Noble Rot Issue 36 & Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti?

Noble Rot Issue 36 & Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti?

Dan Keeling shares a glass or three with Ridley Scott, the iconic director responsible for some of the greatest movies of all time – from Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise to Alien and Gladiator (the latter two of which Noble Rot pays tribute to with this issue’s special dual covers by Gary Taxoli). Scott is also a wine lover who owns vineyards in Provence and has a maverick perspective on everything from cooking the perfect scrambled eggs to how AI is changing the world.

 And while on the subject of AI, sommeliers may like to hear that they’ve got little to fear from it stealing their jobs – at least if Hannah Crosbie’s conversation with ChatGPT after asking it to mimic a quick-witted Noble Rot Lamb’s Conduit St somm is anything to go by (‘I Drink, Therefore I Am’).

 

Also in this issue:

…Noble Rot welcomes back Britain’s doyenne of home cooking, Delia Smith, who tries to choose between a visit to Auberge de la Môle and a Simon Hopkinson truffle extravaganza as her ‘Greatest Meal’.

...Alice Feiring speaks to The Four Horsemen’s James Murphy and Justin Chearno about a decade of their adored Brooklyn restaurant. Tragically, since the interview, the much-loved Justin has passed away and will be hugely missed by everybody who knew him.

…Kermit Lynch tells us about his eye-opening encounter in a Paris wine shop; A visit to the late, legendary Italian wine and food writer Luigi Veronelli’s mythical Bergamo cellar; and stories about Chartreuse, great Languedoc growers, BYO in restaurants, and much more.

 

The Book: Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti? 

 

“Dan Keeling’s new book, Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti? is a no-holds-barred voyage of discovery, from sourcing good cheap vino to drinking its most unattainable and holiest of grails – Romanée-Conti – and the universe of interstellar wines that lie in-between.” Noble Rot

From new-school Burgundy, Barolo and Champagne to Tenerife, Corsica and Chianti, Dan Keeling visits some of the world’s most renowned vignerons and vineyards on a quest to find out why some wines matter – and why many others don’t. Throughout the book he details the complex aspects of traditionalist wine culture, offering insights into subjects such as sulphur in winemaking, building a cellar, and many personal recommendations on what to buy for every pocket. We’ve had the pleasure of reading an advance-release copy of the book; it deserves every ounce of the praise you can read below. Another unmissable read from the Noble Rot foundry. 

The Magazines & Book

Noble Rot, Director's Cup! - Issue #36 (Alien Cover)
Added

Noble Rot, Director's Cup! - Issue #36 (Alien Cover)

Dan Keeling shares a glass or three with Ridley Scott, the iconic director responsible for some of the greatest movies of all time – from Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise to Alien and Gladiator (the latter two of which Noble Rot pays tribute to with this issue’s special dual covers by Gary Taxoli). Scott is also a wine lover who owns vineyards in Provence and has a maverick perspective on everything from cooking the perfect scrambled eggs to how AI is changing the world.

And while on the subject of AI, sommeliers may like to hear that they’ve got little to fear from it stealing their jobs – at least if Hannah Crosbie’s conversation with ChatGPT after asking it to mimic a quick-witted Noble Rot Lamb’s Conduit St somm is anything to go by (‘I Drink, Therefore I Am’).

Also in this issue:

…Noble Rot welcomes back Britain’s doyenne of home cooking, Delia Smith, who tries to choose between a visit to Auberge de la Môle and a Simon Hopkinson truffle extravaganza as her ‘Greatest Meal’.

...Alice Feiring speaks to The Four Horsemen’s James Murphy and Justin Chearno about a decade of their adored Brooklyn restaurant. Tragically, since the interview, the much-loved Justin has passed away and will be hugely missed by everybody who knew him.

…Kermit Lynch tells us about his eye-opening encounter in a Paris wine shop; A visit to the late, legendary Italian wine and food writer Luigi Veronelli’s mythical Bergamo cellar; and stories about Chartreuse, great Languedoc growers, BYO in restaurants, and much more.

Noble Rot, Director's Cup! - Issue #36 (Alien Cover)
Added
Noble Rot, Director's Cup! - Issue #36 (Gladiator Cover)
Added

Noble Rot, Director's Cup! - Issue #36 (Gladiator Cover)

Dan Keeling shares a glass or three with Ridley Scott, the iconic director responsible for some of the greatest movies of all time – from Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise to Alien and Gladiator (the latter two of which Noble Rot pays tribute to with this issue’s special dual covers by Gary Taxoli). Scott is also a wine lover who owns vineyards in Provence and has a maverick perspective on everything from cooking the perfect scrambled eggs to how AI is changing the world.

