Farsons Beverage Imports Company (FBIC) aand Casa Ellul recently collaborated to present a very special evening, locally unprecedented. Very old and rare vintages of Bordeaux first growths were combined with dinner at Risette, an informal fine dining restaurant set within the elegant Casa Ellul, in the heart of Valletta.

The team at FBIC carefully chose a selection of wines from their cellars for this unique event. The evening commenced with two vintages of Château Haut-Brion Premier Cru Classé - 1926 and 1948. These wines were followed by a pair from Château Mouton Rothschild – 1947 and 1948 – actually from the time that Château Mouton Rothschild was still classified as a 2ème Cru Classé.  Since old corks run the risk of breaking or disintegrating when using the traditional or Ghidini corkscrews, for these wines port tongs were used to cleanly decapitate the bottles.  The process involved placing red-hot iron tongs on the neck of the bottle below the cork followed by the application of ice water with a brush. The drastic change in temperature cleanly broke the bottle neck at the point where the tongs were applied.     

Following this unforgettable flight, the Farsons’ wine team presented a second series of wines to accompany the dinner - Bollinger Grande Année 2004, Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc 2010, Château La Conseillante 2001, Château Pichon Longueville Baron 2006 and Château de Myrat 2006.  All these wines were perfectly paired to an outstanding menu prepared by Risette’s Chef Andrew Borg.  Andrew’s extensive experience in kitchens throughout Europe has complimented and developed his devotion for fine cuisine.  The menu combined cultures and methods into dishes which expressed Andrew’s passion for flavours together with his mastery of techniques.  The pairings of Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc 2010 with “White asparagus cooked in sage butter, toasted hay custard and pistachios” and Château de Myrat 2006 with “Nectarine and almond tart fine, wild thyme honey ice cream” were probably the pairing highlights of the dinner.