Champagne – when the Americans came to town

There was drama aplenty, both vinous and political, at London’s de luxe Savoy Hotel on the first Saturday of this month. There was high security as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu threw a birthday party for his wife. In the early hours of the next day, the Savoy’s billionaire Saudi owner was arrested in Riyadh in a ‘corruption crackdown’. And perhaps of more interest to wine lovers, Saturday 4 November saw maybe the most important champagne...