July 29, 2008

Viva Riva

Italian boating company Riva has teamed with Veuve Clicquot champagne to create champagne travel cases worthy of any excursion at sea. Veuve Clicquot’s prestige cuvée, called La Grande Dame, will accompany two new boating accessories for entertaining on the fly. A limited-edition, hand-crafted mahogany, chrome, and leather cruiser bag ($425) will include a bottle of La Grande Dame 1998 and two champagne flutes. A made-to-measure trunk ($80,000) is designed to fit snugly into the back of your boat and will include four bottles of La Grande Dame 1998, two magnums of La Grande Dame 1988, and enough champagne flutes, water tumblers, plates, table mats, and cutlery for six. The trunk and bag may become part of your onboard necessities, but the champagne will most likely disappear the moment it arrives. (www.veuveclicquot.com)

July 1, 2008

Black Is Back

In May, whisky collectors took note of the fourth and final arrival of Black Bowmore single malt that arrived on American shores. The 42-year-old single malt, which derives from a single batch distilled in late 1964, reflects the sherry-walnut flavors and color of the oloroso butt casks in which it was aged. In total, only 6,639 bottles were produced of the rare whisky in various stages of maturity: 2,000 bottles were released in 1993 and 1994, and in 1995 an additional 1,812 bottles were released.  The final bottling yielded a mere 827 bottles, 80 of which have been allocated to the U.S.  Not surprisingly, the spirit’s flavor profile includes mature oak, but, says Iain McCallum, head blender for Morrison Bowmore Distillers, it has none of the dominating woodiness that is so often present in extra-aged single malts—an indication that the casks had been made from seasoned, old-growth timber.  The rarified Scotch whisky also shows mango, papaya, and lychee, along with cocoa, dark cherry, toffee, orange, and a kiss of brine, the classic hallmark of Islay malts. Priced at $4,500 apiece, each bottle is individually numbered and set in a mahogany chest bearing a copper plaque. (+44.141.558.9011, www.bowmore.co.uk)

—Jessica Taylor

June 17, 2008

Chilled Out

Designer extraordinaire Marc Newson has a knack for transforming mundane objects into stylish signature pieces. His latest design venture is a limited-edition collector’s magnum for Dom Perignon. The simple magnum becomes a signature conversation piece created in a sleek aluminum with the champagne house’s neon green shield emblazoned across the front and Newson’s signature in bright orange on the reverse. Newson has also infused his trademark modern style into a variety of custom-designed items ranging from furniture to hair dryers. The $1,000 collector's edition magnum is presently available at Moss New York (866.888.6677) and Moss Los Angeles (866.902.3423).

―Alexandra Foster

May 13, 2008

Black Pearl Magnum: A Rare Offering from Rémy Martin

The House of Rémy Martin is offering 300 connoisseurs the chance to purchase a limited-edition of Louis XIII―dubbed the Black Pearl Magnum ―a rare Grande Champagne cognac aged in a specially crafted singular oak barrel. The cognac is presented in a handcrafted Baccarat black crystal decanter as a tribute to the signature Louis XIII decanter, which was originally modeled on a metal flask found in the Cognac region of France in 1569. For those craving just a taste, the Plaza in New York City and the St. Regis in Washington, D.C., have purchased the first two bottles and will begin selling them by the glass later this month. A bottle of Louis XIII de Rémy Martin Grande Champagne cognac will sell for $32,000, with the Baccarat decanter. The St. Regis will offer glasses for $1,926―the cost pays homage to the year the St. Regis opened in Washington, D.C.  (www.remy.com)

―Alexandra Foster

April 29, 2008

Over the Barrel

Wine direct from the cellars of two prestigious winemakers will be featured in the Aulden Cellars-Sotheby’s sale of fine and rare wines on May 17 at Sotheby’s New York. The Peter Michael Winery of Sonoma, California, and Chateau Angelus of Saint Emilion, France, will showcase rare vintages from their vineyards, both of which are known for producing limited quantities of wine made using traditional French-style barreling. Peter Michaels Winery, which will donate auction proceeds to the Sir Peter and Lady Michael Foundation to fight cancer, will offer 30 bottles of Les Pavots Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical 2001-2005, each expected to fetch about $16,250. The auction house estimates the Peter Michael offering, which also includes Mon Plaisir, Belle Cote, and Les Pavots, will bring in more than $120,000. Chateau Angelus will offer wines from 1989 through 2005, including a 1989 Angelus estimated at $4,500. The total Chateau Angelus collection is expected to go for more than $117,000. (www.sothebys.com)

