ON THE LIST | Kathrine Larsen-Robert MS
This year, we were thrilled to welcome Kathrine Larsen-Robert MS as our Head of Wine (Europe), overseeing the wine teams and lists in London and our other European venues. Kathrine joined from a near-ten-year stint at UK importer and distributor Enotria, latterly in the role of Head of Fine Wine. She was previously a fixture of the London sommelier scene for the best part of a decade, with head somm roles at Le Pont de la Tour, Orrery and Zuma, becoming a Master Sommelier in 2013 and winning the UK Sommelier of the Year competition in 2014. Who better, then, to recommend some seasonal bubbles?
‘Choosing wines for celebration depends on the context. So if I were choosing wines for a small celebratory occasion with my husband [fellow MS Clement Robert], the choice would fall on wines with which we have a special connection, or a vintage with a special meaning. And we always tend to be quite classic in our choice – red Bordeaux and white Burgundy, Barolo, Hermitage… But if choosing wines for celebration with a bigger group, I would go for large formats, which always add a special frisson, and also, perhaps, more widely known names. And let’s be honest, Champagne is always the right choice – the bubbles give a festive feeling to any situation.
‘At the Club over the festive season, there are three go-to cuvées that scream fun. Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne holds many special memories for my husband and I as it was one of the first bottles we had together, and we have had it on many special occasions since. A blanc de blancs, it showcases Chardonnay of great purity and vitality sourced from grands crus villages on the Côte des Blancs. I love the density of the fruit and the purity of the flavours, while the small percentage aged in oak adds that softness and balance to the otherwise vivid texture. 2002 is a great vintage and is showing incredible tertiary flavours now while still having that core of vitality.
‘Olivier Krug was in the Club the other day, presenting some of the recent releases to the team. The wines are so exceptionally balanced and have such concentration and power. The quality has always been exceptionally high but production is still relatively small – less than a million bottles a year. At the moment I’m loving how the Krug 2004 is showing – particularly in magnum – though 2008 is another great vintage. It’s arguably too young to drink, but it will give enormous pleasure for many years. And while the vintage is one thing, the Krug Grande Cuvée blend is always truly stunning too.
‘Laurent-Perrier’s Grand Siècle is a similar “multi-vintage” concept, but in its case always a blend of just three exceptional years. I like it because, compared with many other prestige cuvées, it always seems such good value. The wine is always very well balanced, with lots of freshness but also creamy textural elements. The bottle shape is unique too, even more so in magnum format. The magnums have only been made 23 times since 1959 – we have the No22 Grand Siècle at the London Club. We had it for New Year’s Eve last year, and it went down realty well with our guests, who were not wine professionals, but recognised Laurent-Perrier, which made them connect with it a bit more, I think.’
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