3 toques in Gault et Millau

I received by mail a plaque with three toques from Gault et Millau to reward the meals we host in our house and Murielle’s talent as a chef, except that I do not know who was responsible for it (and who sent it)?

These three toques from Gault et Millau reminded me an experience I had more than 10 years ago when I was invited by one of our Chinese friends in his house in Hong Kong where the owner and staff cooked for his friends customers. This felt sort of “exclusive”, a private affair, and it was also at a time when it was possible to drink very fine bottles at a reasonable price – import duties were very high at that time - I particularly remember it because I thought that we were going to have a very special meal with snakes, scorpions and other animals good for your health but I dreaded to eat .

I recently drank with my meals a Leoville Barton 2003: what a beautiful bottle! What a good wine! Elegance is not a fault here; the wine is simply delicious, fresh, without any of the defects from 2003 often a bit “cooked” or “dry”. Following, we had Langoa Barton 1998, more classic.