Welcome to the Dragon Phoenix Wine Blog, a wholly independent blog written by Fongyee Walker and Edward Ragg of Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting, an independent wine consultancy based in Beijing, China.

Here you will find literally hundreds of tasting notes on all the wines we have tasted and rated since 2003, many of which are now available in the Chinese market. Also, check out our Featured Tastings and Interviews with winemakers, winery owners and others involved in the industry.

For an explanation of how we rate the wines and how our tasting notes are organized, please see our Introduction. For a list of our overall aims for the site, please see Aims.

Happy reading and tasting!

Edward Ragg (a.k.a. Wine Dragon)
& Fongyee Walker (a.k.a. Wine Phoenix)

Note: Edward is also a contributor to popular Spanish and Portuguese-focused site Catavino. In addition, we are both happy to be members of Open Wine Consortium, a great network for wine trade professionals and wine lovers as well as Wine Blogger, a fraternity for vinous bloggers which lists the likes of plant scientist and self-proclaimed wine anorak Jamie Goode, Berry Bros. & Rudd and other merchants, various international wineries and a healthy mix of amateurs and professionals alike: for example, Grape Wall of China, a multi-contributor blog on the Chinese wine scene(s). Wine Lovers is another interesting on-line network with a sizeable membership.

Also check out Tom Cannavan's Wine Pages, the most established on-line wine magazine, Chris Kissack's Wine Doctor which has excellent producer profiles and copious tasting notes, Bill Nanson's The Burgundy Report (every Burgundy lover's dream) and, of course, Jancis Robinson MW's immensely readable and also fully independent site.

Labels: Aims, Catavino, Featured Tastings, Interviews, introduction, Open Wine Consortium, Wine Blogger

12th March 2008: The Wine Republic at Café Europa

An inaugural tasting event celebrating the founding of Beijing’s newest wine company, The Wine Republic, hosted by Managing Director Campbell Thompson.

Guests assembled at Café Europa to sample the wines of Victorian estate Mount Langi Ghiran, part of what looks to be an inspiring range, set to include other Australian producers such as Yering Station, Yarrabank, a joint venture between Yering Station and Champagne Veuve A. Devaux, Parker Coonawarra Estate, Xanadu Wines and Hewitson.

Thompson explained how it was not just important for him to import genuinely good wines into China, but that the logistics-side was a pressing concern: how wine is shipped, how it is stored and transported within mainland China; and, of course, how it finally reaches the consumer.

Those of us who have had clearly heat-damaged bottles know only too well the problems with storage and transportation that routinely occur here.

We were certainly impressed by the quality of Mount Langi Ghiran’s wines (see full tasting notes below) and welcome the appearance of The Wine Republic on the Beijing and Shanghai scenes.

Despite recent shipping, the wines seemed to be in fine fettle. The Wine Republic joins a handful of companies including Globus Wines and Ruby Red Fine Wines (both in Shanghai) that takes issues of transportation and storage seriously.

Each wine was paired by a particular dish and the food-and-wine matching was generally very well-done. Here are our notes:

2004 Mount Langi Ghiran Riesling

Appearance: medium yellow green.

Nose: instantly appealing developed Riesling nose featuring lime and grapefruit aromas with marked kerosene notes. Savoury and subtle.

Palate: mellowed ripe lime fruit with lovely acidity and excellent concentration. Good length too.

Conclusion: impressive Australian Riesling from at least 20 year-old vines. South Australia’s Clare and Eden Valleys usually get the limelight for this grape, but it’s lovely to have such a good Victorian example. Very good and capable of some further ageing in bottle if you like your Rieslings a bit older (up to 2010). Went very well with a tuna carpaccio with mango salsa. Note: The Wine Republic will carry the 2007 vintage for those who like a younger expression. Retail approx. 220RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20

2003 Mount Langi Billi Billi Shiraz

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: attractive cool-climate Shiraz nose showing black cherry and blueberry fruit with distinctive peppery notes (that pepper is lost in hotter climates, even if Shiraz retains other spicy aromas). Non-intrusive oak, if any here.

Palate: lovely fruit, medium chewy tannins and good acidity here. Pleasant length too.

Conclusion: well put-together and drinking well now. 2003 was not the greatest vintage anywhere in Australia really and a number of reds are looking tired already (certainly in comparison with 2002 and 2005). But this wine is ready and a lovely expression of cool-climate Shiraz. Paired extremely well with a grilled duck breast and rocket and parmesan salad. Retail approx. 180RMB.

Rating: 17/20

2001 Mount Langi Cliff Edge Shiraz

Appearance: dark purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: crushed red and black fruits of various descriptions (everything from red and black cherry to Shiraz’s slight blueberry character), lovely oak (largely French oak here), mature, slightly leathery notes.

Palate: medium-high chewy tannins, although mellowed, backed up by lovely fruit and nice acidity. Alcohol is balanced as it was on the Billi Billi Shiraz above.

Conclusion: lovely cool-climate Shiraz already benefiting from modest ageing. A pretty good accompaniment to the pepper-crusted beef fillet, but I think the pepper in the dish was too much for the wine in this case. A quibble. Retail approx. 260RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2000 Mount Langi Cabernet-Merlot

Appearance: dark purple-red to black, orange rim.

Nose: dark blackcurrant fruit with some plummy notes, nice oak again here. Still quite young on the nose.

Palate: very good palate with integrated medium-high tannins, good fruit, good acidity and impressive length.

Conclusion: this wine still has some time to go really, although it’s clearly drinkable now. Very well-made; but the Cliff Edge Shiraz might be the best of the reds here in terms of quality-price ratio. A pretty good match with the gratinated field mushroom. Retail approx. 420RMB.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Featured Tastings, Merlot, Mount Langi Ghiran, red, Riesling, Shiraz, The Wine Republic, white

4th March 2008

Jebsen Fine Wines had organized a special tasting held at the newly opened Ritz Carlton Hotel in Beijing’s Chaoyang District - the second Ritz Carlton in the city, in fact, the other being on Financial Street - of the wines of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, the great Tuscan producer based in Bolgheri and responsible for the legendary Ornellaia.

On tasting were:

2005 Le Volte, Toscana IGT

Appearance: medium red-purple, slight orange rim.

Nose: bright red cherry fruit, possible unoaked (on first nose). Certainly no evidence of new oak treatment.

Palate: nice acidity here, soft red fruits, low-medium silky tannins. Nice length.

Conclusion: this wine is a blend of Sangiovese 50%, Merlot 30% and Cabernet Sauvignon 20%, vinified separately with the blended wine then being aged in 2-4 year old barrels for some 10 months. In other words, not much oak flavour is imparted, if any, as desired. We expected a bit more structure to come through from the Cabernet Sauvignon, but it’s clearly well-made. Drink now or over the next couple of years. Retail RMB255.

Rating: 16/20

2002 Le Serre Nuove Bolgheri DOC

Appearance: medium purple with red tints, slight orange rim.

Nose: bright red and black fruits, noticeable oak, savoury and relatively complex for the vintage.
Palate: nice acidity again here (as you’d expect), angular medium-high chewy tannins, but only medium-bodied throughout. Nice length too.

Conclusion: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, this wine’s malolactic fermentation began in stainless steel but was finished in barrique (25% new oak, the remaining 75% in once-used barrels). It was then aged in barrique for some 18 months. It’s impressive they were able to produce such a nice wine in the rain-prone 2002 vintage, a bit of a wash-out in Tuscany. Strict selection would have had to be necessary. We preferred this to the Le Volte 2005, however. Jebsen currently offers other vintages of the Le Serre Nuove (2004 and 2005) for RMB616 and RMB633. We’d hope the 2002 is cheaper, if they still have it.

