Contest Paris
The president of the Association of Sommeliers of Bordeaux-Aquitaine is a happy man! After having participated
in three semi-finals of the Master of Port competition, he manages on last June 18th to reach the finals and above all,
to impose himself.
Ten candidates past the first stage of the selection: Bertrand Bijasson (Hôtel Mercure in Libourne, Gironde), Cédric Brisson (Le Neuvième Art in Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert), Carole Ferron (Les Vins'coeurs in Triors, in the Drôme), Jean-Baptiste Klein (Le Moulin de Mougins in Mougins, in the Alpes-Maritimes), Antoine Lehebel (Restaurant Michel Chabran in Pont-de-l'Isère, in the Drôme), Yann Satin (Hôtel Westminster in Touquet-Paris-Plage, in the Pas-de-Calais), Julia Scavo (La Trattoria in Monaco), Mathieu Seraglini (Royal Monceau in Paris), Philippe Troussard (Les Caudalies in Arbois , in the Jura), Frédéric Voné (À la Cour d'Alsace in Obernai, in the Bas-Rhin).
Promising professional, in 1996 he got the 3rd place at the contest for France's Best Sommelier before deciding to favour his career. “But since 2006 I have been dreaming of winning a title to please my son. He is the one who drove me to take a new look at myself by participating in a new competition. The closest date on the calendar was that of the Master of Port! The first time, I missed the written part whereas I passed the practical test. The next time it was the opposite and in 2010, better prepared, I was too stressed!”
Now in charge of the wine bar at the Hotel Mercure in Libourne, Bertrand Bijasson overcame his demons: “As the tests went along, and facing the difficulty, I started thinking that I would not get to the end, and paradoxically it relieved me.” The three other finalists Julia Scavo, Cédric Brisson and Philippe Troussard were up to the event.
Biennial contest organized by the Federation of Great Brands of Porto (S.G.M.P) in France, and the French Sommellerie Union (U.D.S.F) with the support of the Institute of Wines from Douro and Porto, the Master of Port is one of the most prized professional contests to honour the sommeliers who showed an extensive knowledge about Porto wines.
The ten candidates selected a few months earlier in the regions experienced a real marathon in the premises of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV). Among them, five were already present two years before: Carole Ferron, Jean-Baptiste Klein, Yann Satin, Philippe Troussard and the future winner. To all of them, Bertrand Bijasson proved that self-will is awarded one day.
But for this, they had to pass the different stages of the sensory analysis of a Porto wine (Ramos Pinto vintage 1983), travel in the Douro valley through slides and questions, and identify two other wines that had the distinctive feature of being 40 years old (Sandeman Classic Porto and Andresen in white Porto). “The worst workshop was the correction of a wine list riddled with mistakes. I also feared for the test in English but it didn't come! The best one was the tasting (Quinta do Noval Tawny 20 years) in front of Serge Dubs. I eased up progressively and I think I managed it well” the new Master of Port confided.
They were only six left on the second day of the contest, when they had to choose the wines intended to accompany the meal gathering the organizers, representatives of the different partner Porto houses, and the journalists. Carole Ferron, Antoine Lehebel, Mathieu Seraglini and Frédéric Voné finished as spectators.
It is only when arriving at the Embassy of Portugal that the final four were known and that the ultimate selection tests could start, in front of a numerous public.
A new sensory analysis (Ramos Pinto vintage 2000), a food and wine pairing, the opening of a bottle of Porto with a two-prong cork puller, the selection of three bottles (Tawny Niepoort, Sandeman 20 years, and Colheita 1997 Quinta do Noval) out of five to match with five different chocolates, as well as two questions appealing to general knowledge and reflection.
At the announcement of the winner, Bertrand Bijasson could barely hide his emotion. Awarded especially with a trip in the Douro valley and a case of centenary Portos, he went back over the months that preceded the second phase of the contest : “This time, I worked a lot and above all, I spent four intense days in Portugal. It was essential, I need a visual medium to remember well all that I learn during preparation.”
He then rapidly got back to his daily life, in Libourne. “I feel blossomed at the Mercure as I have the chance to be one of the only sommeliers of the group to be allowed to create my own wine list. Now I have three years ahead of me to put myself in the shoes of a candidate to the title of one of France's Best Craftsmen…”
Jean BERNARD
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