An Afternoon With Chateau Margaux: Marriage of Kebabs & Fine Wines Isn't Fated to be Doomed

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

VILLA MEDICI, the rooftop banqueting space of The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi, came alive on Saturday afternoon with one of the world's finest wines, the warmth and conversations that only such pleasures can inspire, and the re-ignition of an old debate in food and wine pairing. Can Indian food, which can be as complex, textured and flavourful as a full-bodied Bordeaux red, and fine wine make for a good marriage? This was the question at the core of the discussion that was conducted with aplomb by Dhruv Sawhney, CMD, Triveni Engineering, who is without doubt Delhi's wine encyclopaedia and a connoisseur in the true sense of the word (and not in the way it is loosely interpreted today).

CHEERING THE PLEASURES OF WINE AND
FOOD: (From left) Mumbai-based wine importer
Sanjay Menon, Chateau Margaux's managing
director Paul Pontallier, Alexandra
Petit-Mentzelopoulos and Thibault Pontallier
at the wine-and-kebab pairing at Villa Medici,
The Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road

Before I go on to describe the day's proceedings, where we experienced an extraordinary duet between Executive Chef Amit Chowdhury's kebabs and three wines from Chauteau Margaux, I must say I found the answer I have always been seeking in the concluding observation by Paul Pontallier, Chateau Margaux's managing director and chief architect of its return to glory along with its owner, Corrine Mentzelopoulos.

"A good pairing between food and wine is like a successful marriage," he said. "For a marriage to be successful, one of the partners has to tone down his or her personality. Similarly, for a pairing to work, the food and the wine cannot both have strong personalities." He also had another gem to offer: a happy pairing is all about "matching the pleasure of food with the pleasure of wine". Only a Frenchman could make the experience sound so magical -- and it was indeed so, for we were able to see for ourselves the fallacy of the blanket statement that Indian food and fine wines don't match.

We tasted for ourselves the truth of Pontallier's pronouncement. The miniature galouti kebabs served on baby sheermal, a challenge to match with any wine in the best of times because of the diverse spices (32 in all) these are spiked with, clearly prevailed over the Chateau Margaux 2001, a deliciously well-developed wine whose aromatic finesse and tender tannins may have agreed better with a Dal Makhni.

As you can see, we didn't leave a drop behind!

By itself, the 2001 was a treat for the senses, but once we had the galouti, made without tweaking the spices, the wine disappeared off the palate and the spices, especially the clove, lingered. But the galouti made with mushroom was just right -- maybe because its recipe wasn't an exact copy of the lamb galouti, it had a mellow personality that agreed with the wine, so we were able to savour the kebabs without being denied the pleasure of the wine.

The galouti experience, after two rounds of perfect matches, underlined the challenges of pairing Indian food with the fine wines (or grand vin) of Bordeaux. We were five of us -- acclaimed restaurant critic Marryam Reshii, celebrated sommelier Magandeep Singh, Indian Wine Academy's founder-president Subhash Arora, blogger Karina Aggarwal and Ajay Khullar of India Today Travel Plus -- and our hosts, apart from Pontallier, Sawhney and Chowdhury, were the Taj General Manager Satyajeet Krishnan, Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos, Corrine's younger daughter and head of the India market, Thibault Pontallier, Paul's son and the very well-spoken brand ambassador of Chateau Margaux for Asia based in Hong Kong, and wine importer Sanjay Menon from Mumbai.

We all agreed on three points: the Pavillon Rouge 2003, the estate's second wine, was the clear winner and most Indian food-friendly; you cannot pair spice-heavy food and fine wines whose tannins haven't yet mellowed, so you have to hold back on the spice attack and choose a wine that had opened up; and the best pairing of the day was the one between the Pavillon Rouge 2003 and the zarkhanda kebabs, which had slivers of roasted lamb, prunes and pickled onion co-existing in happy togetherness. Alexandra, who can break into raptures over the paranthas (including one with a chocolate filling) she last had in Mumbai on one of her many private visits to India, assured us that she has only red wines with the Indian food that she cooks very often. "Don't be under the impression that I only drink Chateau Margaux," she said.

I asked Chef Chowdhury what 'zarkhanda' meant. He said he had no idea because chefs most often give names that don't mean anything! Chowdhury, incidentally, was recently included as one of the world's 50 great chefs by the New York-based photographer Melanie Dunea in her well-received book, The Last Supper, where she recorded the food fantasies of her well-known and much-celebrated subjects by asking them what would their last meal on earth be.

The Pavillon 2003, which has a four-centuries-old history, got Thibault talking. He reminded us that France experienced its hottest summer after 1893 in 2003, which isn't good news for any wine, yet it floored us with what his father described as "its combination of strength and gentle sweetness". Thibault pointed out that it was an example of a great terroir prevailing over a bad vintage. He then shared with us a thought to ponder over.

