9th March 2008

Cellar Le Pinot, in conjunction with Ruby Red Fine Wines in Shanghai, hosted a dinner in Beijing showcasing the wines of Terrace Heights Estate (THE), Marlborough, New Zealand.

The dinner was held at private dining facility, Il & Elle, which specializes in Huaiyang cuisine with some French twists.

Director of Sales and Marketing, Steve Hammond, had come up from Shanghai on a general China-leg to present his wines. Terrace Heights Estate was born only as recently as 2002 – with the release of its first Sauvignon Blanc – although Hammond has been involved in growing vines in the region since 1993.

These are wines defined by purity of fruit expression and regionality. They are not over-blown in any sense, a far cry from the over-extracted wines that can crop up in Marlborough (that sherbet fruit bomb problem on over-ripe Sauvignon Blanc, for example, where acidity also tends to suffer and alcohol levels creep suspiciously high or otherwise give way to unseemly residual sugar).

Hammond mentioned that most of his wines are designed for early drinking, although the Pinot Noirs should certainly age well in the medium term, perhaps for longer. In fact, we have added some notes from our earlier experiences with Terrace Heights’ Pinots (vintages 2003 and 2004 - see below). These older vintages should still be in fine fettle.

Here are our notes:

2007 Terrace Heights Estate Sauvignon Blanc

Appearance: medium green.

Nose: slight gooseberry, light guava nose, very pure fruit, slight minerality.

Palate: lovely acidity here, great fruit whose concentration comes out gradually, very good length.

Conclusion: this is what Marlborough Sauvignon is really about: purity of Sauvignon Blanc fruit, lively but not too zesty acidity, some mineral notes and cool concentration of flavours. Excellent. Drink now. Retail RMB230.

Rating: 18.5/20

2007 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Gris

Appearance: deepish yellow with green tints.

Nose: immediate pear fruit, slight spice (white pepper note), other savoury aromas.

Palate: lovely fruit, impressive acidity, well-balanced residual sugar here. Off-dry, integrated.

Conclusion: a good expression of the grape. Doesn’t quite have the finesse of the Sauvignon Blanc, but this is the first time Terrace Heights has released a Pinot Gris. At least the wine is well expressive of grape variety. Made in the traditional Alsace style really with not too high a level of residual sugar, but not as spicy on the nose as Alsatian examples. Good. Drink now. Retail RMB230.

Rating: 17/20

2006 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir

Appearance: dark purple-red.

Nose: attractive, perfumed nose featuring red and black cherry fruit (more cherry here than raspberry or strawberry notes), backed by lovely oak and some spicy aromas (largely traceable to the oak).

Palate: excellent acidity, lovely intensity of fruit with soft, silky medium tannins and nice length.

Conclusion: very well put together Pinot Noir. New Zealand has, of course, shown its powers in managing this unyielding grape variety. Even if some will wonder whether Pinot in New Zealand can attain the heights of greatness occasionally possible in Burgundy, let’s not forget New Zealand has a better track record than France overall at producing reliable Pinot; and with innovations in many regions, including Central Otago, who knows what’s possible. This wine is very well-made. Drink now or up until 2011. Retail RMB430.

Rating: 18/20 [possible higher with time]

Two Older Vintages of the Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noirs: 2004 & 2003

2004 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir

Note: This wine was tasted on 6th July 2006. It should be even better now.

Appearance: deepish purple-red.

Nose: warm Pinot fruit nose, some floral notes though too. Good oak here.

Palate: high alcohol (actually 14.5% here). But what’s impressive is that the Pinot has not lost typicity: good fruit, nice acidity, medium slightly chewy tannins, good length.

Conclusion: it may be a higher alcohol Pinot than the below 2003, but it’s still well-made. Drink now until 2012.

Rating: 17.5/20

2003 Terrace Heights Estate Pinot Noir

Note: This wine was tasted on 10th July 2006. It should be even better now.

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: showing less alcohol than the 2004 vintage (this wine 13%, the other 14.5%), this has integrated, lush Pinot fruit and shows good use of French oak.

Palate: good fruit, decent structure with low-medium silky tannins and a slight bitterness on the finish (which would probably settle down with further ageing).

Conclusion: very impressive. Should age very well, up to 2012. Would probably go further than the 2004.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, Cellar Le Pinot, Marlborough, New Zealand, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, red, Ruby Red Fine Wines, Sauvignon Blanc, Terrace Heights Estate, white

Globus Wines of Shanghai had winemaker extraordinaire Bertrand Sourdais up for a visit in Beijing on the back of a number of Shanghai events.

Sourdais, a former under-study at Château Mouton-Rothschild and Léoville-Las-Cases (who also gained hands-on experience with Chile’s Santa Rita and Priorat’s Álvaro Palacio), comes from a wine-making family in the Loire Valley and since 2003 has been responsible for the vintage at Domaine de Pallus, the family domaine in Chinon.

Sourdais sprung to fame, however, with his stunning Ribera del Duero wines, made at Dominio de Atauta in collaboration with Miguel Sanchez, a notable Madrid wine merchant and distributor who was instrumental in bringing the vineyards of the town of Atauta to public note.

Sanchez has 15 hectares of pre-phylloxera vines and sources fruit from some 600 further plots, many of which clearly contain the oldest vines in the region. Sourdais was explicit in insisting that the Tinto Fino is quite different in morphology and temperament from Tempranillo, at least as it is found in Rioja; and lamented the importation of Rioja Tempranillo into the Ribera region.

