Michael Broadbent

I was fortunate to have met Michael Broadbent a couple of times at a tutored tasting at The Groucho Club, London.
A true character and world authority on older classic wines. The trade will sadly miss this wonderful great man. He became a close friend of Serge Hochar as far back as 1979 when he "discovered" Chateau Musar at The Bristol Wine Fair when it was first launched in the UK.
 
I sat next to him at an IWFS lunch about 35 years ago at Cambridge and subsequently hosted him a couple of times for the University Wine Society. He was a thoroughly charming gentleman with an encyclopaedic knowledge which he imparted in a wonderfully down to earth way. The very antithesis of a wine snob.
RIP
 
Oh this is a sad news indeed. I never met him, I just read few of his books. He is a former colleague's friend and they did a masterclass in Tokyo by our old company. May his soul rest in peace.
 
Sad news. Hugely encouraging and inspiring through his writing, he was a significant factor early in my wine interest and cellar development. That sense of knowledge combined with down to earth sense and gentlemanly charm shone through. RIP.
 
Sad, indeed. I attended a tasting of his in Oslo in 1994 (I think). One of the first chances I had to see those heroes who wrote the books we read to learn about wine, in real life.
 
His two 'Great Vintage Wine' books aroused in me an almost unquenchable desire to share some of those experiences. I always loved the joyous urbanity of his writing.
 
Mark Carrington said:
Rightfully, Micheal merits the many plaudits bestowed upon him.
His first Vintage Wine book was a major factor in engendering my interest & passion in wine. Additionally, his Decanter columns were essential reading.
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I go with all of that, his descriptions on his tastings and experiences in that initial Vintage Wine Book for me are still the best to have been published and most honest.
 
I have two wonderful memories of Michael. I was at a tutored tasting and was smelling a wine . Something off putting about the bouquet but I could not describe it. Michael gave it a quick sniff and said "landlady's wet carpet"
Right on the button!
The other memory was very many years ago just before I started importing, I was tasting at a grower in Savigny les Beaune with a pal who was in the trade. I interrupted their flow of conversation to ask if I could possibly buy 2 cases. Those two cases were delivered to my hotel by the great man himself. Imagine my stunned expression when I saw him staggering into the hotel lobby carrying my two cases!
 
Lovely man. My father knew him well back in the sixties, when he was developing Christies' wine department. After my father's death in the early seventies, Michael came up to Yorkshire to stay overnight, to list and value father's wine collection.

He must have been surprised, when the wines were subsequently sent down to Christies in London to be sold, to find that 6 bottles of Latour 1948 (my birth year) and six bottles of Lafite 1950 (my sister's birth year), were missing. Also missing were five bottles of Climens 1914 (which my sister and I had tried and liked). Michael never said a word to my mother, although I am quite sure he knew exactly what had happened.

When we met again, several years later, he immediately asked me to lunch in the Christies boardroom, although the missing wines were never mentioned.

Our paths crossed a number of times after that, when he was always, as others have said, courteous, knowledgeable, and modest. A long innings, and a fine one.
 
Oh this is a sad news indeed. I never met him, I just read few of his books. He is a former colleague's friend and they did a masterclass in Tokyo by our old company. May his soul rest in peace.
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Hi Alino.
That was me. In fact, I spent today writing my own personal appreciation of Michael Broadbent, which includes details of that memorable masterclass at the Hotel Okura. Believe it or not, I still have all the communication between Michael and myself from that time, including the 20-page handwritten reply when I asked a simple question of which wines should be served. I also unearthed the original 2004 interview that I published on Wine-Journal that hasn’t seen the light of day for 14 years. I remember absconding from the JALUX office saying I would be a couple of hours, but I ended up spending the entire day with Michael drinking German Auslese. Anyway, I’ll finish off the piece tomorrow. A great man who played an astonishing innings.
Cheers,
Neal
 
Gosh, I have never seen that before. It is indeed me despite the camouflage of wearing a tie. I vividly remember that tasting, including holding out (with Charles Taylor MW) that one particular wine should get 5 stars (against the advice of some of our seniors who found the new oak too prominent, whereas I argued that there was enough concentration to get over that with time). The wine got its 5th star and proved to be Yquem. I thought I was vindicated at the time but in fact I don't think this is a perfectly balanced vintage for Yquem so the older, wiser heads called it right.
What I do also remember clearly, which ties in with the next segment of the video, is that Michael turned up quite late for the tasting, apologising airily that he had just been having his first German lesson. Quick as a flash David Peppercorn responded "Does that mean your German is better than your French now, Michael" which was a bit cheeky but caused much chortling.
Very impressive man, JMB, his energy in creating the wine auction scene from 1966 onwards was - is - really impressive. Still plenty of beans in him, albeit very fragile physically in the last couple of years. Last seen at the Wine Tasting book launch, in 2019, ***** as he might have written.
 
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