburgh

15 Employees Only, New York

16 La Capilla Bar, Mexico

17 Merchant Hotel, Belfast

18 Nightjar, London

19 Smuggler’s Cove, San Francisco

20 Buddha Bar, Paris

21 Skyview Bar, Dubai

22 The Varnish, Los Angeles

23 Tippling Club, Singapore

24 Milk & Honey, New York

25 878 Bar, Buenos Aires

26 Der Raum, Melbourne

27 Callooh Callay, London

28 Clover Club, New York

29 Door74, Amsterdam

30 Tommy’s, San Francisco

31 Floridita, Havana

32 City Space, Moscow

33 Matterhorn, Wellington, NZ

34 High Five Bar, Tokyo

35 Le Lion, Hamburg

36 LAB, London

37 Boadas, Barcelona

38 Dutch Kills, New York

39 Worship St Whistling Shop, London

40 BarAgricole, San Francisco

41 Papa Doble, Montpellier

42 Quo Vadis, London

43 Lounge Bohemia, London

44 Mayahuel, New York

45 Mutis, Barcelona

46 Ruby, Copenhagen

47 Rules, London

48 Hemingway Bar, Paris

49 Zuma, Dubai

50 Star Bar, Tokyo

Liz Palmer
@champagnehouses

Pol Roger launches Nathalie Garçon Gift Box For The Holiday Season

On the occasion of Christmas and New Year, the House of Champagne Pol Roger has asked fashion designer Nathalie Garçon to dress a box. He has designed this elegant and stylish box with two drawers. At the top drawer lies a scarf of velvet and satin in gold and black hues. This inspiration was taken from Nathalie Garçon’s winter collection. The second drawer contains a bottle of Pol Roger Vintage 2000 vintage.

This divine vintage nectar is made up of a blend of Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%) from premier and grand crus.

This is a Christmas gift that will please most! (250 €)

Liz Palmer
@champagnehouses

IT’S HARVEST TIME IN CHAMPAGNE !

The 2011 Champagne harvest has begun and with a combination of early flowering, low rain levels in the spring and plenty of summer sun make it one of the earliest picking seasons since 1822, the Champagne Bureau said Friday.

Three grape varieties, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, are being harvested across the French region and weather forecasts are favorable for the next few days.

“As we celebrate another successful harvest from this unique region, we are reminded of the importance that location plays in every bottle of wine and renew our call on the United States to join the majority of the rest of the world in reserving the term Champagne only for wines made with grapes from this specific place,” said Sam Heitner, U.S. director of the Champagne Bureau.

“This year, the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), the region’s trade body, has raised the amount of grapes that can be harvested in a given area to 12,500 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha),” says Heitner. “They believe that this will keep Champagne on track to meet the growing demand. This is good news for Champagne enthusiasts everywhere, as more people will be able to enjoy real Champagne, which can only come from Champagne, France.”

Liz Palmer

Wine and Travel Writer
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