13 November 2010: I came home after teaching for the entire afternoon. James just left the house after an early evening cocktail with Richard. I was greeted with a rewarding glass of 1999 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet by Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize) – tiny production, only 292 bottles made with 0.06 hectare of vineyard. This rare wine, after having been opened an hour, showed much freshness, minerality and rather restrained character of lemon, spice, wrapped around with hazelnut and buttery notes. Further time in the bottle would probably add more weight , complexity and length to the wine. 17.5/20
Richard then sat me down to guess our red wine of the evening. Medium ruby core, garnet at the rim. Complex and mature bouquet of violet, rose petal, black fruit, blueberry, blackcurrant leaf, tobacco, lead pencil, cedar, cigar box and coffee. Silky tannin, reasonable acidity (perhaps with a little addition of volatile acidity from the age of this wine). Robust yet elegant, incredibly complex, and finishes extremely long. I was very pleased with my guess of Right Bank Bordeaux and eventually Cheval Blanc, but I was miles out in terms of the vintage…..1947. The wine still tasted so fresh that it was just incredible that it was more than 60 years old! Drinking at peak now, and will continue to drink well for the next 10 – 15 years? Class act! And it was bottled by a negociant (Calvet-bottled)! Apparently quite a common practice in those days. 19/20
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Friday, 5 November 2010
Discover Tunisian Wine at HK Wine Fair!
5 Nov 2010: I visited the HK International Wine & Spirits Fair this afternoon. I do not quite understand the way the organiser split up the fair into two exhibition halls. To be honest, my main purpose was to drop into the booths of a few friends from overseas. One of the booths I visited was the UCCV booth: Les Vignerons de Carthage (http://www.uccv.com.tn/), the largest wine producer in Tunisia. I spent some time with Dr. Belgacem D'Khili, the CEO and Chief Winemaker of the company and Monsieur Maher Toumi, in charge of export and marketing. Very charming gentlemen, passionate about their wine and their culture, and eager to share their passion with wine lovers in Asia. Their wines are now sold as much abroad as domestically, with France and Belgium being the most important European markets, and Japan as their first foray into Asia. Bravo!
Of the wines I tasted at their booth, I was most impressed by the traditional method sparkling wine: Le M, so well named. I tasted a very youthful 2008. A blanc de blancs based on Chardonnay, having spent 24 months on its lees before disgorgement. A lovely straw yellow colour, showing persistent and fine bubbles. On the nose, it was a complex mix of citrus, grapefruit, jasmine, almonds and toasty notes, overlaid with just a hint of oriental spice and some earthy character. An expressive and characterful wine, extremely well-made, balanced, and nice long finish. Drinking well now and will benefit from some bottle age over the next 5 - 8+ years. I also love the packaging and the design of the label - everything speaks of mystique and regal grace. Quite a revelation for me as one would never associate Mediterranean Tunisia with production of sparkling wine! Quite an achievement - this wine compares extremely well with commercial style champagne, the best Cava, and high end New World sparkling wine, and in some way tastes even better, when it is not packed with the rather pretty tropical fruit character I sometimes find in New World sparkling wine...... I did not enquire about the price but I know it will be marketed and sold in HK soon, and with a very competitive price tag!
Next I tasted the dry Muscat: Muscat Sec de Kélibia. Light golden in colour. An expressive wine, expressive of its terroir and its grape variety. Lovely floral and honey character, with a hint of spice and minerality. Medium body with just enough complexity, ripe fruit concentration and rounded character to make it an attractive food wine. It will go well with salads and seafood, such as scallops, oysters, mussels and clams, even better cooked in the "HK Typhoon Shelter style" - for the foodies amongst you!
Le Vieux Magon, AOC Mornag - 2/3 Syrah and 1/3 Merlot. Hand harvested grapes. 14 days of maceration to optimise the extraction of aromas and phenolic compounds. Aged in seasoned oak for 12 months before spending some time in bottle in the grottos for further refinement prior to release. I tasted the 2005 vintage. Dr. Belgacem recommended decanting for an hour before serving. Deep ruby core. Elegant and complex. Spicy, chocolate, black cherries, plums, liquorice and a hint of vanilla. Soft tannin, giving the wine a velvety texture. Well-crafted wine, balanced, complex, definitely a wine to go with Mediterranean and North African cuisine, but equally well with intensely flavoured braised dishes in the Chines cuisine. Drinking very well now and will continue to evolve over 4 - 5 years, with potential to age much longer.
