Hibiscus

Claude Bosi, the ambitious and exuberant chef-patron of two Michelin-starred restaurant Hibiscus in Mayfair, has a soft spot for ornamental chickens. So much so, he has a collection of the creatures lining the staircase at the restaurant, whose beady eyes watch you as you venture down to the loo.

Having upped sticks from its original home in Ludlow in 2007, husband and now ex-wife team Claude and Claire run a slick ship at Hibiscus. The restaurant is so understated, I walked straight past it. A polished desk on entry coupled with a partition screen give the impression you’re about to check in to a BA Club lounge. Inside, the interiors have been over-generously garnished with wood. Tones are hushed, lighting bright and flowers orange. On arrival, the restaurant is empty save for one or two tables, to give head chef Marcus McGuinness time to execute Bosi’s intricate dishes while he works his magic at new London pop-up The Cube atop the Royal Festival Hall.

Proceedings are kicked off in style when a pair of goody bowls arrive, one containing pudgy cheese gougères and the other ping pong ball-shaped yuzu and miso croquettes, both of which prove so addictive I’m suspicious they might contain crack cocaine. The croquettes explode with aromatic citrus liquid on biting, while the gougères ooze warm, creamy cheddar down my thankful throat. Chomping enthusiastically into a second, my skirt is christened with liquid cheese. Moments later, a concerned waiter arrives and silently offers me a starched white napkin from between two forks before swiftly departing so as not to draw attention to the incident.

Mackerel tartare with button mushroom cream

Obsessed with seasonality, Hibiscus doesn’t limit itself to the confines of a menu, but rather offers a page of seasonal ingredients, asking diners to choose the number of dishes they’d like (three, six or eight), and which ingredients they would like to see featured. I opt for eight courses and ask to be surprised. In a sweet and fitting tribute to the restaurant’s namesake, the feast begins with a vivifying hibiscus flower and pineapple soda amuse bouche, which I’m told to down like a shot.

Perhaps peaking prematurely, the first course is the apogee of the meal. Served in a small black bowl, a layer of foie gras-coloured button mushroom cream is prettified with edible flowers amid shards of shaved almond sticking out of the top like shark teeth. Beneath the teeth lies a smoky, meaty, mackerel tartare. When eaten together, the result is a rich, creamy and perfumed mouthful given texture by the almond shards in an exquisite example of the culinary pyrotechnics Bosi prides himself on.

Kaffir lime and spring onion ravioli

The next course is equally intriguing: a single, pleated ravioli stuffed with spring onion and Kaffir lime served with a buttery, broad bean and mint purée. The audacious use of lime highlights Bosi’s fearless approach. Out to surprise and delight, he takes flavour pairings to the edge of what is acceptable, assaulting and seducing the palate in one bite. Diners of a meek disposition may not warm to his gung-ho style, but, as each course reveals itself, I revel in the life-affirming flavour skirmish.

A pearl white hunk of roast Cornish John Dory was disappointingly mild on its own, but came to life when paired with the accompanying girolles drizzled in Lancashire mead and a salty sliver of Morteau sausage, the mead adding unctuous sweetness, the girolles earthiness and the sausage a savoury, meaty kick. Next up is a solitary, oak-smoked lamb sweetbread served with fresh goat’s cheese masquerading as a boiled egg, the yolk a pool of grass-green sorrel oil. Rich, juicy and oily, it tasted like a gourmet chicken nugget.

Roast squab pigeon with pistachios and cherries

Mention must be made of the wines. Chosen by natural wine pioneer Isabelle Legeron MW and enthusiastically poured by 22-year-old head sommelier Bastien Ferreri, the majority of the bins on the weighty list are organic and biodynamic, so what ends up in the glass is a bit of a lottery. While the opening wine, a 2009 Marsanne/Rousanne/Chardonnay/Viognier mash up from the Languedoc is cloudy in colour and spiteful in character, a 2007 Vermentino/Chenin Blanc blend from the Languedoc chosen to pair with the ravioli is bright, aromatic and elegantly spiced.

The only wine list in London to carry a page dedicated to orange wines, my wine find of the night was the curious and delicious Savasol 2007 from Loire renegade Julien Courtois. Made from the little-known Menu Pineau grape, Courtois deliberately oxidizes the wine to imbue it with wonderful, Sherry-like aromas of hazelnuts, toffee and sea air. Excited to be presented with a gleaming chunk of lobster, it turns out to be the least remarkable dish of the night. Much more impressive is an almost indecently pink slice of roast squab pigeon served with pistachio gravel. Sweetened by the accompanying cherries, the meat is achingly tender and exoticised by hints of spice. Finishing the dish, a crispy samosa contains creamy foie gras and an array of the bird’s innards.

White asparagus and white chocolate cream

The exhilarating flavour journey ends on a high note with a mystery dessert, the ingredients of which I’m asked to identify. Fashioned into a squidgy macaroon, I correctly guess the key components: white asparagus and white chocolate cream, and also manage to pinpoint the black olive splodges and coconut sorbet, but fail to decipher the elusive whey gel. The rich, savoury concoction seems straight out of the Great British Menu – a dish Matthew Fort would rave about and Oliver Peyton would peer down his glasses disapprovingly at. It was weird, but it worked. That’s the beauty of Bosi – he sends you on a crazy culinary adventure with no seatbelt or indication of the final destination, and the ride is all the better for it.

Hibiscus, 29 Maddox Street, London, W1S 2PA; Tel: +44 (0)20 7629 2999.

San Valentino with Emily O'Hare

During a recent visit to Emilia-Romagna with the lovely Emily O'Hare, sommelier at Michelin-starred Italian restaurant The River Café in Hammersmith, we got Ben Smith of Enotria to film this video where we try two wines from biodynamic estate San Valentino in Rimini, beginning with Due 2011, a Chardonnay/Riesling blend, and ending with the punchy, 100% Sangiovese, Terra di Covignano 2011. Salute!

Wregg: The majority of natural wines can’t age

Flag bearer for the natural wine movement Doug Wregg has admitted he doesn’t think the majority of natural wines can age. “60-80% of natural wine should be drunk within the first year, after that they fall apart,” the director of sales and marketing for Les Caves de Pyrène told the drinks business. “Most of the wines are light, pale, fizzy and fun. They’re meant for wine bars rather than cellars. It’s a miracle when something lovely happens in the bottle a few years down the line, but I wouldn’t bet my house on it,” he added.

Wregg disagrees with French and Italian natural wine importer Giuseppe Mascoli’s opinion that natural wine is “not for the masses,” as reported on Wine and the City. “Natural wine is for the masses. It’s not in any way intellectual or hard to understand – the wines are incredibly simple and easy to understand,” he said. He also revealed that he’s in no hurry for natural wine to get an official definition.

“I’m really against the idea of an official definition – I don’t think it would have any traction, so I can’t see the point of it. Having to adhere to a certain set of criteria would suffocate the freedom of the winemakers. I wouldn’t like the whole movement to be codified. Plus, the debate surrounding the natural wine movement has generated a lot of interest because of this lack of an official definition,” he admitted.

With regards to organic and biodynamic wine, he blasted the term organic as “meaningless,” due to the multitude of different definitions around the world. “I’m relaxed about the language surrounding natural wine – I use the terms organic and biodynamic interchangeably,” he quipped. He also spoke of his constant need to defend criticism of natural wine from the trade: “It’s turned into a playground fight – the wine bloggers are ripping their hair out."

Wregg is to host a natural, organic and biodynamic fair – The Real Wine Fair – at Victoria House in Holborn on 20-22 May, which will go head-to-head with Isabelle Legeron’s RAW wine fair on 20-21 May at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane.

Seely seeking second Burgundy property

Christian Seely, managing director of AXA Millésimes – owners of Château Pichon Baron and Domaine de l’Arlot – has revealed he is on the hunt for a second Burgundy property. “I’m acutely looking to add a second Burgundy estate to our portfolio, but it’s very difficult,” he told the drinks business at the Pichon Baron 2011 primeurs tasting last week. Seely also admitted that he is looking to buy in the New World, but wouldn’t elaborate on where.

With regards to the 2011 vintage, he said the majority of people who tasted at Pichon Baron were “pleasantly surprised” by the quality of the vintage. “There hasn’t been the euphoria of 2009 and 2010, but people seem pleasantly surprised by the quality of Pichon 2011, perhaps because expectations weren’t very high. Not all 2011s are good, but those who picked well made lovely wines,” he said.

Seely also revealed that he is using increasing amounts of Semillon in his dry white, S de Suduiraut, from Sauternes estate Château Suduiraut. “My big aim is to make a dry white from the Sauternes region that tastes like Sauternes. We predominantly use Semillon in our sweet Sauternes, so it makes sense to use it in “S” too. We’ve made a few experimental bottles of 100% Semillon and it’s utterly delicious, so I know I’m on the right track,” he said.

“The fear is that with a majority of Semillon in the blend it won’t age well, but I know that it will. Unfortunately, it will be hard to increase production to supply demand as the only way to make it well is to use grapes destined for Suduiraut,” he added. Comparing the 2011 Sauternes vintage to the acclaimed 2001, Seely described the wines as “very rich, with high levels of residual sugar and botrytis, but super fresh, with lovely complexity and depth.”

Over at Château Pontet-Canet, owner Alfred Tesseron said that being biodynamic didn’t necessarily make it harder for him during the capricious 2011 growing season. “It’s all about your approach – being biodynamic, you have to always be one step ahead and work on a prevention rather than cure basis. 2011 was a difficult vintage, but every year presents different challenges. The weather was very up and down, so we had no room for manoeuvre,” he admitted.

Tesseron revealed his main reason for going biodynamic was for the positive affect it has on the taste of Pontet-Canet. He is currently exploring the effect of egg-shaped fermenters on the maturation process. “A lot of Bordeaux wines are over-oaked and I’m looking to find the right balance. I chose the fermenters for their breathability rather than their egg shape, but it’s too early to say whether I’m pleased with the results,” he said.

