Archive for May, 2013
El Matador from Rioja. Ole Ole Ole!
Posted by eatbikelove in Producer Wine Tasting on May 15, 2013
What do you think will be a Spanish wine El Classico? For me, I guess that will be Rioja v Ribera Del Duero. Both regions predominantly uses the same grape variety (Tempranillo) and make great wines. Up until early March 2013, Ribera Del Duero had the edge given my very bad experience with Rioja. A few years back, a few colleagues and I were given a Jeroboam of Rioja Grand Riserva 1999 and it was kept under ‘perfect’ storage underneath the desk of one of my colleagues (next to his smelly shoes for added curing…). Safe to stay, my first experience of Rioja (all 3 litres of it) was an off bottle and it managed to put me off Rioja (ignore the pun :-P).
Well, BBR decided to do something about that and invited me to a Rioja producer’s tasting in the China Club earlier in March. The Rioja producer in town was Carlos Lopez de Lacalle whose family owns Artadi wines, the producer of one of the best Rioja wines.
The wines were paired with chinese cuisine and I must admit, the pairing worked very well.
Carlos was an excellent host as you could tell the passion he had when discussing about his wines. He made a very good comment that the Rioja region makes very good wines but unfortunately the Rioja names that we normally associate with are the mass produced, thin ‘plonk’. Carlos admitted that Rioja producers need to do more to educate the wine drinking community of quality Rioja and I am was slowly starting to understand what he meant as his wines were beautiful. The only constructive criticism I can think of is PLEASE UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE (it looks a bit too fresh!) http://www.artadi.com
I thoroughly enjoyed the night (admittedly a bit too much) and thank you Joyce for the invite.
It was a great experience and it has definitely dispelled my previous bad experience of Rioja. I guess my current El Classico score is Rioja 1: Ribera Del Duero 1. Maybe, next time I should badger my friends to organise a Vega Sicilia v Artadi El Classico! (If you know any friends who have these wines, please let me know 😀 )
Tasted Mar 2013
Nose: good violet perfume and black fruits, hint of coconut from the oak
Taste: good silk smooth, slightly acidic and rustic, good balance with lots of fruit
Finish: 20+ second finish
A very nice fruity wine but I believe given a few more years this wine will be a superstar!
Tasted Mar 2013
Nose: violets and blueberry, hint of cassis, good perfume n hint of mint
Taste: tannic dryness, hint of vegetal flavours, medium bodied,
Finish: 25 second finish
The most tannic of the lot tasted that night. Definitely needs time.
Nose: hint of leather, less perfumy and less red fruits than 2004. Is this the evolution from good storage?
Taste: lighter in style, hint or red fruits, v good balance and smooth silky style
Finish: a 20 second elegant finish
A very elegant wine with a nice smooth texture.
Nose: very perfumed, cassis, black fruits,
Taste: Medium full bodied, acidic but good balance, good concentration. A lot more dense than Pagos Viejos
Finish: 30 second finish
The El Pison series is definitely a level up from Pagos Viejos (although I think the 2004 Viejos is giving these wines a run for their money)
Nose: good red fruit, hint of vanilla,
Taste: less fruity than 2002, red fruits, slight acidity and medium bodied
Finish: 30 second finish
Good wine.
Nose: leather, hint of earthiness, red fruits, velvety nose, mocha
Taste: great balance, red fruits, smooth, silky texture, great acidity. Medium bodied.
Finish: 40 second finish
Carlos’ comment for this wine was simple: ‘Its El Pison 1995, what more should I say’. A very very good wine. Glad I was able to saviour (a bit too much of) it at the tasting as I later found out it currently costs GBP280 a bottle!
To PC or not PC, whilst being sandwiched by an Italian and an Aussie
Posted by eatbikelove in Wine Tasting Notes on May 14, 2013
Do you remember the days when you were young and you hung out with your mates all day long without even thinking twice. Sadly, as age catches up and everyone else has different priorities, it seems harder and harder to catch up with old mates… which is all the more reason to treasure these gatherings and drink good wine! 😀
Recently, my uni mates and I arranged for a long overdue catch up (like all good 3 Michelin stars, we had to book over 1 month in advance). The location was a nice private kitchen in TST and we decided to have a mini vertical of a chateau that is currently gaining superstar status, Pontet Canet. Like all good wine tastings, we choose an Italian to get warmed up (after some bubbly of course) and a strong Aussie Cab Sauv to make sure we were all tipsy at the end of the night.