Rating: 17/20

2005 Ornellaia (1985-2005 anniversary bottle)

Appearance: dark purple-red.

Nose: very elegant nose of myriad red and black fruits, toasty oak prevalent at present as well.

Palate: medium-high chunky tannins, lovely acidity, complex fruits gradually revealing themselves. Long.

Conclusion: this must be a special blend for the occasion, as we couldn’t find anything on the Ornellaia website about the constituents or vinification of the 2005. This wine has some of the restraint and elegance of fine Pomerol or other Right Bank Bordeaux, but with more vibrant acidity. Will age for many years, but is approachable now. Retail RMB1915.

Rating: 18/20 [but should get better]

1995 Ornellaia

Appearance: medium red, marked orange rim.

Nose: fading red and black fruits, leaves, decaying oak and other complex savoury smells (mushrooms etc.).

Palate: complex palate which is more youthful than the nose suggests, lovely acidity and great length. Tannins have precipitated out and it’s very smooth and very appealing!

Conclusion: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, this wine was aged for about 16 months in French oak barriques (39% new, 61% once-used), bottled without filtration and matured a further 14 months before release. It’s clearly fine wine and drinking well now. We cannot put a retail price on this wine for the Chinese market, however. The cheapest we’ve seen it on Wine Searcher is around £55 (UK pounds) or $100 (USD). It is likely to be much more expensive in China, if it is available at all.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 1995, 2002, 2005, Bolgheri, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Featured Tastings, Italy, Jebsen, Le Serre Nuove, Le Volte, Merlot, Ornellaia, red, Sangiovese, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Tuscany

Featured Tasting: Jaboulet (including two vintages of La Chapelle)

Summergate hosted Christophe Brunet of famed producers Paul Jaboulet Aîné and Château La Lagune, now jointly owned and managed by the Frey family. Caroline Frey is winemaker at both properties (at La Lagune, Denis Dubourdieu, her former professor, is also a consultant). But this tasting focused solely on the Jaboulet wines – La Lagune having already been a presence at the Union des Grand Crus visit to Beijing in late November (see previous posts).

Christophe Brunet explained the current innovations the Frey family is instituting at Jaboulet. The main idea is to refine the quality of the Hermitage La Chapelle and limit its production. To put this in perspective, Brunet pointed out that in the 1990 vintage 100,000 bottles of red La Chapelle were made compared with some 30,000 bottles in 2005. A ‘second wine’, La Petite Chapelle, will shortly be released and may well represent good value, particularly as La Chapelle has now become a costly collectors’ item.

2006 also saw the re-launch of a white La Chapelle (Jaboulet had previously stopped making its top white Hermitage in 1961). This wine is a 100% Marsanne and, judging by how well the 2001 Chevalier de Sterimberg showed - see below - will be one to watch.

We tasted the following wines:

2004 Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône White, Jaboulet

Appearance: dark yellow green.

Nose: noticeable pear fruit with some waxy aromas.

Palate: strong pear fruit, more waxy flavours, nice acidity though too. Has kept quite well.

Conclusion: made from a blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Bourboulenc, this is impressive at its level and a nice expression of white Côtes du Rhône.

Rating: 16.5/20

2001 Le Chevalier de Sterimberg Hermitage (Blanc), Jaboulet

Appearance: dark yellow green.

Nose: complex pear fruit with nutty aromas, wax and butterscotch. Developed nose but will still probably age happily enough.

Palate: rich mouth-feel with mellowed pear fruit, toffee and butterscotch flavours and considerable length.

Conclusion: a wonderful example of aged white Hermitage, something of a rarity and thankfully relatively undiscovered in the wine world (it’s certainly not popular in fine wine markets). Still has some life ahead but drinking beautifully now.

Rating: 18.5/20

2005 Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône (Rouge), Jaboulet

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: light red berry fruits, slight white pepper from the Grenache and some darker fruit coming through from the Syrah here. Attractive.

Palate: light chewy tannins, nice fruit, lively acidity; well put together with quite good length.

Conclusion: a decent wine at its level. Dependable stuff.

Rating: 16.5/20

2005 Les Cedres Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Jaboulet

Appearance: medium purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: mix of red and black fruits with some characteristic Châteauneuf spice (Grenache-dominated). Oak is non-intrusive.

Palate: chewy medium tannins, medium-high acidity and with good length, the wine does not show much oak and is largely fruit-driven.

Conclusion: a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre, this is a reliable Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s not going to excite in the same way that wines from single domaines in the region can, but it’s a decent expression.

Rating: 17.5/20

1988 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet

Appearance: medium purple-red, with very marked orange rim.

Nose: decaying black and red fruits with a distinct meaty nose that later shows leaves, mushrooms and other secondary aromas. Very complex.

Palate: lovely mature palate with mellowed fruit, meaty and mushroomy flavours, softened medium grainy tannins, good acidity and superb length. Unfiltered, its throws a sediment that we recommend eating! The flavours are heavenly and show what aged Syrah at this level is all about.

Conclusion: clearly a very fine wine. Collectors will debate whether the 1988 vintage is the best La Chapelle, but here’s a wine to enjoy now that seems to be at its peak and in fine condition.

Rating: 19/20

2001 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet

Appearance: darkish purple-red, already showing orange rim.

Nose: a bit closed at first, then showing complex dark fruits, corned beef, liquorice and some characteristic black pepper (a signature of cool-climate Syrah).

Palate: ripe medium-high chewy tannins, excellent acidity, integrated dark fruits, but a bit tight right now.

Conclusion: this will clearly be an excellent vintage of La Chapelle, but should be left alone at present. Very good, but try again in 2011 and thereafter.

Rating: 18.5/20 [but may be higher]

Labels: 1988, 2001, 2004, 2005, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cotes du Rhone, Featured Tastings, France, Hermitage, Jaboulet, La Chapelle, La Lagune, red, Rhone, sweet white

21st December 2007

Another look at the wonderful wines of Ridge hosted by Frank Siegel of the Sequoia Café (wines imported by Summergate).

We first tasted some of Ridge's exemplary wines, including the legendary Monte Bello (2004 vintage) in Hong Kong in November 2007 - see previous notes.

2005 Ridge Lytton Springs

Appearance: medium purple-red, pink rim.

Nose: crushed berry fruits, excellent oak. Complex.

Palate: grainy, slightly dusty tannins, strong fruit, considerable oak but this is well-integrated. Nice acidity and good length.

Conclusion: 77% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Syrah and 6% Carignan, this is very good and would benefit from mid-term ageing. Retail approx. 600RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2003 Ridge Geyersville

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: very fragrant clove, cinnamon and generally spicy nose with strong red and black fruits coming through.

Palate: chewy medium tannins, good acidity, dark savoury fruits (seems blacker on palate than nose at present). Integrated high alcohol.

Conclusion: 76% Zinfandel, 18% Carignan and 6% Petite Syrah, this is a complex wine that needs time, even although it is relatively approachable now. Drink now to 2013. Retail 576RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains

Appearance: dark purple, clear rim.

Nose: sweet nose of blackcurrant and black plum, lovely fruit throughout, noticeable mix of American and French oak.

Palate: great fruit, lovely medium chewy tannins, excellent length.

Conclusion: a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot and 1% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, this is a lovely wine whose fruit is sourced from the same vineyard as the legendary Monte Bello. Drink now or up to 2012. Retail 660RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 2003, 2004, 2005, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Featured Tastings, Petit Syrah, Petit Verdot, red, Ridge, Summergate, Zinfandel

15th December 2007: ASC invited Pierre Lurton, General Manager of both St. Emilion's Château Cheval Blanc and Sauternes's Château Yquem to give a specialist tasting and dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing.

