(L to R) Ranjith Chandrasiri, president of the Royal Cliff
Wine Club; Choopong Payotorn, F&B manager of the Royal Cliff Grand Hotel & Spa;
Royal Cliff Executive Chef Walter Thenisch; Joachim Grill, Royal Cliff general
manager; George Barbier, director of Vanichwathana Co., Ltd; Vathanai Vathanakul,
Royal Cliff vice president; Vitanart Vathanakul, Royal Cliff Business
Development Manager; and Chatchai Jampawatta, F&B manager of the Royal Wing
Suites & Spa.
A most exclusive wine dinner was held in the Caprice restaurant in the Royal
Wing and Spa at the Royal Cliff. Featuring wines from Maison Joseph Drouhin, the
guests were taken on a culinary journey through the various vineyards used by
the Joseph Drouhin winemakers.
Wine Club President Ranjith Chandrasiri explains everything
for the dinner guests, remarking that some of the vines dated back to the Roman
era.
Ranjith Chandrasiri, as always, explained everything for the
dinner guests, remarking that some of the vines dated back to the Roman era,
with the monks maintaining the traditions through the Middle Ages.
The wines were also the result of hand harvesting and no
yeasts were used, resulting in wines which could be cellared for 5-40 years in
some cases. With eight wines being on offer that evening, Ranjith also cautioned
the Wine Club members to be cautious if driving.
The first wine taken at the table was a Joseph Drouhin,
Chablis Premier Cru 2007 which the Royal Cliff’s executive chef Walter Thenisch
teamed with a superb smoked river trout mousse and shrimp rillette.
Good wine, good conversation with good friends, what more
could one ask for?
The second and third wines arrived together with the roasted
Nantaise duck supreme and pan-seared foie gras. They were the Joseph Drouhin,
Puligny-Montrachet 2006 and the Joseph Drouhin, Mersault-Perrieres Premier Cru
2005. This latter wine was described by Wine Club President Ranjith as
“Perfection”. And, for me it was. However, always remember that wine
appreciation is a personal thing and there is no wine that everybody considers
to be superb.
As the next course was a Black Angus entrecote double
accompanied by Wagyu beef short ribs, it was time for the Joseph Drouhin, Beaune
Clos des Mouches Premier Cru 2006 and the Joseph Drouhin, Corton Grand Cru 2000.
The Corton had a very, very long finish, with Ranjith counseling that if this
was your wine of the night, you had a very expensive palate!
The final wine which came with the tarts of warm fig and
chocolate truffle, did not come from Maison Joseph Drouhin but was a
Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux ‘Prestige Moelleux Vielles Vignes’ 1999. Georges Barbier
from Vanichwathana (BKK), the wine sponsor for the evening, indicated that this
wine did indeed come from old vines (“vielles vignes”) which were 250 years old
and was a Bordeaux botrytis wine.
The enjoyment of wines was very well described by Wine Club member Dr.
William van Ewijk as: “Wine is the flower in the buttonhole of civilization,”
and the Joseph Drouhin wines were, for my taste, exquisite orchids.
Caprice restaurant staff are the epitome of professionalism.
Caprice restaurant staff reveal another culinary masterpiece
from Royal Cliff
Executive Chef Walter Thenisch (not shown).
Pumpkin Soup Giuseppina
There was a European executive chef called Santo Zoppis who used
to come down to Pattaya at the weekends, and he assures me that this really is
one of those secret recipes handed down through the generations, being a recipe
given to Santo by his mother, Giuseppina.
Santo puts aside 10 minutes for preparation and 25 minutes
for cooking, so it is a quick and easy soup. Santo (or his mother) may kill me
for this, but although the recipe calls for fresh thyme, dried thyme could be
used if the fresh product is unavailable.
