My visit to La Vinicole in New York just happened (honest) to coincide with the first time they had a visit from a first growth at this Soho loft dedicated to soft selling Bordeaux. Aurélien Valance, commercial director of Château Margaux, was there with his new US signing, Thomas Burke MS (pictured below), who seemed to find it a little difficult to switch out of sales mode. Their role was to present a vertical of Pavillon de Château Margaux; their uniform, beautifully cut suits with immaculate, open-necked white shirts. I suspect they put their ties back on as soon as...