Monty Waldin and Dr Richard Smart

Biodynamic winemaker and writer Monty Waldin and global consultant on viticultural methods Dr Richard Smart talk to Wine and the City about the pros and cons of organics and biodynamics before a debate on the subject at the WSET headquarters in London. Waldin argues for the motion, with Smart speaking against the promotion of organics and biodynamics in the UK wine trade.

Château Pontet-Canet

Pontet-canet is one of Bordeaux’s recent success stories – a poster child for change in the region. Thriving from recent refurbishment, investment and innovations, its star is fixed firmly in the ascendancy, and with opening prices for the 2009 vintage released at double that of 2005, it seems the only way is up. Founded by Jean-François de Pontet, governor general of the Médoc and secretary to King Louis XV, the château was bought from Bordeaux winemaking dynasty the Cruse family in 1975 by Cognac merchant Guy Tesseron. Full time management of the property was taken over by Guy’s son Alfred in 1994.

With Alfred at the helm, Pontet-Canet has grown steadily in quality each year. And with the rapturous reception given to the 2009 vintage, it earned its stripes as a member of the elite club of over-achieving non-first-growth châteaux alongside Cos d’Estournel and Palmer. Pontet-Canet’s swathe of vineyards reside in a prime position on the plateau of Pauillac, north-west of the town, and due south of illustrious neighbours Château Lafite and Château Mouton Rothschild. The 81-hectare estate’s gravel over clay and limestone soils are planted with a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon – roughly two-thirds – and Merlot, with a sprinkling of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

This January, the estate was re-awarded full Biodyvin biodynamic certification, having lost it in 2007 when a severe bout of mildew threatened the entire crop, forcing Tesseron to use chemicals to treat it – a decision he now says he regrets. The loss of certification was a huge blow, but signalled an important change. “2007 was a learning curve. We lost crops but the wine was good and people began to realise there may be a price to pay for higher quality. 2008 was just as bad, but we managed because we were prepared. With biodynamics, it’s more about prevention than cure when it comes to treatments,” says Tesseron.

His appointment of Jean-Michel Comme as technical director in 1989 brought about a period of change for the estate. The pair reintroduced green harvesting – without Guy’s knowledge – in 1990. Together with Comme and famed Bordeaux consultant Michel Rolland, Tesseron, 63, has taken Pontet-Canet from good-value over-performer to super-second challenger. Pontet-Canet is the first and only Bordeaux classed growth thus far to be certified biodynamic. The process began in 2004, a year after Tesseron stopped using herbicides. Testing the water with just 14ha of the vineyard, in 2005 they expanded the practices to the whole estate, signalling an incredible shift in philosophy.

“In the end, you have to decide if you’re going to stand still or improve, and what I saw at Champs des Treilles was the turning point,” says Tesseron of Comme’s 25-acre organic estate. “I said to Jean-Michel: ‘If you think you can do it, let’s try’.” Tesseron replaced the stainless steel tanks in the cellar with small conical concrete vats that are gravity-filled for gentler tannin management, giving much softer extraction and the best vinification for each individual plot. In 2008, three Breton horses were brought in to plough 8ha of vineyard in place of tractors. Today the ploughing and spraying has been extended to 24ha.

The long-term aim is to get rid of the tractors altogether and bring in more horses – used at the château in the ‘60s – to work the entire estate. In January, a fourth horse, Surprise, joined the château and is currently being trained alongside the other three. “Our aim is to use horses as much as we can. It’s early days, but we’re taking slow steps. Working biodynamically is a holistic approach. It’s constant, everyday work that puts us in close touch with the vineyard.

Our first motivation is to create the best wines possible, but we also know that biodynamics is the purest way of respecting the environment,” says Tesseron. Lower yields are offset by increased grape quality, which leads to a higher proportion of first-label wines. “Pontet-Canet is not a potato patch; I need sufficient yield and quality,” says Comme, who argues that the same model works for less prestigious estates. “I don’t live in a Grand Cru Classé bubble – I have a little vineyard myself,” Comme says, referring to Château du Champs des Treilles, run by his wife Corinne, who also consults with first growth Sauternes Château Climens in their conversion to biodynamics.

Pontet-Canet doesn’t make a fuss about being biodynamic – no mention of its re-certification will appear on the 2010 labels. “A certification on the label is not important to us. What is important is the name Château Pontet-Canet, and how the wine makes you feel,” says Tesseron. Attitudes towards biodymamics in Bordeaux remain sceptical, but for Pontet-Canet, it’s a way of life, rather than a marketing tool. “There are still people who don’t believe it’s possible to be organic in Bordeaux,” says Comme. “As soon as the whole estate was biodynamic, we aimed for certification as a way to prove we were sincere in our project.”

Pontet-Canet has ploughed a green path in Bordeaux, and proved that biodynamics is possible in the region. It will be exciting to see which châteaux jump on the biodynamic bandwagon and follow suit.