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

The following two wines will shortly be new additions to the Bacchus Wines range. Bacchus Wines already carries several of the wines of Domaine Lorentz Klipfel. These two were impressive and are very welcome newcomers to the Beijing market:

2005 Riesling Grand Cru Kirchberg, Klipfel

Appearance: medium green gold.

Nose: strong apple fruit, very ‘fresh’, mineral, no kerosene or other petroleum at this stage (it is still a young wine).

Palate: apple fruit, more mineral notes, lovely refreshing high acidity with moderate residual sugar (this is only just off-dry really). Good length.

Conclusion: a young wine from a good year. This Riesling is lovely to drink now, but will really repay cellaring. Stylish Alsatian Riesling all-round.

Rating: 18/20

2005 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Kirchberg Vendange Tardive Clos Lisser, Klipfel

Appearance: beautiful deepish gold with green tints.

Nose: classically aromatic nose with lychee and rose petal, but also the gingerbread notes that are only really found in good Alsatian examples of the Gewurztraminer grape. Shows other spices too. Not too large a nose (something from which some Gewurtraminers can suffer).

Palate: great fruit, lovely balance of moderate residual sugar to acidity (impressive acidity here for Gewurz too). Lovely length and that extra richness from this being ‘Vendange Tardive’ (late harvest).

Conclusion: a very good example of a VT Gewurztraminer. Extremely good. Will drink now, but will also repay moderate keeping.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 2005, Bacchus Wines, Gewurztraminer, Grand Cru, Kirchberg, Lorentz Klipfel, Riesling, sweet white, Vendange Tardive, white

2007 Bouchard Finlayson ‘Blanc de Mer’, Walker Bay, South Africa

Appearance: medium gold.

Nose: very aromatic. We didn’t actually know the assemblage at the tasting but Fongyee and I guessed that Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc were presences as the nose had both green fruits as well as peach and slight apricot aromas.

Palate: rich aromatic fruits (mixture of peach, apricot, melon, gooseberry, guava etc.) with lifting acidity from the Riesling, Chenin and Sauvignon here. Medium-bodied and refreshing; essentially dry, but possible some slight residual sugar here. Good length.

Conclusion: an intriguing blend of 39% Riesling, 33% Viognier, 17% Sauvignon Blanc and 11% Chenin Blanc, this is a very food-friendly wine and would go with richer fish dishes, particularly seafood in cream sauces.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 2007, Bouchard Finlayson, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa, Viognier, Walker Bay, 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 Fine Ruby Port

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: concentrated red and black fruits, ‘Porty’ obviously but with light fruits, some slight spice.

Palate: medium-bodied, good acidity and well-balanced with regard to sugar and alcohol. Quite good length and only moderate in tannins (which are slightly chewy).

Conclusion: this is what entry-level Ruby Port should be: fruity, balanced, not too demanding. Retail 169RMB.

Rating: 17/20

NV Graham’s ‘Six Grapes’ Reserve Port

Appearance: darkish purple, clear rim.

Nose: crushed red and black fruits, powerful alcohol but this seems to be integrated.

Palate: sweet and also tart crushed red and black fruits, quite good balance of sugar to acidity with fairly good length. Tannins are gripping and ripe.

Conclusion: this is obviously a good Port – a Reserve Ruby – but there’s something unappealing about the tart fruit, even although there’s nothing wrong with quality here. Retail 278RMB.

Rating: 17/20

2000 Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage

Appearance: dark purple to black, clear rim.

Nose: very complex nose of concentrated black fruits, spicy oak and other savoury qualities.

Palate: lovely fruit, appealing structure with integrated chunky medium-high tannins, good acidity and a good balance of residual sugar to acid to alcohol. Good length.

Conclusion: a very stylish LBV from a strong vintage. We preferred this to the Six Grapes certainly. Retail 278RMB.

Rating: 18/20

NV Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne

Appearance: medium gold, good mousse.

Nose: attractive yeasty nose with strong Pinot fruit (perfume, slight strawberry fruit even) but also some citrus from the Chardonnay here.

Palate: good fruit, lovely acidity and has promising length. Not very complex, but this may be a young bottle.

