Domaine Lou Dumont and Tenuta delle Terre Nere

28 July 2010: Last night Richard and I went to Man Wah at the Mandarin Oriental for dinner. We hadn't been there for a long time. Just before dinner, I had a drink at the bar and tried a glass of 2008 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso. It was youthful, fruity, with good balanced structure and some complexity to make it a very good value wine. Made with Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, the wine displayed a bright ruby colour. On the nose, youthful aromas of red cherries and raspberry, intermingled with Mediterranean herbs, giving an impression of the sweetness from ripe fruits. Medium body, with a good balance between acidity and alcohol, and soft tannins allowing for early drinking. The structure was almost pinot noir like. A reasonable length. Highly recommended! 15.5/20

For dinner, I took along a bottle of 2005 Lou Dumont Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux-Saint-Jacques that had been sitting in my office for a while. Even with the aeration from double-decanting, the wine took almost 3 hours to open up and come together and once it did, we were able to discern its attracive nose of red fruits, sweet spices and tea leaves. It was a good match with our food, especially the chicken casserole, with shallots and garlic! A muscular wine, still with some grippy tannins, somewhat unrelenting; a well made wine with some complexity but lacked depth and concentration to justify a higher rating. Reasonable length. 16/20

Lou Dumont featured in the manga "Les Gouttes de Dieu" and the négociant/winemaker is Japanese, based in Gevrey-Chambertin. Bravo to him who followed his dreams and settled in Burgundy to put his mind to making good quality wines!

Judging by the quality of the food last night, we both felt rather bemused why Man Wah did not get any Michelin stars. Ok, the starter of barbecue pork belly was a little mediocre. Then we were suitably impressed by the star dish of the evening - deep fried sole in black bean sauce. Even the bones were edible! It was so delicious that I'm actually keen to return to the restaurant to try it again! The chicken with shallots and garlic casserole was tasty - although some bits were a little "rubbery". The Sichuan style beef was tasty but failed on authenticity. It didn't taste anything Sichuan at all - in fact I thought it had kimchi in it! I'm not a big fan of beef but I did try one piece and it was really tender....too tender for Richard who would have preferred a good chew! We finished with perfectly cooked kale in ginger sauce. All in all, a very satisfying meal and I thought it was much better than the meal I had at the China Club on Monday. The service was impeccable and the dishes were well-timeed! I have a feeling I shall be returning before too long!

Hungarian Furmint and Italian Morellino di Scansano

19 July 2010: Totally unplanned, joined some girl friends for dinner at The French Window. The food was better than I remembered (last went in January for Richard's birthday), less gimmicky, more thoughtful and more flavoursome! We started with a bottle of Jacquart Mosaïque NV (assemblage of Chardonnay 35 - 40%, Pinot Noir 40 - 45%, Pinot Meunier 15 - 20%). Tiny persistant bubbles, a light golden colour. Aromas of pear, green apples, toast and grilled nuts leapt out of the glass. Refreshing acidity, subtantial enough to make it a good accompaniment to dishes such as my lovely scallops with truffle and mashed potato! Nice finish. I chose a Hungarian dry white for the evening: 2004 Oremus Tokaji Furmint Mandolás. A golden coat, noticeable age on the nose, with aromas of honey, hazelnuts, peach and tropical fruit. Still a good dose of acidity. Medium body with some richness. Perhaps lightly short on the length. A fruity style wine of some complexity but tasted a little tired last night- I would have preferred it when the wine still retained its fiery character and freshness. It went well with my friends' main courses, including the Bouillabaisse and ravioli with lobster in creamy truffle sauce.

I thought I did much better with the red: 2005 Fattoria Le Pupille Poggio Valente. The appellation is Morellino di Scansano. Scansano is one of the coastal regions in Tuscany and Morellino is the local clone for Sangiovese. The estate is owned by Elisabetta Geppeti (http://www.elisabettageppeti.com/). Poggio Valente is a wine made with 4 different Sangiovese clones (with some Alicante) grown on a single vineyard of 12 hectares. The first vintage was 1997 after Elisabetta bought the vineyard in 1996. I was really impressed by it - great value-quality wine, I think around HK$ 750 a botle on the wine list. After fermentation and MLF in stainless steel vats, the wine would spend around 15 months in 40% new oak and the remainder second-wine barrels. The wine is typically released 3 years after vintage. Medium body, firm tannins, vivacious acidity making up this well-textured wine with great balance. Aromas of red cherries, plums, undergrowth, herbal, sweet spices and a faint hint of smokiness and leather. A nice long finish. A wine style that combines concentration of ripe fruit, complexity, perfect balance, grippy texture and length. Drinking well now, and will continue to evolve over the next 5 - 6 years. 17/20

The red went really well with my duck dish - I finished every scrap! The perfectly cooked to medium duck breast was topped with a lovely layer of crispy pork crackling, and served with rather dainty spinach "croque-monsieur" triangles. Such delightful assembly and great flavours...a very brave combination of crackling and duck breast, but neither one ingredient was overpowering the other. The spinach was a little strange - perhaps Swiss Chard or kale would have been a more appropriate accompaniment.

