Hill of Corton Evening

11 Apr 2013: First I must declare that the theme is a little misleading, as we only tasted Grand Cru wines from this marvelous hill. It would have been more appropriately named had we also included examples of the lively and minerally Pernand Vergelesses Premier Cru whites and those of the fleshy and floral reds, as well as wines from the other 2 villages.

My roasted quail in red wine sauce

We had this dinner at La Maison, Swatow Street, Wanchai which seems to have upped its game with the quality of food based on our most recent experience - Richard's deep fried cauliflower was really delicious, perfectly cooked, and dipped in mustard mayonnaise. Everyone's main course looked rather good. I was impressed by my quail with red wine sauce and Richard had a very decent medium rare steak. My neighbour's rack of lamb also looked deliciously pink!


As for the wines, we just had the corks pulled without decanting them in advance. We took our time to try them in sequence.


The trio of Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne


We started with 3 bottles of Corton Charlemagne by Bonneau du Martray from the vintages of 2008, 2006 and 1990. Both the 2008 and 2006 showed a bright pale lemon core. The 2008 immediately showed off its lush and oaky aromas of white flowers, pear and a hint of cinnamon spice, with smokey nuances. Mid weight palate, laced with mineral-infused flavours, lifted by racy acidity. Incredible purity, complexity, delineation, balance and long finish. A punchy wine that is going to live a long time! Perhaps best to enjoy this wine from 3 years' time. Simply marvelous! 18/20

The 2006 was expressive of its vintage characteristics, while retaining some of the Bonneau du Martray signature minerality. The nose was a little closed initially and opened up to reveal ripe notes of almonds, floral, toast, ripe apple, apricot and spice. On the palate, vibrant acidity and minerality accompanying the richness conveyed by the waxy texture and ripeness of fruit, giving sufficient lift to the rounded mouthfeel. A great balancing act in ensuring the co-existence of harmony, richness and weight - superb effort. Drinking well now with a long age ahead. 17/20

The 1990 was from a warm vintage. Deeper lemon in colour than the 2006 and 2008. This wine seemed less fresh and looser in structure than previous bottles that we tried. A mature bouquet of ginger, pear, acacia, toast, coffee, caramel and smokey notes. The acidity was evident without being racy and the mineral characteristics on the palate not quite present. Nice finish. 16/20

We had organised the reds into 5 flights.

Flight 1:



The 2002 Corton flight


2002 Château Corton-Grancey, Louis Latour: A blend of 4 different cuvees (Les Bressandes, Les Perrières, Clos du Roi and Grèves), not equally proportioned. Needed time to develop in glass (which sadly we didn't have as we needed to move to the next flight). Nose of gamey, savoury, plum, violet, herbal and underbrush. Supple mouthfeel, low-ish acidity level. A well balanced wine, with a nice finish, though lacking in concentration. 16.5/20

2002 Corton Clos du Roi, de La Vougeraie: A ripe and sweet fruity and spicy nose of plum, red cherry, raspberry, violet, cinnamon and nutmeg, with notes of game and earth. Vibrant acidity, ripe fine-grained tannin, giving this wine a lovely velvety texture, framing the beautifully ripe flavours. Lovely concentration and long finish. Quite atypical if you're looking for a rustic Corton style wine. Still rather youthful for its age. Drink now and over next 10 - 15 years. 18/20


Flight 2:



1998 Jadot Corton-Grèves

1998 Corton-Grèves, Louis Jadot: This definitely needed time! A meaty nose, with red cherry, plum and Chinese dried mushroom notes. Ripe but firm tannin with good level of acidity, with stony flavours. Good weight, well-delineated, if a little austere in style. Finish got better and better. I rather liked it! 17/20


Flight 3:



Faiveley Cortons

1995 Corton Clos des Cortons, Faiveley: Another austere wine. Not very generous on the palate. Leather and farmyard notes. Firm acidity. 16.5/20

1993 Corton Clos des Cortons, Faiveley: A very elegant expression of the Corton terroir. A wine that has aged rather gracefully, having shaken off its more rustic former self. Griotte, cherry stone, herbal, with earthy and mineral notes. The wine seems to have found harmony at this age. Lovely finish. 18/20