Conclusion: a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay blended from forty different vineyards, this is a reliable NV Champagne. It’s not exciting as the equivalent NVs from Pol Roger, Bollinger or Louis Roederer, but it’s still a good wine to go for and is one that should improve in bottle even after release. Retail 441RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2006 Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Riesling, South Australia

Appearance: green gold.

Nose: very attractive intense lime fruit with some floral notes too, slight kerosene.

Palate: lovely fruit, high refreshing acidity, more florality and a little kerosene. Good length.

Conclusion: a lovely example of Australian Riesling in this style. Well worth trying (and ageing). Retail 191RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2000 Peter Lehmann Mentor, South Australia

Appearance: dark purple to black, essentially clear rim.

Nose: warm nose laden with black fruits, but at the same time slightly tight (still a young wine on the nose). Good oak though.

Palate: complex fruit, gripping chewy tannins; fruit is a bit closed but the ripeness and concentration are definitely there. Promising length.

Conclusion: this wine needs time and is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 4% Merlot and spent 16 months in French oak hogsheads. I like the fact Malbec is part of the blend because this is hardly well-known as a grape in the Barossa, but is, of course, a traditional Bordeaux-blending grape. High quality and the 2002 (see below) is even better. Retail 531RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2002 Peter Lehmann Mentor, South Australia

Appearance: dark purple to black, clear rim.

Nose: much cooler fruit than the nose on the 2000 Mentor and with more savoury smells. Intense.

Palate: complex palate featuring a range of black fruits (blackcurrant, black cherry, blackberry, black plum etc.), chewy ripe but ‘cool’ tannins, lovely acidity and great length.

Conclusion: a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 10% Shiraz, 8% Malbec, this wine spent some 18 months in new French oak hogsheads. Retail: approx. 531RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20 [may get even better]

Labels: 2000, 2002, 2006, Bordeaux-blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Champagne, Featured Tastings, Graham's, Mas La Plana, Peter Lehmann, Portugal, red, Riesling, South Australia, Spain, Syrah, Torres China, white

ASC had Denis Horgan of Leeuwin Estate, the famous Margaret River producer, in town. Journalists met at the Blu Lobster restaurant in Beijing’s other Shangri-La hotel. Leeuwin Estate has three quality levels or categories: the Siblings range is entry level, the Prelude Vineyards is the mid-range and the Art Series wines are the well-known highest quality tier.

Horgan’s first visit to China was in 1976 and he has been returning repeatedly, particularly in the last seven years when his wines have been available in mainland China. Leeuwin Estate itself was set up in 1973, when a nursery was first planted. Horgan had cottoned on to wine following the interest of Robert Mondavi who had inquired about land Horgan owned in the Margaret River. Mondavi even went to Horgan’s lawyer (who dutifully informed Horgan). Mondavi and Horgan then met over a bottle and Mondavi became a kind of ‘mentor’, as Horgan happily confesses. In 1974 the first vines were planted and the estate now operates some 370 acres. This is the kind of maximum size at which Horgan is happy to maintain quantity and, moreover, quality.

Horgan pointed out that it was always the mission of Leeuwin Estate to think internationally and to produce consistently excellent wines that would appeal to an international audience. He summed up this mission succinctly: ‘To produce wines that rank among the best in the world’. Back in the mid-1970s Western Australia was not just isolated geographically: Leeuwin Estate was the pioneer in wine production in the region as well as being at the forefront of developing wine-and-food matching (hence the early creation of its restaurant).

The Art Series wines – inspired in part by the example of Château Mouton-Rothschild with its labels created by famous artists – began with the commissioning of local artists; and, in some cases, the collaboration has since made the names of various Australian artists. The first Art Series wine was the 1980 Chardonnay. Since that time, Horgan has also attracted musicians and other artists to the estate: open-air concerts are a frequent feature and some 200,000 people now visit the winery each year.

Thankfully, as wine quality is so high, no one can claim that the estate’s wider cultural activities are there to fill a gap. Quality is paramount and Horgan explained how, originally, his Shiraz vines were planted in the wrong soils – where the Sauvignon Blanc is now planted – describing how he replanted his Shiraz vineyards in the right soil with the right kind of exposure for the style of wine he has always wanted to make.