Accolades have justifiably followed the wines of Atauta. Nearly every major wine writer including not only Spanish critics but Robert Parker and Michel Bettane has hailed the quality here. But we found the Chinon to be among the best we have had too!

We’re very excited that these kind of wines are available in China and recommend checking out the Globus list. Along with Ruby Red Fine Wines in Shanghai, this is one of the more innovative and exciting companies; and it is no surprise that Globus recently teamed up with Bacchus Wines in Beijing to promote the wines of Alsatian producer Lorentz Klipfel (Bacchus is another supplier to watch).

2005 Les Pensées du Pallus, Chinon

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: very bright red and black fruits (strawberry, blackberry, cherries) with distinctive green pepper and very slight oak.

Palate: excellent acidity here (what Loire Cabernet Franc should be like!), lovely structure with medium chewy tannins and very good length.

Conclusion: this is perhaps the best Chinon we’ve had, easily up there with the wines of Charles Joguet (perhaps even purer in expression). Certainly the best Cabernet Franc we’ve had to date and attractively priced at RMB188.

Rating: 18.5/20

2005 Atalayas de Golban, Ribera del Duero

Appearance: dark purple-red, pink rim.

Nose: very concentrated black fruits, with oak ‘just there’ (i.e. very well-integrated). The wine has a perfumed quality which is hard to describe – certainly not reminiscent of Nebbiolo or Pinot Noir. Complex.

Palate: marked acidity, very concentrated but elegant with superb fruit, ripe smooth medium tannins and lovely length.

Conclusion: an ‘atalaya’ is a watchtower and the Golban is a river in the Atauta valley. This is a separate project from the below Dominio de Atauta and the wine is intended for earlier drinking. Fermented in stainless steel with 80% of the wine then being aged in two to three year-old barrels (emanating from Château Haut-Brion), it is beautiful to drink now, but would also benefit from medium-term ageing if desired. Very, very good and quite a competitor to the below Dominio de Atauta, in fact. We prefer the Atalayas now, even although giving the Dominio de Atauta a higher overall rating. Retail RMB228.

Rating: 18.5/20

2005 Dominio de Atauta, Ribera del Duero

Appearance: very dark purple to black, pink rim.

Nose: beautiful dark fruits, even more concentrated than the Atalayas de Golban, more overt oak here too. Needs time to develop in the glass, but it is already fragrant.

Palate: marked acidity (the acidity on all of Sourdais’s wines is prominent but pure), integrated medium-high chewy tannins, lovely fruit and very good length.

Conclusion: a blend of Tinto Fino from significant plots with old vines such as La Mala, Punto Alta, Cuesta Moral, and La Solana, this is intense but sophisticated and really needs time right now. Usually aged in 100% new French oak, the fruit is certainly robust enough to warrant this treatment. Wait on this. It will be amazing to see how it ages. Retail RMB465.

Rating: 19/20

Labels: Bacchus Wines, Bertrand Sourdais, Cabernet Franc, Chinon, Domaine de Pallus, Dominio de Atauta, France, Globus Wines, red, Ribera del Duero, Ruby Red Fine Wines, Spain, Tempranillo, Tinto Fino

Beijing’s first Madeira tasting and dinner! Simon Zhou of Shanghai's Ruby Red Fine Wines had imported the wines of the Broadbent Madeira Company into China and had arranged for Bartholomew Broadbent – San Francisco-based wine importer and son to Michael Broadbent MW – to visit and present some of their selection. Marc Xing of Cellar Le Pinot had then taken a number of the wines and approached us to help organize a Madeira event and dinner. We chose to present the Broadbent wines with some Macanese food, choosing Macau restaurant Oriental Taipan:

NV Broadbent Vinho Verde

Appearance: light green, slight spritz.

Nose: sour apple fruit.

Palate: refreshing acidity, pleasant apple fruit.

Conclusion: a good expression of this quaffable wine.

Rating: 16/20

Broadbent Rainwater Madeira

Appearance: medium orange-brown colour.

Nose: appealing nose of dried fruits, nuts.

Palate: off-dry, nutty flavours, pleasant acidity, nice length.

Conclusion: on average 3 year-old Madeira from a range of grapes and a good ‘all-round’ Madeira in terms of being a crowd-pleaser.

Rating: 17/20

Broadbent Reserve Madeira 5 Year-Old

Appearance: medium to medium-deep orange-brown.

Nose: candied fruit, nuts, slight tartness.

Palate: mellow palate with softened but still perky acidity, nutty and candied fruit aromas and good length.

Conclusion: another pleasant Madeira blend with some mellowed characteristics from the average age here.

Rating: 17.5/20

Broadbent 10 Year-Old Malmsey

Appearance: deepish brown.

Nose: slightly spicy, candied fruits and caramel like aromas.

Palate: obvious residual sugar matched by good acidity, rich nutty flavours and more caramel. Good length.

Conclusion: a good expression of Malmsey (a.k.a. Malvasia) and almost youthful despite its average age of 10 years.

Rating: 18/20

Labels: Bartholomew Broadbent, Cellar Le Pinot, Featured Tastings, fortified wine, Madeira, Malmsey, Malvasia, Michael Broadbent, Portugal, Ruby Red Fine Wines, Vinho Verde