John Shamon
SAINT-EMILION : WINES WITH UNIQUE CHARACTERS
John Shamon has worked in the hotel industry all his life, which has led him to Hong Kong. He talks to us about his love story with Saint-Emilion wines, about this singularity that seduced him so much.
JOHN SHAMON, VICE PRESIDENT, ROSEWOOD HOTEL GROUP.
SAINT-EMILION, A SPECIAL PLACE
In the 70s, when he was a young, 19-year-old sommelier, John Shamon discovered Saint-Emilion wines. It was a 1964 vintage. “I had never drank such a wine” he confesses. His passion for Saint-Emilion wines never faded: “I still remember it 35 years later, it is a part of me”. Since then, this person of American origins has had the chance to taste many Saint-Emilion wines: “Saint-Emilion has always had an important place in my heart”, he admits. A trained taster, John Shamon likes those rituals that allow the wine to express all its potential: “after half an hour in the glass, they really start revealing their true color and to show their immense quality”.
SAINT-EMILION, UNIQUE TERROIRS AND CÉPAGES
If Saint-Emilion wines have won John Shamon over, it is because they are “like a young, playful lady, very warm and beautiful, always surrounded by a mysterious aura”, he confesses. This singularity, Saint-Emilion wines owe it to unique terroirs and blends : “ Wines that contain a majority of Merlot are softer, more velvety, have more feminine qualities”, he adds. But this enthusiast likes they accessibility above all: “Saint-Emilion wines have a tendency to be softer, more accessible when they’re young”. Their structure and their complexity moreover allow many possibilities of food and wine pairings, be it with Asian or Occidental cuisine. Those wines can go with “a wide number of world foods”, John Shamon concludes. Why don’t you try?