We then tasted the current Art Series releases (some wines are held back and aged before being released to the market):

2006 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Sauvignon Blanc

Appearance: medium green colour.

Nose: lovely mineral nose with ripe but not too aromatic fruit: gooseberry, guava predominant.

Palate: very good acidity, lovely fruit with more mineral notes and impressive length.

Conclusion: lovely Sauvignon Blanc with the kind of ripeness they would envy in Sancerre but without the overblown characters of some heavier New World Sauvignons. Elegant.

Rating: 18/20

2004 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Riesling

Appearance: medium green-gold.

Nose: lime fruit, floral, lots of minerality (stony notes).

Palate: restrained lime fruit, mineral and savoury flavours, excellent acidity and lovely length.

Conclusion: under screw-cap – in fact Horgan aims to convert to screw-caps for all of his wines in the future – and a lovely example of Australian Riesling in a more mineral and more floral style, perhaps, than most Australian Rieslings, particularly generic wines from the Clare and Eden Valleys. No kerosene aromas on this Riesling yet.

Rating: 18.5/20

2003 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay

Appearance: Medium to deepish gold.

Nose: ‘full-on’, developed nose with butter aromas, restrained pineapple fruit, balanced non-intrusive oak.

Palate: good acidity here, minerality, powerful but still restrained pineapple fruit. Excellent length.

Conclusion: interestingly, the acidic grip here is due to the fact that the wine does not go through malolactic fermentation. It receives some 11 months in 100% new French oak, but there is such fruit ripeness that the oak does not really stand out – there’s also obviously been some ageing here. The wine is also aged for a further two years before it leaves Leeuwin Estate; so it is already showing some development, although will age well for some time to come. Lovely to drink now, however! I noted it tasted a bit like a richer and riper version of a Meursault because there was some fatness and plush fruit but with good acidity and impressive minerality.

Rating: 18.5/20

2004 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz

Appearance: dark purple, clear rim.

Nose: immediate pepper, black cherry and blueberry nose with slight tea-tree oil (sometimes a quality of high-end Australian Shiraz), good oak.

Palate: fantastic palate, elegant; very good acidity, beautiful medium chewy tannins, very integrated oak, wonderful fruit flavours with more of the pepper quality that survives in Syrah/Shiraz only in ‘cooler’ climates (it tends to dissipate when the grape experiences warmer conditions). Very good length.

Conclusion: very, very good cool climate Shiraz. Horgan does not actually put his range into wine shows probably for fear that his elegant and sophisticated wines will not stand out alongside hefty Australian Shirazes or Cabernets or any other grapes made in warmer, bigger styles.

Rating: 19/20

2002 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance: black colour with an orange rim.

Nose: crushed blackcurrant, cedar, pine, French oak, still quite youthful.

Palate: excellent acidity, ripe lovely tannins, strong fruit with more cedar and pine aromas. None of the leathery notes of aged Cabernet, but certainly showing some development if still young.

Conclusion: obviously very high quality. Not quite as exciting as the Shiraz, in my book, but a lot of people will like this wine. It is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with probably either Merlot and/or Cabernet Franc thrown in to fill out the hole in the middle palate Cabernet Sauvignon usually brings.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, ASC, Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Featured Tastings, Leeuwin Estate, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Western Australia

Top Cellar offered another free tasting at their Amigo delicatessen and shop shared with Bento & Berries in the Kerry Centre. The wines were from various producers and were intended to be European Classics. All were imported by Top Cellar directly.

Sébastien Lézier of Winpact gave a short introduction to the wine accessories his company has put together for Top Cellar: two types of corkscrew (both ‘waiter’s friend’ design), two wine-pourers, Champagne stopper and the usual coolers and freezer cooler packs.

Wines tasted:

2004 Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling Urgestein, Kamptal, Austria

Appearance: medium gold yellow.

Nose: intense lime fruit, some minerality, hints of kerosene.

Palate: generous lime, pleasant acidity and good length.