After a quick taste, it become blinding obvious that PC 2001 was denser and needed more time so we enjoyed the wines in this order; Chianti Classico, PC 2002, PC 2001 followed by Majella Coonawarra
Overall, it was a great night which was also educational the difference in vintages was more pronounced when tasted side by side. Bravo to my friends who brought the wines and I can’t wait for the next gathering!
Nose: very fruity nose of black fruits and cassis, hint of herb and mint,
Taste: medium bodied, a bit light for a Chianti, low acidity, easy to drink but a bit hollow on the mid palate.
Finish: short finish of 10 second
An OK bottle but I felt it was lacking the usual Chianti fruitiness. Perhaps it would’ve benefited with more aeration?
Nose: liquorice, dense red fruits and a hint of blackcurrant and mint,
Taste: red fruit and wine gums, slightly tannic, good fruit and medium bodied,
Finish: 20 second finish
A good wine. The wines are easy to drink and delicious when paired with food.
Nose: denser than 2002, black fruits, creme de cassis, hint of herb, sweet black fruits like blueberry, hint of vanilla
Taste: sweet red fruit, slight tannic dryness, this is still a young wine! Medium bodied and with a very good and silky texture
Finish: 30 second fin with a coffee aftertaste.
A very good wine with nice fruit. I was amazed at the finish when I sensed some coffee aftertaste…
Nose: oily texture, concentrated black fruits, alcoholic nose, hint of medicinal cough syrup
Taste: sweet cabernet sauvignon made in a new world style, not tannic, very fruity with a slightly reductive nose.
Finish: 15 second finish
A solid wine which expresses Coonawarra Cab Sauv well without being overextracted. Shame we had it after the 2 PCs!
Some old Bordeaux tasting notes
Posted by eatbikelove in Wine Tasting Notes on May 13, 2013
I’ve been trying to do some spring cleaning lately to organise my wine notes better and came across a small selection of Bordeaux wine notes tasted voer the past few years. Looking back at these notes makes me really wish I am holding a glass whilst writing these notes but alas, sanity won. Anyway, hopefully I will have a chance to open the same bottle and compare notes in the near future!
Tasted June 2011.
Initial reaction upon opening the cork:
Nose: Very strong aroma of black berries and blackcurrant. There is a hint of vanilla even though there is 12+ yrs of age. Impressive! Tight with lots of potential.
Colour- dark brick colour with a slight degradation at the rim.
After decanting for 2 hours-
Taste- chewy but smooth tannins. A hint of vegetal with a silky texture.
Finish- Good smooth finish. I could still feel the wine after 45 seconds.
Very good wine
Tasted end of June 2011.
Decanted for over 6 hours.
Colour- Ink purple colour. Very concentrated.
Nose- sweet vanilla nose with a whiff of alcohol. After some swirling then the smell of red berries start to come out.
Taste- Very nice taste with a very smooth silky texture. The wine is very balanced. There are some secondary red berries too.
Finish- a nice 45 sec finish with smooth tannins.
A very very nice wine where everything seems to come together nicely.
Tasted- December 2011
Nose- Blackcurrant, black berries, violets. No hint of vanilla.
Taste- silky smooth texture with a nice perfume and a hint of flint.
Finish- Good 45 sec finish with soft tannins.
A very elegant wine.
Tasted March 2012
Colour- dull brick colour. Very musky Given the age.
Nose- musky to begin with, followed by a nice raspberry and red fruits.
Taste- nice taste of liquorice candy. A bit sour which could be the age.
Finish- a shortish finish of c20 seconds. A tad sour aftertaste.
This wine is clearly over its peak. However, it is still a very pleasant wine nonetheless, especially after all the muskiness evaporates
Tasted December 2012 in Magnum
Nose: Hint of vanilla, cranberry and violet
Taste: Smooth texture with a simple red fruit enveloping the mouth
Finish: c20 sec finish.