We didn't open the 1976 Leroy Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru


1993 Corton-Renardes, Leroy: A totally harmonious and elegant wine. A very distinct nose of bacon fat, savoury, liquorice, truffle, cinnamon, nutmeg with violet, prune, plums, blackberry compote, coffee and notes of caramel. (Someone said Worcester sauce.) Remarkable intensity and complexity, with the firm tannin having integrated into the wine, lifted by a good dose of acidity, keeping poise, balance and freshness in check. The harmony is staggering here, as is the long silky finish. Drink now and over next 10 - 15 years. 18.5/20


Flight 4:

1995 Corton, Calvet-bottled (magnum): This definitely showed its age, but in a nice way. A very mature bouquet of game, leather, dried fruit (date), coffee, truffle, earth, sous-bois with just a hint of the hoi sin sauce. Silky in texture, but some volatility has started to set into the acidity and finish. Still an admirable effort for this age! 16/20


We took a vote at the end and most people voted for the 1990 Bonneau du Martray for the white wine of the evening and the 1993 Leroy Corton-Renardes for the red wine of the evening. A few of us were more enticed by the purity and tension in the 2008 Bonneau du Martray. As for the reds, there were some outlying votes for the 2002 de La Vougeraie's Corton Clos du Roi.

What did we learn?  There was no question that these were beautiful Cortons, but we could not identify a conclusive style, and we found that the wines seemed to demonstrate more the winemakers' styles and vintage characteristics. In any case, we had too few samples to come up with any conclusive comments, but this tasting did give us a chance to focus on this much under-rated (priced) Grand Cru - let's hope the Cortons stay this way (price-wise)......!

The Class of 1990: a great all-round vintage

8 Apr 2013: Alfred and Maria treated us to dinner at Ming, a new restaurant in Causeway Bay (5 Moreton Terrace) that seems to be on everyone's lips and comes with very good pedigree: a manager-owner with great track record gained from Victoria City and Fan Tang and a team of chefs who have worked at Victoria City, Fan Tang and Fu Ho. Alfred chose the menu extremely well, heeding the fact that we were expecting some rather big wines. We started with a number of starters, including Shun De style spare ribs, deep-fried lemongrass spare ribs, and Shanghainese style stir-fried shrimps. This brilliant array of starters was followed by steamed crab in chicken fat and Shao Xing wine. The braised garoupa with bean curd was simply delicious and worked wonderfully with the 1990 Ausone. The rich sauce of the braised goose webs and dried Chinese mushroom was no shy partner to the 1990 Haut Brion. The skin of the deep fried chicken was wafer thin and crispy, topping the succulent and flavoursome meat. A pinch of the five spice-salt on the chicken did wonders to the enjoyment of the 1990 Haut Brion! The final dish was a stir fried beef cubes with wild mushrooms was just what we needed to go with the bigger 1990 Hermitage La Chapelle.

The class of 1990

My brief notes on the wines:

1990 Dom Perignon: Deep lemon core. Notes of brioche, acacia, nuts, rich apple tart, coffee and caramel. Still preserving the very fine persistent bubbles but less of that zest on the palate. Much more evolved than the last bottle we tried. 17.5/20

1990 Krug: Deep lemon robe. Compared to the Dom Perignon, this showed much more energy and verve. The very mature Krug nose of toffee apple, digestive biscuits with acacia, stem ginger and cinnamon. Mature, but still vigorous.Still very fresh on the palate, the creamy mousse delivering a very long and complex finish. Seriously delicious. It went very well with the steamed crab in chicken fat and Shao Xing wine. 18.5/20
1990 Chevalier Montrachet, Michel Niellon: Lemon core. A very expressive bouquet of saffron, cinnamon, ginger, fig, pear, honeysuckle, with layers of beeswax, toast and grilled hazelnut nuances. Some mineral notes still linger on the palate, enhancing the rich and intense flavours, just balanced by the assertive acidity, and finishes long and spicy. 18/20

