Michael Broadbent
Encyclopedia
John Michael Broadbent MW
(born 2 May 1927 in Yorkshire
, England
) is a British wine
critic
, writer and auctioneer in a capacity as a Master of Wine. He is a renowned authority on wine tasting
and old wines.
and trained as an architect but changed career, in 1952, at the age of twenty-five, and entered the wine trade first with Layton’s, next with the West End Wine merchants, Saccone and Speed, and, from 1955 with Harvey's of Bristol. In 1960 he received the qualification of Master of Wine
.
In 1966 he resigned as Sales Director to start wine auctions at the London auction
house Christie's
which would lead him to trade in and taste a greater number of fine and rare wines than anyone else in the world. His tasting notes are estimated to number over 90,000 in more than 140 notebooks. Until 1992 he was the senior director of Christie's wine department, and he remained a senior consultant with the firm until 2009.
As opposed to American wine critic Robert Parker
, Broadbent does not give wines a numerical score, but employs a system that awards a wine up to five stars.
As a wine writer, Broadbent is renowned for important publications of his records from a life of tasting wine. The Great Vintage Wine Book is a reference work with tasting notes from more than 6,000 wines dating back to the 17th century. In addition to authoring several wine books, he has been a regular contributor to the wine magazines Vinum and Falstaff , and still writes monthly for Decanter
since its inception in 1975. Broadbent has lectured on the subject since the mid 1950s.
In 1979 Broadbent was appointed Chevalier of the Ordre National du Mérite
, as well as an honorary member of the Académie du Vin de Bordeaux and numerous other French wine associations. Among other positions held, Broadbent has been chairman of The Institute of Masters of Wine in 1970, Master of the Worshipful Company of Distillers
, president of The International Wine and Food Society in 1986, president of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust
(WSET) 2007-2009 and Chairman of The Wine & Spirit Trades' Benevolent Society in 1991, and has stood as Sheriff of the City of London
in 1993. In 2006 he participated as a judge in the 30th anniversary repetition of the original "Judgment of Paris" wine tasting competition.
James Arbuthnot
P.C. M.P.
Hardy Rodenstock
during the 1980s led to some embarrassment. In July 2009 it was announced that Broadbent would sue Random House
, the publishers of The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace, an account of the "Jefferson bottles affair" and its court cases, for defamation of character, on claims that the book asserts Broadbent invented an auction bid and contains references to him colluding with Rodenstock. The suit was filed in the United Kingdom, and Random House initially stated it did not believe it had defamed Broadbent and would defend the lawsuit.
In October 2009, Random House accepted that the allegations in the book were without foundation, removed the book from sale in the UK, made a full apology and paid Broadbent an undisclosed sum in damages. It was also reported that Wallace was not a party to the lawsuit or settlement, that Random House would be making no changes to the book, and that it would continue to publish the book in all territories outside the jurisdiction of the UK.
Master of Wine
Master of Wine is a qualification issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom...
(born 2 May 1927 in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is a British wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, writer and auctioneer in a capacity as a Master of Wine. He is a renowned authority on wine tasting
Wine tasting
Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onwards...
and old wines.
Career
Broadbent was educated at Oundle SchoolOundle School
Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...
and trained as an architect but changed career, in 1952, at the age of twenty-five, and entered the wine trade first with Layton’s, next with the West End Wine merchants, Saccone and Speed, and, from 1955 with Harvey's of Bristol. In 1960 he received the qualification of Master of Wine
Master of Wine
Master of Wine is a qualification issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom...
.
In 1966 he resigned as Sales Director to start wine auctions at the London auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
house Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
which would lead him to trade in and taste a greater number of fine and rare wines than anyone else in the world. His tasting notes are estimated to number over 90,000 in more than 140 notebooks. Until 1992 he was the senior director of Christie's wine department, and he remained a senior consultant with the firm until 2009.
