There are lots of old vineyards around the city of Bordeaux that historically go back many centuries. However the wide sweeping Graves name that was used for the wines was just too broad a focus. A smaller new Pessac-Leognan appellation was created in 1987 led by Andre Lurton and others that has been most successful in spotlighting more wine stars in this prized select region. Now quite a few top Pessac-Leognan properties are producing excellent wines of both white and red. One is Chateau Pape Clement. A long impressive history there going back to the Pope but a property slumbering during the mid 1900s that was hurt by a massive hail storm in 1937 that wiped out the vineyards necessitating extensive replanting. It was not a Chateau your scribe collected from the sixties and seventies as they missed the mark so often in some outstanding vintages including the 1982. It was only from the mid-eighties onward when Bernard Magrez and his team made continual improvements in the property that resulted in the outstanding wines of more recent decades. There was an early good buzz on the amazing quality of the 1990 Pape Clement so I purchased that vintage on release at just under $20/bottle and have been monitoring that exciting one for some 35 years. The Vancouver Group of Eight met on May 20, 2025 for dinner event #131 at Blue Water Cafe to enjoy and assess eight vintages ranging from 1989 to 2009.

We started with an interesting 1990 CHAMPAGNE DOM PERIGNON OENOTHEQUE disgorged in 2003 after 13 years on the lees as an early second plenitude P2 release. The provided brochure contained accurate notes we experienced of Aromas: “reveal the intensity of classic maturity: toast, hazelnuts, chocolate and spices – complex aromas of roasted coffee and woody spice quickly merge with notes of barley sugar and dried citrus peel.” and Palate: “invigorating freshness presents a slight, delicious divergence of superb intensity and vivacity which are surprising in a Champagne of this age – a penetrating, harmonious, precise richness without opulence. Persistent notes of candied citrus peels affirm themselves, becoming a vigorous and silky blend.” Excellent treat indeed matched with the classy starter of white asparagus with the fresh seasonal local Spot Prawn napped with the lightest hollandaise sauce. We finished up with the lighter mellow classic 1963 CROFT VINTAGE PORT bottled in England by Charles Kinloch and through the most astute purchase by the late consultant Peter Adams landed in December 1975 at BCLDB for only $6.35/bottle. The good old days!

2009 PAPE CLEMENT: Deepest darkest youngest look. Ripe spiced fruit of this vintage shows in the round smooth full opulent textures. Nice touch of Pessac-Leognan signature tobacco/earth comes through. An impressive rich silky wine that was a popular group favourite. Lovely plateau of enjoyment.

2005 PAPE CLÉMENT: Dark with more elegance and balance from this vintage. Lots of depth of flavours with vibrancy and structure, Not as big & rich as 2009 but more classic with aging potential. Alvin liked it and called it “complete”.

2004 PAPE CLÉMENT: Slightly darker at the rim than 2005. Very Bordeaux styled late picked high % Merlot in the blend of this variable vintage. A drier slightly rustic and harder edged less ripe fruit with acidity. Good effort. Better paired with our food course of mushrooms & ris de veau.

2000 PAPE CLÉMENT: Stylish open bouquet expressing the earthy terroir. Lovely freshness of pure smoky cherries. Smart selection of 50/50 CS/M using only 55% in the Grand Vin. Lighter bodied but a delightful surprise.

1998 HAUT-BRION: Ringer with a different attractive nose of more plums and juicy berries but not totally clean. Excellent dense textures of a First Growth with stylish elegance and length. Slightly disappointing bottle compared to what it can be.

1996 PAPE CLÉMENT: Leafy herbal nose in a good way. Almost as backward as a barrel sample. Promising but requires patience.

1995 PAPE CLÉMENT: MIchel Rolland on board from 1993 starting this newer style of lower yield riper fruit well selected from the vineyard. Even more leafy old style Merlot. More evolved and together but less fruit.

1990 PAPE CLÉMENT: Credit to Bernard Pujol for making a wonderful terroir beauty. Deep with lots of depth of fruit. Like the impressive intensity and keynote tobacco.. Full rich, more complete classic. Rich and complex drinking on the best plateau. This vintage is one of their outstanding ones – like many of their current releases.

1989 PAPE CLEMENT: More typical Graves garnet coloured edge. Tertiary mature notes. Riper style but less intense. Not showing the amazing outstanding quality of both 1989 Haut-Brion and 1989 La Mission Haut-Brion . Drink now. Culinary treasure trio with the special braised lamb neck matches well.

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Question: Which wine did golfer Rory McIlroy drink to celebrate his 2025 Masters win?