Conclusion: we haven’t drunk much Austrian Riesling – Grüner Veltliner seems to have stolen some of the limelight internationally – but this has always been a very important and noble Austrian grape. This seemed to be a good expression, at least of Riesling.

Rating: 17/20

2004 Schloss Gobelsburg Zweigelt, Kamptal, Austria

Appearance: light to medium red-purple.

Nose: mostly red cherry fruit, possibly raspberry too.

Palate: light red cherry fruit, very low tannin, pleasant medium acidity, shortish length.

Conclusion: Zweigelt was created in the 1920s by Fritz Zweigelt, a hybrid of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. It ripens early and can withstand winter frost, so it’s easy to see why it might be popular with winemakers in Canada as well as Austria. Generally speaking, Zweigelt (Austria’s most planted red grape) is going to make light reds for quaffing. This was that, although no doubt someone is making more serious Zweigelt somewhere.

Rating: 15/20

1999 Vina Amezola Rioja Reserva

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: classic American oak nose but in an obviously aged and mellowed state with raspberry, strawberry and red cherry fruits.

Palate: pleasant fruit, decent oak, tannins slightly coarse, pretty good length.

Conclusion: certainly characteristic Rioja, but a bit disappointing at Reserva level.

Rating: 16/20

2003 Château Ducluzeau, Listrac

What used to be a called a ‘Cru Bourgeois’, this property is owned by the Borie family.

Appearance: medium purplre-red colour, clear rim.

Nose: warm red and black fruits from the 2003 heat, French oak.

Palate: mixture of red and black fruits, slightly coarse tannins, medium acidity, okay length.

Conclusion: not bad Claret if red Bordeaux at this level is your cup of tea. Not exciting.

Rating: 16/20

2003 Il Volano, Toscana IGT (Il Molino di Grace)

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: appealing tart red cherry fruit with touch of spice.

Palate: nice plucky Sangiovese tannins, the acidity you’d also expect, cherry fruit.

Conclusion: we couldn’t actually find this wine on the Il Molino di Grace website, but apparently it is 65% Sangiovese with the remainder a range of other grape varieties. Pleasant, easy-drinking Tuscan IGT.

Rating: 16.5/20

2003 Chianti Classico, Il Molino di Grace

Appearance: deep purple, clear rim.

Nose: ripe black cherry fruit, discernible but integrated oak, some clove and cinnamon spice.

Palate: lovely chewy not too astringent tannins, pretty good acidity for the difficult 2003 vintage in which the sheer warmth made attaining decent acidity a problem, lovely fruit and good length.

Conclusion: impressive Chianti Classico. Very drinkable. Approachable now, but will age.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 1999, 2003, 2004, Austria, Bordeaux, Chianti, Featured Tastings, Italy, Kamptal, red, Riesling, Rioja, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Top Cellar, Tuscany, white, Zweigelt

2004 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett, Mosel, Markus Molitor

Appearance: green-gold, some yellow.

Nose: apples and honey (more developed than expected), some kerosene.

Palate: characteristic high acidity balancing lovely residual sugar. Refreshing, but already softening out seemingly.

Conclusion: this was more advanced in age than I expected, but it’s rash to judge from one bottle. Molitor is a very good German Riesling producer and we will ideally leave the other bottle for a good while.

Rating: 17.5/20 [but will improve]

Labels: 2004, Germany, Kabinett, Markus Molitor, Mosel, Riesling, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, white

Summergate brought in Ernie Loosen of Dr Loosen, the well-known German producer, whose wines are largely based in the Mosel, although he does make some wines in the Pfalz as well. The tasting was held at the Zeta Bar in Beijing's Hilton. Ernie Loosen was a lot of fun and spoke both realistically and optimistically about the China market(s).

2004 Wolf Pinot Noir, Pfalz

Appearance: medium red with orange rim.

Nose: immediate Pinot fruit in a ‘rustic style’, largely red cherry and strawberry.

Palate: high acidity, pleasant fruit, not much length, but faithful to the grape.

Conclusion: pleasant enough Pinot, if rough around the edges on the palate. Would go better with food, particularly salmon. Pretty drinkable, though.

