Par Corinne Conroy,
mercredi 23 février 2011 à 15:28 ::Accueil
Deux grandes étapes annuelles, la Tchéquie et le Royaume-Uni, en ce début février avant de repartir pour l'Asie, début mars...quel rythme pour promouvoir Brane!!!!
Des rendez-vous formidables à ne pas manquer depuis plusieurs années, de par la grande qualité du public et l'accueil qui est fait à tous les propriétaires conviés, tant par Merlot d'Or que par Sebastian Payne et son équipe de Wine Society.
Par Mary,
mercredi 23 février 2011 à 11:45 ::Accueil
We had two major annual stops – the CzechRepublic and the United Kingdom – at the beginning of February, before we head to Asia at the beginning of March…what a busy schedule to promote Brane!
We’ve been attending these extraordinary ‘don’t miss’ events for several years…Extraordinary by virtue of the public and the quality with which the owners are received, both by Merlot d'Or and by Sebastian Payne and his team from Wine Society.
They are two tastings that are a real delight for us properties, since we get to meet loyal, knowledgeable connoisseurs who are starting to be very familiar with our wines and who know how to taste, asking the right questions in a relaxed and yet professional atmosphere. They are very polite, cheerful, and make efforts to speak French or English in the case of the Czechs, go out of their way to greet us and give us one or two compliments (from the British, that is)...these are really markets that are fun to travel to!
In Prague, a magnificent city where we were less cold than usual, we presented the 2008 vintage, which was very popular since it was more open and less tannic than the wines tasted last autumn. Like every year, we were superbly received by the Slatko team and ‘Merlot d’Or,’ which had devised an extraordinary menu for Friday night’s dinner at the Château. And – surprise – Brane was seated with the same wine enthusiasts as last year! A warm ambiance, absolutely remarkable wine and food pairings...it was truly breathtaking. The caterer accomplished a feat, for not only were the wines and foods perfectly paired, but everything was served professionally and at the right temperature.
As for England, we had two events, one in London and the other in Liverpool, BeatleCity! Nothing needs to be said about London. The venue -Merchant’s Taylor Hall - is always very imposing and so typically British!
And what about Liverpool, you ask? Ahhh….Liverpool! It’s really something else… We must admit that we were expecting the worst…it has the reputation of being a rather dull, sad city, grey like the weather…But not at all! Since it was named a World Heritage Site (2004) and was ‘European Capital in 2008,’ Liverpool has received extensive support from the European Union and has been totally transformed. We were surprised to discover a rather open, sunny, youthful and interesting city. Aside from the fact that it contains several buildings from the Victorian period that were mainly built by maritime and insurance companies, it is lucky to have a new modern, open riverfront that invites passers-by to stroll along the Mersey River. There’s a central pedestrian street where Liverpool…ians(?) can relax and go shopping in well-known international stores, eat dinner or lunch in stylish restaurants, or go to a museum (Walker Art Gallery or William Brown Museum and Library) totally for free. Not to mention, of course, its globally renowned soccer team!
Of course, several visits are necessary…. There’s the ultra-famous ‘The Cavern’ club where the Beatles started their dazzling career, and the gigantic Anglican cathedral, Church of Christ, which was completed at the end of 1978*, not to mention the more modern Cathedral of Christ the King which opened in 1967 and in whose crypt we held our tasting.
(*The Anglican cathedral, which was built on Saint James Mount in the city center between 1904 and 1942 and was finished in 1978, based on the designs of architect Giles Gilbert Scott, is the largest cathedral in the United Kingdom, the second largest Anglican cathedral in Europe and maybe the third largest Anglican cathedral in the world, rivalling with the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York).
The Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King is located on Hope Street and is made of concrete to resemble a large round 'tent.' With a diameter of 61 meters (200 feet), it offers an excellent environment for new liturgies but can also host many other events within its walls.The ceiling is the largest of its kind in the world.
