Anecdotes from a Sommelier Veteran
FEATURE ARTICLE
ASI MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2023
38
As it turns out, the customer in question was a critic. Chapon wasn’t aware of him at the time, so he called his good friend Gérard Basset, who confirmed the guest was indeed a critic and writer. Although the wine writer took the bottle of wine in question under the pretense of having it ‘lab tested’, he decided to forego the procedure, later writing about the experience in an article in Sainsbury Magazine. In it saying in response to the lab testing ‘he did not need to pay money for something he already knew to be true.’ Thankfully, this calling out didn’t sit well with other writers as Chapon recalls. Another gave him the opportunity to retort in Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News. It gave Chapon the opportunity to respond and provide readers the rationale behind how sommeliers deal with difficult situations. In the end Chapon learned that even diplomacy and etiquette doesn’t always suffice when someone’s ego is bruised. When it comes to fine wine service, tactfulness is a skill that Chapon believes great sommeliers must possess. When a client whom Chapon presumes was in the company of a ‘friend’, instead of his wife as normal, ordered a bottle of white Bordeaux, pointing to the 1967 Château d'Yquem on the list, Chapon was quick to praise his selection of the iconic sweet wine. The guest retorted “but it’s not too sweet.” Quick to protect his client’s image, Chapon nodded and replied “of course, but as you know the 67 vintage was an exception.” A bottle of Ygrec, the dry wine of the property, was brought to the table for his client and companion to enjoy. Even if meant £1,000 less in sales, it was the right course of action. He’s also learned not to judge a book by their cover, or make presumptions, as he had two young women order a £1,000 plus bottle
“Sometimes judging a book by its cover also applies to wine labels.”
Herni Chapon
of Château Haut-Brion for lunch, and at the opposite end witnessed the Queen Mother’s assistant’s refusal to spend more than £25 on a bottle of Claret on behalf of the royal. As for the most precious wines he has served. It was the two bottles of 1983 Romanée-Conti. The Romanée-Conti was ordered at a restaurant he was working at in Monaco around 1991. The party was in fact interested in a third but had to settle for a bottle of La Tâche from the same vintage, as those were there last two bottles of the prized wine. The move to La Tâche according to Chapon “was fortuitous, as not only was it significantly less expensive, but it was also drinking better.” Sometimes judging a book by its cover also applies to wine labels.