1990 Mas de Daumas Gassac: Garnet core. A very sauvage and aromatic bouquet of garrigue, dried lavender, herbal, plum, with notes of menthol. Supple, good acidity, smooth texture, slightly astringent finish. We tasted this wine blind and it took all of us by surprise how well it showed because one would expect this wine to be drunk within 10 years of its life! 17.5/20

1990 Ausone: Bricking at the rim. Very tertiary nose of animal, leather, graphite with some blueberry and five spice notes, and a hint of orange peel. Lowish in acidity. Rather weak mid palate, the fruit seems to have receded. Dryness on the finish. This bottle probably past its peak and on the decline. I think storage could be a possible explanation here. 16/20

1990 Haut Brion: A very unmistakable and alluring Graves nose of blueberry, cassis, plum, graphite, gravel, cedar and cigar smoke. Supple and well-chiseled. Very classy palate that shows intensity, breed and complexity, within a medium frame of fine ripe tannin and a good level of acidity. A long and fine finish. Can definitely be enjoyed now and for the next 10 - 15 years. 18.5/20

1990 Montrose: Ruby core, just a little bricking at the rim. A bold and intense bouquet of dried fruit, raisin, fig, cassis, stewed blackberry, with hints of eucalyptus and graphite. More mineral notes on the fleshy palate, with palate-staining flavours coating every corner of your palate. Remarkable richness, concentration and power, bolstered by vibrant acidity. This wine took a while to open up. A massive (in every sense) and brooding wine that is going to take some years to unwind fully but it is drinking perfectly well today with all its pomp and fanfare. Try again in 5 years' time and drink over the next 20 - 25 years! 19.5/20

1990 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet (from magnum): This would be my favourite wine of the evening, with the 1990 Montrose closely behind. A very sophisticated expression of Syrah and its most pedigree terroir. A gloriously youthful bouquet of black cherry, blackberry, plum, violet, pot pourri, black pepper, with spices of cloves and liquorice and savoury notes. On the palate, the wine showed plenty of vigor and power, with very profound depth and multi-dimensional character. The velvety structure belies the very ripe tannin, which has totally integrated into the texture of the wine, and a freshness that begged you to return to the glass (and the magnum bottle) again and again. Incredibly long and complex finish. Totally seductive! There is definitely no hurry to drink up this wine, which will continue to drink well for 25 - 30 years. Yet why wait, when it can be so dazzingly beautiful and an absolute nectar to imbibe right now! 20/20

What a marvellous line-up! One thing that was clear was the importance of storage and provenance. It's a very good sign that a fabulous dinner was enjoyed by all when the next dinner date was already agreed before the end of the evening!

Great Finds in Baden: Food, Wine and Music!

4 April 2013: We enjoyed the performance of the Berliner Philharmoniker so much at the Easter Festival in Salzburg last year that we decided to support their move to Baden Baden and signed up for a couple of their performances this year. It was not a good idea to go to a 3-hour opera with jetlag - it was the Magic Flute! I had difficulty staggering out of the concert hall. The second evening's performance of Mahler Symphony No. 2 was much more animated, especially with so many instruments and musicians being involved - the percussionists at the back were most agile in their swift but unhurried manoeuvres from one station at one end of the stage to another at the other end. (You can also find the Sir Simon Rattle recording of Mahler Symphony No. 2 in the Cathay Pacific's inflight music library!!)

We stayed at the Brenners Park Hotel (www.brenners.com) where there is a 1 Michelin star restaurant Brenners Park-Restaurant. The hotel probably belonged to another era, with its opulent grandeur, classic architecture and elegant deluxe, but the service was extremely friendly and professional. We had a room which looked onto the famous Lichtentaler Alley behind the hotel, blending into one picturesque scene. With the overnight snowfall just before our departure, this was transformed into a romantic view of calm and splendor, rather mesmerizing.

I highly recommend the gourmet restaurant which featured a wonderful à la carte menu, together with two degustation menus, one the gourmet menu and the other thoughtfully designed for vegetarians! My favourites were the carrot dish and the espuma of potato and leek with black truffle - vegetarian dishes can be so beautifully presented and complex in texture and flavours!  Here are our recommendations:



Greetings from the chef - I loved the combination of beetroot, smoked eel and green apple foam!



