Wine taster says the right bottle is up to you
Wine taster says the right bottle is up to you
By Harry Bhaskara
JAKARTA (JP): "It is very difficult to say which wine is the
best because it depends on the individual," said Madame May-
Eliane de Lencquesaing.
To Lencquesaing, a great name in the world of wine lovers, the
statement she made in front of an audience of 80 people at the
William Kafe Artistik at the end of November summed up her
personality.
With a 300-year history of winemaking in her family, she
certainly knows what she is talking about. The statement of this
lovely woman, who looks much younger than her 75 years, reflected
her modesty and honesty.
"Like art and music, one's affinity to a wine depends on
personal choice. Some may like Picasso and Mozart, others Van
Gogh or Beethoven," she said prior to her tutorial and wine
tasting program at the artistic cafe in South Jakarta.
Lencquesaing, proprietor and administrator of the famous
Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in France, treated
the audience to a range of vintages, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, and
closed with vintages 1990, 1985 and 1975 (magnum).
The guests, more women than men, regularly held their wine
glasses and turned them in a circular motion on the table before
placing them in front of their noses to smell the bouquet.
They held high standards and knew the quality stuff from the
mediocre. A guest who sat next to me and one who sat in front of
me immediately asked for a substitute.
"This is a very common thing to happen and it happens to all
kinds of wine. Sometimes the cork leaks and we know about it
right away after we smell it," said one.
He said that there have been discussions to change the
technology of capping the wine bottles but so far the cork has
remained.
As the guests dined on their first course of French Spring
Chicken Salad and Black Truffles preceded by four different
aperitif wines, including the famous Chateau Bernadotte, the
energetic Lencquesaing revealed part of the history of her wine-
making family.
She said winemaking was traditionally done by women, including
her family.
"Perhaps because it is like giving birth to a child," she
said. "Every year there is a new vintage."
Her famous chateau of 300 years is owned by only two families.
"Imagine the love it takes to keep it running," she said,
adding, "women are beautiful wine makers".
Like a weather forecast expert, she recalled in detail the
characteristics of the season of a vintage produced by her
chateau.
One season may be very hot and dry, another rainy, and all of
these factors have their respective effects on the wine produced.
She also recalled the difficult days in the 1930s and 1940s
when a succession of tragedies occurred in France, including
World War II.
"For 10 years there was no wine to sell. We removed the
furniture from our houses and sold them to pay the workers," she
said.
When the Germans took the horses, she said, her family
resorted to using cows to plow their vineyards.
The 75-hectare vineyard of Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse
de Lalande is located in the lands of Pauillac, bordering that of
Chateau Latour. It extends into the terrain of Saint-Julien.
John Read, editor of In Vino Veritas, a Jakarta-based wine
magazine, said that the history of wine dates back 10,000 years.
"So it preceded Christianity and Islam," he said.
He has a way to test whether a wine is good or bad.
"Pour just a little wine, about one-eighth of a glass. Hold
the glass quite tightly on the surface of the table and make a
quick circular movement three or four times.
"Then hold the glass high and position your eyes in a straight
line with light or lamp in the room. If it is a good wine you
will notice in the inside of the glass very thin traces of wine
drops," he said
"One form that the wine drops can take follows a linear line
where the wine surface passes the inside wall of the glass during
the shaking. This one is called the 'body' by wine lovers. The
other drops are vertical lines, hence the name 'legs'".
He added: "Yes, wine has both a body and legs, just like human
beings."
And how did Lencquesaing's wine fare against this test? We
tried the 1995 vintage and yes, it did have "body and legs".
Lencquesaing said 1995 was a very special year. The vintage
was on the top list that year.
A guest who is a director of a giant cigarette company said
that there was a renewed interest in wine in the last 10 years.
"People believe that it could help to enhance your health," he
said.
Another guest said: "We never have quality evenings like this
in Jakarta. Not like in other places."
William Wongso, proprietor of William Kafe, told The Jakarta
Post that Jakarta was usually shunned by wine experts.
"Most of the time while they are making an Asian swing they
stop in Singapore," he said.