Pure luxury at a lower cost

Jul 30 2009 Buckinghamshire Advertiser

SUZY TALBOT gets a taste for good food and fine wine at Waddesdon Manor

WADDESDON Manor is a place I have visited often over the years. I have been to the grand manor house, near Aylesbury, for special Christmas events, explored the food markets or simply had a look around.

Three things always come to mind when hearing about the Rothschild family who own the manor: grand properties, banking and wine.

So when I was offered the unique opportunity to go behind the scenes and try some of their famous wine I jumped at the chance.

The managing director of Rosthchild Waddesdon Wine, Christopher Campbell, gave us the tour and his enthusiasm for his product is limitless, and he was an absolute joy to listen to.

We started with some whites in the cellar of the manor, fresh crisp and very easy drinking. Then we had a smooth and silky red which was a delight and yet a shock that it only cost about £7 from the manor shop.

It is not on offer in your usual supermarket, which is a pity as it knocks the socks off many more expensive wines you can buy.

While in the cellar, we discovered wines that are hundreds of years old, donated by the various French divisions of the family.

The Rothschilds started their impressive wine collection in 1853 by buying Chateau Mouton Rothschild and following up in 1868 with Chateau Lafite.

They have estates in Chile, Argentina and South Africa, and all branches of the family are fiercely competitive at promoting their wine, which explains the wealth in the cellar of Waddesdon.

Once we had learnt a bit more about the history of the wine, Christopher was keen to show us how to match wine with food.

We went to the Five Arrows Hotel, in the grounds of the manor house, for what had to be one of the most luxurious and extravagant meals I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

This is fine dining at its best, in a beautiful old building with crisp white linen, heavy silver cutlery and wonderful service.

Six different-sized wine glasses faced us when we sat down and I was grateful I was staying the night. Some of this wine was worth eyewatering amounts of money and I wanted to enjoy every sip.

We started with hand-dived scallops with crab and spring onion fritters and two white wines to try. Light and well cooked, the accompaniments did not overpower the flavour of the scallops.

Christopher explained how the wines were created and which type went better with the food for each course, and once you really start to study the wines, you can really taste the difference and spot the flavours.

We followed up with milk-fed lamb with streaky bacon, stuffed with foie gras and three reds, all beautiful and fully converting me from a white wine lover to a red.

We then finished off with quince and cheese and a final red. Yes, I was a bit giddy by this point, and yes, the next morning the head thumped a bit too.

If all this sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime, utterly luxurious experience, that is because it was.

Yet the Five Arrows Hotel and the manor house are fully accessible for everyone, not just the very rich or in my case the very lucky.

From Monday to Saturday there is a two-course for £10 lunch offer which is something you very rarely find in a restaurant of this quality and there are numerous special offers which make staying the night (well worth it) affordable.

Or there are very affordable tours of the cellar and in August a free wine tasting of the new wines.

Keep your eyes out for the bargains and experience pure luxury at a lower cost. 

Visit www.waddesdon.org.uk  or call the Five Arrows Hotel on 01296 651 727.