Purée of Ancient Carrot, finger carrots, earth of mixed grain bread and golden quail egg
(Almost too pretty to eat!)



Espuma of potato and leek with black truffle
(Richness without heaviness - heavenly!)



Two kinds of brussel sprouts and savoy cabbage, with macadamia nuts,
purée of butternut squash and lemongrass-coconut emulsion



Breton turbot with perigord truffle butter, ravioli with confit onio and watercress
(best turbot dish Richard has ever had!)


Whole seared sole, with balsamic-caper glace, baby leaf spinach and artichokes (I did not take a picture but it really was very tasty - can easily be the best Dover sole dish I've ever had!)


The young chef Paul Stradner (who arrived in 2012) came out to greet us on our last evening there - his enthusiasm and dedication clearly reflected in the quality, designe and presentation of the dishes! We had less luck with the senior sommelier, who dismissed our questioning of the condition of a bottle of Spätburgunder from 2000 (with the alarming whiff of rusty nail and nail varnish), and authoritatively put it down to our lack of experience with local Spätburgunder!


Needless to say the food went particularly well with wines from the region. We were so impressed by the white wines from Baden, the warmest and most southern region in Germany with very diverse soil types, from granite and gneiss in Ortenau to volcanic soil in Kaiserstuhl and chalky-loess hills of Tuniberg. A third of the area under vines is planted with Spätburgunder with Weissburgunder and all other Pinot varieties accounting for about half of the land under vines. For our visit, we were able to taste some very high quality wines from the most recent 3 very high quality vintages, from the very ripe 2009, the more classic 2010 and the superb 2011 vintage: Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder and Riesling (locally called Klingelberger), as well as some Spätburgunder. The Gutswein of Grauburgunder and Weissburgunder from high quality estates offer particularly good value, at somewhere between EUR 6 - 8 a bottle ex-cellars! Given the established reputation of Spätburgunders from Baden, the wine list at the Brenners Park seemed a little light on the Spätburgunders from the region: we had hoped to see a wider selection. I wondered if it's because the top Spätburgunders had such strong followings amongst the locals that they were sold out almost as soon as they were released? We managed to visit one weingut (well, just the shop as we did not manage to get an appointment) - Schloss Staufenberg (www.markgraf-von-baden.de) (a weingut owned by the Markgraf von Baden, a relative of the UK's Prince Philip, so we were told, and recently joined the ranks of VDP!!) but sadly the top Spätburgunder was already sold out!


Following are highlights of wines that we did try and would definitely recommend:


2011 Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Schloss Neuweir: located just 5 km outside of Baden Baden, in an idyllic village called Neuweier. We had lunch at this place called Traube, a hotel-guesthouse with a very good restaurant that serves hearty dishes of local cuisine (as well as something as delicate as steamed seafood with an Asian lightly spicy lemongrass sauce) - perfect for Sunday lunches en famille (www.traube-neuweier.de). The friendly chef came out to greet us....in English!


2011 Grauburgunder, Schloss Staufenberg


2011 Grauburgunder, Dr Heger (www.heger-weine.de): great value wine, excellent quality


2011 Weissburgunder, Dr Heger: great value wine, excellent quality

2009 Ihringer Winklerberg, Riesling GG, Dr Heger: pale lemon. Expressive noes of lime blossom, grapefruit, pineapple, honey with a hint of petrol. Racy acidity, medium bodied, dry and crisp long mineral finish. A very elegant wine that will definitely benefit from bottle ageing. Very impresive.

This is the 2011 bottle.

2008 Durbacher Schlossberg, Klingelberger (Riesling), Spatlese Trocken, Schloss Staufenberg: Very expressive nose, full-bodied, and plenty of complexity. Loved the long complex finish. A great wine with the turbot or Dover sole dish. This is a weingut worth looking out for - just became a member of VDP in 2011. We also tried the 2011 vintage at the wine shop - really excellent, plenty of minerality and complexity.








