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Published on September 22, 2007

More than Bt255,000 was raised for Her Royal Highness Princess Somsavali's Save a Child from AIDS charity at the sold-out dinner, an increase over last year despite bumps in the economic landscape.

Not everything was flawless - it rarely is when you bring a dozen internationally acclaimed chefs together to work in kitchens with assistants they've never met.

Nicholas Schneller, the Four Seasons' executive chef, deserves a medal for keeping everybody smiling and on schedule.

From a wine perspective, this year was a notable improvement over the past two events, when local distributors reduced their participation due mostly to outrageous duties imposed on wine by capricious customs officials.

Australian corporate beverage giant Fosters, owner of the iconic Penfolds brand, sponsored a rare vertical tasting of its renowned Grange shiraz.

Viewed from any perspective this was one of Bangkok's premier wine-tasting events in several years. For Bt4,750, a lucky group of 50 wine lovers sampled generous pours of seven vintages of Grange dating back to the now-rare 1981.

Adding greater value to the tasting was the personal tutoring of Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago, who flew to Thailand specifically for this and the subsequent dinner at the Madison steak house.

Vintages included in the tasting were '81, '95, '96, '97, '99, '01 and '02, which Gago advised gave a good cross-section of how the wines mature as well as the impact weather has on each year.

While the '81 remains viable, with fruit and tannins now well integrated, the '96 got my vote as the winner with its retention of intense fruit, integrated tannins and complex lingering finish, still years from reaching its zenith.

The '01 was from the hottest year on record, showing loads of ripe-fruit character, mild tannins and easy drinkability. The '02 is from a cool growing season and, while showing hints of berry briary flavour, it has yet to come together.

Putting the Grange tasting into economic perspective, and underlining the extraordinary opportunity that wine-tastings of this genre offer, here's some math to consider.

Buying the seven wines at the Four Seasons tasting, assuming you could find them, would cost the equivalent of at least Bt250,000 in Australia.

Add Thailand's outlandish taxes and you would likely exceed the price of million-baht publicity-stunt wine dinner staged by a local hotel last year.

Let's see: one wine dinner at Bt1 million or 200 vertical tastings of some of the best wine in the world for Bt5,000 each. Take your pick.

 Penfolds wines are available in Thailand from Bangkok Beer & Beverage Co at (02) 661 9446.