Before his arrival, Bertrand Carles, Buying Manager and Director of Bordeaux negociant Ginestet, gave a short introduction to the two properties, speculating on their markets in China. Carles had been travelling with Lurton throughout their tour of the country and was optimistic about the wines’ reception (hardly surprising, given the prestige of these propertites and Chinese consumers’ receptivity to French wines in general). As Carles joked, his problem is not one of selling top wines, but one of securing allocations in the increasingly competitive Bordeaux market.

Pierre Lurton first spoke about the diversity of soil types that characterize Cheval Blanc’s terroir (a mixture of gravel, sand, and clay). About 60% of the vineyard is given over to Cabernet Franc with Merlot making up the remainder. Lurton explained that in cooler vintages the early-ripening Merlot takes centre stage, but in hotter years Cabernet Franc plays more of a role. As Lurton put it, in warmer years, ‘Cabernet Franc invites Merlot for the long trip’, helping to produce wines that should have great longevity.

Whatever the assemblage, Lurton is adamant that Cheval Blanc's terroir dictates the style of the wine and its overall expression. He referred to Cheval Blanc's often silky tannins (or ‘cashmere’ tannins as Lurton put it); although this quality is presumably also achieved by care in the vineyard and limited extraction in the cellar. Cheval Blanc itself is made up from 25 different plots, all of which are vinified separately and then blended according to the nature of the year. Regular racking and fining are practised and the wine is unfiltered.

Here are our notes on the Cheval Blanc wines first. The notes on the 2004 and 1998 Château Yquem follow.

2004 Le Petit Cheval, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: light red and black fruits (mix of plum and blackberry), fair bit of oak here, leather.

Palate: medium-bodied at most, good acidity, soft on tannins but these are definitely there. Not bad length.

Conclusion: 53% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, this wine has some of the delicacy of the 2004 vintage. Although it could be approached now, it would be better to wait five years.

Rating: 17/20

2001 Le Petit Cheval, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: shows much more tobacco on the nose than the 2004 Le Petit Cheval with similar fruit underneath (blackberry, plum etc.). Oak is less prevalent, but this is because it has settled down; plus the tobacco and leathery smell is traceable to the use of oak here anyway. Complex.

Palate: more structure and tannic backbone here than on the 2004 Le Petit Cheval and better length too; also features good acidity and impressive fruit.

Conclusion: 53% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, this wine was more impressive than the 2004 Le Petit Cheval and should age for much longer.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium to deep purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: crushed berry fruits (red and black), very perfumed with some fragrant green pepper notes from the Cabernet Franc. Oak comes in later.

Palate: strong fruit, ripe coating tannins – smooth in texture, not chewy – lovely acidity with good length. Slightly tight and clearly very young at present.

Conclusion: 55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot, this wine needs time. It is clearly sophisticated St. Emilion.

Rating: 18/20

2001 Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, St. Emilion

Appearance: deep purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: metallic first nose (iron, sanguineous kind of smell) followed by strong red and black fruits (chiefly plum and blackberry) along with integrated oak and considerable complexity.

Palate: ripe, silky and fully integrated tannins with excellent fruit, considerable length and fine acidity.

Conclusion: 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, according to Robert Parker (but we’ve seen all sorts of different percentages for the assemblage on the same vintages of Cheval Blanc wines on the web!). This is clearly very fine St. Emilion which still has a long way to go to reach maturity.

Rating: 18.5/20

Pierre Lurton then talked in some detail about the production of Sauternes and the qualities of Château Yquem specifically. He described Yquem as ‘an icon of wine’, referring to the property as ‘the story of the Lur-Saluces family’ (rather than discussing the controversy of how Yquem ceased to be under Lur-Saluces control).

Like Cheval Blanc, Yquem is also typified by a varied terroir incorporating 130 hectares of gravel, sand, clay and chalk soils. These soils do not contribute directly to wine flavours (if at all), but do have different drainage and obviously different exposure in the vineyard itself.

Yquem is typically a blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc and Lurton explained the various risks inherent in Sauternes production, particularly given the need to wait for the right conditions over several trie (select harvests through the vineyard as noble rot develops). These separate pickings typically take place in the middle and end of September, the middle and end of October and conclude around the middle of November.

All in all, Lurton aims in Yquem to achieve a ‘clean, pure Sauternes with a good level of acidity’ to balance the natural residual sugar. It is certainly worth remembering that these are not particularly sweet wines (reaching about 130 g/l in sweeter years) - certainly alongside the likes of Ice Wine/Eiswein.

2004 Château Yquem, 1er Grand Cru Classé Exceptionnel, Sauternes

Appearance: medium-yellow gold.

Nose: very ‘fresh’ nose (with botrytis only suggested, really). Instead, there’s more evidence of fresh orange and other citrus aromas. Candied fruit with slight honey.

Palate: not super-concentrated. More of the delicate candied, citrus fruits with an excellent balance of medium residual sugar to high acidity. Good length.

Conclusion: a delicate vintage for Yquem (which is not a euphemism for ‘lacking concentration’ – this is just a different vintage). Will repay medium-term keeping.

Rating: 18/20

1998 Château Yquem, 1er Grand Cru Classé Exceptionnel, Sauternes

Appearance: distinct orange gold.

Nose: intense candied fruit, marked botrytis, spice and other complex aromas.

Palate: superb fruit, fantastic balance of robust residual sugar to delicate high acidity. The balance here really is very, very good! Excellent length.

Conclusion: this is a superb wine. Super-intense, but hardly cloying because of the fine acidity and amazing integration of the total wine. A brilliant Sauternes!

Rating: 19/20

There were limited opportunities for questions as Pierre Lurton and Bertrand Carles were coming to the end of a fairly arduous Chinese tour. But I did manage to ask Lurton if he uses different types of French oak when maturing Le Petit Cheval and Cheval Blanc respectively or whether the wines see similar oak treatment but for different periods. Lurton explained that he works with five different coopers, but didn’t divulge the types of oak used. Instead, he pointed out that Le Petit Cheval usually spends about 12 months in oak whereas Cheval Blanc would usually receive about 15-18 months.

Fongyee also managed to ask at what point the grapes for Yquem’s dry white (the ‘Y’) are generally picked each year. The blend for the ‘Y’ is quite different: 60% Sauvignon Blanc with 40% Semillon; and the grapes are usually harvested, we learnt, just before the end of the vintage.

Labels: 1998, 2001, 2004, ASC, Cabernet Franc, Cheval Blanc, Featured Tastings, Ginestet, Le Petit Cheval, Merlot, Pierre Lurton, Sauternes, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, St. Emilion, Yquem

Summergate arranged for a media tasting with Keith and Clare Mugford of Margaret River producer Moss Wood. Moss Wood is well known as one of the region’s top wineries, an obvious rival to the likes of Leeuwin Estate. The quality of the wines here (see tasting notes below) is very high and the wine making impeccable. Margaret River overall is known for a host of strong producers and some of Australia’s most elegant wines. But the purity of fruit achieved in the two different Moss Wood Cabernets we tasted was particularly impressive.

The Moss Wood vineyard in Wilyabrup is given over to various varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon (5.43 hectares), Semillon (1.83 hectares), Pinot Noir (1.55 hectares), Chardonnay (2.17 hectares), Cabernet Franc (0.29 hectares), Merlot (0.03 hectares) and Petit Verdot (0.48 hectares). But grapes are also sourced from the Ribbon Vale vineyard (acquired by Moss Wood in 2000) and the Glenmore, Montgomery, Lefroy Brook and Green Valley sites; which enable the Mugfords to acquire grapes from significantly different areas in the wider Margaret River region.