2009 Spätburgunder, Franz Anton, Schwarzer Adler, Franz Keller (www.frankz-keller.de): Bright cherry robe. Savoury and red fruit bouquet of raspberry, redcurrant, black cherry, rose petals, with nuances of underbrush and mushroom. Medium bodied, medium acidity. Supple on the palate. Well-balanced and youthful, if a little lacking in mid palate for now....can do with some time to build out.


Germany has given us some very pleasant surprises since our visit to Hamburg last year, in terms of quality of gourmet food, price and quality ratio of local wines, and of course the German efficiency and organisation. There are a few other wineries from Baden whose wine we would love to have tried......good news is we are already planning next year's visit!  I am also hopeful that we may see some more choices of high quality local Spätburgunders on the wine list at Brenners Park!!!  It's a tempting thought to include German Grauburgunder to our repertoire of everyday white at home, which effectively means Bourgogne Blanc or Village!!!!

Birthday Treats

20 Mar 2013:  Last weekend, we were treated to a couple of post birthday celebrations:


The first of which took place at The Principal where the chef delivered a truly Michelin-starred array of dishes for us. I particularly liked the slow-cooked egg with artichoke and truffle and the suckling pig, with lemon puree, endives and thyme jus.

1990 Dom Perignon: Straw lemon colour. A very fresh and fragrant bouquet of apple compote, brioche, honey, grilled almonds and ginger. Underneath the creamy mousse of very fine bubbles, the tension and energy is very evident, with vibrant acidity and minerality on the finish. Finishes long and crisp. Enjoy now or over next 6 - 8 years. 19.5/20

1990 Krug: More golden amber in colour. The evolved nose reveals the richness and opulence from caramelised notes of coffee, nougat and hazelnuts. The firm acidity livens up the richness and smoothness in the texture of the mouthfeel. This is a great food wine (it went very well with the slow cooked egg!), to be enjoyed now but there is no hurry to finish this. 19/20

2000 Chevalier Montrachet, Bouchard: Exotic fruit and white flowers dominate this gorgeous bouquet with herbal nuances. Initially little tight on the palate, but with aeration, this takes on weight, elegance and complexity. Love the minerally finish. 18/20

1993 Chevalier Montrachet, Leflaive: This is class act, combining maturity, flamboyance, concentration and depth, a very authentic expression of the terroir. The fine details are not lost in the layers of liquorice, nutty, toasty and vanilla notes. Finish goes on and on. 19/20

2001 Chevalier Montrachet, Michel Niellon: A nose of citrus confit, spice and nuts. The palate is painfully stony and austere. The wine seems to be encased in a woody corset, refusing to harmonise. Everything about this wine is of gargantuan dimension, but I cannot find the harmony in all this. 16.5/20

2001 Clos Saint Denis, Ponsot: A brilliant ruby core. The nose is all about purity of red fruit, with a sappy note on the palate. Refined and delicate. A very elegant and classy Bourgogne. Finishes long. Drink now and over next 8 - 10 years. 18/20

2001 Richebourg, Anne-Françoise Gros: Sappy, herbal, earthy and gamey notes dominate the nose. Balanced and nicely structured, but not an outstanding effort. Seems to have reached peak. Drink now and over next 4 - 5 years. 16.5/20

2000 Chambertin, Rousseau: I rather liked this. An expressive wine that speaks of class, power and depth. There was the purity of red cherry, layered with savoury, underbrush, coffee,mushroom, and earthy nuances.  This is not a typically powerful Chambertin, but rather a subtle display of character and depth, with plenty of complexity and suppleness. 18/20

1990 Hermitage, Chave: This really is a fantastic wine. Blackberry, leather, pepper and savoury notes pack out the intensively complex bouquet. The palate was a sensational explosion of palate-staining flavours, with a very very long finish. An incredibly complete wine that probably deserved more time than we gave it. My best wine of the evening! Drink now and over next 15 - 20 years. 19.5/20

1990 Clos des Papes: A true to form Clos des Papes. Fullness in every sense: a very complex nose that almost resembled port, medicinal, slightly sappy, with notes of kirsh, prunes and figs. The fleshy palate was a velvety display of very fine and ripe tannins, bolstered by vibrant acidity, keeping this rich nectar fresh and alive. This is drinking beautifully now, and needed the right food to go with it. Braised lamb shank or a venison stew would be quite perfect with this! Loved the long and complex finish. Drinking now and over next 10 - 15 years. 19/20  



