Hawksworth restaurant has been a top dining experience in Vancouver since it opened back in 2011. Outstanding Chef David Hawksworth started it with the then innovative concept of “Contemporary Canadian Cuisine” using always best seasonal mostly local ingredients with an interesting Asian seasoning. It became the most popular special dining in the region winning Awards (including many times as Best Upscale from Vancouver Magazine). It even reached number 3 on the Top 100 in Canada and has world-wide respect and recognition. Like everyone in the industry they have been hard hit by the Covid pandemic but continue to pivot while maintaining high quality standards for both take-out and for the allowed slower restart plan under new government guidelines.
Exciting news to learn that they were going ahead despite difficult circumstances with a 10 year anniversary on Saturday June 12, 2021 presenting an interactive live virtual cooking event. Some 80 guests participated in what turned out to be an extraordinary insight into the culinary masterpieces of talented craftsman Chef Hawksworth and his team. They delivered an at-home dinner anniversary kit including all the ingredients pre-prepped for 4 courses of canape, pasta starter, main course sablefish, and dessert with cherished recipes for each. The first and last courses were by assembly only but all cooked along with the Chef for preparing the appetizer and entree. Their Zoom link opened up a wonderful live cooking class plus entertainment between courses provided by comedian Jane Stanton, magician Matt Johnson, and vocal group The Tenors. Libation chosen by us for pairing was their terrific 24 months on the lees of H’s Brut Sparkling 2017 they partnered with the Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards from 73% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, and 2% Pinot Meunier. Perfect match.
The 10th Anniversary Menu:
Canape: Potato blinis with creme fraiche, smoked salmon, and dill
Appetizer: Ricotta agnolotti with summer squash, parmesan, and pomodoro sauce
Entree: Marinated sablefish with dashi, daikon, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms
Dessert: Rhubarb, strawberry, and jasmine pavlova
Congrats to Chef David Hawksworth, Annabel and son Heston plus their whole talented team for such a memorable 10th anniversary event. Many more!
Question: Please solve an ongoing debate we have on which country is credited for the first use of grapes for wine making?
Answer: Yes this is a really tricky one. There is evidence of early wines in the many countries comprising a wide definition of the Levant (including Mesopotamia, Middle East including Turkey plus Greece to Egypt) Georgia and even Italy (especially Sicily) and other countries. All of this is further complicated by the use of pure 100% grape juice or mixing some of it with apple juice, beer, fermented rice, fruits, honey, or whatever. The latest historical information tends to credit China for the earliest mixed versions and Armenia for actually earliest wine production. Pleased to receive any other thoughts?
Many cities have small groups of wine-lover friends who get together on a regular basis for wine study. Over the years your scribe has been fortunate to attend quite a few such events around the world as an invited guest. Always results in an enjoyable fun more intimate function providing intense excellent education on a specific wine property as a vertical or mixed producers, vintage assessment horizontal or other combinations. Most fortunate in Vancouver to have connoisseur Ian Mottershead form and organize dinners (mostly held at Blue Water Cafe) for our wonderful Group of Eight (perfect for one bottle each) that features very top quality wine themes with each member providing one suitable bottle. Ian generously provides a few extra ones (sometimes blind) and members from time to time host their own event supplying their own wines. Some recent interesting examples from last year written up on this Blog ranged from Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques, 2002 Red Burgundy, Chateau Montrose vertical, and 1990 Red Bordeaux horizontal at 30 years of age. The last one was on November 5, 2020 before the Covid shutdown featuring 2000 Red Bordeaux with monthly ones scheduled thereafter but all postponed because of restaurant closures. Appropriate that the restaurant reopening order allowed us after nearly 7 months to celebrate our 90th event on June 1, 2021 with a Chateau Lynch-Bages vertical. It was personally hosted by member Jim Robertson (one of several Group of Eight members who also are long time IWFS Vancouver members) who provided a four decade tour-de-force review plus three classy most useful printed summaries by property, overall vintage details, and Robert Parker Wine Advocate reviews. They are helpfully put together and we have reproduced them for your review. As well here are some of my own brief personal impressions on the wines:
2000 LYNCH-BAGES: Very dark & deep. Structured. Lots of life. Still young yet almost opulent. Lots of concentrated fruit depth here with tannins for further ageing development. Best of first flight in the long term.
1995 LYNCH-BAGES: Paling rim. Evolving. Open presently in a more fruity Merlot year way. Tried with twin 1996 recently that is more Cabernet Sauvignon northern Medoc success for full density more classic styling than 1995.
1990 LYNCH-BAGES: Medium colour. Best bouquet but again still rather primary aromas. All three in 1st flight show younger than 20-30 years old. Good storage. Lovely fruit forward with easy drinking balance always shows with this wine. Improved in the glass. Likeable.
1989 LYNCH-BAGES: Dark intense and deep. Excellent riper charming bouquet. Impressive on the palate. Will age further. Both 1989 & 1990 were given RMP scores of 95 points early on but since in August 2011 the 1990 got 99 from RMP and 5 years later in 2016 the 1989 got 95 points from Neal Martin. On this showing your scribe would tend to reverse those scores giving 1990 the 95 and 1989 the 99 (or maybe not quite that high!).
