A marvellous evening with Pol Roger and Clos de Tart!

Last night (12 March 2010), we were treated by Hong Kong wine personality Paulo Pong to a delicious feast paired with exquisite champagne by Pol Roger and lovely Clos de Tart at T'ang Court at the Langham Hotel TST in Hong Kong. Mr. Patrice Noyelle from Pol Roger was there to tell us about the history of Pol Roger and the wines we were going to try. Jeannie Cho Lee MW concurred that champagne was a perfect accompaniment to Chinese food, with its variety of flavours and textures. We started with the Brut, followed by the non-dosage Pure, which was austere, refreshing and laced with minerality, lime/citrus and dry toast flavours. I rather preferred the Brut 2000 to go with the baked crab meat in its shell, which was extremely moist, almost creamy (helped by the onion) and rich in flavours. My favourites were the two Pinot Noir-dominated Cuvée Winston Churchills (1998 followed by 1996) were rich, complex and extremely memorable with enticing bouquet. The 1998 was much more forthcoming, with floral and baked apple character, underneath the bakery and confectionery notes. The 1996 was an exceptional wine, rich, complex, perfumed, with an almost full body and a creamy texture, with potential to age much further, with its high acidity level and strong mineral character. The finish was exceptionally long. The two champagnes were lovely accompaniment to the lobster/mustard and prawn dish as well as the garoupa with celery. Our host interestingly pointed out how well the 1996 went with the celery! We then switched to red burgundy. The Clos de Tart 1990 was absolutely beautiful, classic, with the familiar burgundian farmyard and warm spicy character, with still plenty of red fruit suggesting a wine still in its prime. A lingering finish. The 1988 was elegant but seemed less interesting and overshadowed by the 1990, with a medium length finish. All in all, the stars of the evening were the 1996 Cuvée Winston Churchill and the 1990 Clos de Tart, scoring 18.5 and 18/20 respectively in my view! A big thank you to our generous host!