The second dinner we were invited to took a rather different format!  We all had to guess the wines, with the help of tasting notes by experts (without the name of the wine and the vintage!).  It was quite interesting to see how we all drank quite a bit more at these blind tastings, which no doubt helped the atmosphere of the room!  We started with 2004 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, which was nicely taut on the palate. The purity and energy of the wine was very admirable and I adore the zinginess and minerality on the palate, with notes of lemon, Granny Smith apple, white flowers and crushed stones!  For white wines, we had a 2002 Chevalier Montrachet, Vincent Girardin with the unmistakable ripe pear, peach, floral, smoke and toasty notes (perhaps more evolved than expected) and a honeyed and lanolin-like 1990 Laville Haut Brion Blanc.    My best wines of the evening were the double magnum of 1995 Masseto (100% Merlot) and the 2001 Domaine de La Janasse Cuvée Chaupin (100% Grenache).  I really enjoyed these single varietal wines and admired how brilliantly they expressed the sense of place!  The 1992 Grange was the final red wine and perhaps it paled a little in comparison to the 2 previous wines.  It did not possess the power and concentration of the best vintages, but it showed a very refined structure of smooth fine-grained tannin, perfectly balancing acidity and lush and spicy notes of liquorice, menthol and blackberry.   The 1997 Yquem was unctuous and a delight to enjoy its bright golden robe, intense notes of honey, marmalade and acacia, with a nice clean finish, not cloying.  I must confess to preferring this to the birthday cake!   Thank you so much to our generous hosts!      

A Nice Treat: 1996 Salon

2 Mar 2013: I was recently treated to a very yummy dinner at Bonheur, a fixed menu restaurant which I hadn't been to for almost 6 or 7 years.  If my memory served me right, then both food and service had really improved.  I started with a Caear salad with smoked eel - I really liked it, the Caear Salad perfectly dressed, without the distraction of over garlicky and greasy croutons, and the smoked eel had a lovely firm texture and a delicately smokey taste.  The Irish razor clams were available as a starter but I asked the restaurant if they could do a pasta dish for me with the razor clams instead. Spaghettini cooked al dente, with garlic and olive oil, spiced up with some chili.  The razor clams in garlic butter nicely perched on top of the pasta.  It was yummy! The rather substantial portion of pasta left me with no room for desserts, but the souffle and apple tart looked rather appealing!

As for the wines, we started with Salon 1996.  A gorgeously bright lemon robe. A very expressive nose of fig, pear tart, ripe apple, acacia, fig, acacia, with smokey and shortbread notes.  Medium bodied and well delineated. Creamy mousse, firm acidity, lots of precision, giving this an invigoratingly long, complex and minerally finish.  Still very much in its youth but sensational!  19.5/20

1982 Château de Rozay, Condrieu: This was the biggest surprise of the evening, as everyone had expected it to be over the hill.  Medium lemon colour.  Intense and elegant bouquet of honey, toasted almond, quince and pear.  Some richness on the palate, giving a medium-full body. Amazing how the wine is holding out, despite the low-ish level of acidity. Crisp and honied finish.  A fabulous match with the razor clams in garlic butter. Drink now. 17/20

1995 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet: Deep garnet.  Black pepper, plum, chocolate, liquorice with some savoury notes.  Medium bodied.  Lacks concentration and depth, but still an elegant expression of Hermitage.  A drying sensation on the finish which carries a hint of sweetness of the Syrah grape.  Quite a rustic style. Drink now and for next 8 - 10 years. 16/20

1986 Pichon Baron: A very Pauillac nose of cedar, blueberry, blackcurrant, with earthy and leather notes.  A lighter weight Pauillac with a relatively loose structure, that focuses on elegance and freshness than concentration and richness.  Slightly astringent finish but does not detract from the enjoyment of the wine. Drink now.  15/20

