Thursday, May 29th, 2008
29th May 2008: Sauternes-Barsac Dinner at Yung Kee restaurant
Over 200 guests assembled for what has to have been one of the most memorable dinners we are ever likely to attend: a spread of superb Sauternes and Barsac wines matched with the innovative and yet classic cuisine of Hong Kong’s famous Yung Kee restaurant with wines supplied by many of the region’s top chateaux, Yquem and Rieussec excluded.
The range of chateaux represented at the dinner was in itself impressive and the event was topped with an auction with proceeds going to relief for the Sichuan earthquake; Christian Seely MW of AXA Millesimes generously donating a magnum of 2001 Chateau Suduiraut, surely one of the wines of the evening.
It was not always possible to match each of the 11 wines we tasted with the dishes on offer, but some ingenious combinations were revealed as well as certain things that didn’t work from a food-and-wine matching point of view.
The menu appears here first followed by some abbreviated notes on the wines themselves:
Menu
Stir-fried chicken with ginger and pineapple
Classically light, most of the Sauternes working with the ginger here and fruitiness of the pineapple.
Roasted goose liver
You can’t go wrong really in terms of this combination with Sauternes/Barsac.
Millenarian Salade a la HK
This needs a little explaining: it was a strongly flavoured salad with julienned vegetables, lotus buds and lots of sesame oil and sesame seed dressing. The sesame was occasionally over-powering for the wines.
Stir-fried frog
We love Chinese bull-frog – amusingly known as ‘field chicken’ in Mandarin – particularly in Sichuan or Hunan cuisine. This was much lighter in the Cantonese style and worked well with most of the wines, apart from the green pepper that was also a prominent part of the dish. Chinese green peppers are a lot stronger in flavour, even chilli-hot, than European ones. It wasn’t a chilli-heat issue here but the flavour of green pepper that just didn’t sit well with botrytised wine.
Deep-fried oyster
Surprisingly good combination with the lighter of the Sauternes listed below.
Smoked pomfret
Again a good combination, but I was beginning to wonder if the general lightness and relative ‘sweetness’ of much Cantonese fare was not contrasting enough with the wines on offer. Spicier dishes would probably have worked better, particularly with the richer Sauternes in the group.
Wild geese resting on plum tree
Now this was a brilliant dish to go with Sauternes (see below): Cantonese roast goose sitting in a marvellous duck and goose enriched broth with dongu mushrooms (shitake). Superb!
Fried rice vermicelli ‘Sichuan’ style
Sichuan style is a bit of an overstatement because there wasn’t even anything to link this dish with even a bastardized idea of Sichuan food. Very well prepared and presented, however, but again essentially too sweet to work with these kinds of wine.
Sweetened Almond Milk Cream
Lovely almond flavour and a pretty good match.
The Wines: Listed in Order Tasted (not as presented) with more photos below…
2002 Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey
Appearance: light gold colour.
Nose: quite noticeable botrytis, has the lightness of fruit of the 2002 vintage – not the easiest one for Sauternes – but is well put-together.
Palate: surprisingly good balance for the vintage, prominent acidity certainly but pretty harmonious with light residual sugar and light candied fruit.
Conclusion: well-made for the vintage. Clos Haut-Peyraguey can be relied on to do a good job, even in difficult years. Drink now or over next two to five years.
Rating: 17/20
2004 Chateau Doisy-Daene
Appearance: lovely medium-gold colour.
Nose: spicy first nose, excellent balance of light candied fruit to botrytis.
Palate: extremely well-balanced, light to medium residual sugar, lovely acidity and impressive length.
Conclusion: we’re big fans of Doisy-Daene, having been fortunate to drink the 1988 and 1990 vintages on a number of occasions. This is our second note on the 2004, in fact. Very, very good. Drink 2012-2024.
Rating: 18/20 (on the night, but will improve)
2005 Chateau Rayne-Vigneau
Appearance: relatively light colour, even for a young vintage.
Nose: delicate first nose, only slight dried and candied white fruits, hint of botrytis.
Palate: richer than expected. Good balance of residual sugar to acidity. It’s rich mouth-feel is not fat in any sense, but grows in power on repeat tasting. Good length.
Conclusion: impressive. We haven’t drunk much Rayne-Vigneau (a half-bottle of the 2003 a few years back), but it is rightly a respected and impressive producer. Their 1997 is said to be spectacular. Drink 2013-2025.
Rating: 18/20 (but will improve)
1999 Chateau La Tour Blanche
Appearance: medium gold.
Nose: spicy first nose and very honeyed (somehow La Tour Blanche always has a lovely honeyed quality, on vintages young and old). Lovely botrytis here.