The Moss Wood vineyard itself provides the fruit for the range of the same name: which includes a Chardonnay, two Semillons (one unoaked, one oaked), two Cabernet Sauvignons (one of which is termed ‘Special Reserve’ and is only made in certain vintages), a Pinot Noir (which has quite a following – the Mugfords themselves being great lovers of this grape) and also a ‘Port style’ wine (labelled ‘Vintage Port’). This last wine cannot be released in the European Union because of the protection of the Portuguese Port; but China would be no problem! However, Keith Mugford is amusingly candid about not wanting to pursue life as a fortified winemaker.

The Glenmore and Montgomery sites provide the grapes for the Amy’s Cabernet Sauvignon (see below), whilst a different Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are made from Lefroy Brook fruit (Green Valley providing yet another terroir-driven Chardonnay). Other wines are also made from fruit sourced in Pemberton and Palandri.

On their first visit to Beijing (en route to Shanghai and Guangzhou), Keith and Clare Mugford spoke passionately about the Margaret River as well as the innovations they have overseen at Moss Wood. Keith Mugford was a fount of wisdom concerning the care and attention that goes into their work in both the vineyards and cellar. Both suggested that, although the Margaret River region may expand, quality should be maintained provided wineries keep up the hard work and dedication that began in the 1960s with pioneers like Dr Bill Pannell who identified Moss Wood’s location as being ideal for premium wine production.

We tasted:

2005 Moss Wood Amy’s Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance: medium-purple red, clear rim.

Nose: very pure blackcurrant and slight blueberry fruit with some dark red fruits too. Delicate use of oak here.

Palate: lovely ripe fruit, but this is also restrained in style. Refreshing medium acidity, ripe slightly chewy medium tannins and impressive length. Alcohol is high, but fully integrated.

Conclusion: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest 5% allocations of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, this is clearly a very good vintage. The wine experienced less skin-contact than the Moss Wood Cabernets (see below). The idea is to express fruit purity and display only moderate tannins. Spends 14 months in French oak, only 25% of which is new (which would explain why the oak is moderate here and a good savoury background to the strong fruit). Very good, even if it is intended as quasi-baby brother to the Moss Wood Cabernet.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance: deepish purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: very pure dark fruits (blackcurrant, black plum), restrained integrated oak, some spicy notes. Youthful, but approachable.

Palate: excellent ripe fruit, medium-high chewy tannins, integrated medium acidity and balanced high alcohol. Very good length.

Conclusion: not precisely sure of the blend here, but the wine is kept for over a year in barrel. Actually, the 2004 was kept in three separate samples under oak and then blended after 12 months before spending slightly longer in barrel (this gave the Mugfords time to see the evolution of the different samples). Spent up to 14 days on the skins after fermentation. Although a year in which temperatures rose steeply right before harvest, this wine had no cooked or over-ripe aromas. Very, very good.

Rating: 18.5/20

During the tasting, we spoke about the ‘discount-image’ Australia has until recently had, particularly in the UK (Australia’s largest market) where supermarkets have commanded bulk supply at reduced rates to producer and consumer. The Mugfords felt that the recent drought in Australia will mean that both water prices and the prices of grapes will shoot up and that Australia may well benefit from not being able to provide international markets with a surplus of wine.

Increasingly, of course, top Australian winemakers are stressing the uniqueness of their individual vineyard sites and the uniqueness of the wines they produce, re-dressing the French concept of terroir in Australian clothes. The Mugfords are unashamedly no exception and spoke in detail about their different vineyards as well as the complex effects of sea-breezes on much of Western Australia.

Theirs is essentially a Burgundian approach, at least for their Pinot Noir; whilst their Cabernet-blends have the ripeness the Bordelais would die for, but in Australia achieving phenolic ripeness can occur only after your grapes risk having too much natural sugar (at least at too high sugar levels if you want to make wines of moderate alcohol). This doesn’t matter in the case of Moss Wood, however, because Keith Mugford (also a consultant winemaker to other properties) has found a way of producing 14.5% Cabernets that don’t knock your head off. These are fantastic wines.

Labels: 2004, 2005, Cabernet Sauvignon, Clare Mugford, Featured Tastings, Interviews, Keith Mugford, Malbec, Margaret River, Merlot, Moss Wood, Petit Verdot, red, Western Australia

Part IIId refers to St. Emilion and Pomerol. Here are our notes:

2004 Château Angélus, St. Emilion

Appearance: deep purple.

Nose: very ripe black and red fruits with complex savoury quality (oak, spice, pencil shavings etc.). Lovely oak in particular.

Palate: marked ripe fruit, excellent medium chewy tannins, fine medium acidity and impressive concentration for the 2004 vintage. Superb length.

Conclusion: 50% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine spends somewhere between 18-22 months in new oak. It certainly has the fruit to withstand that kind of treatment. This was extremely good, although we’re not sure many would be willing to fork out for Angélus.

Rating: 18.5/20 [possible 19/20]

2004 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: delicate nose with ripe red and black fruits. Not too extracted. Good oak.

Palate: well put together, featuring good fruit, nice closely-knit medium tannins, good acidity and encouraging length.

Conclusion: 55% merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, anything like 80-100% of the wine can see new oak for various periods depending on the vintage. Stephan von Neipperg was very informative, explaining that for this wine he has at his disposal particularly old Cabernet Franc (including vines that survived a significant frost in 1956).

Rating: 18/20

2004 Clos Fourtet, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: mineral, metallic first nose with ripe fruit coming in later. Non-intrusive oak.

Palate: nice acidity here, ripe medium tannins. Well-integrated.

Conclusion: 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, the wine sees 80% new oak for an unspecified period. This was well-made.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château Figeac, St. Emilion

Appearance: darkish purple-red.

Nose: lovely ripe dark fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry, black plum) with good oak.

Palate: more high-quality dark fruits, but angular and with bigger tannins than expected. Concentrated, with good length.

Conclusion: 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc and 30% Merlot, this wine sees 100% new oak. It’s impressive and seemed to have good concentration.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Grand Mayne, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple.

Nose: delicate berry fruits, then greater red and black plum fruit coming through. Integrated oak.

Palate: good fruit, ripe tannins which are larger than expected and take a while to come through. Good length here too.

Conclusion: 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine spends between 14-18 months in 80% new oak. Good stuff.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château Troplong Mondot, St. Emilion

Appearance: deep purple-red.

Nose: dark fruits, leather and tobacco (from the oak).

Palate: large chunky tannins with decent acidity and excellent fruit. Good length.

Conclusion: 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine spends up to a year in 70% new oak and then a further year in old barrels. It is very young at present, but could be very impressive with significant ageing.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Clinet, Pomerol

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: tight first nose, metallic. Seems closed right now.

Palate: again more tight fruit and seems too young to assess at the moment (perhaps this bottle is atypical).

Conclusion: 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine sees new oak for an unspecified period. But this bottle was too closed to give an initial response really.

Rating: tentative 17.5/20

Labels: 2004, Angelus, Canon-la-Gaffeliere, Clinet, Clos Fourtet, Featured Tastings, Figeac, Grand Mayne, Pomerol, red, St. Emilion, Troplong Mondot, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux

The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux held their annual grand tasting in Beijing, the last in a leg of an Asia-wide tour also comprising Tokyo (22nd Nov), Osaka (24th Nov), Seoul (26th Nov), Shanghai (28th Nov) and Guangzhou (29th Nov).

Many chateaux owners were then going on to Singapore and India, en route back to France. Several commented that the turn-out at Beijing’s Sofitel Hotel was better than in previous years; and were happy both with the volume here as well as in Shanghai and Guangzhou in particular. We spoke with several owners about their perceptions of the China and wider Asia markets and although no single property has obvious ‘brand’ recognition within China – apart, perhaps, from Château Lafite – they were cautiously optimistic about the future in Beijing and further a field.