As opposed to American wine critic Robert Parker
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate, with his particular stylistic preferences and notetaking vocabulary, have become very influential in American wine buying and are...
, Broadbent does not give wines a numerical score, but employs a system that awards a wine up to five stars.
As a wine writer, Broadbent is renowned for important publications of his records from a life of tasting wine. The Great Vintage Wine Book is a reference work with tasting notes from more than 6,000 wines dating back to the 17th century. In addition to authoring several wine books, he has been a regular contributor to the wine magazines Vinum and Falstaff , and still writes monthly for Decanter
Decanter (magazine)
Decanter is an up market magazine on wine and spirits, published in over 90 countries on a monthly basis. The magazine content includes news from the industry, vintage guides and wine recommendations. Decanter organizes the annual Decanter World Wine Awards.-Wine Ratings:Decanter employs a 1 to 5...
since its inception in 1975. Broadbent has lectured on the subject since the mid 1950s.
In 1979 Broadbent was appointed Chevalier of the Ordre National du Mérite
Ordre National du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
, as well as an honorary member of the Académie du Vin de Bordeaux and numerous other French wine associations. Among other positions held, Broadbent has been chairman of The Institute of Masters of Wine in 1970, Master of the Worshipful Company of Distillers
Worshipful Company of Distillers
The Worshipful Company of Distillers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Distillers were incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1638. They were empowered to regulate and supervise the production of spirits and liquors. Now, however, it does not retain such powers...
, president of The International Wine and Food Society in 1986, president of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust
Wine & Spirit Education Trust
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, often referred to as WSET, is a British organisation which arranges courses and exams in the field of wine and spirits. WSET was founded in 1969, is headquartered in London and is generally regarded as the world's leading provider of wine education. The courses...
(WSET) 2007-2009 and Chairman of The Wine & Spirit Trades' Benevolent Society in 1991, and has stood as Sheriff of the City of London
Sheriffs of the City of London
There are two Sheriffs of the City of London. The sheriffs are elected annually by the Liverymen of the Livery Companies, and it is a requirement for a Lord Mayor of the City of London to previously have served as a Sheriff. Sheriffs have only nominal duties now, but previously had large judicial...
in 1993. In 2006 he participated as a judge in the 30th anniversary repetition of the original "Judgment of Paris" wine tasting competition.
Personal life
Michael Broadbent is married to Daphne Broadbent. Their son Bartholomew Broadbent is a wine importer in the United States who also makes Port, Madeira and Vinho Verde in Portugal and is a 50% owner of Dragon's Hollow winery in China. Michael Broadbent's daughter, Emma Arbuthnot, is a District Judge in England, married to the Right Honourable MPMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
James Arbuthnot
James Arbuthnot
James Norwich Arbuthnot, MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire.-Early life:...
P.C. M.P.
Controversy
Broadbent was also among the wine dignitaries whose association with alleged wine forgerWine fraud
Wine fraud is a form of fraud in which wines are sold to a customer illicitly, usually having the customer spend more money than the product is worth, or causing sickness due to harmful chemicals being mixed into the wine...
Hardy Rodenstock
Hardy Rodenstock
Hardy Rodenstock is a former publisher and manager of pop and Schlager music in Germany and is a prominent wine collector, connoisseur and trader, with a special interest in old and rare wines...
during the 1980s led to some embarrassment. In July 2009 it was announced that Broadbent would sue Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, the publishers of The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace, an account of the "Jefferson bottles affair" and its court cases, for defamation of character, on claims that the book asserts Broadbent invented an auction bid and contains references to him colluding with Rodenstock. The suit was filed in the United Kingdom, and Random House initially stated it did not believe it had defamed Broadbent and would defend the lawsuit.
In October 2009, Random House accepted that the allegations in the book were without foundation, removed the book from sale in the UK, made a full apology and paid Broadbent an undisclosed sum in damages. It was also reported that Wallace was not a party to the lawsuit or settlement, that Random House would be making no changes to the book, and that it would continue to publish the book in all territories outside the jurisdiction of the UK.