A pity the restaurant wasn't busier last night (though admitted, it was Monday night) - it deserves better recognition!

Chateau Grillet 1983 and others

16 July 2010: I have attended a number of wine tasting dinners at unusual venues, but this one completely took the prize of being the most imaginative! It was about 8 pm. We were led through a spacious cafeteria inside an industrial building in Kwun Tong, where a few revellers from the previous group were on the point of taking their leave from a gregarious dinner gathering, past the kitchen that had been working very hard, into a brightly lit, white-washed private room. Inside the room was a large square table, already laden with a number of dishes ranging from pasta cooked simply with butter and garlic to risotto with shitake mushrooms and smoked salmon to braised oxtail! I felt very honoured to be invited to be part of this wine tasting dinner, having taught some of the fellow diners who are busy revising for their WSET exam at the end of the month.

Usual format. Each person brings a bottle of wine (or two). I picked the 2007 Keller Riesling Kabinett "limestone" to start with. Klaus Peter Keller belongs to the younger generation of well-trained, well-travelled and inspired winemakers who have been demonstrating to the world that high quality wines can come from Rheinhessen, particularly not from the steep terraces on the Rhine but on mixed soils far from the Rhine. Keller is based in Flörsheim-Dalsheim, in the south of Rheinhessen. My impression of the 2007 Riesling Kabinett: a medium lemon-yellow colour, intense nose of floral, pineapple, lychee, honey and mineral, the judicious amount of residual sugar well balanced by a good level of acidity, medium body and finishes long. A very well-made Riesling - just delicious on its own.

Then I tried the 1998 Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo d'Alba that I had brought. On the nose, rose, violet, spicy, peppery, mocha and a hint of leather. Nicely aged Nebbiolo, still with plenty of acidity to make it a good accompaniment to the risotto. Drinking at peak now, not a wine for much further keeping.

The 2006 Echézeaux by Gros Frère et Soeur showed much readiness for drinking. Once in the glass, without any need for decanting, it displayed a lovely perfume of ripe red fruits (raspberry, red cherries) and even some blackberries, some spiciness and a good dose of minerality. Medium bodied, velvet-textured, balanced, well-integrated smooth tannins, less generous with the acidity. Finish was somewhat short and not exactly memorable. The wine somehow lacked depth, concentration and grip. Retasting the wine after 1.5 hour of opening (still in the bottle), the wine tasted rather flat and uninteresting. Judging by tonight's performance, would recommend early to medium-term drinking for maximum enjoyment. Burghound gave it a score of 90 - will check again his notes.

By comparison, the 2007 Saint Romain by Taupenot Merme showed a sprightly purple colour, very youthful, fruity and spicy.

The surprise wine of the evening was Château Grillet 1983. The colour was a bright yellow, showing hardly any signs of its age. The wine took a little time in the glass to settle down after the shock of exposing it to air. The result was a complex bouquet of nutty, smoky and honey, still retaining faint aromatic remnants of its earlier life: peach, yoghurt and floral notes. Medium body, but much of the acidity (characteristic of the Viognier variety, acidity was not high to start with anyway) had faded away. Some length. A wine probably past its peak, but drinking well still with some interest.

The 2006 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits, Gros Frère et Soeur was an immediately impactful wine, with much more obvious oak, already showing a complex nose of lemon curd, peppery, nutmeg, spicy, toast, smoky, and nutty. Good level of acidity, with a medium body and some richness. Normally all Chardonnay, with the odd addition of Pinot Gris or Pinot Blanc in certain vintages. Wonder if this is the case here, given the richness and roundness. Medium length. Drinking very well now but will evolve over next 3 - 4 years for those who love their white burgundies with a bit of age. Perfect accompaniment with food, such as lobster with creamy sauce, quenelles, escargots or just simply a nice piece of well-aged comté.

The chef/proprietor also brought us a bottle of wine to try. 2007 Merlot by Samuel Champlain, Vin de Pays Atlantique. A pretty wine with black fruit, plums, chocolate and coffee. A wine for early enjoyment. Thank you, Chef! Very kind!

We finished with a Cream Sherry by Gonzalez Byass. Very attractive nose of walnuts, caramel, treacle, coffee and herbal. Just perfect with the cappucino cheese cake prepared by the chef!

A very enjoyable evening and plenty of interesting contributions from everyone! I think one of them promised some whiskies for the next gathering - definitely looking forward to that!