Unlike the grand signature wines of Bordeaux's celebrity estates, the seconds are not only substantially cheaper, but also "you need to wait less to drink it". The Pavillon 2003 was a testimonial to the joys of drinking a second wine of an estate whose signature wine, especially in our restaurants (a point Arora raised in his inimitable no-nonsense way), is miles beyond the means of most mere mortals. "It is a very good introduction to Chateau Margaux," Thibault said, and he wasn't exaggerating.

Before Andre Mentzelopoulos, Alexandra's grandfather, took over Chateau Margaux, Pavillon consumed 70 per cent of the estate's wine grapes and the best 30 per cent was earmarked for the signature wine; today, the wine grapes are divided into three parts -- one third for Chateau Margaux, another third for Pavillon, and the rest is used to make bulk wines. The same selectiveness goes into making the Pavillon Blanc (we tasted the 2009, which stood out because of its amazing perfume and long caress), Margaux's white wine made 100 per cent with Sauvignon Blanc. It was one of the finest expressions of Sauvignon Blanc I have tasted in many years and it paired like magic with the murgh makhmali seekh and the roasted spinach and corn kebabs on sugarcane skewers.

Unsurprisingly, not more than 60 per cent of the estate's Sauvignon Blanc production, from the 11 hectares reserved for the grape variety, goes into the wine, which translates to 1,000 bottles per hectare; the remaining grapes are sold off cheap to bulk wine producers. As Pontallier Senior emphasised, "It is our business to be the best."

Another point made by Thibault was that 2001 wasn't one of the most famous or the most expensive vintages of Bordeaux, yet we couldn't stop admiring the wine. "You must know how to choose a vintage," Thibault's father said, citing the 2004 for the "unbelievable value" it offered. "Don't only go for the huge vintages," Paul Pontallier, Bordeaux's elder statesman, declared. Those words, for me, summed up the philosophy of buying Bordeaux's fine wines. Don't be a snob and invest all your money only on best-selling wines. Also pick up the less-celebrated vintages because they, like the second wines, are cheaper and open up faster and have the depth to surprise you.

Dining With Miguel Torres, Rock Star of Spain's Wine World, Under A Banyan Tree at Sevilla

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

IT IS not every day that you get to sit next to a wine legend at a fabulous dinner in one of the finest restaurants of Delhi on an evening blessed by the weather gods. I am talking about Miguel Torres, the Decanter Man of the Year 2002 who re-wrote the rules of Spain's wine industry in his youth and now presides over land holdings stretching across 2,400 hectares in three continents and an annual turnover of 235 million euros (Rs 1,995 crore). The setting was Sevilla at The Claridges New Delhi, which is not only the best-looking venue to go out for dinner on a balmy night, but also the restaurant with the best Mediterranean menu in the city.

Miguel Torres, Decanter Man of
the Year 2002, is one of Spain's
most celebrated wine moguls.
Image: Courtesy of
Tulleeho.com 

The Torres wine evening on February 6, sponsored by Prestige Wines and Spirits, was made magical by Executive Chef Neeraj Tyagi and his younger colleague Rajiv Sinha, who presides over the restaurant's al fresco kitchen dominated by its prized possession -- a gleaming Josper oven that turns grimy as the evening progresses because it is kept very busy. Tyagi recently toured Britain and worked with some of the finest restaurants there to hone his skills, and these were on full display as the evening progressed.

The appetisers -- patatas bravas, dates wrapped with ham and a 'deconstructed' Spanish tortilla (the thick potato omelette) served innovatively in martini glasses -- set the mood for the evening. I got a chance to catch up with Atul Lall, who has taken over as the Area Vice-President of The Claridges after a fairly busy stint at Fairmont Jaipur -- his left foot was in a cast, but he looked every inch a Jodhpuri royal. I also got to chat with the director of Prestige Wines & Spirits, Sumit Sehgal (I learnt later that the Gautam Thapar company is in talks to add an Indian wine to its portfolio), the hotel's sprightly F&B Manager, Tarun Seth, and the young sommelier and wine educator, Gagan Sharma (I wonder if his bald pate, which matches that of his multi-talented boss, Magandeep Singh, is a mandatory requirement for employment at Wi-Not Beverage Solutions!). Gently flowing conversation, tasty finger food washed down by a Vina Esmeralda (the delicate and delightfully fragrant white wine from the Upper Penedes produced from Mosacatel de Alejandría and Gewürztraminer), followed by the refreshingly fruity and slightly sweet De Casta Rosado (grape varieties: Garnacha Tinta and Cariñena).

