(L to R) Antonello Passa, General Manager of the
Royal Cliff Hotels Group; Berenger Le Boursicot, the current Export Manager
for Southeast Asia & the Middle East of Borie Manoux: Bordeaux Wine
Negociant & Classified Estates owner; Panga Vathanakul, Managing Director of
the Royal Cliff Hotels Group; and Anirut Posakrisna, the owner and chairman
of Sri Siam Co., Ltd.
Dr. Iain Corness
One of the premier wine clubs in Pattaya is at the Royal Cliff Beach
Hotel, where it has been since 2001. Now called the deVine Wine Club, the
members were invited to a special French wine dinner called “La Route des
Vins de Bordeaux”. This was promoted as a great opportunity for French wine
lovers to indulge in excellent Bordeaux wines which are internationally
recognized for distinguished quality and inimitable flavors, with the wines
supplied by K. Anurut’s Wine Dee Dee Company.
The evening began with a cocktail reception at Sunset Terrace Lobby and Bar
at Royal Cliff Beach Terrace with dinner at the Royal Grill Room and Wine
Cellar. Executive Chef Walter Thenisch even supplied Brittany Oysters
Vichyssoise which were washed down (nobody eats only one oyster, do they?)
with Veuve Chantal Brut Blanc de Blancs NV Borie-Manoux.
(L to R) Bantawat Kerkpittaya,
Patt Srinoi, the Managing Director of Sri Siam Co., Ltd.; Anirut Posakrisna,
the owner and chairman of Sri Siam Co. Ltd.; and Suchart Suksawad, Beverage
Manager at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group.
To comment knowledgably on the wines was Berenger Le
Boursicot who has received Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) diplomas
from the Ecole du Vin de France and Vinecole in France. Monsieur Berenger is
also the current export manager for Southeast Asia and the Middle East of
Borie-Manoux, Bordeaux Wine ‘negociant’ and owner of Classified Estates who
added to the ambience of the evening, making it both enjoyable and
enlightening for the members and guests. Having a Frenchman describing his
own wines brings out the Gallic passion!
The oven-roasted barramundi
steak with Belgian endives was a most pleasant dish.
Some facts which may interest you - a Bordeaux wine is
any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France, centered on the city of
Bordeaux and covering the whole area of the Gironde department, with a total
vineyard area of over 120,000 hectares, making it the largest wine growing
area in France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of
Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some
of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world. Eighty-nine
percent of wine produced in Bordeaux is red, with sweet white wines (most
notably Sauternes), dry whites, and (in much smaller quantities) rosé and
sparkling wines (Crémant de Bordeaux) collectively making up the remainder.
Bordeaux wine is made by more than 8,500 producers or châteaux. This puts
Bordeaux wines and producers at the center of the old world wine producers,
but also at the forefront of modern viticulture.
Berenger Le Boursicot.
After the cocktail reception (and another couple of
Vichyssoise oysters) we were settled and the opening welcome was given by
the Royal Cliff GM Antonello Passa who introduced the guest speaker Berenger
Le Boursicot.
Our first course was a mackerel and Tasmanian salmon tartar with fruit de
mer and fava beans on saffron sauce and mussel foam (which was delightful,
by the way). This was taken with a Bordeaux Sauvignon A.B.C., Turpin Freres
et Riout, 2012. Whilst there were some people who enjoyed this wine, I
personally found it a little lacking in character and finish - but as I
always impress upon wine drinkers, appreciation is always very personal.
We finished with an amazingly
artistic dessert.
The next course featured oven-roasted barramundi steak
with Belgian endives. I was most taken aback to find that the barramundi did
not come from Australia, but from Trat. However, no matter where it came
from, this was a most pleasant dish. The white wine that came with it was a
Bordeaux Blanc Chateau du Pin, Borie-Manoux 2010. A stronger wine, which was
preferred by most of the deVine Club members.
The main course was a grain fed Charolaise fillet from Australia, with the
first red, a Chateau Movinon Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Controlee Vignobles
Tribaudeau, 2008. This wine had body, but very heavy on tannins (which did
become less after sitting and breathing for a few minutes).
The main course was a grain
fed Charolaise fillet from Australia.
A cheese selection was next, along with the wine of the
night. This was a Chateau Trotte Vieille Saint-Emilion, premier Grand-Cru
Classe, Borie-Manoux 2006. Monsieur Berenger attributed this wine’s
excellence to the ‘terroir’ of clay over limestone. The wine was 50 percent
Merlot and 50 percent Cabernet Franc and came from one of the top 12
Bordeaux chateaux.
We finished with an amazingly artistic dessert and a sweet Chateau Suduiraut
Sauternes Premier Cru Classe, 2006, which I did enjoy with my sweet tooth.
It was another tour de force from the deVine Wine Club.
Antonello Passa, General
Manager of the Royal Cliff Hotels Group along with deVine Wine Club members
enjoying the sumptuous dinner and excellent food and wine pairings during
Royal Cliff’s “La Route des Vins de Bordeaux: French Wine Dinner”.