―Alexandra Foster

April 15, 2008

Straight from the Cellar

Wine aficionados will have an opportunity to acquire rare vintages and first growths from the cellar of the famed Mirabelle restaurant in London at Bonhams auction on April 30. The auction house will offer more than 300 lots of wine from the now-closed Michelin-starred restaurant, including notable vintage champagnes such as Dom Pérignon Oenothéque and the Krug Collection, as well as eight vintage first growths from Latour 1916, and Clos des Papes (shown). In its heyday, Mirabelle was frequented by such clientele as Winston Churchill, Orson Welles, Vivien Leigh, and Laurence Olivier, along with a constant flow of European royalty. The Mirabelle cellar’s contents, worth more than $200,000, will be offered on April 30 at Bonhams London headquarters. (087.002.736.22, www.bonhams.com).

April 1, 2008

Conradtini, the Creative Martini

Martini aficionados take note: Conrad Hotels and Resorts invites guests behind the bar to become their own master mixologist with a new bespoke cocktail service called Conradtini. You won’t find standard drink menus on the bar tops of Conrad’s 18 worldwide hotels and resorts; instead guests pore over a list of liquors, mixers, garnishes, and even stemware that may be combined to create the “perfect” cocktail. Ingredients vary at each hotel and resort to reflect local culture and flavors. But don’t worry if you don’t fancy yourself a mixologist just yet—Conrad’s international staff of bartenders is also on hand to create a concoction just for you, based on your preferences for liquor, carbonation, and sweetness. Try the Brickelltini, created by the Conrad Miami’s resident manager Josep Juncosa and named for its location on Brickell Avenue, which features vodka, Midori, and fresh lime juice. Conradtini cocktails will be available throughout 2008 at all Conrad hotels and resorts. (www.conradhotels.com)

―Alexandra Foster

March 18, 2008

Spiritual Revelation

What happens when the world’s most renowned producer of gin teams up with an internationally acclaimed artist, a prestigious British jewelry house, and the preeminent creator of crystal? They produce a million-dollar collection of decanters christened Revelation. Gin maker Bombay Sapphire collaborated with New York artist Karim Rashid, Baccarat, and Garrard  jewelry house to produce the five-bottle collection—priced at $200,000 apiece. Each bottle has been shaped into a 10-sided gemstone to represent the 10 botanical ingredients used to create Bombay Sapphire gin and is appointed with a diamond-and-sapphire encrusted stopper. The Revelation bottles, sold with a year’s supply of gin, will be on display at airports in London, New York, Dubai, Singapore, and Sydney beginning March 27, before being sold to aficionados willing to pay one-fifth of a million dollars to house their gin in luxury. (www.bombaysapphire.com)

―Bailey S. Barnard

March 4, 2008

Le Cheval Fou: An American Hermitage

The 2005 vintage presents a unique case in the recent history of winemaking: With few exceptions, it was a great vintage worldwide. Australia, South America, Spain, Germany, Austria, California, and France all enjoyed outstanding harvests in this Golden Year of the Grape. Entrepreneurs John Schwartz, a partner in Amuse Bouche Winery with Heidi Barrett, and Danielle Price, executive director of wine at Wynn Las Vegas, can judge firsthand the striking quality of the latter two regions, having produced the vibrant and complex 2005 Coup de Foudre (a blend of Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon with a modicum of Santa Barbara Syrah), as well as the 2005 Le Cheval Fou—the inaugural vintage of a pure Syrah from Hermitage on which they collaborated.

Named for the legendary Parisian cabaret Crazy Horse (where French ushers are costumed as Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while the female performers are costumed barely, if at all), this tantalizing wine is an authentic Hermitage, produced in cooperation with legendary winemaker Michel Chapoutier. Hermitage, at just over 300 acres, is not only one of the smallest appellations in the region, but would arguably also qualify as a Premier Cru, if the Rhône had an official system of classification. While its roots, quite literally, are French, Le Cheval Fou ($125 per bottle, $750 per six-pack) exhibits an American exuberance: Its Gallic minerality and beefy tannins support a flavorful framework of dark berry, cedarwood, smoked meat, cinnamon, and other earthy spices. ( www.LeChevalFouWine.com)

 ―Brett Anderson

February 19, 2008

Whisky Wise

Connoisseurs in search of Scotland’s most exquisite whiskies need look no further than Duncan Taylor. This independent bottler and whisky merchant is a purveyor of some of the world’s most exclusive scotch whiskies, such as the recently released 40-year-old Macallan 1967 presented in a handcrafted wooden box containing a 75cl bottle, a 5cl miniature, and an eng