The former French industrial manager François Audouze (*1943) is a famous private collector of old and rare wines. According to his own statement, he has already tasted several thousand wines, some of them very old. The oldest wine he enjoyed was a vintage from 1769. Audouze regularly organises exclusive "dinners d'exception pour amourex de vins rares" for wine lovers. Exquisite wines, many of them very old, are served with exquisite food. All wines are tasted beforehand by François Audouze to ensure the best possible enjoyment. The dinners take place in various prestigious restaurants in Paris. A concrete example is an event on 16 October 2008 for nine people. The following wines cost € 1,100 per person:
François Audouze's cellar holds around 40,000 bottles of wine from select estates. Among them are several thousand from vintages before 1945 back to the beginning of the 19th century. The oldest rarities are or were a Malaga Larios Bénéfique vintage 1800, a Cognac Maison de l'Empereur from the famous wine vintage 1811 and a Tokaj vintage 1819. Audouze also organises the event "Académie des Vins Anciens", where people can bring in old wines from their own estate and taste them with like-minded people. Audouze propagates a special form of wine preparation that he has tried and tested, which he also practices in principle at all his events. He strictly rejects the conventional form of decanting, as in his opinion this causes the wines to collapse.
The bottle is left upright, closed, for two days before it is to be consumed and, if possible, not moved or touched. Then it is uncorked and left to stand again without decanting, with the cork placed only on the opening to protect it from dust or insects. Audouze recommends four to five hours for very old wines (30 to 40 years and older), and five to ten hours or longer for younger wines. He is also against removing the deposit because he thinks it changes the taste, even destroys the structure of the wine. The wine is poured carefully into the glass. Audouze says he accepts "that the first glass of wine poured will taste different from the last". On the subject of "wine and food culture", see also decanting, cooking wine, wine toast, wine evaluation, wine enjoyment, wine glasses, wine culture, wine temperature and wine with food.
François Audouze: Men's Up
Bottles: The Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin
