Dragon Phoenix Wine Blog

Featured Tasting: 'Wines for Summer Drinking' Oxford & Cambridge Club Beijing, Part III

2005 Beaujolais-Villages, Joseph Drouhin, Burgundy, France

Appearance: medium purple-red

Nose: strawberry and raspberry fruit, not too much carbonic maceration going on here so there is not that that bubble-gum, confected flavour. Bright fruit from the 2005 vintage.

Palate: a pleasant palate with low tannins, medium acidity and decent fruit. Quite good length.

Conclusion: representative and solid Beaujolais Villages in an excellent vintage. Not bad value for the Chinese market at 138RMB either from Torres China.

Rating: 16/20

2003 Trentham Estate Ruby Sparkling Shiraz, Murray Darling, New South Wales, Australia

Appearance: deepish purple.

Nose: lovely Shiraz fruit with blackberry, black cherry and even slight pepper (which doesn’t usually come from Aussie Shirazes).

Palate: lovely mousse, great fruit, even some tannin although it seems like every effort has been made to keep these low. Good length.

Conclusion: impressive sparkling Shiraz, a category we need to taste more of! Available from Gelipu for RMB 228.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2003, 2005, Australia, Beaujolais, Burgundy, Drouhin, France, Gamay, Gelipu, New South Wales, OCCB, red, Shiraz, sparkling, Torres China, Trentham Estate

Featured Tasting: 'Wines for Summer Drinking' Oxford & Cambridge Club Beijing, Part I

The theme for this tasting held for the Oxford & Cambridge Club of Beijing and guests was 'Wines for Summer Drinking'. We actually gave the tasting to two different groups on consecutive nights (4th and 5th July 2007).

We have divided up our notes into a series of posts. Here's Part I.

2006 Neil Ellis Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Appearance: light green.

Nose: delicate gooseberry fruit, some minerality.

Palate: ripe gooseberry fruit, excellent high acidity and impressive length.

Conclusion: made from fruit sourced in the Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch, this sophisticated Sauvignon Blanc showing all the delicacy of well-made Sancerre but with greater density of fruit. Well-priced for the Chinese market at 188 RMB from Jebsen.

Rating: 18/20

2006 Brokenwood Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia

Appearance: light green.

Nose: delicate lemon and lime nose with slight chemical smell (wax) and some green notes reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc but without the same aromatic quality.

Palate: tight-knit lemon and lime fruit, high balanced acidity and characteristic relatively low alcohol with great length.

Conclusion: very, very good Hunter Valley Semillon, but also very, very young. This wine will develop wonderfully in bottle turning deep yellow and showing complex lemon and even toasty notes (although there’s no oak here, this is a feature of aged Hunter Semillon). The wine is approximately 214RMB retail from Jebsen, but totally worth it.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Heartland Viognier Pinot Gris, Limestone Coast, Australia

Appearance: lovely golden colour.

Nose: complex nose showing peach and apricot from the Viognier and pear and slight spice from the Pinot Gris.

Palate: The palate has pleasant fruit, some minerality and also some of that glycerol fatness that Viognier offers; but the latter is moderated by the freshness of the Pinot Gris (which, although not a high-acidity grape, nevertheless lifts the whole). Good length too.

Conclusion: very well-made, very drinkable. A delight.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2004, 2006, Australia, Brokenwood, Featured Tastings, Heartland, Hunter Valley, Jebsen, Neil Ellis, New South Wales, OCCB, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, South Africa, Viognier, white