The gathering was eclectic. It included a host of Supreme Court lawyers led by the bon vivant and senior Supreme Court advocate, Parag Tripathi. The Spanish Ambassador, Gustavo Aristegui, a remarkable career diplomat who has also spent 16 years in public life (including 12 as MP), shared the head table with Torres, as did Delhi Wine Club President Subhash Arora, who reminded us in an informative speech that our distinguished visitor owned as many hectares as are under wine grape cultivation in India, and Reva Singh, Editor of Sommelier India: The Wine Magazine, who had met Torres late last year at the Wine Vision conference in London, where she was the speaker from India along with Sula Vineyards Founder-CEO Rajeev Samant.

Sommelier and wine educator Gagan Sharma
(extreme left) with the team that ensured we
got our wines on time and at the right
temperature. Image: Arun Varma

The service was initially slow, which gave us time to digest the corporate film screened at the start of the dinner and listen privately to the views of Torres on doing business with China. The conversation gathered momentum. The Spanish ambassador reminded us that his country has four restaurants ranked among the World Top Ten and that San Sebastian has more Michelin-starred restaurants per square mile than the whole of northern Europe. And then, Tyagi and Sinha rolled in their treats -- and what treats they were for the senses!

In between courses, the ambassador talked about China and India, about political will and economic development, about how he was able to juggle political and diplomatic careers without losing his seniority in service, about the long history of the Spanish ambassador's residence on Prithviraj Road, and about his embassy being among Spain's ten largest in the world. And when, in his concluding speech, he said he had already presided over five Torres dinners in two year and would like to do so 22 more times, if given a chance, he was speaking for all of us.

Here's the menu (with my comments) of the wine dinner, which we had under an ancient banyan tree, our conversations rudely interrupted at intervals by Ferraris screeching across the neighbouring road:

FIRST COURSE

Potato gnocchi stuffed with sobrassada (paprika-spiked sausage from the Balearic Islands), shaved Périgord black truffles (from France), sage butter and Parmigiano Reggiano crumble

My Take: Absolutely brilliant; this is what gastronomy is all about.

Or: Goat’s cheese gnocchi with sage butter, shaved black truffles and Parmigiano Reggiano crumble (I didn't go for this option)

Miguel Torres Milmanda 2011

Tasting Notes: Named after a historic castle at the Milmanda estate in the Conca de Barbera region, this brilliantly golden yellow single-estate Chardonnay has an intense, complex aroma with notes of fruit, citrus and peach compote, over a fine background of vanilla, and is big on the palate.

SECOND COURSE

Pan-roasted duck breast on compressed winter berry reduction  (I opted for the next)

Or: Mini phyllo-wrapped forest mushroom with romesco sauce (a nut-and-red pepper-based sauce from Tarragona, Catalunya)

My Take: It was a heaven-made marriage of forest mushroom and romesco sauce and the combination matched beautifully with the hearty red wine served with it.

Torres Mas La Plana 2009

Tasting Notes: This Cabernet Sauvignon from Penedes attained international stardom in 1979, when its 1970 vintage trumped a host of French greats, including Chateau Lafite. Its distinguishing characteristic is its intense aroma, great body and breadth on the palate, and juicy tannins that become balanced and elegant as the wine ages.

THIRD COURSE

Char-grilled Angus with spiced potato puree, grilled string beans, and roasted forest mushroom béarnaise sauce

Or: Majorcan pistachio-crusted, pan-seared Chilean Sea Bass with fennel air, chorizo and potato ragu

My Take: I chose the Chilean sea bass over the rest and regretted the decision only because it did not match with the wine. By itself, the dish was a triumph of simplicity over form, but maybe the buttery fish would have done better with a chorizo crust and not pistachio.

Or: Sous vide rack of lamb, black olive puree and pear glaze

Or: Saffron pancakes and ratatouille, mozzarella-filled eggplant timbale with goat’s cheese fondue

Miguel Torres Grans Muralles 2006

TASTING NOTES: A seductive combination of Garnacha and the lesser-known Mazuelo, Monastrell, Garró and Samsó grapes. Intense deep red with a purplish sheen, the wine has an aroma of exotic and profound complexity, incredibly rich body and structure, hints of spices (pepper and clove), shrubs (thyme) and ripe red berries (cranberry and redcurrant) over a background of smoke, vanilla and incense. The dense but sweet tannins open up and leave a lingering aftertaste that produces instant happiness.