And while on the subject of AI, sommeliers may like to hear that they’ve got little to fear from it stealing their jobs – at least if Hannah Crosbie’s conversation with ChatGPT after asking it to mimic a quick-witted Noble Rot Lamb’s Conduit St somm is anything to go by (‘I Drink, Therefore I Am’).

Also in this issue:

…Noble Rot welcomes back Britain’s doyenne of home cooking, Delia Smith, who tries to choose between a visit to Auberge de la Môle and a Simon Hopkinson truffle extravaganza as her ‘Greatest Meal’.

...Alice Feiring speaks to The Four Horsemen’s James Murphy and Justin Chearno about a decade of their adored Brooklyn restaurant. Tragically, since the interview, the much-loved Justin has passed away and will be hugely missed by everybody who knew him.

…Kermit Lynch tells us about his eye-opening encounter in a Paris wine shop; A visit to the late, legendary Italian wine and food writer Luigi Veronelli’s mythical Bergamo cellar; and stories about Chartreuse, great Languedoc growers, BYO in restaurants, and much more.


Noble Rot, Director's Cup! - Issue #36 (Gladiator Cover)
Added
Who's Afraid of Romanée-Conti? by Dan Keeling
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Added

Who's Afraid of Romanée-Conti? by Dan Keeling

“Dan Keeling’s new book, Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti? is a no-holds-barred voyage of discovery, from sourcing good cheap vino to drinking its most unattainable and holiest of grails – Romanée-Conti – and the universe of interstellar wines that lie in-between.” Noble Rot

From new-school Burgundy, Barolo and Champagne to Tenerife, Corsica and Chianti, Dan Keeling visits some of the world’s most renowned vignerons and vineyards on a quest to find out why some wines matter – and why many others don’t. Throughout the book he details the complex aspects of traditionalist wine culture, offering insights into subjects such as sulphur in winemaking, building a cellar, and many personal recommendations on what to buy for every pocket. Another unmissable read from the Noble Rot foundry.  

“In the world of fine wine and fine eats, Keeling’s palate rules. Above all, this Englishman is a literate man of taste, passion, and talent. Bon appétit!”
Kermit Lynch, author of Adventures on the Wine Route
“Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti? makes discovering great wine as exciting as the NME made discovering great music back in the day.”
Mike Diamond, The Beastie Boys
“Every word and thought here is shot through with verve, wit and often piercing snark. I dare you not to be engaged by the wisdom and writing of Dan Keeling. Do you need this collection of attitude-changing essays? If you care about wine (or want to) you absolutely do.”
Alice Feiring, author of To Fall in Love, Drink This
“No-one writes about wine like Dan Keeling. Who's Afraid is totally absorbing and just as importantly fun. Love it.”
Angela Hartnett
Who's Afraid of Romanée-Conti? by Dan Keeling
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Added
Noble Rot, Gary Sees Red! - Issue #35
Added

Noble Rot, Gary Sees Red! - Issue #35

Victoria—feel the love. Following Noble Rot’s recent visit to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Issue 35’s ‘Ravenous for Melbourne’ chronicles founders Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew and executive chef Stephen Harris’s time in ‘Oz’s most gastronomic city’. During their short time here, they dined at an impressive array of iconic venues, old and new, including France-Soir, Flower Drum, Bacash, Tipo 00 and Carlton Wine Room, to name just a handful.

Then, in ‘Pacific Vim’, Chef Stephen Harris gives his two cents on Australian restaurant culture, describing it as “one of the great places in the world to eat”. On the wine side of things, Dan Keeling’s ‘The Vine Twitcher’ salutes a few of Victoria’s artisanal producers―including our very own Lambert Wines and Place of Changing Winds.


Also in this issue:

“Old footballer and crisp magnate” Gary Lineker talks wine, football dads, the Hand of God, and becoming a born-again cook in ‘Gary on Regardless’. Norman Cook―or Fatboy Slim to all you ’80s babies out there―makes a valiant effort to remember his greatest meal, though admitting it could all have been “a beautiful dream”.

Keira Knightley spends her 39th birthday reviewing an eclectic selection of wines, from 1995 Nyetimber to 1978 Château Giscours and Trediberri Barolo ‘Berri’ 2018, the latter described as “what you imagine Michael Corleone would drink before he becomes a mob boss”.

Then, Marina O’Loughlin reviews the iconic Chez Bruce, Jon Bonné dives deep into the state of play in Californian wine, Hannah Crosbie gives a ‘How to’ guide for judging your date by their wine choice, and Alice Feiring reminisces on better days when Jura icon Pierre Overnoy threw her a party.

Noble Rot, Gary Sees Red! - Issue #35
Added
Noble Rot, Alpine Winos - Issue #34
Added

Noble Rot, Alpine Winos - Issue #34

In this issue:

- Dan Keeling profiles the Alpine terroirs of the Savoie and Switzerland’s Valais. “Traversing the winding roads around some spectacular mountainside vineyards both [in Switzerland], and in nearby Savoie days earlier,” recalls Keeling, “proved to us indisputably that Alpine masters … mean business.”

