At 6pm on a Tuesday evening in London, the sun finally broke through the rainclouds that had been haunting the city since dawn and illuminated the cobbled, labyrinth that is Soho. It was at this time that the country’s foremost wine ahfficiandos began to filter into the iconic Ronnie Scott’s for what turned out to be a fabulous night.
The Saint-Emilion Jazz Festival is in it’s 5th edition and to launch the festival, we invited the cream, or should we say “cru”… (if you get the reference, great – if not, don’t worry… but you should probably drink more) of the British wine elite to sample the Grand Cru Classés selection from the ancient wine-producing town of Saint-Emilion, France.
But it wasn’t just wine… No, we were treated to a truly phenomenal set from France’s sensualist pianist (blame Google Translate) Jean Pierre Como and Hugh Coltman. The playing was truly sensational and Coltman’s vocals were masterful. The audience fell totally silent for the performance. For a spit second, the Ladbury team feared perhaps they’d nodded-off due to the level of red wine in the room, until we realize they had not started the tasting session. We were all , we were simply enthralled by this imitate and emotional performance.
The Saint-Emilion Jazz Festival returns this year with the likes of Faada Freddie, Marcus Millar, Electro Deluxe, Jean Pierre Como and more. From July 22nd to 24th this breathtakingly beautiful town, donns it’s proverbial turtle-neck and is immersed by the flavours and tones of jazz and wine. A spectacular combination and a festival not to be missed.
