Chapter 5

Clicked first, thank you everyone, you guys are too fierce. Be even fiercer with your recommendations! Hehe. This chapter is about 3000 words, thank you all for your support. If you want to see what the 1981 Romanée-Conti looks like, you can check my Sina Weibo, I posted it there. I happen to have this bottle.

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The bright red wine slid into the glass steadily, without a single ripple. The aroma was not particularly strong, as if all the flavors were locked within the crystal-clear, pigeon-blood-red ruby-like liquid.

The sommelier's hands did not tremble at all, pouring the wine into four glasses with perfect evenness, each filled to a height of two fingers horizontally, indistinguishable by the naked eye.

Lan Jue looked at the wine, while the gourmet stared at the large ham in front of him, their eyes equally entranced.

Twenty candles were densely and evenly arranged, slightly smaller than the square magnetic plate. The gourmet's right hand swept over the candles, and they all lit up almost simultaneously, the flames not high but bright.

The gourmet pinched the edge of the plate and placed it flat over the candle flames, allowing the outer flames to scorch the bottom of the plate.

The barista said, "Are you tired? Isn't your own fire enough?"

The gourmet didn't even look at him and said, "That's why you lack taste. If not for extremely good luck, you wouldn't be able to drink today's wine or eat such a ham. My fire is yang fire, hot and fierce. The candle fire is yin fire, gentle, warm, and even. I need the latter now."

The barista, somewhat不服气 (unconvinced), said, "Why not? I don't believe it! Sommelier, is what he said true?"

The sommelier didn't respond. He picked up the glass in front of him, holding the long crystal stem, raised it above his head, and looked at the bright red, transparent wine in the glass under the light.

The barista turned to Lan Jue, "The gourmet is looking down on me! What reason does he have to say that?"

Lan Jue's gaze was also on the wine glass. His actions were almost identical to the sommelier's, holding his glass and looking at the crystal red liquid inside.

"He's right, and of course, he has a reason. The sommelier didn't say anything to avoid hurting you. But I can tell you, as a form of retaliation for your earlier provocation."

"Fine, go ahead," the barista said, unconvinced.

Lan Jue smiled faintly, "To learn knowledge, you must pay a price. Give me the wine in your glass, and I'll tell you. Otherwise, what kind of retaliation is it?"

The barista, somewhat embarrassed, said, "Fine, if your reason can convince me why I don't deserve to drink Romanée-Conti, I'll give you this glass."

Lan Jue placed his glass on the table and looked at the sommelier, "No snatching, okay? He asked me, not you."

The sommelier sighed, "His willingness to give up a glass of Romanée-Conti is already a good reason."

Lan Jue smiled, "But that's not enough to convince him, as he can say his thirst for knowledge is stronger than his appreciation of fine wine."

He picked up a water glass, took a sip of warm water, and finally turned his gaze to the barista.

"Actually, the reason is simple: you are a barista. Although you know a lot about fine wine and gourmet food, you are ultimately a barista."

The barista looked puzzled, "What kind of reason is that?"

Lan Jue said, "It is a reason. Compared to red wine, you love coffee more. How many cups of coffee do you drink every day?"

The barista said, "Three."

Lan Jue said, "Drinking coffee has become the most important habit in your life. The better the coffee, the longer and more intense the aroma. However, it also invades your taste buds. Before tasting a top-tier red wine, to fully appreciate its rich fragrance, you should not eat anything with a strong flavor for at least three days. Coffee, tea, and chocolate are absolutely forbidden. Otherwise, your taste buds will be occupied, and even if you try to remove these flavors with white bread, there will still be a trace left. This will affect the wine's ability to elevate your soul, which is a desecration to it."

After a pause, Lan Jue smiled at the barista, "So, have you had coffee in the past three days?"

The barista smiled bitterly, "Of course, I have."

"Thank you." Lan Jue elegantly picked up the glass in front of him and poured the wine from the barista's glass into his own. He returned the empty glass to the barista.

The sommelier sighed, gently swirled the glass, brought it to his nose for a light sniff, and immediately, the seriousness in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a look of intoxication and immersion.

He took a larger sip, let it linger in his mouth for a moment before swallowing.

Lan Jue also took a sip, lowered his head, inhaled lightly, making a slight water sound, then raised his head and swallowed the wine.

