Hand Picked Hotels’ Chairman and Chief Executive Julia Hands has created an outstanding list of Bordeaux wines, featuring the stellar 2000 vintage.
Guests can enjoy the wine list at the award-winning collection of 20 country house hotels across the UK and Channel Islands.
The hotels’ wine lists reflect Julia’s philosophy and interest in wine. The former lawyer turned hotelier, a lay judge in the International Wine and Spirit Competition with a diploma from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, has brought a very personal touch,, tasting and selecting all wine included on the wine list., Julia hand-picked a number of wines of Bordeaux 2000. The wines were purchased en primeur and both before and since their release have been cellared in ideal conditions.
The collection of Bordeaux represents a wine tour from Chateaux across the region which can be enjoyed alongside delicious cuisine in the hotel’s fine dining restaurants or as a pre or post-dinner drink in the stunning lounges or great drawing rooms.
Julia Hands said: “We are passionate about delicious food and good wine at Hand Picked Hotels. A vintage such as 2000 in Bordeaux comes along rarely, it produced scores of outstanding wines and is generally accepted that the excellence of the year surpasses that of previous great modern vintages. I have selected nine different wines from our collection in our wine list. These wines come from across the wine region of Bordeaux and, together, give a wonderfully varied picture of the region and the quality of the wines it can produce.”
The wines on offer include the Left Bank appellation Chateau LArrivet-Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan at £68 a bottle. The wine is an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon from the vineyards owned by Christine and Philippe Gervosan, who have restored the well-regarded estates within Bordeaux wine region. Among the Right Bank appellations is Chateau Cissac, which can be traced back to Roman times. The 50 hectare vineyard is located just north of the town of Cissac, with vines planted on a fine gravel soil over a strata of chalk. Julia has chosen Chateau Cissac, Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Medoc, with a dense blackcurrant palate, which is rounded, fleshy and well-balanced, at £50 a bottle.
Julia has also introduced her own wine to the Hand Picked wine list, produced from the Villa Saletta estate in Tuscany, owned by Julia and her husband Guy. This historic estate, once owned by the Riccardi family, bankers to the Medicis of Florence, has thrived under their ownership. In 2002, they revived the vineyards by investing in a programme of plantings which included Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese. Grape varieties and rootstock have been planted according to aspect, soil and site to ensure that the vines flourish to produce the best possible crop. The first vintage was in 2004, since when Raccolto a Mano – “harvested by hand” – has featured on the Hand Picked Hotels’ wine list, along with Chianti Riserva La Rocca, Villa Saletta, and Borgo Saletta Rosso Di Toscana .
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Contact Marion Hardman at Four communications - [email protected] / 020 3697 4358
About Hand Picked Hotels
Hand Picked Hotels, created by former lawyer turned hotelier Julia Hands, is the leading collection of architecturally splendid country house hotels - built for pleasure and continuing a centuries-old tradition of offering guests an indulgent yet attainable country house visit, with a contemporary twist. The award-winning hotels are renowned for exquisite food, fine wines and bespoke service by Hand Picked people in stylish, relaxing surroundings, a total of 20 classically British hotels in rural settings across the British Isles, with locations ranging from the New Forest and Jersey to the Cotswolds and Edinburgh. Hand Picked Hotels has won an impressive number of awards, with 17 hotels awarded two AA rosette status and Norton House Hotel in Edinburgh recognised with three AA rosettes. Nine hotels have achieved red star status which means they are ranked within the AA's Top 200 hotels in the UK & Ireland. The Four Red Star Fawsley Hall is also now part of the Hand Picked collection. There are nine hotels with spas offering the latest therapies and treatments to promote wellbeing and relaxation. Hand Picked Hotels was AA Hotel Group of the Year 2012-2013.