Of course, there are a few very English particulars that shouldn’t be missed… The statue erected by the Suffragettes for example, or the luggage piled up on Hope Street, not far from our hotel. Not to mention the Superlambananas...equivalents of the cows that showed up on Bordeaux's streets last year before they were auctioned off for the Food Bank!
To learn more about Liverpool, a city that has revolved around marine activity and trade for centuries, visit www.visitliverpool.com or fly Bordeaux-Amsterdam-Liverpool…But be careful: For the return trip, your flight will leave at 6 in the morning! The bravest travellers will be treated to a noisy awakening at 3:45 am at their hotel!
Lest we have left you in doubt, here are some photos:
Par Corinne Conroy,
mardi 8 février 2011 à 14:52 ::Accueil
Hier soir, dans le cycle des Mardis de l'Art, 'Une Heure Un Vin' , Béatrice Leroux Huitema et Christophe Capdeville, notre directeur d'exploitation, présentaient l'oeuvre de Paul Cézanne, Les joueurs de cartes, en association avec le Château Brane-Cantenac 2004. Cette oeuvre maitresse de 1890 (57X48) se trouve au Musée d'Orsay, à Paris.
Yesterday evening, as part of the Art Tuesdays cycle ‘One Hour One Wine,’ Béatrice Leroux Huitema and Christophe Capdeville, our operations director, presented Paul Cézanne’s painting The Card Players, in conjunction with Château Brane-Cantenac 2004. This 1890 masterpiece (57X48) is kept at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
In the early 1890s, Cézanne painted five pieces on the theme of card players. They differed through their format, the number of characters and the significance of the décor.
Here, two men are playing across from each other. One is smoking a pipe made of white clay and is wearing a strange derby hat and a starched collar. The other, wearing an old battered hat, is looking intently at his cards. These characters are supposedly peasants whom the painter observed on his father's property Le Jas de Bouffan, near Aix. The man smoking the pipe has been identified as “father Alexandre,” the site’s gardener.
Together in the back of a café, around a table and a bottle of wine, they are playing. Of course, the table is crooked, the tablecloth is twisted and the two players have never-ending legs, but the harmony of ochers, browns and reds envelops the painting in mystery and unveils the beauty of the scene, the peacefulness of the card game, the gravity, sacredness, eternity of the representation. The human being, for the length of a card game, a meditation, a silence, thereby becomes modest and magnificent.
Cézanne had certainly seen Les joueurs de cartes, which has been attributed to the Le Nain brothers, at the museum in Aix-en-Provence, his home town. In the 1890s, the artist dealt with this Caravaggio-inspired theme on several occasions and imparted an exceptional gravity to the game. Cézanne replaced subtle plays on movements and glances with the massive silhouettes and silent concentration of his characters.
The bottle, a play on light, is the central focus of the composition. It separates the space into two symmetrical zones, which accentuates the division between the players. Out of the five paintings that the painter devoted to this subject, this is one of the barest. Here, everything comes together to give the composition a monumental appearance, with sumptuously paired colors.
The recurrence of card players in the late years of Cézanne’s art gave rise to an interesting interpretation: could the confrontation between the two players symbolize the artist’s struggle to have his father acknowledge his painting, which is portrayed here by the ‘playing card’?
As for the Brane-Cantenac 2004, which could be served during this card game, it is a wine that never ceases to surprise us with its freshness, aromatic palette and smooth, long-lasting taste. Criticized by the press when it was released, the 2004 is decidedly a great Bordeaux…The June/July 2007 special edition of the magazine l’Express chose it as the only Margaux in its cellar on page 42! In Le Figaro in June 2005, Laure Gasparotto singled it out as one of the vintage’s best deals: ‘Brane-Cantenac reveals a majestic harmony with complex notes of plum, morello cherry and vanilla’. As for Eric Asimov from the New York Times, he chose it as his number 1 wine…and gave it four stars: ...our top wine, Château Brane Cantenac....Underneath the tannins lies a fresh, elegant wine, with classic Margaux aromas of flowers, cassis, minerals and earth. Stylish and well-balanced!
