Drink - Victoria Moore swaps Kilburn for Claridge's
Published 02 June 2003
Matthew racked up a £1,000 overdraft on wine in his first year at Cambridge
Fortunately, Matthew gave us very little warning of his brief visit from Japan. This meant I was unable to attend the supper cooked by Robbie in his Kilburn flat. Robbie specialises in teasing his guests. He once said he was going to ask everyone as they arrived their gross income in the past tax year and seat them in descending (or possibly ascending) order, and was only dissuaded at the last moment. This time Robbie had given notice he would serve goat.
Instead, I promised to meet Matthew at his hotel the night he arrived, after a dinner elsewhere. A devotee of high living, Matthew has even more grandiose ideas than he did in his first year at Cambridge, when he became the talk of the college after racking up a £1,000 overdraft on wine, expensive hot chocolate and classical music.
I would have felt just a little bit silly waltzing out of Pont de la Tour restaurant, jumping in a cab and crying, "Claridge's, please!" and so I tacked on a lame, "on Brook Street." Matthew admitted he'd done the same, but said he was only paying £179 a night for his room, which seemed so cheap that I was tempted to sell my depreciating flat and move straight in.
The marble bathroom alone was big enough to hold a dinner party in. We had a long discussion over whether it would be more appropriate to pull the rope inscribed "valet" or "maid" if tea or a back-scrub while in the bath was required. Perhaps both. Then we got to the point: a bottle of Japanese sparkling wine imported by Matthew for me to try. He'd had some trouble getting it on the plane. "I was asked if I had any bottles in my hand luggage and when I said, 'Yes, champagne,' they said, 'You can't take that in case it explodes. You'll have to give it to us.' So I said, 'No, I don't have any champagne,' and they let me through."
And here it was: Domaine Takeda Cuvee Yoshiko 1996 from a winery of some repute in the Yamagata prefecture, one of the better areas as far as climate goes, according to the Oxford Companion to Wine, though "still far from ideal". Japan, like England, doesn't quite have the climate for viticulture, though that doesn't stop people trying.
Made by the traditional method from 100 per cent Chardonnay, it was about as close as I imagine Japan can get to the real thing. But not as nice. A deep gold colour, it was very richly flavoured, a little bit heavy and sticky, and not subtle enough. Matthew said it had cost a fortune (I didn't dare ask how much), and although not bad, it wasn't worth the money.
For my part, I was so pleased to be drinking it out of a glass at Claridge's rather than a mug in Kilburn with a plate of goat on my lap, that I swilled it down feeling nothing but gratitude.
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