Honours and awards
- Commandeur d'Honneur de la Commanderie du Bontemps de Medoc et des Graves (1965)
- Prodhomme de la Jurade de Saint-Émilion (1965)
- Commandeur d'Honneur de la Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et des Graves (1966)
- Gentilhomme de Fronsac (1969)
- Membre d'Honneur de L'Académie du Vin de Bordeaux (1973)
- Chevalier d'Honneur, Ordre Coteaux Champenoise (1976)
- The Glenfiddich Award for Wine Tasting (1978)
- Mousquetaire, Compagnie des Mousquetaires d’Armagnac (1979)
- Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite (1979) France
- Le Grand Prix de l'Académie Internationale du Vin for Wine Tasting
- The Glenfiddich Award for The Great Vintage Wine Book (1981)
- The Andre Simon Memorial Award for The Great Vintage Wine Book (1981)
- Le Grand Prix de l'Académie Internationale du Vin for 1980 edition of The Great Vintage Wine Book (1984)
- Cavaleiro da Confraria do Vinho do Porto (1985)
- Personnalité de l'Année (International Oenology, Paris, 1985)
- Confrère d’Honneur de la Confrérie Saint-Étienne d'Alsace (1985)
- Marques de Caceres Award (for introducing wine to the consumer, 1987)
- Président of the Fete de la Fleur, Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et des Graves (1988)
- Médaille de la Ville de Paris – Echelon Vermeil (1989)
- Distinguished Service Award (Wine Spectator, New York, 1991)
- The Verumeus Buning Award (Netherlands) for services to international gastronomy (1992)
- Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society of Bacchus of America (1992)
- Decanter 1993 "Man of the Year"
- Silver Medal of Akademie Deutschlands E.V. Gastronomische for the new German edition of Wine Tasting (1993)
- Officier-Commandeur, Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin (1993)
- Membre d’Honneur de L’Académie Internationale du Vin (1994)
- Commandeur, Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, (1993), Grand Officier (2006)
- Gastronomische for the German edition of Wine Tasting (1993)
- Literarischer Wettbewerb Silbermedaille for Weine, prufen, kennen, geniessen (1997)
- Grand Prix de la Science de l'Alimentation (1998)(Académie Internationale de la Gastronomie, Paris)
- Waterford Wedgwood Hospitality Award (1999)
- Alles über Wein Millennium 2000 Award (2000)
- Glenfiddich Award Wine Writer of the Year (2001)
- The Andre Simon Memorial Award for Vintage Wine (2003)
- Honorary Diploma, The Hungarian Wine Academy (Budapest 2003)
- 2003 Wine Literary Award (The Wine Appreciation Guild, San Francisco) recipient for 50 years of contribution to the world of wine writing
- 2003 James Beard Award for Best Wine Book (for Vintage Wine)
- Grand Officier, Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin (2006)
- Lifetime Achievement Award: World Gourmet Summit 2007
- Lifetime Achievement Award: International Wine Challenge 2008
- 2003 Gourmand International World Cookbook [and wine] Award "Best Wine Book in the World" [for Vintage Wine]
- 2004 Historia Gastronomica Helvetica 'Golden Laurel' for "The Best Wine Book of the Year" for Grosse Weine
- Gastronomische Akademie Deutschlands literary award 'Golden Feder'(Golden Quill) 2005 {an award only given 16 times over the previous 40 years} for Grosse Weine
- Lifetime Achievement Award, International Wine Challenge (2008)
- 2008 Gourmand Annual International World Cookbook and Wine Awards "Best Wine Book of the Past 14 years of award" for Vintage Wine
- 2009 L'Été du Vin's 2009 Norman M. Lipman Lifetime Achievement Award, Nashville US (for "A Passion for Wine Education and Enthusiasm")
- Wine Media Guild of New York’s Wine Writers’ Hall of Fame (2010)