Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Friday 20 August 2010

Eric d'Aramon@Château Figeac

At the entrance to the property

Today we drove over from Langon to Saint-Emilion through the attractively undulating Entre-deux-Mers as I had arranged to do a short interview with Comte Eric d'Aramon for an article in the second edition of Gilbert & Gaillard's Wine International.

Comte Eric d'Aramon in his office


When Eric d'Aramon married Laure Manoncourt, the daughter of Thierry Manoncourt, he swopped the world of yogurt for that of wine. "Tasting wine is much more interesting than tasting yogurt." he says. D'Aramon started at Figeac in 1988 taking over the commercial reins in 1992. "It was in 1995 that I really started to make the wine he says." Taking over from Thierry Manoncourt must have been daunting. Manoncourt's first vintage was 1943, he has made or been involved in all the vintages since 1947 and at 92 – 93 years old in September – he remains actively involved.


Tasting the 2000


Entrance to the house, chai etc.

2010 Cabernet Franc?


I still have fond memories of a bottle of 1961 Figeac that we found in a restaurant in the small town of Massat in the foothills of the Pyrénées around 1981 for about 200 FF. The one drawback was that the restaurant had only tiny glasses. The '61, although truly memorable, would have been even better with some good glassware.


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