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From The Times

July 8, 2006

Eau, what a vintage

Tom Chesshyre gargles his way through a mineral-water tasting

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LONDON may be in the midst of one of its worst water shortages, but there was no shortage whatsoever at the Landmark hotel in Marylebone this week.

“Ah, this one is my favourite — delightful, truly delightful,” says Sylvie Carpentier, the hotel’s food and beverage manager, sipping a glass of chilled Badoit. “Very light bubbles. Delicate sparkles. This is very good with all food. Yes, it is slightly salty but not too much. Yes, I really like it!” This week — shrugging off hosepipe-ban headlines — Carpentier launched what is probably the biggest “water menu” in the country, with 21 types of mineral water, 11 sparkling varieties and ten still, at the Landmark’s restaurant.

Most of them are sourced in England, Scotland and Wales, although France has a good representation with Badoit, from Saint Galmier in the Rhône Alps, Perrier, from Vergèze in the South of France, and Evian, from Evian-les-Bains, close to Lake Geneva.

There is also an Italian water, San Pellegrino, from Lombardy, a Norwegian choice called Voss, and Ballygowan from Saint David’s Well in Ireland.

Prices range from £3.95 for a half litre of Evian (“a good balance, though some people say it’s too strong . . . that it has too many minerals,” says Carpentier) to £5.25 for a 0.8-litre bottle of Norwegian Voss. The latter, said Carpentier, who knows a thing or two about her mineral water and is from Normandy, is “one of the purest waters in the world; it has almost no minerals, which I think makes it tasteless, but some people like this”.

In the midst of a torrential downpour, Times Travel was given a “water tasting” at the Landmark. The bottles were spread out on a table — clear bottles, blue bottles (for Ty Nant from Bethania Llanon in Wales), and green (for Perrier, of course). Opening a Badoit, Carpentier explained that she introduced the waters as fewer people are drinking alcohol with lunches: “Some companies will not pay for alcohol on expenses any more. So we thought we’ d give people some choice.”

Tasting the waters one after another, it became surprisingly easy to recognise characteristics. Badoit is indeed salty — with 150mg of sodium per litre.

Voss was almost bizarrely tasteless, with a tiny trace of sodium and served from a trendy cylindrical tube.

Perrier seems a bit bubbly, as does San Pellegrino, while Ty Nant tastes “rounded”, though it isn’t too sparkly. Of the still waters, I liked Hildon, from Broughton in Hampshire, and Evian, which has a fairly high magnesium level: 24mg per litre.

“Magnesium is really good for reducing stress,” said Carpentier. “Water is the oil of the 21st century. People are fighting to own the water supplies. People are more health conscious, they want nice waters, not colas and all the other soft drinks.”

We raised a glass of water to water. Then we headed off to the Mirror Bar — for a glass of champagne.

Now that’s more like it.

Details: The Landmark (020-7631 8000, www.landmarklondon.co.uk). Fine Waters (www.finewaters.com).