This year the UGC showcased the 2004 vintage, still under-appreciated and under-valued, at least alongside 2000 and 2005. The hype surrounding 2003 may still exist, but most people should recognize the vintage had atypical weather conditions that resulted in some strange wines from some quarters as well as over-activity in the market. Recall 1997: different weather conditions, but similar hype. The 1997s drunk much sooner than some expected; clearly a different vintage from the likes of 1995 and 1996.

With so many wines to taste, the notes we offer here are condensed, beginning with dry whites (Part I), then the sweeter ones (Part II) - the Sauternes and Barsac wines were particularly strong - followed by reds from the various appellations (Part III).

Here are the notes for Part II: Sauternes and Barsac

2004 Château Climens, Barsac

Appearance: medium gold colour.

Nose: complex and restrained nose of light candied fruits, honey and a sensitive level of botrytis.
Palate: excellent acidity, medium body, good fruit, good botrytis and delicate all round. Only medium-sweet (it’s worth remembering that most Barsac and Sauternes wines are not actually that sweet relative to other ‘sweet wines’).

Conclusion: 100% Semillon, this shows the quality and finesse you would expect from Climens. Needs time, but is unlikely to be a vintage for the long, long haul. The quality is very high, however. Is exposed to 60% new oak, but you wouldn’t know it.

Rating: 18/20 [but should get better]

2004 Château Coutet, Barsac

Appearance: bright medium gold.

Nose: complex nose of dried fruits, honey and with excellent botrytis.

Palate: very good acidity, lovely concentration here and a great balance between residual sugar and acidity. Integrated.

Conclusion: 75% Semillon, 23% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle, a good showing from Coutet, even although many of the Sauternes and Barsac wines seemed to be showing better than many of the red Bordeaux. Should repay cellaring well. Sees 100% new oak, but we’re not sure for how long.

Rating: 18/20 [but may improve]

2004 Château Doisy Daëne, Barsac

Appearance: deepish orange gold.

Nose: very concentrated nose with lovely fruit, lots of botrytis (which is well-integrated) and some spicy notes.

Palate: rich, great acidity here, very good length and lovely fruit. There’s an excellent balance of residual sugar to acidity too.

Conclusion: we’re big fans of Doisy Daëne having enjoyed a number of different vintages (particularly the 1988 and 1990 wines). 80% Semillon and the remainder Sauvignon Blanc: this was very good and should age very well too. Spends 18 months in oak, of which one third is new. Our favourite of the Sauternes and Barsac wines represented at this tasting.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Guiraud, Sauternes

Appearance: deep gold.

Nose: slightly musty first nose, although this dissipates. Rich fruit that seems caramelized and with considerable botrytis.

Palate: large style, quite a bit of oak on this wine and somewhat closed at present.

Conclusion: hard to judge right now. Guiraud tends to produce wines in a fatter style and the relatively high amount of Sauvignon Blanc (35% to 65% Semillon) makes for a different expression too. Perhaps this particular bottle was not showing so well. Spends 18 months in 80% new oak.

Rating: 17/20

2004 Château La Tour Blanche, Sauternes

Appearance: medium gold.

Nose: delicately honeyed nose, integrated light botrytis.

Palate: beautiful balance of acidity to sugar here with good fruit, good length and in a more savoury style than some of the other Barsac and Sauternes wines.

Conclusion: this is 84% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon Blanc and 6% Muscadelle. The wine is exposed to 100% new oak, but we couldn’t find out for how long. Clearly very high quality. Along with the Doisy Daëne, one of the best wines here with the Lafaurie-Peyraguey also a strong contender.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Sauternes

Appearance: medium to deepish gold.

Nose: very honeyed and candied fruit with less overt botrytis than on some of the other wines.

Palate: well-balanced, lively acidity which is well-integrated with the residual sugar here. Good fruit and very good length.

Conclusion: this is 90% Semillon, 8% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle. 30% of the wine sees new oak. This is clearly one of the stronger wines of the vintage – at least those represented at this tasting.

Rating: 18/20 [but could be higher]

Labels: 2004, Climens, Coutet, Doisy Daene, Featured Tastings, Guiraud, La Tour Blanche, Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Lafite, Muscadelle, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, sweet white, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux

The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux held their annual grand tasting in Beijing, the last in a leg of an Asia-wide tour also comprising Tokyo (22nd Nov), Osaka (24th Nov), Seoul (26th Nov), Shanghai (28th Nov) and Guangzhou (29th Nov).

We have already posted our notes on the dry and sweeter whites (see Featured Tasting: Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux in Beijing, Parts I and II). Here is the beginning of Part III which is devoted to the reds in all their different appellations. In fact, we have had to subdivide our posts into Part IIIa-d to cover everything we tasted (see below).

Tasting multiple samples of young red Bordeaux effectively takes stamina and experience. High-end red Bordeaux made in a traditional style should keep for decades; along with Vintage Port and some German Rieslings, these are wines that can have considerable longevity and often have to be left for some time to show their complexity and subtlety.

The only thing harder than assessing extremely young wines destined for a long life is barrel-tasting of unfinished wines (i.e. those still undergoing fermentation). This is something we’ve done in Burgundy, but not in Bordeaux; although we did once get to taste barrel samples of the 2003 Ports (the fermentation may have been stopped with brandy, but it was precisely the brandy and powerful young fruit that made for hard work!).

But what about the 2004 reds? Generally speaking, the 2004 vintage is not as concentrated as years like 2005, 2000 and 1990, although it will obviously have ageing-potential (much more of a ‘classic’ year than the atypical 2003). To cope with the number of wines, our notes are necessarily condensed. They should also be seen as provisional. Although we have tasted significant numbers of wines at various competitions and wine challenges before, it is always best to re-taste wines that promise significant evolution (there's also the bottle variation that will naturally occur, even with top wines). Despite these provisos, 2004 can we seen as a reliable vintage for the medium term, although some wines will go for much longer.

We have arranged our notes around each Bordeaux appellation and grouped them into a series of posts:

Part IIIa: Pessac-Léognan and Margaux

Part IIIb: St. Julien

Part IIIc: Pauillac, St. Estèphe, Haut-Médoc and Moulis-en-Médoc

Part IIId: St. Emilion and Pomerol

Sadly, there was not much of a presence for St. Estèphe at the Beijing tasting and we didn’t get to taste as many Pauillacs or Pomerols as we wanted (despite what was on offer). In some cases, we made a point of not revisiting old favourites that have been established as good value (e.g. Châteaux Batailley, Angludet, Talbot), but couldn’t resist sampling Léoville and Langoa Barton.

Part IIIa: Pessac-Léognan and Margaux

2004 Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: deepish purple-red.

Nose: lovely fruit, good oak, very attractive nose.

Palate: excellent concentration for the vintage, lovely tannins, strong fruit and impressive length.

Conclusion: 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine spent some 21 months in oak (50% of which was new). It has the fruit and structure to age gracefully. Lovely Pessac.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: medium-dark purple-red.

Nose: pleasant fruit, good use of oak here and good concentration.

Palate: big, chewy tannins, good acidity and decent length. The fruit has decent concentration too.

Conclusion: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, this wine usually spends around 18-22 months in barrel (100% new oak). Another impressive Pessac. Has a different tannic structure from the Domaine de Chevalier; but both have their charms and should age well.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Giscours, Margaux

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: beautiful savoury nose with red and black fruits and even some mineral notes. Non-intrusive oak.

Palate: lovely semi-chewy medium tannins, vibrant acidity and more ‘minerality’. Good fruit and impressive length.

Conclusion: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and the remaining 5% a mixture of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this wine spends some 15-18 months in oak (50% new). This is very stylish Margaux with a considerable future ahead of it.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château du Terte, Margaux

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: very attractive black fruits with some spice and green pepper notes (there’s more Cabernet Franc and marginally more Petit Verdot than on the Ch. Giscours). Good use of oak.