Testamatta 2001 at Whisk

9 July 2010: We ventured across to Tsim Sha Tsui and tried a new restaurant in Hong Kong - Whisk at The Mira. The restaurant had a modern and open decor, in the style of a chic bistro. The best thing about the restaurant was the service which was professional, friendly and client-oriented. The staff under Polish manager Michael's watchful eye were all extremely helpful and sommelier Taka was very knowledgeable. They very readily changed Richard's sauteed spinach when we told them that he didn't like it with garlic. I was delighted to see that the restaurant took salads seriously. I started with a beautifully tossed gourmet salad, followed by the angel hair with lobster and aromatic oils, one of their signature dishes. Richard started with a warm king prawn salad and then followed with the suckling pig. All the dishes were tasty and well-presented, combining good flavours, fresh ingredients and a familiar comfort from homecooking, without those frequently exploited touches of uber-chic flamboyance (foams, crisps and bubbles!). Unfortunately, we did not find room to fit in the very special apple tart - a must for our next visit! Our rating for Whisk: Food (4/5), Service (5/5), Ambiance (3/5), Price (4/5).

For our wines, we started with a glass of Billecart-Salmon rosé to celebrate the end of a week that felt very long! We ordered a half of 2005 Henri Boillot Puligy-Montrachet Clos de La Mouchère from the list. Aromoas of smoke, butter, lemon curd, nutty, pepper, spice and vanilla, intricately interlaced, making this a harmonious and attractive bouquet. Already quite approachable. Well-balanced, just the right amount of richness, roundness and a good backbone of acidity. Good length. Drinking very well now, and will continue to evolve over next 4 - 5 years. 17.5/20

Then we tried the Bibi Graetz Testamatta IGT 2001. An artist turned winemaker. Bibi Graetz chooses different grape varieties for his Testamatta every year. For 2001, it was a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino, grape varieties commonly found in a Chianti. It was a great discovery! Deep ruby core. Intense and complex nose of red cherries, tea leaves, tobacco, liquorice and herbal, with hints of sweet oak. A wine of immense display of ripe fruit concentration, balance and charm, with vibrant acidity and well integrated smooth tannins. Drinking well now, an excellent match with Mediterranean dishes, but will continue to evolve over next 3 - 4 years. 16.5/20

Feast at the Krug Room

2 July 2010: We were treated to a spectacular feast at the Krug Room at the Mandarin Oriental by Matilda on the occasion of Sander’s birthday. Well, it turned out to be a double celebration for Sander that evening, as the Netherlands defeated Brazil at the Quarter Finals. The Krug Room was an extraordinary experience. Each course was creatively and meticulously conceived and prepared. We worked our way through the menu depicted as a crossword puzzle on the wall. The sequence read like this: Spiral, Caviar, Fruit, Asparagus, Oyster, Tea, Lobster, Clay Pigeon, Tin, Spring Garden, Butterfly, and the finale act Candy Shop. With the arrival of each piece of culinary art, the suspense built in anticipation of the next creation. I was most impressed by Tea, a delicate tomato consommé with decorative confetti of flavoured herbs and flower petals - the consommé was poured out of a teapot, after having been infused with additional flavours from a special teabag! The Caviar was also a favourite of mine: these luxurious golden pearls popped in your mouth and released intense flavours of apple and champagne! The Lobster was a sensational masterpiece: the pouring of lobster broth into the dry ice created a lingering shroud of lobster scented "mist" that filled the room, and then we tucked into the lobster cooked to perfection in the centre stage of this masterpiece.

The Clay Pigeon was perhaps the least interesting and the clay and couscous-filled rifle pellets had a rather unappealing chewy texture. The Asparagus was a very interesting twist on tiramisu but the portion was just a little too large. The best part about the Candy Shop was deciding which items we could take home for the children and in doing so, we all relived our childhood dreams momentarily!

We had Krug for the non-meat courses and then Sander and Matilda very generously assigned Richard and me the task of choosing a red wine. We chose the 2006 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Calderara Sottana. The style was so different from what you would expect from Sicilian wines. The grapes of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio were grown on a single vineyard. Medium bodied, with a perfumed nose of red cherries, raspberries, roses, tea leaves and liquorice. A serious but approachable wine, well balanced with lively acidity, the elegant and poised style was almost Burgundian like. Lingering finish. It went equally well with the pigeon as with the beef in the tin!

After 12 courses and much Krug and Sicilian Etna Rosso, we adjourned to the Chinnery Bar for the remainder of the football match between the Netherlands and Brazil, and more celebration for our Dutch host!

Thank you very much, Matilda and Sander! Great party and happy birthday!

1999 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne

1 July 2010: A glorious drop. A beautiful light golden colour. A wine of immense concentration, complexity, distinct minerality, piercing acidity and much youthful vigour. Layers of lemon curd, lemon confit, lanolin, honey, grilled almonds, marzipan, honey and toast. The character of the wine changed completely after 2 hours of opening….would have benefitted from decanting, showing much more roundedness and integration. Great length. Drinking well now, but will evolve over next 6 - 8 years. 19.5/20