- Keira Knightley reviews an eclectic selection of wines, from Envínate’s 2021 ‘Doad’ Lousas (“It would be impossible to find a person who wouldn’t like this wine”) to Blossom Hill (“If this is the taste of summer, we are all fucked”).

- Marina O’Loughlin interviews British national treasure and comedy polymath Bill Bailey over lunch at Noble Rot Mayfair–and reviews Narbonne’s Les Grands Buffets, an amazing ‘all you can eat’ restaurant featuring, among many other wonders, “towers of lobsters”, “acres of oysters” and “foie gras in ten different iterations”.

- Kate Spicer explores ‘Drunken Monkey Theory’ – AKA the reason why loving wine is in our DNA – and profiles François Chartier, the Atomic Somm who uses molecular science to improve wine and food pairing.

Also in this issue:

+ Joe Beef’s David McMillan recounts his greatest meal

+ Jay McInerney recounts the tempestuous story of the Mondavi dynasty

+ Levi Dalton considers when is the right time to drink Barolo

Plus features from Jon Bonné on Bernard Ginestet, Alice Feiring on coastal Tuscany and stories about Dolcetto, Succession and wine cancel culture, among others.

Noble Rot, Alpine Winos - Issue #34
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Noble Rot, Capturing the Impossible Wine - Issue #33
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Noble Rot, Capturing the Impossible Wine - Issue #33

In this issue, Dan Keeling reports on a 25-vintage vertical of Romanée-Conti, organised by the domaine to mark the reprint of Richard Olney’s seminal book Romanée-Conti: The World’s Most Fabled Wine. “As all wine lovers can attest, the last glass is often the best, and as the tasting winds down I return to my half-drunk set of wines,” writes Keeling. “There’s over half a million quid’s worth of BONA FIDE ROMANÉE-CONTI around the room. So watcha gonna do?” We wonder...

Also in this Issue…

+ Jon Bonné sketches Australian wine’s new generation.

+ Dan Keeling profiles the northern Rhône’s mystical Château Grillet.

+ Alice Feiring sees how Georgia’s ancient wine traditions are moving with the times.

+ A spotlight on this season’s most on-trend grapes.

+ Marina O’Loughlin heads to Porto to marvel at its gastronomic delights, and

+ the Rotters team re-watches and rates the best and worst films about wine.

+ much more

Noble Rot, Capturing the Impossible Wine - Issue #33
Added
Noble Rot, Sacred Lunch - Issue #32
Added

Noble Rot, Sacred Lunch - Issue #32

Another delicious, action-packed slice from the Noble Rot crew. The special guest this time is one of the UK’s most iconic chefs. On the cusp of his 60th birthday, Noble Rot profiles St John’s Fergus Henderson as you’ve never seen him before. Sticking with the nose-to-tail theme, Henry Harris pens a tribute to offal in Earn Your Tripes. Also, in this issue, editor Dan Keeling profiles a selection of revolutionary growers challenging the status quo of France’s outdated appellation system—Jean Marie Guffens, stand up and take a bow—and Alice Feiring reports on Hokkaido’s emerging wine scene. There’s even an article on sausages, metallurgy and wine that makes you want to pack your bags and take a plane to Claremont-Ferrand.

But that's not all:

  • Battle of the Somm by Jon Bonne
  • Cloud and Proud by Simon J Woolf
  • Kitchen Kabinett by Ed Wilson
  • Educating Peter [Crouch] by Dan Keeling
  • The Vine Twitcher reaches Bordeaux

Softcover, 120 pages. 169mm x 229mm Quarterly Wine Journal Published by Noble Rot UK Distributed in Australia by Ex Vinum

“Counter-cultural and edgy...It’s a million miles away from the glitzy hell and mind-warping, shallow, dull content of most glossy wine magazines".
Jamie Goode
Noble Rot, Sacred Lunch - Issue #32
Added

Praise for Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti?

“In the world of fine wine and fine eats, Keeling’s palate rules. Above all, this Englishman is a literate man of taste, passion, and talent. Bon appétit!” Kermit Lynch, author of Adventures on the Wine Route

“Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti? makes discovering great wine as exciting as the NME made discovering great music back in the day.”
Mike Diamond, The Beastie Boys

“Every word and thought here is shot through with verve, wit and often piercing snark. I dare you not to be engaged by the wisdom and writing of Dan Keeling. Do you need this collection of attitude-changing essays? If you care about wine (or want to) you absolutely do."
Alice Feiring, author of To Fall in Love, Drink This.

"No-one writes about wine like Dan Keeling. Who's Afraid is totally absorbing and just as importantly fun. Love it.”
Angela Hartnett

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