Palate: decent structure, good acidity, pleasant fruit and good length with chunkier tannins than the Giscours.

Conclusion: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, this wine spends similar time in oak to the Ch. Giscours (they come from the same stable under General Manager, Alexander Van Beek). This is clearly very good, but the Giscours is better in this vintage.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Dufort-Vivens, Margaux

Appearance: deep purple-red.

Nose: stalky first nose, but this gives way to dark fruits and subtle oak.

Palate: nice acidity, ripe chunky tannins, good fruit and promising length.

Conclusion: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, this wine sees some 16-20 months in oak (ranging from 35-45% new, depending on vintage). There’s more Cabernet Sauvignon here than on most Margaux – in fact Dufort-Vivens actually decided to graft some Cabernet Sauvignon on to some of their old Merlot vines. This gives a bigger Margaux.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Kirwan, Margaux

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: toasty first nose, mineral notes, but also lovely fruit coming through. Complex.

Palate: gripping, ripe medium tannins, excellent fruit, good acidity and more harmonious on palate than on nose at present.

Conclusion: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot, this wine saw about 35% new oak, but we’re not sure for how long. What is clear is that Kirwan is in very good shape with the 2004 vintage. Very good Margaux.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Lascombes, Margaux

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: plenty of oak, but there is more than ample fruit coming through here as well. Some spice and has a lot to give yet.

Palate: big chunky tannins, large structure, good fruit, pleasant acidity and decent length.

Conclusion: 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, this wine varies in treatment but does get to see a lot of new oak (usually 80-100%). However, there is more than enough fruit to match. This Margaux is in the larger style also favoured by Dufort-Vivens. Needs time.

Rating: 18/20

Of this group, Domaine de Chevalier, Giscours and Kirwan particularly stood out. But there were some good all round 2004s here.

Labels: 2004, Bordeaux, Domaine de Chevalier, du Terte, Dufort-Vivens, Featured Tastings, France, Giscours, Kirwan, Lascombes, Margaux, Pape Clement, Pessac-Leognan, red, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux

Part IIIc of our tasting notes to the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux grand tasting refers to the appellations of Pauillac, St. Estèphe, Haut-Médoc and Moulis-en-Médoc. We were not able to taste all the wines on show, but hope the below will prove useful for those interested in this underrated vintage.

2004 Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac

Appearance: deep purple colour.

Nose: very attractive black fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry, some black plum) matched by non-intrusive oak. Concentrated and fragrant.

Palate: strong on fruit, large chewy tannins, excellent acidity, good concentration and good length.

Conclusion: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, this wine spends 12 months in 60% new oak. It is robust and very well-made Pauillac. Should age very well.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: ‘sweet and savoury’ first nose showing lovely blackcurrant fruit with moderately toasty oak.

Palate: lovely concentration and ripe, chewy tannins. More attractive fruit and oak here with good length.

Conclusion: 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 15% merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, this wine spends some 15 months in barrel (not sure what percentage is new oak). Whatever the case, this is an attractive and well-made Pauillac.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Cos Labory, St. Estèphe

Appearance: dark purple.

Nose: very blackcurrant with strong intense fruit, non-intrusive oak and savoury notes.

Palate: concentrated, nice tannins, strong fruit and quite good length.

Conclusion: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, this has some of the intensity of St. Estèphe without being ‘rustic’. The wine is exposed to 45% new oak, although we’re not sure for how long. Good.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château La Lagune, Haut-Médoc

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: attractive red and black fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry, red plum) with distinct spicy notes (from oak and Petit Verdot). Good oak.

Palate: well-balanced palate with good fruit, fine acidity, medium slightly chewy tannins and impressive length. Not intense, but delicate.

Conclusion: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, this wine spends 18 months in oak (50% new) and is clearly of high quality. The percentage of Petit Verdot adds some complexity to the fine fruit. Should age very well.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc

Appearance: medium purple.

Nose: immediately appealing savoury, fruity and slightly ‘animal’ nose. Good oak.

Palate: nice concentration, ripe chunky tannins with good balance and good length.

Conclusion: 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, this is a reliable and well-made Haut-Médoc. Cantemerle is good value.

Rating: 17.5/20 [could be higher with time]

2004 Château Chasse-Spleen, Moulis-en-Médoc

Appearance: medium purple.

Nose: savoury and slight green first nose, but the fruit comes through as ripe and attractive. Nice oak.

Palate: good concentration – there’s certainly no hole in the middle here – with nice tannins, decent acidity and pleasant fruit. Good.

Conclusion: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, this wine will have spent something like 14-18 months in barrel (40% new oak). Reliable and well-made.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2004, Cantemerle, Chasse-Spleen, Cos Labory, Featured Tastings, France, Haut-Medoc, La Lagune, Lynch-Bages, Moulis-en-Medoc, Pauillac, Pontet-Canet, red, St. Estephe, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux

The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux held their annual grand tasting in Beijing, the last in a leg of an Asia-wide tour also comprising Tokyo (22nd Nov), Osaka (24th Nov), Seoul (26th Nov), Shanghai (28th Nov) and Guangzhou (29th Nov).

Many chateaux owners were then going on to Singapore and India, en route back to France. Several commented that the turn-out at Beijing’s Sofitel Hotel was better than in previous years; and were happy both with the volume here as well as in Shanghai and Guangzhou in particular. We spoke with several owners about their perceptions of the China and wider Asia markets and although no single property has obvious ‘brand’ recognition within China – apart, perhaps, from Château Lafite – they were cautiously optimistic about the future in Beijing and further a field.

This year the UGC showcased the 2004 vintage, still under-appreciated and under-valued, at least alongside 2000 and 2005. The hype surrounding 2003 may still exist, but most people should recognize the vintage had atypical weather conditions that resulted in some strange wines from some quarters as well as over-activity in the market. Recall 1997: different weather conditions, but similar hype. The 1997s drunk much sooner than some expected; clearly a different vintage from the likes of 1995 and 1996.

With so many wines to taste, the notes we offer here are condensed, beginning with dry whites (Part I), then the sweeter ones (Part II) - the Sauternes and Barsac wines were particularly strong - followed by reds from the various appellations (Part III).

2004 Domaine de Chevalier (Blanc), Péssac-Leognan

Appearance: medium green gold.

Nose: attractive nose with marked Sauvignon notes – here slightly aromatic and peachy (not the clone that is used in Sancerre or for other Sauvignons in the Loire Valley) – but with lemon and slight wax coming through from the Semillon. Good use of oak.

Palate: integrated fruit, fresh acidity, good length and pleasant oak. Not heavy. Elegant.

Conclusion: decent white Pessac, this wine is 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon and spends 18 months in oak (a third of which is new). Very good.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château La Louvière (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: medium green gold.

Nose: lovely oak which is currently predominant backed by citrus (the fruit should come out later).

Palate: very balanced, considerable toasty oak, but the fruit is there with very good acidity.

Conclusion: this wine is 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Semillon and is a lovely example of dry white Bordeaux.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Malartic-Lagravière (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: lightish green-gold.

Nose: made in a light savoury style with some green notes but also peach from the Sauvignon Blanc. Oak is non-intrusive.

Palate: good acidity, with light apple and peach fruit. Quite good length.

Conclusion: a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, this much more of an aperitif dry white Bordeaux than a so-called ‘first course wine’, but some may like the light style and the fact the oaking is on the light side here too.

Rating: 17/20

2004 Château Olivier (Blanc), Pessac-Léognan

Appearance: medium green-gold.

Nose: nice intensity of lemon fruit here with good oak and even some minerality.

Palate: good fruit, nice acidity and good length. Oak is balanced.

