Farsons Beverage Imports Company (FBIC) and Casa Ellul recently collaborated to present a very special evening, locally unprecedented. Very old and rare vintages of Bordeaux first growths were combined with dinner at Risette, an informal fine dining restaurant set within the elegant Casa Ellul, in the heart of Valletta.
The team at FBIC carefully chose a selection of wines from their cellars for this unique event. The evening commenced with two vintages of Château Haut-Brion Premier Cru Classé - 1926 and 1948. These wines were followed by a pair from Château Mouton Rothschild - 1947 and 1948 - actually from the time that Château Mouton Rothschild was still classified as a 2ème Cru Classé. Since old corks run the risk of breaking or disintegrating when using the traditional or Ghidini corkscrews, for these wines port tongs were used to cleanly decapitate the bottles. The process involved placing red-hot iron tongs on the neck of the bottle below the cork followed by the application of ice water with a brush. The drastic change in temperature cleanly broke the bottle neck at the point where the tongs were applied.
Following this unforgettable flight, the Farsons' wine team presented a second series of wines to accompany the dinner - Bollinger Grande Année 2004, Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc 2010, Château La Conseillante 2001, Château Pichon Longueville Baron 2006 and Château de Myrat 2006. All these wines were perfectly paired to an outstanding menu prepared by Risette's chef Andrew Borg. Andrew's extensive experience in kitchens throughout Europe has complemented and developed his devotion for fine cuisine. The menu combined cultures and methods into dishes which expressed Andrew's passion for flavours together with his mastery of techniques. The pairings of Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc 2010 with white asparagus cooked in sage butter, toasted hay custard and pistachios and Château de Myrat 2006 with nectarine and almond tart fine, wild thyme and honey ice-cream were probably the pairing highlights of the dinner.
Tasting notes capturing the rare flight of old First Growth wines
Château Haut-Brion 1926
Amazing softness and finesse. A clear ruby-garnet colour. The nose was expressive of old flowers, bruised peppers and ripe red fruit character. The palate had a strong fine tannin structure, with notes of cedar, tobacco, bitter chocolate and coffee. A medium plus finish lingered on the palate with a red apple tartness. An obvious influence of oxidation with hints of balsamic notes.
Château Haut-Brion 1948
A dusty garnet colour, nose showed more fruit with a hint of tar and decaying violets, light green pepper nose with cedar and savoury notes. The palate had a fresh acidity, with soft tannins that lingered on offering structure and length. The flavours were of tarty bruised raspberries with tertiary flavours of cedar, earth, savoury and tobacco.
Château Mouton Rothschild 1947
A murky ruby-garnet colour. The nose had an amaro note with eucalyptus, bitter caramel, wet soil, mushrooms, Turkish tobacco, spice and caramelised onions. Palate had an oxidative flavour, totally tertiary, cold coffee, with faint hints of bruised red fruit and decaying flowers.
Château Mouton Rothschild 1948
A great Pauillac expression. The wine had a deeper ruby colour than the 1947. An amazing wine that showed great character on the nose with balsamic, eucalyptus, decaying flowers, cooked mushrooms and a faint hint of baked fruit. Palate was much softer with velvety tannins, palate had a noticeable acidity with flavours of balsamic, eucalyptus, decaying flowers and a strong earthy element.