All above wines will be available in HK soon! Watch out for these great value quality wines!
Congratulations to team UCCV! I am very confident they will succeed in educating our Asian wine lovers about their wine, culture and cuisine, given their drive and passion! This is what I love about the world of wine - you are constantly humbled by how much you have yet to learn about!
 |
| Le M |
Of the wines I tasted at their booth, I was most impressed by the traditional method sparkling wine: Le M, so well named. I tasted a very youthful 2008. A blanc de blancs based on Chardonnay, having spent 24 months on its lees before disgorgement. A lovely straw yellow colour, showing persistent and fine bubbles. On the nose, it was a complex mix of citrus, grapefruit, jasmine, almonds and toasty notes, overlaid with just a hint of oriental spice and some earthy character. An expressive and characterful wine, extremely well-made, balanced, and nice long finish. Drinking well now and will benefit from some bottle age over the next 5 - 8+ years. I also love the packaging and the design of the label - everything speaks of mystique and regal grace. Quite a revelation for me as one would never associate Mediterranean Tunisia with production of sparkling wine! Quite an achievement - this wine compares extremely well with commercial style champagne, the best Cava, and high end New World sparkling wine, and in some way tastes even better, when it is not packed with the rather pretty tropical fruit character I sometimes find in New World sparkling wine...... I did not enquire about the price but I know it will be marketed and sold in HK soon, and with a very competitive price tag!
 |
| The dry Muscat and Le Vieux Magon |
Le Vieux Magon, AOC Mornag - 2/3 Syrah and 1/3 Merlot. Hand harvested grapes. 14 days of maceration to optimise the extraction of aromas and phenolic compounds. Aged in seasoned oak for 12 months before spending some time in bottle in the grottos for further refinement prior to release. I tasted the 2005 vintage. Dr. Belgacem recommended decanting for an hour before serving. Deep ruby core. Elegant and complex. Spicy, chocolate, black cherries, plums, liquorice and a hint of vanilla. Soft tannin, giving the wine a velvety texture. Well-crafted wine, balanced, complex, definitely a wine to go with Mediterranean and North African cuisine, but equally well with intensely flavoured braised dishes in the Chines cuisine. Drinking very well now and will continue to evolve over 4 - 5 years, with potential to age much longer.
All above wines will be available in HK soon! Watch out for these great value quality wines!
Congratulations to team UCCV! I am very confident they will succeed in educating our Asian wine lovers about their wine, culture and cuisine, given their drive and passion! This is what I love about the world of wine - you are constantly humbled by how much you have yet to learn about!
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Chateau Angelus 2003
Le Sublime du Chateau Fombrauge 2005
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Shanghainese fare and some deliciously matching wines!
23 Oct 2010: Last night we tried a new Shanghainese restaurant in Causeway Bay called "Zhi Wei House". The chef apparently used to cook at the Shanghai Fraternity Club. The food was very tasty in a traditional style, as the restaurant name suggested. We started with 3 small starter dishes: smoked egg, crispy eel and chopped spinach and tofu skin. For main dishes, we had stir fried prawns Shanghainese style, hairy crab roe with glass noodles, smoked chicken, sweet and sour Mandarin fish with pine nuts, braised pork with gluten, Shanghainese ham sandwich (served with fluffy plain flour roll and crispy tofu cracker), chilli pepper and eggplant, and stir fried green veggie. We then finished the meal with the traditional red bean pancake and the pan-fried eight-treasure rice, a favourite of mine!