1998 Darmagi, Gaja (in magnum): Deep ruby colour.  Black cherries, forestberries, liquorice, chocolate with smokey, tar and herbal notes.  An opulent wine, well balanced and structured with velvety tannin and relatively modest acidity, compared to most Italian reds.  Needed some aeration to shake off the initial austerity.  Initially tight on the finish, and slowly opening up to give a smooth and complex finish.  Definitely a wine to go with food. Drink now and over next 6 - 8 years. 17.5/20

1998 Yquem (in half bottle): Lovely golden colour.  Intense perfume of honey, apricot tart , pineapple and acacia notes.  There is nice complexity, accompanying the richness, without the viscosity, weight or density of the greatest vintages.  A refreshing Yquem with long ageing potential, though perfect to be enjoyed now from half bottle formats. Drink now or keep for next 20+ years.  18/20

The restaurant was rather accommodating in terms of number of glasses per head.  We had 4 per person, plus a dessert wine glass at the end.  Excellent service! 

An Unusual Birthday Present

4 Mar 2013: Most of us run out of ideas when it comes to anniversary or birthday presents for our loved ones, even for the most creative individuals amongst us. This is the best one I have heard: a plot of vines every year and even more remarkable when the vineyards are in the region where your loved one comes from!  Presents of love from a wife to a husband!



The wines by Holdvölgy

 Year after year, the vineyard area grows in size, to a very respectable area of 25 hectares. With the purchase of a property with a 2-kilometer long cellar dating back to 14th Century, the Holdvölgy winery (literally translates to "Valley of the Moon") was born and entrusted to the brother and sister team, Pascal and Natália Demkó, with their respective skills complementing the technical knowledge and experience of winemaker Stéphanie Berecz.  The 25 hectares, consisting of 19 parcels in 7 vineyards, are located in the Mád Valley of the Tokaji region, where their father comes from.  Using indigenous grape varieties including Furmint, Hárslevelü, Sárgamuskotály, Zéta and a couple others, Holdvölgy's aim is to make handcrafted wines, that marry a deep respect for the terroirs and the traditional custom, with modern day winemaking skills, creative product design and clever branding.  Pascal was very excited about the newly completed winery: like a NASA project in the middle of the sleepy and traditional Mád Valley.  (www.holdvolgy.com)
Pascal jetsetted in for this very special wine tasting dinner at Pierre Restaurant, whose executive chef handled the challenging task of pairing Holdvölgy's wines with 6 different dishes with great dexterity and aplomb, each dish successfully bringing out the character of each wine. 



Seabass carpaccio, with seaweed mayonnaise and mustard ice-cream
 (Sorry, I took the photo when the ice cream had started melting!)

Line-caught seabass carpaccio, seaweed mayonnaise, mustard ice-cream, grilled sweet red peppers 2007 Meditation: Dry wine, made with 100% Furmint, 80% fermented and aged in stainless steel and 20% in barrels.  The pairing with the seabass carpaccio and seaweed mayonnaise was marriage made in heaven!  A very attractive nose of honeysuckle, pineapple, passionfruit and honey notes, layered with almond, toast and smoke.  Medium bodied, smooth texture gently coating the palate to wrap up with a minerally salty finish. Drink now and for next 4 - 5 years.  A very versatile wine for pairing with food, particularly seafood!  17/20

Abalone with tuna and sesame

Abalone/bacon, melba toast with tuna and sesame
2009 Expression: Dry wine, made with 100% Hárslevelü, from the single vineyard of Betsek.  Lime blossom, grapefruit, and herbal nose.  Nicely rounded mouthfeel, creamy texture, balanced by vivid acidity.  The palate is all minerality and purity, with beautiful fine detail and a very long finish.  A wine of pedigree and class. Great stuff. Drink now and for the next 8 - 10 years. 18/20 

Blue lobster, with green tea and almond paste

Blue lobster "aiguillettes", cauliflower cream flavoured with lobster coral.
Green tea and almond paste butter.
2007 Eloquence, Szamorodni (104 g/litre residual sugar): Sweet, made with Furmint and Hárslevelü.  A very interesting rendition of these two grape varieties.  Apricot, orange peel and honey, with toast and nutty nuances.  Interesting dry sensation on the finish, very long.  17.5/20 
The sweet nutty and toasty notes of the wine paired very well with the umami flavours of the lobster coral and the richness of the almond paste butter, and the bitter-sweet taste of the green tea striking a harmonious note with the Szamorodni character!
This dish could also go very well with Meditation.