Rating: 15/20

2005 ‘Dr L’ Riesling, QbA

Appearance: light to medium green-gold.

Nose: apples, chemical, slight tartness.

Palate: obviously high acid balanced by the sugar here which is overt in the QbA style. Pleasant apple fruit. Not bad length for this level.

Conclusion: as good a QbA as anyone is likely to find (certainly in Beijing!).

Rating: 16/20

2005 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett, Mosel

Appearance: light to green-gold.

Nose: very young, but still shows apple fruit, minerality and a generally savoury nose.

Palate: closed apple fruit, more mineral notes, delicate acidity with very well-balanced residual sugar.

Conclusion: a baby of a wine, but already showing some of the characteristics of excellent Mosel Riesling from an already fabled vintage.

Rating: 17.5/20 [but will get better]

2003 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese, Mosel

Appearance: medium green-gold

Nose: honey, spice, some kerosene, already mellowing apple fruit.

Palate: round mouth-feel with more honeyed aromatic fruit. Acidity is lacking no doubt owing to the 2003 heat, but this is well put together.

Conclusion: I know some German Riesling producers managed to pull something out of the hat in the difficult 2003 vintage, but although this is largely a lovely wine, I still miss the grip of acidity that was denied that year (apart from to those who rashly acidified). Nice development on the nose, however.

Rating: 17/20

Labels: 2003, 2004, 2005, Dr Loosen, Featured Tastings, Germany, Mosel, Pfalz, Pinot Noir, QbA, red, Riesling, Summergate, Urziger Wurzgarten, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, white

2000 Riesling ‘Jubilee’, Hugel et Fils

Appearance: deepish golden green.

Nose: complex nose of honeyed green apple fruit with noticeable kerosene aroma (the chemical smell is fully integrated and purely a sign of age here).

Palate: has well-balanced high acidity and a wonderful complexity of honeyed apple fruit throughout with the lingering kerosene (wish I could find a better word for it, but this is an accurate epithet for aged Riesling). This is dry Riesling at its best.

Conclusion: superb Alsatian Riesling made from grapes harvested from the Grand Cru Schoenenbourg site. The 2000 vintage was strong and other bottles of this wine should last well for some time to come. 503RMB from Summergate.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 2000, Alsace, France, Grand Cru, Hugel, Jubilee, Riesling, Summergate, white

1990 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese, Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, Mosel

Appearance: deepish green gold.

Nose: honeyed, fading apples and pears, kerosene, some cheese.

Palate: good balance of acid to sugar, rich, good length. Pleasant honeyed fruit.

Conclusion: we’ve enjoyed the 1990 wines from Gymnasium more than the 1989s, although the 1990s have usually been Spätlesen with that extra bit of richness (not discounting the difference between vintages, however). This was a particularly good bottle.

Rating: 18/20

Labels: 1990, Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, Germany, Graacher Himmelreich, Mosel, Riesling, Spatlese, white

1998 Riesling Jubilee, Hugel, Alsace, France

Appearance: deepish yellow green gold.

Nose: some kerosene, plus slightly aged qualities: honey and cheese. Beautiful Alsatian nose with decaying spiced apple notes.

Palate: excellent acidity, basically bone dry, powerful but not huge alcohol, some good honeyed fruit, very sophisticated.

Conclusion: a brilliant wine. We love the Hugel Jubilee range which is still good value for money and very age-worthy, usually.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 1998, Alsace, France, Hugel et Fils, Jubilee, Riesling, white

1993 Kreuznacher Kahlenberg Riesling Spätlese, Nahe, Anton Finkenauer

Appearance: deep gold green.

Nose: classic spiced honey and kerosene, some apple fruit still there.

Palate: good balance of residual sugar to acid, low alcohol but with a kind of power derived from age, i.e. not alcoholic in power. Mellowed fruit with more spicy honey notes.

Conclusion: a particularly good bottle of the more 'full-on' Nahe style. Finkenauer does not like to release his wines that early because they take particularly long to age, even for German Riesling.

Rating: 17.5/20

Labels: 1993, Anton Finkenauer, Germany, Kreuznacher Kahlenberg, Nahe, Riesling, Spatlese, white