After a while, the sommelier's expression returned to normal, "A garnet hue, with distinct layers; typical Romanée-Conti aroma, with scents of sweet peppers and rose petals; light and harmonious, with a restrained intensity in the mouth, and an extremely long finish."

He looked at Lan Jue, "You chose well; this bottle of Romanée-Conti is right in its prime drinking period."

Lan Jue exhaled lightly, "The fusion of floral and spicy aromas, elegant and delightful; the wine shows remarkable fluidity and harmony in the mouth, with red fruit and cherry notes, and rich, fine tannins; the delicacy and presence of this wine are a surprise to us! Indeed, it lives up to its reputation as the world's wine king, a pearl left by the gods! I think for the next three days, my taste buds, even my gums, will be filled with its wonderful flavor, and I won't be able to drink any more wine."

The barista, looking at their expressions, couldn't help but say, "Is it really that exaggerated? Sommelier, give me a little more."

The sommelier sighed, "The plate of white bread was originally prepared for you to absorb the mixed flavors on your taste buds. With the strong flavor of Romanée-Conti, you could have勉强 (barely) tasted it. But you already lost your glass to the jeweler, and I only planned to share one glass with you. So, I'm sorry, there's none for you today."

The gourmet took the plate off the candle flames, placed it on the table, and patted the barista's shoulder, "This is the jeweler's retaliation. He holds grudges."

The barista turned his head and glared fiercely at Lan Jue.

Lan Jue took another sip of the divine wine, "Miss Carmel came to my store that day. Although she didn't buy anything, I could tell from her eyes what she liked."

The barista's expression stiffened, and he sighed, "You win."

Lan Jue gestured to him, and the barista's expression returned to calm, "But I won't just leave. I didn't get to drink the wine, but I will still eat the ham."

The gourmet, who had somehow produced a long, thin knife, lightly sliced a piece of ham as thin as paper, which floated onto the plate.

His hand left a trail of afterimages in the air, and soon, dozens of thin slices of ham covered the plate.

"Why do you roast it first?" the sommelier asked the gourmet.

The gourmet said, "The black pig you mentioned is actually called the Iberian pig, usually raised in the oak forests of western central Spain. This region has a typical Mediterranean natural environment, with vast pastures and forests dominated by holm oaks and cork oaks. The main food source for pigs raised in these vast pastures is the acorns from these trees, which are essential for producing true acorn-fed Iberian ham."

"The process is as follows: cut the pig; freeze the pork to six degrees Celsius; cure; rinse and rest; once cured, rinse the ham with cold water to remove the salt, then store it in a warehouse for two months to distribute the salt evenly; naturally dry. Then hang it in a natural cave for at least twenty-four months before it can be consumed, with top-tier Spanish Iberian ham even requiring forty-eight months."

"The one you see here is the best of Iberian ham, made from 100% pure Iberian pigs fed entirely on acorns, and aged for seventy-two months in a cave. Even in the Upper Yuan era, it was a rare and valuable item, impossible to buy even with money."

"But this ham has one issue: it is too rich in fat. Although the flavor is pure, the aroma is somewhat masked by the fat. When chewed, the flavor can be tasted, but it is still somewhat lacking. I first roast the plate, then slice the ham and place it on the plate. The heat from the plate melts the fat, which then seeps into the lean meat, fully releasing all the aromas. As you can see, the white fat has become transparent."

Indeed, the white fat on the originally red and white slices of ham had become transparent, looking like crystal jelly, and a faint aroma wafted from the plate, lingering and not dispersing.

Lan Jue picked up a slice, put it in his mouth, and was instantly moved. The rich and pure aroma lingered in his mouth, and after another sip of Romanée-Conti, he was completely intoxicated.

The sommelier also ate a slice, almost as moved as Lan Jue, and then smiled bitterly, "It seems my previous way of eating it made it lose its luster."

The gourmet, eating the ham and sipping the wine, smiled, "Eating your food, drinking your wine, and being praised by you, what a delightful thing."

Lan Jue sighed, "Romanée-Conti with top-tier Iberian ham, sommelier, I'll be coming here often."

The sommelier didn't look at him, but his eyes showed a hint of bitterness. He knew the jeweler was not a casual person, but when he was casual...

The barista also had a bitter expression. The rich aroma of the Iberian ham was beyond imagination, but unfortunately, he no longer had the Romanée-Conti to pair with it.