Michael Edwards of The World of Fine Wine has reviewed RJ’s latest book ‘A scent of Champagne’.
‘Scent is the clue to Richard Juhlin’s (pictured) new book. There may be twice the number of venerable vintages tasted in this opus, but its core attraction for his devotees is richard’s personal story of his rise from Swedish Pe instructor to international champagne guru, equipped with an acute sense of smell, the main armament of the fine taster that he certainly is. The nicest surprise is that in the drive to express his passion on a human scale, he has written a delightful prolog about a recent holiday in corsica with his children and Norwegian fiancée, Ragni. “So incredibly beautiful and rich in scent,” he writes, “is the flowing sweet perfume of lily plants, cyclamen, bougainvillea, and yellow roses.”
Then he finds fresh tones in the Mediterranean air, of citrus flavor, lemon, and acacia; so he’s on home ground as ragni suggests a little blind tasting of a vintage blanc de blancs. it’s a sensational bottle savored under the olive tree. richard correctly identifies this nectar as comtes de champagne— yet misses the vintage, which he thinks is 1999 but is in fact the far greater 1995. Full marks for honesty but this is also a cautionary tale of how memory can play tricks with even the finest taster.’