Conclusion: this spends 10 months in oak (of which 20% is new) and is well put together. Should age well too.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2004, Bordeaux, Domaine de Chevalier, Featured Tastings, France, La Louviere, Malartic-Lagraviere, Olivier, Pessac-Leognan, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux, white

Here are our tasting notes for the 30th November 2007 Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux tasting in Beijing Part IIIb which comprises the appellation of St. Julien.

Please see other posts for other appellations/communes and an overview of the 2004 vintage for dry whites (Part I), sweet whites (Part II) and reds (Part IIIa-d).

2004 Château Langoa Barton, St. Julien

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: very fragrant first nose with lovely blackcurrant fruit and excellent oak.

Palate: ripe medium-high chewy tannins (these seem larger on this wine than on the Léoville Barton at present – see below); excellent fruit, good acidity and well-balanced throughout.

Conclusion: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, this wine spends 20 months in barrel (in 50% new oak). It’s very stylish and has some of the robustness of St. Julien showing through.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Château Léoville Barton, St. Julien

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: classic blackcurrant nose with ‘pencil-shaving’ oak and some mineral or metallic notes. Complex.

Palate: lovely ripe medium tannins (structure is unexpectedly lighter than the Langoa, at least on this bottle) with good fruit, pleasant acidity and impressive length.

Conclusion: 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, this undergoes very similar treatment to Langoa Barton. Although this vintage is lighter than the likes of more concentrated years (e.g. 1990, 2000, 2005), it has great finesse. The Langoa Barton just had the edge in quality, at least in these bottles.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Léoville Poyferré, St. Julien

Appearance: medium purple.

Nose: intense blackcurrant and black plum nose, good oak.

Palate: chunky and spiky medium-high tannins, nice acidity and good fruit. Pretty good length.

Conclusion: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, this wines is exposed to 75% new oak (although we’re not sure for how long). Good quality St. Julien and increasingly less in the shadow of Léoville and Langoa Barton.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château Beychevelle, St. Julien

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: has the overt blackcurrant fruitiness of St. Julien balanced by nice oak here.

Palate: rich palate, good fruit, ripe and chewy tannins, good length.

Conclusion: 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, this wine spends some 18 months in 50% new oak. This seemed a reliable expression, up to Beychevelle’s quality certainly.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château Branaire-Ducru, St. Julien

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: very savoury first nose in which oak is more dominant than fruit at present. But the fruit is there.

Palate: toasty oak, nice acidity, rounded and very savoury.

Conclusion: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, this is a savoury and well-made expression of St. Julien. Good.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château Gruaud Larose, St. Julien

Appearance: dark purple.

Nose: lovely black fruits, leather and floral notes including some spiciness (clove, cinnamon) mostly derived from the oak here (but the Petit Verdot probably also makes a difference).

Palate: gripping large tannins (chewy in texture), good acidity, strong fruit and impressive length.

Conclusion: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec, this wine spends 18 months in barrel (40% new oak) and was generally very impressive. Well worth keeping.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Château Lagrange, St. Julien

Appearance: medium purple.

Nose: very fragrant nose featuring toasty oak with some green notes to the black fruit (not unripe, merely aromatic).

Palate: light fruits, nice medium chewy tannins, toasty oak and delicate. Quite good length.

Conclusion: 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot, this is a delicate St. Julien.

Rating: 17.5/20

Clearly, the stand-out wines here were Léoville and Langoa Barton as well as Gruaud Larose. But it will be interesting to see how the others develop.

Labels: 2004, Beychevelle, Branaire-Ducru, Featured Tastings, France, Gruaud Larose, Lagrange, Langoa Barton, Leoville Barton, Leoville Poyferre, red, St. Julien, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux

A grand tasting of the various properties owned by the Antinori family organized by Summergate and hosted by the Italian Ambassador, Mrs Riccardo Sessa and Alessia Antinori. Wines were available from Umbria and Tuscany (the original Antinori home) as well as Piemonte (Prunotto) and Puglia (Tormaresca), both also under Antinori control.

The tasting itself was held in the Italian Embassy and drew a good crowd of invited guests from the diplomatic, journalistic, F&B and wine trade worlds. The majority of the wines were red with only three whites on show. We offer our notes here of those three whites together with the rest of the selections from Umbria and Tuscany. A further post will contain the wines from Piemonte and the Puglian reds.

2005 Castello della Sala ‘Campogrande’ Orvieto Classico, Umbria

Appearance: pale green with yellow tints.

Nose: largely light apple fruit.

Palate: apple fruit, pleasant acidity, light-bodied, not bad length.

Conclusion: made from 40% Procanico, 40% Grechetto, 15% Verdello, 5% Drupeggio and Malvasia, this is a crisp, food-friendly white for everyday drinking and affordable at 135RMB.

Rating: 15.5/20

2005 Castello della Sala ‘Bramito del Cervo’ Chardonnay, Umbria IGT

Appearance: medium gold.

Nose: peach and melon fruit, pleasant oak.

Palate: good fruit, some acidity here; good oak and quite good length.

Conclusion: after maceration, the must for this wine is exposed to French Allier and Troncais barriques to undergo alcoholic fermentation; but only a proportion of the wine receives malolactic fermentation in wood. This may account for the lifting acidity here. Quite well put together. Price 299RMB.

Rating: 16/20

2004 Tormaresca ‘Pietra Bianca’ Castel del Monte Chardonnay, Puglia

Appearance: medium yellow-gold.

Nose: appealing citrus and peach fruit, good oak.

Palate: pleasant acidity, strong fruit, deft use of oak and well-balanced.

Conclusion: this was probably the best white of the three on show. Well-made Chardonnay with an impressive balance of ripe fruit – no trouble ripening Chardonnay in Puglia – and good acidity (probably the element that is harder to achieve). This wine retails at 347RMB.

Rating: 16.5/20

2004 La Braccesca ‘Sabazio’ Rosso di Montepulciano DOC, Tuscany

Appearance: light to medium red-purple, clear rim.

Nose: appealing light red fruits (red cherry, redcurrant).

Palate: more pleasant red fruits, medium-bodied, good acidity, light on tannin.

Conclusion: this wine is a blend of 80% Prugnolo Gentile, 15% Merlot and 5% Canaiolo (NB Montepulciano grapes are not used to make this wine, nor are they used for Vino Nobile di Montelpulciano – if you want to drink Montepulciano, try Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from the Marches region). It only spends about 4 months in oak which might account for why we didn’t notice any oak here at first. Priced at 191RMB, this is an easy-drinking, food-friendly Italian red for more or less immediate consumption.

Rating: 16/20

2001 La Braccesca Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Tuscany

Appearance: deep purple colour with slightly orange rim.

Nose: dark black and red cherry fruit, ‘tart’ nose, discernible oak but this is well-integrated.

Palate: lovely tannins here (moderate and spiky in nature), fine acidity, pleasant dark cherry fruit and good length.

Conclusion: this wine is aged in different sizes of oak barrel for 12 months (with a proportion in barriques). It’s lovely stuff. 347RMB from Summergate.

Rating: 17.5/20

2001 ‘Marchese Antinori’ Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Tuscany

Appearance: dark purple, slightly orange rim.

Nose: marked black cherry fruit, savoury oak, slight spice, complex.

Palate: medium-high chewy tannins, lovely acidity, strong fruit, good oak and very good length.

Conclusion: a blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the latter adding some richness and slightly darker fruit whilst the former dominates with its strong cherry quality. The oak in question is new, one-year and two-year old Alliers and Troncais French oak and the wine spends some 14 months in oak after blending. 450RMB and clearly very good.

Rating: 18/20 [but could be higher with time]

2001 ‘Pian delle Vigne’ Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany

Appearance: medium purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: complex red and black cherry fruit, some oak, savoury but with sweet fruits, complex.