Fortunate to have visited San Francisco so many times. Your scribe was a devoted regular attendee at the marvellous culinary events organized in the eighties and early nineties by the incomparable Haskell F. Norman for the IWFS Marin County Branch. At that time there were so many top SF restaurants to choose from including to name just a few Jeremiah Tower’s Stars, Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio, Gary Danko, La Folie, Blue Fox, Jack’s, Michael Mina’s Aqua, and Hubert Keller’s outstanding Fleur de Lys (after his Sutter 500 start and before his successful Burger Bar in Las Vegas). Just spent a week in SF extensively walking around this once vibrant city. Times have changed with so much retail space now closed and empty. However, the Ferry Building is alive and popular with top merchants including Acme Bread (fantastic Levain rolls), busy Senor Sisig at lunch line-ups for Mexican style taco & burrito, and Nopa Seafood under construction. Wonderful site for the exciting Saturday outdoor market (the Oakland one is also a must). Top restaurants previously visited now include three star Michelin at MIchael Tusk’s Quince and Dominique Crenn’s Atelier Crenn but this time we sought out mainly newer less known value spots. All restaurants now routinely add to your bill Sales Tax at 8.625%, SF Employee Mandates of 5-6% and Fair Wage Minimum Gratuity 20% so the total bill adds up quickly. If you are a tourist used to Canadian $ you need to add another 40%. Gets expensive. Here are seven very good value restaurants in SF worth checking out:

1. ZUNI CAFE: Opened in 1979 by Judy Rodgers and still going strong. The large sized famous brick oven wood fired whole chicken for two at $75 is still phenomenal. Acquerello started by Suzette Gresham & Giancarlo Paterlini is another restaurant from the old days still going strong.

2. ERNEST: Innovative spot on Bryant SOMA (memories of old Connoisseur Wine Imports & The Wine House) with Sushi Rice $23 uniquely combining Ikura salmon roe with raw beef and toasted nori. Tasty Alaskan halibut with spinach & Yuba soy milk skin. Busy spot for easy sharing dishes.

3. BIG FINISH WINE TAVERN: A third Mission district place newly opened with an excellent value wine by the glass diversity. Excellent Pappardelle with slow braised pork shoulder. Nearby is another older similar good wine bar named 20 Spot. Check out all the great Taqueria spots in the Mission!

4. BEIT RIMA: Arabic comfort food in the adjoining Castro District with outstanding Muhammara & Baba Ghanouj with warm Pita starters and deep fried whole Branzino.

5. AQUITAINE: A wine bar/bistro featuring south-west France in a comfortable setting in the Castro at Church & Market. Sunday dinner roasted chicken for two at $55 works. Impressive beet salad. We brought mature 1985 Ridge Montebello for $30 corkage to pair with the chicken superbly.

6. ANGLER: Across from the Ferry Building this 1 star Michlein has outstanding seafood. Best deal in SF is their 3 course quality lunch for $45 with Pacific oysters, whole grilled Sea Bream, and soft ice cream topped by not too sweet but flavourful caramel/praline sauce. Highly recommended.

7. TIRAMISU: Also downtown in an alley of Belden Place near Sam’s Grill. Fond reminiscences of enjoying mesquite grilled Petrale Sole (now $34) at Sam’s with 50 cents corkage and nearby on California Street Tadich Grill since 1907 with 75 cents corkage. Liked that. Tiramisu is an Italian restaurant with some amazing dishes including outstanding grilled octopus, authentic rigatoni all’aMatriciana, mint-pesto local rack of lamb and their legendary tiramisu.

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Question: Which well-known Bordeaux property is using Jura grapes in their white?

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Your scribe was a long time judge of the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards for many years and always admires the impressive amount of work put in to determine their important annual culinary awards. We have posted several references about these important choices in earlier postings including the 2021 Instagram version during Covid on September 20, 2021 here. Also have a warm soft spot for them having presented to my talented wife Joan and yours truly their 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award noted here on April 24, 2017. The Michelin Guide arrived in Vancouver as reported here August 1, 2022 which changed the dining landscape endorsements but Van Mag still does an excellent job of spotlighting out the real industry winners. This year 2025 the ceremony held on May 5 at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver was notable for recognizing many worthy winners including especially Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year. Well done indeed!

ELISA – Restaurant of the Year.

So pleased to see this steakhouse “a powerhouse when it comes to quality and consistency” honoured this year. It is a much deserved tribute to the amazing Executive Chef Andrew Richardson and his brigade. Elisa is so much more than a steakhouse though with Joan’s fav dish being their delicious whole grilled branzino with cavolo nero. This award also is an unrecognized tribute to the Aquilini Group and their superb TopTable Restaurant Group with conscientious President Michael Doyle. They have put together a phenomenal group of restaurants each providing a unique highest quality dining experience also at Blue Water Cafe, CinCin, Thierry, Luigi & Sons, in Whistler Araxi Restaurant & The Cellar, il Caminetto and Bar Oso, plus Marilena in Victoria. Watch out for 2026 their newest venture of a brand new restaurant in the old space at 1133 Hamilton in Yaletown previously occupied by Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill. Elisa also received Best Yaletown from Readers’ Choice Winners posted here. So well done indeed! Congrats.

ANGUS AN: CHEF OF THE YEAR

So pumped to learn that friend and dedicated chef Angus An won this coveted award. He has been a dynamic force in the local dining scene for so long but contributing in so many other ways including outstanding help with the thriving Chefs’ Table Society of BC. He also is a knowledgeable wine guy. Even back in a posting here on December 16, 2013 Angus suggested and prepared dishes to contribute to a BCLDB Sauternes seminar. His Maenam Thai duck salad was so popular and paired beautifully with several top 2007 sweet wines. Angus cleaned up winning as well Best Thai for Maenam and Best Casual for Fat Mao Noodles. Fantastic choice! Congrats.

More details on all the 2025 Van Mag Restaurant Awards here.

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