Page 114 - Decadence

MARINA GAYAN MASTER OF WINE AND PERSONAL WINE SHOPPER TELLS PADDOCK LIFE ABOUT HER MOST DECADENT WINE EXPERIENCES.
There is nothing like self-indulging when it comes to wine. It doesn’t get any more personal, some splash on price or a lavish style or size, magnums of ne wine are the ultimate luxe bottle. For others like me it often centres around memorable occasions when sharing wine takes over everything else.
Those improvised escapes to our local Italian restaurant, Enoteca Turi, to have a delicious but not too fancy bowl of homemade pasta that humbly takes second place to some of my favourite Barbarescos & Barolos: La Spinetta Gallina, Bruno Giacosa Falletto, Massolino (white label) & Giuseppe Rinaldi Brunate. A mix of styles sharing undeniable elegance and poise. Look out for these pairs of vintages 2011/2010 and 2007/2006.
When I became a Master of Wine in 2003, I received the ultimate decadent gifts, mostly very special magnums. But there was one incredibly generous present from my dear friends Lorraine & Thierry of Château Talbot to whom I owe not only my love for Claret but also my knowledge and signing up for the MW. To celebrate that “la petite Marina” got her Master of Wine they let me choose from their cellar a vertical of six vintages of my choice. I succumbed for a Château I love, Gruaud Larose a Second Growth that used to belong to the Cordiers, Lorraine’s family (most wines from the 80s). It was a spectacular dinner with unforgettable wines and amazingly generous friends.
Even though I am not easily impressed by price tags, I have to confess that one of my most memorable wines and the one that completely mesmerized me was Domaine de la Romanée Conti Grands-Echézeaux 1990. It was a work dinner at Georges Blanc in Vonnas in the early years of my wine career and when the Master of Wine was not even in sight. I remember the food was incredible but can’t tell exactly what I had which says it all given that I am a food fanatic. That bottle of DRC changed the way I looked at wine. The breath, density, length and superb complexity all underlined by an understated elegance was the beginning of my love affair with ne wines, and the rest is history.
Marina Gayan MW is a Partner at Gayan Wine Advisors E: marinagayan@mac.com
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