Tasted December 2012.
Nose: Good nose of tobacco, vanilla, liquorice and leather
Taste: Good velvety body, smooth acidity and soft tannins.
Finish: c30 sec finish.
A lovely wine with the typical Margaux elegance
Pierre Vincent from Domaine Vougeraie in HK
Posted by eatbikelove in Producer Wine Tasting on May 11, 2013
My first post. I thought I should start with a tasting from one of my favourite region and one of my favourite producer, Domaine Vougeraie from Premeaux-Prissey in Burgundy.
Pierre Vincent made a short stopover in HK in April and with my wine merchant BBR, hosted a dinner tasting in HK to showcase his wines. I signed up to join in a flash!
Pierre showcased his selection of excellent white and red wines including the icing on the cake, Musigny! The dinner was hosted in Island Tang where the wines were accompanied with great Chinese food.
This was the wines of the evening:
2009 Clos Blanc de Vougeot 1er cru (Aperitif)
2007 Clos Blanc de Vougeot 1er cru
2007 Corton Charlemagne
2010 NSG, Les Damodes 1er cru
2009 NSG, Les Damodes 1er cru
2007 Corton Clos du Roi
2007 Clos Vougeot
2007 Charmes-Chambertin, Les Mazoyeres
2007 Musigny
Overall, it was a great evening with a great group of wine lovers.
Wine Notes (Tasted April 2013)
Colour: Pale straw yellow
Nose: white fruits, butter, pear
Taste: slight acidity, smooth texture although a bit closed, lighter bodied
Finish: 30 second finish
Good wine but I think is too young to drink now.
Colour: deeper colour, like a young sauternes
Nose: Oily nose, white flowers and lemon peel
Taste: weightier than 09, oily texture, good balance, low aciidty
Finish: 30 second fin
A good wine suitable for drinking now.
Colour: light yellow
Nose: white flowers, mineral, floral, buttery
Taste: slight acidity, light bodied, floral and white flowers, good balance,
Finish: 20sec finish
Good wine and expressive of the terrior.
Colour: ruby red
Nose: vanilla, red fruits, very expressive, cranberry
Taste: good balance, red fruits, medium bodied
Finish: smooth 20 second finish
This bottle is showing very well tonite. Bravo!
Colour- ruby red
Nose: very good perfume, hint of reduction, red fruits with hint of cassis,
Taste: medium full bodied, tannic, hint of vegetal, red fruit takes a back seat to power, complex with potential to develop further
Finish: 25 second fin
Colour: deep red
Nose: A very Vougeot nose! Red perfume, hint of vegetal, red fruits, much more complexity than Corton
Taste: good acidity, red fruits, good balance, good complexity
Fin: 25 second finish
A good wine that expresses the source of the wine. I’ve recently had the 2001 which developed secondary flavours so have confidence that this wine will improve and develop secondary flavours with age.
Colour: deep red
Nose: red perfume, leafy note,
Taste: good medium bodied, sweet red fruits, raspberry, hint of cassis, very easy to drink now
Fin:30 second fin
A very good wine to drink now
Colour: deep purple red
Nose: rose perfume, red fruits, concentrated red fruits, hint of vanilla
Taste: smooth, velvety texture, sweet sweet tannins
Finish: 30 second fin
I was taken aback from this wine. Love the smooth smooth texture and most importantly the balance! What a wine. My Wine of the Night
Nose: Violets, concentrated, hint of cassis n black fruit, hint of reduction, very fruity and hint of vegetal
Taste: oh my good! What a wine! Very dense and concentrated, great complexity, excellent balance, sweet sweet wine full of red fruits,
Finish: 40 sec+ finish
I have been dreaming about this wine since I knew I had a chance to taste it! It most certainly did not disappoint. I think today, the Charmes Chambertin just pipped it but I think in another 5 years, this Musigny will then shed its outer shell and show what it really is made of.
Unsurprisingly, we finished off with lots of empty glasses :-D. What a great night and I look forward to similar tastings to come!
Winston's Wine World 
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