Pigeon, with black pepper, foie gras, black truffle and blood orange sauce

Provençal Socca, lamb's lettuce salad and pan-seared celery with blood orange; thinly-sliced pigeon with black pepper, foie gras and black truffle.
2008 Intuition No.2, Late Harvest (99 g/litre residual sugar): Sweet, made with Sárgamuskotály (Muscat à Petits Grains) from the oldest vineyard Nyúlászó, aged in French and Hungarian casks.  I had tried this wine before and this had not been my favourite wine of the range.  However, tonight, the pairing with pigeon, foie gras and black truffle, with the very zingy blood orange sauce, spiced up with black pepper, brought to life this wine.  A perfumed bouquet of elderflower, honey and grape.  Full-bodied, perfectly balanced, with firm acidity, that stood up to the zinginess of the blood orange sauce. This pairing was so impeccable that it got voted the best pairing of the night!   18/20  (This wine has now been renamed Exaltation.)

French cheese selection (Ossau Iraty, Vacherin and Bleu d'Auvergne).
2007 Signature, Szamorodni and Aszú blend (125 g/litre residual sugar): Bravo to a concept that embraces tradition with the unique Holdvölgy style.  Made with the 3 grape varieties: Furmint, Hárslevelű, Zéta. The intensive bouquet of honey, apricot, honeysuckle and orange peel wafting up to your nose from the glass.  Medium-full body, bolstered by a perfect amount of acidity to give a lithe and elegant structure, like a ballerina dancing off your palate.  On the palate, it is an explosion of dry Furmint and botrytised Hárslevelü flavours, interlayered with tension and energy derived from minerality and acidity.  Finishes very long.  18/20 
Pascal recommended Fourme d'Ambert with this wine and I, Salers. 

Lemon custard dessert

Clementine syrup: segments, candied rind and Grand Marnier ice cream.
Grapefruit/Campari/rhum sherbet, omiza jelly. 
Large almond lace biscuit: Lemon custard, crisp dessert with lemon and angelica brushed over with olive oil.
2006 Culture, 6 Puttonyos Aszú (174 g/litre residual sugar): Made with fully botrytised Furmint and Hárslevelű grapes. Aged for 2 years in new Hungarian casks.  Medium golden robe.  An intense bouquet of grapefruit marmalade, candied peel, honey, fig,  apricot, quince, macadamia and butterscotch. Full-bodied, unctuous, the decadent richness niftily balanced by searing acidity, giving the very long finish a refreshing and satisfying lift.  An utterly serious wine, lush, seductive and powerful, that keeps luring you back for more, with its memory haunting you for a very long time.  19/20   This is the only traditional Aszú wine made by the winery.  (Pascal said that a dark chocolate dessert could be quite good - otherwise Culture is best enjoyed on its own - I totally agree with him!  Very hard to rival with near perfection!)



Liquid gold served in a porcelain spoon

The final treat was 2009 Esszencia (750 g/litre residual sugar) served in a porcelain spoon, so that we could admire the beautiful colour of this nectar.  One sip, and the mind raced round for adjectives, wild flowers, frangipane, honeycomb, nectarine, quince jelly, candied orange peel, and perfume.  Still in its youth, but this already showed promise as the finest embodiment of all good things about Tokaji: harmony, perfection, precision, heritage and patience.  The finish of this full-bodied liquid gold lasted a minute or longer.  20/20 (Sadly, this product is not available commercially: it is strictly for the family consumption!  And Pascal said very good for his children for curing all sorts of ailments!)

The bottle of liquid gold

It was a truly memorable evening, with very high quality food, exquisite wines and impeccable food and wine pairings, and a very convivial atmosphere.......what a remarkable journey it was and this is just the beginning for Holdvölgy.  I really hope we will start seeing more Holdvölgy wines on restaurant wine lists - they have a very unique identity about them!