Wine & Spirits - December 2019 - 10

FI NED &
FI LT ER ED
(continued from p. 8)
In the Eighth Edition, you include a new Bottom Line
section, with an interesting info-graphic showing the
cost in work hours of a glass or a bottle of wine.
I do recall an argument about how it should be
portrayed. The managing editor and designer
happened upon the "four-hour-shift" idea
[showing the proportion of a bottle you could
purchase with those wages]. That rounded
nicely to the bottles, but I wasn't sure [people

would find the units relevant]. So, we added
the hours you'd have to work to purchase an
entire bottle.
I've always been very value-conscious,
maybe more than most of my peers. I've
never believed that there's a direct correlation
between price and quality. I've had a discussion with Simon Loftus, who told me, "I fell in
love with wine through Mouton '45," and I'm

very sad that young people might never be able
to afford that [experience].
I don't think that matters, because in the
old days, you had such a narrow range of fine
wines and a very strict hierarchy at that; now
the range is so wide and even what people
think of as good wine is broadening, as well,
to accommodate more styles. Young people
have such a choice. ■

Jean-Bernard Delmas
Jean-Bernard Delmas died in early October at the age
of 83 after a long illness. The only child of Georges
Delmas, who managed Château Haut-Brion from
1923 to 1960, Jean-Bernard Delmas was born there
in 1935, the year that Clarence Dillon purchased the
estate. Jean-Bernard was responsible for many lasting
changes in Bordeaux. For his first vintage in 1961,
he was the first in Bordeaux to install temperaturecontrolled stainless-steel vats in his cellar; he would
later install a computer program designed according
to his winemaking records to automate temperature

control and pumping over in the cellars at La Mission
Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion. He was also the first to
intensively study clones and plant material, and was
the founding president of the Union des Grands Crus.
Since 2004, Delmas's son Jean-Philippe has run the
estate; Jean-Bernard became a consultant to Château
Montrose, helping to make its legendary 2009 and
2010 vintages and advising on the project of rebuilding
their wine cellars. He was awarded the Légion d'Honneur
in 2007. -FIONA MORRISON MW

A Bartender's Gin

Austria's Newest DAC

Carnuntum is Austria's newest DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus, the
country's version of a denomination of origin). The region, which extends
east of Vienna to the border with Slovakia, encompasses some 2,224
acres of predominantly clay and loess soils. Only red wines made mainly
from zweigelt or blaufränkisch, and whites composed of at least two-thirds
grüner veltliner, pinot gris or chardonnay are eligible for the DAC; all other
wines will fall under the general Niederösterreich classification.

While Eral Gokgol-Kline waited for his malt whiskies
to age at Vale Fox Distillery, he enlisted Master
Distiller Roselyn Thomson, formerly of Scottish
distilleries Macallan, Aultmore and Dewar's, along
with three major stars in the bartending world-Gaz
Regan, Jeffrey Morgenthaler and Leo Robitschek-
to create a gin. The result is a spirit designed for
mixing, with intense pine scents and flavors of
bitter orange, coriander and rooibos that make for
especially complex, compelling drinks. Try it in a
Negroni. -RACHEL DELROCCO TERRAZAS
Tod & Vixen's Dry Gin 1651, The Vale Fox Distillery,
Poughkeepsie, NY; 48% abv, $40/750 ml

LA: NIGHTSHADE
Nightshade is tucked into a DTLA Arts District alley once known for its abundant graffiti.
It's a loft-like space with high ceilings and cool marble countertops, softened by green
velour banquettes and ivy cascading from suspended planters. Bravo's 2014 "Top
Chef," Mei Lin, crafts dishes rooted in her Asian-American upbringing mashed up with
other international favorites, like five-spice pork schnitzel, and squid ink tagliatelle with
a "bolognese" made with cuttlefish and gochujang. Diana Lee's wine list is small and
precise, changing up selections of unusual whites like robola from Gentilini in Kefalonia,
and lighter reds, such as L'Insurgé, a gamay from Jérémy Quastana in the Loire. There's
even a May wine-inspired Meiwine, made by Union Wine Co., a riesling infused with
litchi, lemongrass, hibiscus and black tea. -PATRICK J. COMISKEY
Nightshade, 923 E. Third St., Ste. 109, Los Angeles; 213-626-8888, nightshadela.com

WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2019

http://www.nightshadela.com

Wine & Spirits - December 2019

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