I thought all the dishes were well presented, perfectly flavoured and cooked. I highly recommend the ham sandwich, the chilli pepper and eggplant stirfry and the eight treasure rice! What I also appreciated was the very friendly and personal service, despite the impression that they were a little understaffed, by normal restaurant standard. We did not feel pressured to leave, even when we had settled the bill and we were the last table hanging around at close to midnight. We opened a few bottles this evening and it was perhaps helpful that we presented a small glass to the manager to try (I was told that she enjoyed a sip or two!)! I also quite liked the decor of the dining room, lighting not too bright, and quite simply designed but in a tasteful way. So I definitely will be returning.....now that I have discovered how well Shanghainese food married with certain wine styles!
I thought all the dishes were well presented, perfectly flavoured and cooked. I highly recommend the ham sandwich, the chilli pepper and eggplant stirfry and the eight treasure rice! What I also appreciated was the very friendly and personal service, despite the impression that they were a little understaffed, by normal restaurant standard. We did not feel pressured to leave, even when we had settled the bill and we were the last table hanging around at close to midnight. We opened a few bottles this evening and it was perhaps helpful that we presented a small glass to the manager to try (I was told that she enjoyed a sip or two!)! I also quite liked the decor of the dining room, lighting not too bright, and quite simply designed but in a tasteful way. So I definitely will be returning.....now that I have discovered how well Shanghainese food married with certain wine styles!
Sunday, 17 October 2010
1982 Château Margaux
17 Oct 2010: It was almost irresistible to drink a great vintage from Château Margaux after watching the DVD made by BBC at the Château - it conveyed such charm, warmth and personality about the chateau that made it rather endearing.....So on a simple supper night: rib eye steak on a bed of Caesar salad with crunchy croutons, we enjoyed and pondered on the lingering finish of the 1982 Margaux.
Double decanted. Vibrant ruby colour. A complex nose of a multitude of intense fruity, floral, spicy and vegetal notes reminiscent of violet, dried blueberry, blackcurrant jelly, spicy oak, cinnamon, ginger, hoi sin sauce, lead pencil, cedar, tobacco and even a hint of chocolate. Sensuous texture and graceful allure, flaunting silky tannin and still firm acidity. A beautiful sweetness from the ripe fruit on entry, the wine glides down your palate, caresses every taste bud with such tenderness and warmth (a reminder of the hot vintage), leaving you with the memory of a wine at the epitome of its femininity while retaining an authoritative firmness. A reflective wine, lingering on your mind about its beguiling qualities. Superb, drinking at its best…..with a long life ahead, 20+ years. 19.5/20
Double decanted. Vibrant ruby colour. A complex nose of a multitude of intense fruity, floral, spicy and vegetal notes reminiscent of violet, dried blueberry, blackcurrant jelly, spicy oak, cinnamon, ginger, hoi sin sauce, lead pencil, cedar, tobacco and even a hint of chocolate. Sensuous texture and graceful allure, flaunting silky tannin and still firm acidity. A beautiful sweetness from the ripe fruit on entry, the wine glides down your palate, caresses every taste bud with such tenderness and warmth (a reminder of the hot vintage), leaving you with the memory of a wine at the epitome of its femininity while retaining an authoritative firmness. A reflective wine, lingering on your mind about its beguiling qualities. Superb, drinking at its best…..with a long life ahead, 20+ years. 19.5/20
Saturday, 16 October 2010
The Diverse Styles of Château Margaux
13 Oct 2010: Dinner at Restaurant Petrus at the Island Shangri-La Hotel where we were served wines from Château Margaux - this probably would have raised a few eyebrows in France but not in Hong Kong. The neon lighting across the urban landscape transformed into fairy lights sprinkled over a sea of darkness from the height of the restaurant, adding an extra dimension to the romantic renaissance décor of the dining room. We were delighted that Thibault Pontallier (Paul's son) was able to join us to represent the Château. Thibault spoke about the Château where he grew up, with much affection and then about the wines with even more passion. Conscious of his young age, he nevertheless impressed us with his energy, enthusiasm, confidence and knowledge - the Château couldn't possibly have found a better brand ambassador for Asia!