Palate: more candied fruit and honeyed flavours on the palate, very well-balanced throughout. Long.
Conclusion: La Tour Blanche is another personal favourite of ours (we recall a stupendous bottle of the 1990 drunk in 2006 and no doubt still going well). This 1999 was excellent. Drink 2009-2019.
Rating: 18.5/20
2001 Chateau Suduiraut
Appearance: lovely medium gold colour.
Nose: only just developing, very precise candied fruit and subtle botrytis nose.
Palate: superbly balanced, there’s lovely fruit, great acidity and very harmonious residual sugar here.
Conclusion: very, very good. Expectations were high in approaching one of the celebrated 2001s, but we were not disappointed. People can argue the toss as to whether Rieussec or Yquem 2001 is better – would be great to taste those one of these days! – but this is a very, very good wine with a considerable life ahead of it. Drink 2011-2021, even longer.
Rating: 19/20
1996 Chateau Coutet
Appearance: medium gold colour (actually lighter than the below 2000 Climens).
Nose: gorgeous, mellowed, yet still vibrant honeyed nose with light candied fruits, subtle botrytis, very balanced fruit to botrytis here as the latter is fully integrated.
Palate: complex, wonderful balance of mellowed but still high acidity with integrated pretty high residual sugar, great fruit and superb length.
Conclusion: superb. Actually, to drink on the evening, this was probably our favourite. Drinking very well now, but still with a great life ahead of it. Drink 2008-2016.
Rating: 19/20
1988 Chateau Suduiraut
Appearance: deep gold to amber.
Nose: particularly savoury first nose, bitter marmalade notes, subtle botrytis (as on the 2001 Suduiraut), aged honey notes.
Palate: mellowed, very well-integrated palate. You wouldn’t realize the high acidity content here because of the combination of integration and age with lovely residual sugar.
Conclusion: clearly, a very good Sauternes. This was an extra treat as we were lucky to be sat next to Christian Seely MW – head of AXA Millesimes – and his oenologist wife, the bottle having been brought over for them to taste. Drink now, but will keep.
Rating: 19/20
2000 Chateau Climens
Appearance: deep gold-amber colour.
Nose: quite botrytised, less overt fruit here, but well put-together for what is not an easy vintage.
Palate: rich fruit, dominant botrytis, but nice acidity and pretty good balance with medium-high residual sugar.
Conclusion: this wine shows the quality of Ch. Climens as a producer because 2000 was not the easiest year for anyone in Sauternes. Drink now.
Rating: 17.5/20
1998 Chateau Guiraud
Appearance: deep gold.
Nose: rich nose as characteristic of most Guiraud wines with honeyed fruit, nice botrytis and other savoury aromas.
Palate: full-on, clearly full-bodied, packing pretty high residual sugar, nice acidity and an overall sense of power.
Conclusion: this is a better vintage for Guiraud than in some other years. The wines always tend to be quite massive stylistically. Impressive. Drink now to 2013, or longer. One to watch given the new ownership arrangements at Guiraud.
Rating: 18/20
1997 Chateau Myrat
Appearance: deepish gold to amber.
Nose: immensely raisined first nose, overt botrytis, nutty.
Palate: more very raisined fruit, perhaps not quite in balance here with the sugar and acidity, at least on this bottle.
Conclusion: would go well with a cheese board rather than Cantonese fare, to be honest. This is owing to the nature of Myrat as a producer rather than Cantonese food per se. Not bad. Drink now to 2012.
Rating: 16/20
2003 Chateau Filhot
Appearance: bright gold colour.
Nose: immensely savoury first nose, but also very honeyed with nicely integrated botrytis.
Palate: an impressive amount of acidity for the 2003 vintage (where heat was obviously a problem) and fairly well put-together in terms of fruit to acid to sugar balance. Quite good length too.
Conclusion: A good vintage for Filhot. Drink now to 2013.
Rating: 17.5/20
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
An excellent seminar presented by Stefan Schindler of the German Wine Institute:
2007 Riesling Auslese Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen, Georg Müller Stiftung, Rheingau
Riesling Auslese Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen 2007
Appearance: light green gold.
Nose: green apple, but also some white peach with some slate aromas.
Palate: good fruit, very good balance of acidity to residual sugar (around 80 g/l) with promising length.
Conclusion: lovely stuff. Very young now, but with great potential. Ideal around 2017, if you can wait.
Rating: 18/20
2005 Riesling Auslese Leiwener Laurentiuslay, Reh Kendermann, Mosel
Appearance: medium green gold.
Nose: very mineral first nose with a touch of petrol, then green fruits (apple principally) with a little botrytis.
