Dreammaker International

In August I was invited to a banquet at Luttrelstown Castle, the pristine Castleknock stately home, venue for the nuptials of Posh and The Penalty King. On this occasion we were celebrating a reunion of the Greifelt family, hosted by Bob, CEO of NASDAQ, the principal New York stock exchange, and his wife Julia. Actually, it was more than a mere occasion, rather a week long succession of linked events involving all manner of medieval and Georgian fantasy and a gourmand’s worth of feasting, the whole masterminded by a larger-than-life character called Gregory Patrick who played Oberon to Bob and Julia’s Demetrius and Helena. Greg runs a company called ‘Tours of Enchantment’ majoring on making dreams come true for individuals blessed with both wealth and imagination.

Arriving at Luttrelstown, I was met by Julia, clad in a ball gown so elegant I initially took her for an asylum seeker from the Georgian night. She ushered me into the drawing room where a flunkey magicked my trademark cocktail, an amalgam of six parts Tanqueray’s gin, one part Noilly Prat, slice of lime, the whole sans ice but as cold as possible. At this point enter, stage left, the Queen of The Netherlands’ butler, no kidding, who proceeded forthwith to straighten my collar. Down in the castle kitchens a chef, flown in from Atlanta, GA, was crafting a six-course feast. I was left for a while to my own devices and for company resorted to twanging a guitar that lay on the sofa. Eventually another person entered the room. He shook my hand, saying “ Hi, I’m Rich” which, I’m afraid, caused me to crack up. I didn’t think he was skint.

It became clear that Trevor White of The Dubliner and I had been invited to pontificate on the food, something we both do rather well, though we say it ourselves. We took it in turn to play Good Cop/Bad Cop for the diversion of guests. The Three Tenors also entertained between courses.

“What’s all this got to do with wine?” I hear you say. Okay, here’s what we consumed: 2001 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru ‘les caillerets’; 2001 Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru, Dom JN Gagnard; 2001 St Joseph, Cuvée de Papy; 1997 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. The ensemble was presented by Stuart Smith of Berry Brothers, the man with a theatrically sonorous voice, a baritone version of Hattie Jacques. Stuart also taught us how to pass the port in the traditional fashion, demonstrating with a Quinta Do Noval 40 year old Tawny – “expensive mouthwash” and with a 1963 vintage Warre bottled for Berry Brothers, rare as unicorn’s toenails and still gorgeous after all these years. Greg and the Greifelds certainly made a few of my dreams come true that night.

Finally, I know I’ve raved about Savennières Domaine de Closel Clos du Papillon before but I managed to locate a few bottles of the 1997 vintage at a supermarket in Co Monaghan en route to the wonderful Nuremore. The ‘97, a gold medal winner in Paris, was honeyed, elegant, complex, with nuts, nutmeg, cinnamon all sorts of Christmassy things going on as well as spring flowers on the nose. The finish was bone dry. A substantial mouthfeel, altogether brilliant wine making and refreshingly different and distinctive. I love this style, this wine. It cost e19.19 and was worth every damn cent.

Posted in Wine & Drink. Ireland