St Emilion and Beyond
Last week, Serge Pradier, Hospitality General Manager, Ian Sparrow, Director of Hospitality and Premises and Lee Ainsworth, Head of Hospitality Sales, were invited to embark on a complimentary tour of various French chateaux to find quality wines to add to the already impressive selection that the IoD currently holds.
St Emilion and beyond
High on the list of estates they visited were those located within the St. Emilion region. As wines from this region don't feature heavily on the Pall Mall wine list, we felt this is something that should be addressed, especially with the large selection of great wines available. Fortunately the team had a special invitation to sample the wines of Château Bellevue and Clos des Menuts, located in the heart of the St. Emilion appellation, and Château Martinet, found on the Right Bank.
Also on the agenda were visits to Margaux, which is home to Chateau Lascombes, an 84 hectare estate; the vineyards of Chateau Kirwan, located on the Cantenac plateau; and Pomerol to visit the estate of Château St Pierre, a 17 hectare estate found near the boundary of the St Julien appellation.
Selection process
When selecting wines to feature on the Pall Mall wine lists, the team put high emphasis on quality and exclusivity. Wines that make the grade must have depth and the potential to be kept for investment. The entry level wines must have the same qualities but are easy to drink. A lot of research is put into selecting the wines and chateaux that feature on the wine list. Most of the wines seen on IoD lists will not be seen on supermarket shelves.
Member's wine evenings
After the hugely successful Château La Fleur-Petrus event held last November, Edouard Moueix, owner of the Petrus estate personally invited the team to taste with him the 2010 vintages of Château Magdelaine, St Emilion and Château Hosanna, Pomerol.
Alongside searching for quality wines to add to the wine list, Serge spoke to the château proprietors to try and arrange the next series of Directors' Wine evenings to take place in 2012. The wine events have proven to be extremely popular with members and guests. The next wine evening, which features Eikendal estate wines from South Africa takes place on 22 September.
For more information on future wine evenings or Pall Mall events, please visit www.iod.com/pmevents