1986 LYNCH-BAGES: Less deep to the rim than 1989. Reluctant on first smell but with swirling shows big dense rich fruit asking for even more bottle age. Tannic. Different style than 1990 & 1989 but 1975 in a much better way.
1983 LYNCH-BAGES: Aged paler look. Drier nose and tired on the taste with noticeable acidity. Drink up now (or preferably earlier) better with food. Not totally clean either as vineyards needed timely August care & spraying that May de Lencquesaing managed so successfully at neighbouring Pichon Lalande in 1983.
1982 LYNCH-BAGES: Anticipation! Doesn’t disappoint. So stylish on a beautiful plateau of enjoyment. Superb complex round sweeter entry with creamy length. On my last of many visits to the chateau in 2015 Jean-Michel Cazes was proud & enraptured with his 1982. He expressed that “only wished he hadn’t used so many bottles of it early on because just coming into the very best showing over these next couple of decades”.
1978 LYNCH-BAGES: Browning. Weak sister here not benefiting from Harry Waugh “miracle year” late harvest. Simple dried out. “Make a sauce” as the late Gerard Jaboulet would say.
1970 LYNCH-BAGES: An old favourite of your scribe and really showed incredible again! Darkest colour of the flight and doesn’t look 50+ years old at all but youthful like the younger wines of the first flight. Classic cigar-box cedar with textbook Pauillac definition. Almost Mouton-like. Still quite fresh and so delicious with subtlety and lower alcohol. Touch of mint? Way better than the wine described by Neal Martin from his September 2009 tasting rating 91. Old bottle variation strikes again. Group of Eight fav followed closely by 1982 and then 1989 & 2000.
Answer: Thanks. Yes, Napa Valley 2020 is getting some bullish early reports including from Cathy Corison on her wine but it will be a less consistent vintage overall because of heat & fire-smoke issues than 2019. Also there will be a much smaller crop in 2020 (higher prices?) available to purchase compared to 2019 and the even bigger harvest in 2018. Accordingly it might be prudent to acquire some 2018 & 2019 on release. Today’s Premiere Napa Valley trade seminar praised the fresh bright riper softer more accessible style of 2019 for fruit purity and consistency. Liked the comment of Aaron Pott of Fe Wines that the large leaves of Merlot vines in the vineyard together with the excellent humidity provided better protection in the hot conditions against dried-out grapes. Tomorrow James Suckling is speaking about 2018 but the early consensus he calls “neo-classicism harmony” are structured reds of better acidity balance with lower pH grapes less consistent but requiring some bottle age. Careful shopping.
Your scribe is an avid fan of Chablis and is a frequent consumer of it with dinner. Very fortunate to have tasted over many decades thousands of bottles of Chablis. Overall it is a pretty reliable juice that ages surprisingly well with less pre-mox issues than other white Burgundy. Also matches so perfectly with our normal food choices that includes lots of fresh seafood. Petit Chablis & Chablis AC both are still good values with a fresh quite vibrant attractive style. Premier Cru can really step up the quality staircase with old vines and vineyards such as Montee de Tonnerre & Vaulorent leading the way. Sometimes they can be even more distinctively “minerally” flinty Chablis than the richer Grand Cru. The latter have that famous hill with fantastic soils and micro-climates for 7 different Grand Crus (plus Albert Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit Moutonne monopole) but my clear favourite for aging is Les Clos. Experienced some exciting memorable bottles from celebrated producers of Domaine Raveneau and Domaine Vincent Dauvissat plus some of the other popular newer names including Patrick Piuze & Roland Lavantureux. Frankly surprised that the quality larger producers like William Fevre & Christian Moreau don’t seem to get enough respect (especially at auction markets) probably because they are large when often the focus is on smaller boutique properties. It is difficult to find bad Chablis these days though global climate change is having an influence on both crop sizes and style.
Mentioned previously in this Blog my admiration for the work of Christian & Fabien Moreau and their wines which always show superb terroir. Drink a lot of their 1er cru Vaillon Cuvee Guy Moreau old vines from 1933 plus their Grand Crus (hold 12 hectares). On May 23, 2021 opened a bottle of their 2010 LES CLOS to pair with dinner of a Salad of Fava Beans, Fennel & Quinoa followed by a fresh Halibut main course. On previous occasions (last one September 2020) this wine was excellent showing balance but still a little too citrus and reticent on bouquet and palate. However, this bottle was SENSATIONAL! Best dry white wine we have enjoyed the past 2 years and a Top 5 all time. Really has come together onto a fabulous plateau showing the dry extract intensity from the shorter 2010 crop with the inherent acidity beautifully in saline balance and textbook complex Chablis on the nose and taste. Check out the fresh green hints of the young colour of the wine in the glass photo. No rush. Impressive structure indeed and so delicious making the food course pairing sing brilliantly. Big salute to Domaine Christian Moreau for a superb classic Chablis Les Clos. Outstanding wine!