We started the evening with some gougères and a glass (or two) of 2004 Pierre Gimonnet Fleuron 1er Cru. Pierre Gimonnet is a grower champagne house based in the Côtes des Blancs. The family has been making champagne since 1750 and has been described by Michael Edwards in his book "The Finest Wines of Champagne", as the producer of the "bluest of blue-chip Chardonnay champagnes, famous for their finesse". The family has grand cru holdings in Cramant and Chouilly as well as vineyards in premier cru Cuis, known for its characteristic piercing acidity. The Fleuron is the family's traditional vintage cuvée, only released in the finest years. It is a blended champagne with wine from selected vineyards. The wine is aged on fine lees in bottle for at least 4 years, and released after an additional 3 months of resting. Tasting note for the 2004 Fleuron: "Beautifully balanced champagne of poise and elegance, still a little tight and restrained in its youth, demonstrating a character of green fruit and mineral, layered with some floral and toasty notes, and a delicately creamy texture, with fine mousse, unrelenting acidity and a refreshing finish." A great value-qualit ratio for wine of such quality. 17/20
Bolstered by the mouth-watering acidity, we were primed for a gourmand dinner prepared by the chef. First course was seared scallop in a creamy nage with shaved tonka bean. This was accompanied by the Pavillon Blanc 1998. This could just be the finest Pavillon Blanc I had ever tasted. (Pavillon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc.) It is simply amazing to taste this 12-year-old wine - such a revelation. A light golden colour. A wine of immense complexity, depth and lengthy, exuding notes of gooseberry preserve, lemon peel, honey, lanolin, grilled hazelnuts, smoke, and white chocolate spiciness. The smokey and nutty nuances were even more enhanced on the palate. Great balance, with a sensuous texture and still plenty of acidity, and a long finish. Drinking well now and will continue to do so over next 10 - 15 years. I thought the wine was perhaps a little too characterful (in the positive sense) for the delicate scallop. I could imagine matching the wine with something like a smokey oyster bisque or a hot smoked salmon dish, or the Chinese smoked chicken dish! 18/20
Next course was the fregola sarda pasta with black pudding, chesnut, apple and warm truffled oxtail jelly. It actually was really tasty with a very interesting mélange of textures from the ingredients, and a really perfect accompaniment to the second wine of the evening: Pavillon Rouge 2000. Nose of red fruit, red cherries, blueberries, cedar and mint. Perfumed, elegant and well-made. Still a little young, despite it being the second wine of the Château. The wine opened up further in the glass and gained some more complexity and length. Drinking well now and will continue to evolve over next 4 - 5 years. 16/20
The third course was veal chop, with wild mushroom and young spinach fricassée, which was extremely well executed by the chef. The veal delivered such a concentration of flavours and such tenderness. This was paired with the 1990 Margaux, rated 100 points by Robert Parker. 1990 was a warm vintage and the style of this wine truly reflects the terroir of Margaux and the vintage. An endearing wine, sensual and alluring. A complex perfume layered with blackcurrant jelly, blueberry, prune, fig, date, tobacco, balsamic and caramel. The wine, already decanted for 2.5 hours by now, still tasted very fresh and youthful, with velvety tannin and firm acidity. Perfect in every way, balance, weight, concentration, depth, and length. Drinking well now (with the right amount of decanting) and will continue to evolve over the next 20+ years. 18.5/20 (It was a little unfortunate that we had a couple of corked bottles - so we were all rationed to a very small amount, but we made sure to make up for this deficiency with more of the 1986!)
The roast Challans squab, with foie gras and potatoes, and served with giblet sauce, was beautifully cooked, if a little on the rich side. The meaty, gamey character of the pigeon and giblet sauce married very well with the 1986 Margaux (RP96), an antithesis to the 1990. The latter so charming, graceful and feminine and the former austere, powerful and masculine. I was very impressed by the style of the 1986. It has a nose reminiscent of blueberry, black cherry, blackberry, fig, date, cedar, smoke and a hint of earthy mineral character. More tannic than the 1990, and displaying a strong backbone of acidity. This is a wine that will continue to evolve over 20+ years, with a potentially very interesting ageing profile. 18/20
For the cheese course, I returned to the Pavillon Blanc which was really the best wine to go with the cheese selection. I was very happy that the restaurant managed to source the Abbaye de Citeaux, one of my favourite cheeses (and it's from Burgundy!)......