Palate: quite rich mouth-feel for Mosel (Auslese-effect). Very good balance of sugar to acidity (at a higher level of about 108 g/l r.s.). Good length.
Conclusion: high quality Mosel Auslese. Drink now to 2015, perhaps longer.
Rating: 18/20
2005 Riesling Auslese Zeltinger Deutschherrenberg, Markus Molitor, Mosel
Appearance: medium green gold.
Nose: distinctly spicy – Stefan Schindler mentioned that the Zeltingen vineyards tend to impart this aromatic, spicy quality – with lovely apple fruit. Very concentrated nose.
Palate: lovely balance of residual sugar to acidity (121 g/l r.s.). Great extract and very good length.
Conclusion: excellent stuff, not surprising given the overall quality of Markus Molitor’s wines. Drink now to 2015, but will last longer.
Rating: 18.5/20
2006 Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Forster Stift, Bassermann-Jordan, Pfalz
Appearance: medium green gold.
Nose: bright apple fruit, lovely pure nose all round, if a bit closed right now.
Palate: marked residual sugar – actually at 130 g/l and was almost classified as Beerenauslese – with great acidity and decent fruit.
Conclusion: clearly very good. Needs time, however. Drink 2010-2016 or longer.
Rating: 18/20
2005 Riesling Beerenauslese Bernkastel-Kueser Kardinalsberg, Moselland, Mosel
Appearance: lovely gold.
Nose: very raisined with candied apple underneath, dried apricot, and very well-integrated botrytis.
Palate: excellent balance of marked residual sugar (180 g/l r.s.) to acid. Considerable extract and length.
Conclusion: clearly very good Riesling Beerenauslese. Drink now to 2015, or longer.
Rating: 18.5/20
2005 Riesling Beerenauslese Brauneberger Juffer, Max Ferd. Richter, Mosel
Appearance: lovely gold to amber.
Nose: rich quince and fig nose with considerable botrytis and some petrol notes. Complex.
Palate: extremely well-balanced with super sugar (260 g/l), but superbly well-balanced with lovely acidity, fruit and considerable length.
Conclusion: very, very good indeed. Top stuff. Drink now to 2015, but can age longer.
Rating: 19/20
2007 Scheurebe Beerenauslese Ziegelangerer Ölschnabel, Winzergemeinschaft Franken, Franken
Appearance: medium gold.
Nose: peachy tart nose with ‘sweet and sour’ quality.
Palate: peach-driven palate with white pepper. Quite well-balanced with 166 g/l sugar to quite good acidity.
Conclusion: interesting to taste. Scheurebe is a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner. Drink now to 2012.
Rating: 17/20
2005 Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Johannisberger Mittelhölle, G. H. von Mumm, Rheingau
Appearance: deep amber.
Nose: immensely concentrated, yet restrained nose of pleasant botrytis, raisined and savoury fruit.
Palate: intensely sweet (334 g/l r.s.) with lovely acid and very good length.
Conclusion: very good indeed. Johannisberg was actually where Spätlese was nominally discovered, at least the properties of later harvesting and/or botrytis (apparently). Drink now to 2015, although basically indestructible.
Rating: 18.5/20
1990 Riesling Auslese Niersteiner Pettenthal, Rappenhof, Rheinhessen
Appearance: deep gold.
Nose: very concentrated quince fruit with some mellowed apple fruit, spice, slate and a touch of petrol.
Palate: mellowed high acidity, decent length and well-balanced (with 134 g/l r.s. but mellowed).
Conclusion: very nice indeed, from a lovely year, and nice to see a wine of this quality from Rheinhessen which tends to get overlooked simply because of the volume of cheaper wine the region produces. Very good. Drink now, but can still go a bit, clearly.
Rating: 18.5/20
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
After the delights of Markus Molitor, we also stopped to catch up with the brilliant wines of Robert Weil of Rheingau fame (now overseen by Wilhelm Weil - left).
A selection of Robert Weil’s wines is available from Globus Wines of Shanghai.
2007 Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Robert Weil, Rheingau
Appearance: light green.
Nose: bright apple fruit with peachy notes, very young, very pure.
Palate: weighs in at only 5-6 g/l residual sugar with beautiful acidity, lovely fruit and good length.
Conclusion: made from a blend of vineyards around the estate. Very good indeed. Drink 2010-2017, perhaps longer.
Rating: 17/20
2006 Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Robert Weil, Rheingau
Appearance: light green.
Nose: very pure, mineral aromas with some peach and even fig fruit.
Palate: lovely fruit, great acidity, clearly a bit more integrated than the very young 2007 vintage, with slight residual sugar and good length.