Palate: very elegant with lovely closely knit but ripe medium-high tannins and beautiful Sangiovese fruit. Very balanced. Great length.

Conclusion: entirely Sangiovese, the wine spends some two years in a range of different sized oak vats and is also aged for a further year in bottle before release. This is clearly a very high quality Sangiovese (744RMB).

Rating: 18.5/20

Notes on the wines of Prunotto and the other Tormaresca reds to follow.

Labels: 2001, 2004, 2005, Antinori, Brunello di Montalcino, Chardonnay, Chianti, Featured Tastings, Italy, Montepulciano, Orvieto, Piemonte, Puglia, red, Sangiovese, Summergate, Tuscany, Umbria, white

The following were tasted at Berry Bros. & Rudd's Hong Kong shop. Our thanks to Nicholas Pegna and his conscientious and informed staff:

2004 Ridge Lytton Springs, Sonoma County

Appearance: medium red-purple, clear rim.

Nose: restrained concentrated red and black fruits. Not obviously Zinfandel dominated (the problem is we’ve usually tasted much more sweet-smelling examples). Delicate and very balanced between oak and fruit.

Palate: medium not full-bodied, delicate medium chewy and slightly grainy tannins, lovely acidity and good length. Similar fruit character throughout. The high alcohol here is barely noticeable because of very good integration.

Conclusion: 79% Zinfandel, 18% Petit Syrah and 3% Carignan, this wine is aged for 13 months in American oak (20% of which is new). It’s certainly a restrained style of Zinfandel-based wine and it would be interesting to know more about what the Petit Syrah and Carignan contribute from these particular vineyards. Very good.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Ridge Geyersville, Sonoma County

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: very aromatic and spicy nose – reminiscent of Primitivo at first – with a mixture of red and black fruits. Complex with integrated oak and considerable fragrance (perfumed, spicy, ‘sweet and sour’ notes).

Palate: medium-bodied, concentrated red and black fruits, but the wine has restraint within that concentration (i.e. it’s not a ‘fruit bomb’ by any means). Medium angular and slightly grainy tannins and considerable complexity throughout. Refreshing acidity and balanced high alcohol.

Conclusion: 75% Zinfandel, 18% Carignan, 7% Petit Syrah, this wine spends some 18 months in American oak. But it’s a testament to the quality of the fruit that the wine is not unduly influenced by oak. Very good.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Ridge Monte Bello, Sonoma County

Appearance: medium to dark purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: immensely attractive and refined nose with very complex mix of red and black fruits with a savoury and also sweet-smelling nose – these are elements of the fruit knitting with the oak here. Defies description.

Palate: very balanced beautiful mix of ‘warm and cool’ red and black fruits, deft oak, and very fine tannins (‘fine’ both in quality and texture). Superbly balanced. Superb length. Alcohol is slightly lower, but who cares? The balance is brilliant regardless.

Conclusion: Ridge’s Monte Bello has famously been top of the tops in the world’s Cabernet blends in both the 1976 Paris tasting and its re-match in 2006 (where the 1971 won in both challenges). This is the first time I’ve tried any vintage of the Monte Bello and it was stupendously good. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, the wine spends 18 months in oak in a mixture of 92% new American oak and 8% in new French. Incredibly good.

Rating: 19.5/20

Labels: 2004, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Carignan, Featured Tastings, Geyersville, Lytton Springs, Merlot, Monte Bello, Petit Syrah, Ridge, Sonoma, Zinfandel

Here are a selection of some of the other wines we particularly enjoyed at the Torres China 'Taste of the Nations' event (see Taste of the Nations Part I: Torres China Grand Tasting)

2004 Amherst ‘Dunn’s Paddock’ Shiraz, Pyrenees, Victoria

Appearance: dark purple-black, clear rim.

Nose: concentrated dark fruits with a very ‘Christmas cake’ nose (i.e. candied fruits, spices like cinnamon and clove). Strong oak here which balances with the robust fruit well (probably American oak by the smell of things).

Palate: intense fruit, more ‘Christmas cake’ aromas, ripe chewy and big tannins but with enough acidity here to lift the wine. Decent length.

Conclusion: interesting to try some Shiraz from Victoria. Well-made and very enjoyable. Retail 224RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2003 Amherst ‘Chinese Gardens’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Pyrenees, Victoria

Appearance: dark purple to black, clear rim.

Nose: immensely fruity blackcurrant nose with similar ‘Christmas cake’ aromas to those on the above Dunn’s Paddock Shiraz. Strong oak, but this seems to match well with the concentrated fruit here.

Palate: big fruit, very large chewy tannins and pretty good length. Acidity is there.

Conclusion: This didn’t seem as balanced as the Dunn’s Paddock Shiraz, but is still clearly a good wine. Retail 224RMB.

Rating: 17.5/20

1998 Marimar Torres Chardonnay, California

Appearance: medium gold.

Nose: developed, aged Chardonnay with lingering citrus, nutty aromas and some other oxidized smells (from the mellowing oak).

Palate: concentrated palate with more nutty citrus fruits (fruits that were quite ‘warm’ originally). Decent acidity lifts this, though. Good length.

Conclusion: impressive aged Californian Chardonnay. Retail 385RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2000 Marimar Torres Pinot Noir, California

Appearance: medium red-purple, orange rim.

Nose: sweet Pinot fruit (red cherry, strawberry), perfumed but with some development (slight barnyard aromas).

Palate: typical high acidity but this has mellowed and integrated with the rich Pinot fruit. Light on tannins, but they are there and slightly chewy. Good length.

Conclusion: obviously decent quality Californian Pinot Noir. Ready to drink. Retail 441RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20

2006 Hess Collection Chardonnay, California

Appearance: medium green-gold.

Nose: attractive mixture of citrus and melon fruit (‘warm’ and ‘cool’ in expression), light on oak.

Palate: generous fruit, but this is restrained and there’s acidity there.

Conclusion: good quality Monterey Chardonnay. A good deal at 170RMB.

Rating: 17/20

The other Hess wines on show (the Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon) are also worth trying.

Labels: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, Amherst, Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Chardonnay, Featured Tastings, Hess, Marimar Torres, Pinot Noir, Pyrenees, red, Shiraz, Torres China, white

Torres China threw a large tasting of their portfolio under the banner ‘Taste of the Nations’, a tasting of 150 wines organized by country. Fongyee, Ellen Xu and myself divided up those 150 wines and covered the majority.

The event itself was held at the Traders Hotel, Beijing, which did a good job and the Torres staff on hand were helpful and informative. There was a sizeable crowd, a decent mix of Chinese and ex-pat wine lovers and some good food to be had too. We were looking for wines that were decent expressions of their origins (and also useful for teaching purposes). Many of these examples would make reliable drinkers too.

Here were some of our favourites, including some for the cellar. Wines will be divided into two posts:

2000 Torres Nerola Syrah, Catalunya

Appearance: medium purple, slightly orange rim.

Nose: cool-climate Syrah nose with black fruits and black pepper, deft oak. Good.

Palate: pleasant medium chewy tannins, strong fruit, more black pepper. Good balance of fruit to oak. Acidity is maintained well too.

Conclusion: we don’t get to taste much Spanish Syrah, but more and more of them are appearing. This was well put together. Retail 192RMB.

Rating: 17/20

2002 Torres Mas La Plana Black Label

Appearance: dark purple to black, essentially clear rim.

Nose: very complex blend of black fruits, subtle oak and considerable spice and savouriness.

Palate: beautiful well-knit ripe medium-high tannins, great fruit, lovely acidity and very well balanced throughout.

Conclusion: obviously a top Cabernet Sauvignon, but very young at present. Needs time. Retail 489RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20

NV Graham’s