A beautiful presentation of petits fours graced our table towards the end of this rather indulgent meal. By this time, we had all been well "nourished" that we hardly made an attempt at these delightful delicacies.
Congratulations to David and his team and chef Frédéric, who did an amazing job with the food and the service to complement this impressive array of wines - the evening could not have been better!
 |
| Array of Margaux Wines |
We started the evening with some gougères and a glass (or two) of 2004 Pierre Gimonnet Fleuron 1er Cru. Pierre Gimonnet is a grower champagne house based in the Côtes des Blancs. The family has been making champagne since 1750 and has been described by Michael Edwards in his book "The Finest Wines of Champagne", as the producer of the "bluest of blue-chip Chardonnay champagnes, famous for their finesse". The family has grand cru holdings in Cramant and Chouilly as well as vineyards in premier cru Cuis, known for its characteristic piercing acidity. The Fleuron is the family's traditional vintage cuvée, only released in the finest years. It is a blended champagne with wine from selected vineyards. The wine is aged on fine lees in bottle for at least 4 years, and released after an additional 3 months of resting. Tasting note for the 2004 Fleuron: "Beautifully balanced champagne of poise and elegance, still a little tight and restrained in its youth, demonstrating a character of green fruit and mineral, layered with some floral and toasty notes, and a delicately creamy texture, with fine mousse, unrelenting acidity and a refreshing finish." A great value-qualit ratio for wine of such quality. 17/20
Bolstered by the mouth-watering acidity, we were primed for a gourmand dinner prepared by the chef. First course was seared scallop in a creamy nage with shaved tonka bean. This was accompanied by the Pavillon Blanc 1998. This could just be the finest Pavillon Blanc I had ever tasted. (Pavillon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc.) It is simply amazing to taste this 12-year-old wine - such a revelation. A light golden colour. A wine of immense complexity, depth and lengthy, exuding notes of gooseberry preserve, lemon peel, honey, lanolin, grilled hazelnuts, smoke, and white chocolate spiciness. The smokey and nutty nuances were even more enhanced on the palate. Great balance, with a sensuous texture and still plenty of acidity, and a long finish. Drinking well now and will continue to do so over next 10 - 15 years. I thought the wine was perhaps a little too characterful (in the positive sense) for the delicate scallop. I could imagine matching the wine with something like a smokey oyster bisque or a hot smoked salmon dish, or the Chinese smoked chicken dish! 18/20
 |
| Fregola sarda pasta |
The third course was veal chop, with wild mushroom and young spinach fricassée, which was extremely well executed by the chef. The veal delivered such a concentration of flavours and such tenderness. This was paired with the 1990 Margaux, rated 100 points by Robert Parker. 1990 was a warm vintage and the style of this wine truly reflects the terroir of Margaux and the vintage. An endearing wine, sensual and alluring. A complex perfume layered with blackcurrant jelly, blueberry, prune, fig, date, tobacco, balsamic and caramel. The wine, already decanted for 2.5 hours by now, still tasted very fresh and youthful, with velvety tannin and firm acidity. Perfect in every way, balance, weight, concentration, depth, and length. Drinking well now (with the right amount of decanting) and will continue to evolve over the next 20+ years. 18.5/20 (It was a little unfortunate that we had a couple of corked bottles - so we were all rationed to a very small amount, but we made sure to make up for this deficiency with more of the 1986!)
 |
| Roast pigeon with foie gras and giblet sauce |
For the cheese course, I returned to the Pavillon Blanc which was really the best wine to go with the cheese selection. I was very happy that the restaurant managed to source the Abbaye de Citeaux, one of my favourite cheeses (and it's from Burgundy!)......
A beautiful presentation of petits fours graced our table towards the end of this rather indulgent meal. By this time, we had all been well "nourished" that we hardly made an attempt at these delightful delicacies.
Congratulations to David and his team and chef Frédéric, who did an amazing job with the food and the service to complement this impressive array of wines - the evening could not have been better!
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