DEGUSTATION OF CHOCOLATE

Bavarian citrus chocolate, five-spiced chocolate sauce, white chocolate and vanilla bean jelly, single- origin chocolate bar and raspberry sorbet on chocolate soil

Torres Floralis

TASTING NOTES: Made from the Moscatel grapes celebrated by Greeks and Roman epicures, the intensely aromatic dessert wine first tantalises the nose with its floral perfumes (rose, geranium and lemon verbena) and then flirts with the palate with its voluptuous mouth feel and delicate sensuality.

TEA/COFFEE

Torres Jaime I

TASTING NOTES: Served in a wavy bottle designed by the renowned Japanese architect Hiroya Tanaka, the brandy is drawn from the oldest soleras that started off as distilled Parellada wine, enriched by the best that are at least 30 years old, with a small amount of the 1972 eau de vie of Folle Blanche lees, the rarest of grapes used to make the highest-quality pot still brandies, added for intensity of aromas. Jaime I is deep, rich and dark amber brandy characterised by a concentrated complex bouquet, with marked overtones of coconut, dried fruits and spices. Round and lush, complex and majestic, it has a lingering finish that you'd want to sip gently as you absorb the grandness of the meal that you've just had.

Carlsberg India Launches French Premium Beer Kronenbourg to Target Upscale Audience

Kronenbourg Blanc, with its distinctive citrusy notes,
was the favourite of all those who tasted the French
beer at Le Cirque, The Leela Palace New Delhi

By Sourish Bhattacharyya

FOR THE discerning drinker, beer conjures up images of lager louts breaking into an orgiastic frenzy at football stadiums, not a brew to be had within the rarefied confines of Le Cirque, The Leela Palace New Delhi’s chic rooftop restaurant. I have never been a great fan of Le Cirque, despite the magnificent views its offers, because there’s a clear disconnect (or so I came to believe after my previous meals there) between the prices it charges and the goods it delivers.

This past Wednesday I had one of my most memorable dinners of the year in the company of people I didn’t know (with the exception of the bright and immaculately attired Magandeep Singh), with a drink I normally don’t drink, except after a long day spent tasting wine.

The beer was Kronenbourg, the French beer acquired by the Carlsberg Group after it got a part of Scottish & Newcastle’s operations in the elaborate April 2008 deal that saw the Edinburgh-headquartered company being divided between Heineken and the Danish company. The world’s fifth oldest beer brand that still exists gets its full name, Kronenbourg 1664, from the year of the founding of the brewery in Strasbourg, France, the capital city of Alsace now famous for being the home of the European Parliament.

Brasseries Konenbourg was the brewery that Geronimus Hatt opened in 1664, but the institution acquired its present name only in 1850 after it moved to Cronenbourg, an area of Strasbourg. Today, after a series of mergers and acquisitions, Kronenbourg — by the way, it is the top premium beer brand in France commanding a 40 per cent market share in its home country — is produced in the Alsatian town of Obernai along with 300 other beers. Well, that’s how the beer business is organised in the world!

It is this pale lager that we started the proceedings with at Le Cirque over a conversation steered by Subodh Marwah, Marketing Director, Carlsberg India. He said the beer gets its distinctive taste from the hops that go into it. The strisselspalt, he said, with its distinctive floral aroma is the “caviar of hops” and a native of Alsace. And we know that Carlsberg takes its hops seriously — the three artistically represented leaves you see on its brand identity are hops. The “fundamental” ingredient of beer, though, is yeast — the one that goes into Carlsberg travels to each of the 106 countries where the beer is produced, so each of the six breweries the company operates in India (a seventh one is coming up in Bihar) uses the same yeast.

The brew we loved was the Kronenbourg Blanc, a wheat beer with addictive citrusy notes that kept drawing us back to it. It went along merrily with the four-course meal — Le Cirque’s signature Caesar’s salad; porcini risotto with a beetroot emulsion whose taste lingered on the palate; chunky chicken escalope in mushroom sauce; and the inimitable Floating Island. Marwah said the brand strategy for Kronenbourg is to reach out to a “very select audience” and introduce it to the beer through Sunday brunches at five-star hotels and pairing with food. Well, this was one beer and food match that seemed to have been made in heaven.

Before I sign off, let me share with you some of the interesting beer market facts that Marwah told us about.

* Chandigarh has the highest per capita consumption of beer — five litres per person, compared with the national average of two litres per person.

* India, minus Tamil Nadu (for some reason I couldn’t get a grip on, the state is kept out of the count), produces 1,800 million litres of beer in a year.

* Ours is an overwhelmingly strong beer-loving country — within three years, strong beers will constitute 90 per cent of the market.

* Andhra Pradesh is the largest beer market and it is the fastest-growing too.

* Carlsberg has the third largest share of the Indian market, after Kingfisher (50 per cent) and SABMiller India, the subsidiary of the South Africa-based global behemoth that makes strong beers such as Haywards and Knockout in the country.