After a month-long pre-launch campaign for the much-awaited Albert Bichot wines, the public and the press turned up to celebrate the official launch at Mezè on Tuesday, 5 April.
The launch was preceded by two wine tasting sessions presented by Albert Bichot’s own export director and wine-maker, Ariff Jamal. The morning session was attended by leading restaurateurs and some ITS students, to whom Dr Jamal gave a colourful display and explanation of the wines and the company’s philosophy along with a general explanation of the wine-making process, which was followed by a commented tasting of four wines.
The whites: a chardonnay from their Château de Dracy and a Chablis from their prestigious and renowned domain Château Long Depaquit, were analysed and highly appreciated. The reds: demonstrating their strengths in the two major French producing regions – the Châteauneuf du Pape from the Rhone Valley and the Nuits-Saint-Georges from their Domain Clos de Frantin – also received delightful cheers from the participants.
Dr Jamal proudly remarked that the Maltese pallet composition is well-developed and complex and should be compensated and complemented with an equally demanding and composed wine.
The evening wine-tasting session was very well attended, with members of the press, members from Il-Qatra and other wine-lovers all having a fair share of wine and some tips by Dr Jamal who emphasised, that “Tasting a wine is a crucial moment of passion, as what the eye sees, and the nose smells – the mouth must taste.”
Over 200 people attended the launch party, including Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo and Labour Party secretary-general Jason Micallef. The French hors d’ouevres, provided by Mezè, were exquisite, and blended perfectly with the rest of the night. With a live Jazz band in the background, flowing wine and a lovely crowd, the night was definitely a winner.
Andre Grech, director of Mirachem Marketing Ltd who import and distribute Albert Bichot wines, said: “After a tense and intensive preparation, subjected to unstable weather, the evening proved relaxing, as I was pleased to see the positive response and the presence of most of the invitees which proved my conviction that our market is now ready for quality wine.”
The Albert Bichot wine selection includes wines from most of the major producing regions of France stretching from Chablis to the South of France. It includes jewels from Cote de Nuits such as Gevrey Chambertin, Vosne Romanèe, Côte de Beaune, where they have various monopolies like the Pommard, going down to the south of Côte Chalonnaise and Côte Mâconnais where they are the proud owners of two châteaux, not forgetting to mention their domain Montou in Beaujolais and the château in Côte de Rhône.
Apart from this range of wines, they also equally produce wines from Languedoc Roussillon where they have a selection of their varieties including Merlot and Cabernet.
After a great night and some interesting wine, we will definitely hear more about Albert Bichot in the very near future.
For trade enquiries, please call Mirachem Marketing Ltd on 2144-3545.