Conclusion: extremely pure and a lovely blend. Drink 2008-2016, perhaps longer.
Rating: 17.5/20
2007 Riesling Spätlese Halbtrocken, Robert Weil, Rheingau
Appearance: medium green.
Nose: lovely minerality on the first nose backed by peachy aromas and some core apple fruit.
Palate: excellent balance of residual sugar to acid here, both of which are very well-integrated, with sumptuous fruit and good length.
Conclusion: very good indeed. Drink 2009-2017, perhaps longer.
Rating: 18/20
2007 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Spätlese, Robert Weil, Rheingau
Appearance: medium green.
Nose: distinct lime fruit – a different aroma profile certainly from the previous estate-wide blends – with very mineral aromas (apparently a hallmark of the Kiedrich Gräfenberg). Young, but already complex.
Palate: richer residual sugar here (about 105 g/l) balanced with beautiful acidity, good extract and considerable length.
Conclusion: very, very good. A bit young now. Drink 2009-2017, at least.
Rating: 18.5/20
2007 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Auslese, Robert Weil, Rheingau
Appearance: medium green.
Nose: beautiful first nose with honeyed lime fruit and further distinct mineral notes.
Palate: more honeyed citrus fruits on the palate with some richness from the late harvesting and approximately 150 g/l residual sugar. Complex and long.
Conclusion: absolutely superb, if very young right now. Has a stupendous life ahead of it. Drink 2009-2017, but will age for longer.
Rating: 18.5/20 (as of May 2008)
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
In a first of a series of posts on the wonderful selection of German wines available at Vinexpo Asia 2008, the following notes are devoted to the wines of Mosel producer Markus Molitor. One thing we didn’t know about Molitor is that this producer favours wild yeasts:
2006 Markus Molitor QbA Riesling (Dry), Mosel
Appearance: light green.
Nose: immediately appealing apple fruit.
Palate: refreshing acidity and, although pretty dry, not rough around the edges.
Conclusion: everything QbA Riesling in this style should be. Good.
Rating: 16/20
2006 Markus Molitor QbA Riesling Feinherb, Mosel
Appearance: light green.
Nose: attractive apple fruit with some mineral aromas.
Palate: good acidity with the sugar surprisingly well-integrated here for a QbA.
Conclusion: well-made and very drinkable.
Rating: 16.5/20
2007 Wehlener Klosterberg Riesling Kabinett, Markus Molitor, Mosel
Appearance: medium green colour.
Nose: ripe green apple and peach fruit with slight slate aroma.
Palate: lovely acidity here well-balanced with the residual sugar. Decent fruit and encouraging length.
Conclusion: this was actually a cask sample and the wine is clearly very young at present. The Wehlener Klosterberg vineyard has fine slate soils and is not as steep, apparently, as the more famous Wehlener Sonnenuhr, thereby being a bit easier to harvest. Will age very well. Drink 2009-2017, perhaps longer.
Rating: 17.5/20 (as of May 2008)
2004 Wehlener Klosterberg Riesling Spätlese Feinherb, Markus Molitor, Mosel
Appearance: medium green with gold tints.
Nose: very perfumed first nose (although the ‘perfume’ is hard to define) with spicy apple fruit and slate aromas.
Palate: excellent palate with integrated high acidity, decent residual sugar and some development. Good length too.
Conclusion: although showing some development, this is still relatively young. There is some added richness from the later harvested grapes and the ‘Feinherb’ style (not a recognized labelling term and one that is being phased out by some producers – it’s still optional, though). Very good. Drink 2008-2014, perhaps longer.
Rating: 18/20
2007 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett, Markus Molitor, Mosel
Appearance: medium green.
Nose: intensely aromatic fruit with green apple, but also more peach and quince fruit as the nose develops.
Palate: a core of apple fruit, lovely acidity and well-integrated residual sugar. Generous, with good length too.
Conclusion: another cask sample, but showing extremely well. This should be very good. Drink 2009-2017, at least.
Rating: 18/20 (as of May 2008)
2005 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, Markus Molitor, Mosel
Appearance: medium green with gold tints.
Nose: already mellowing aromatic fruit with some cheesy and slate-like notes.
Palate: rich apple fruit with savoury aromas on palate. Acidity is actually a bit lower here than on other wines, but refreshing enough. Good length.
Conclusion: this is already developing, but clearly has a big life ahead of it yet. Very good. Drink 2008-2015 or beyond.
Rating: 18.5/20
2002 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese, Markus Molitor, Mosel
Appearance: medium gold-green.
Nose: enormously perfumed first nose with spicy apple and slight washed rind cheese notes. Complex.
Palate: distinct richness of later harvested and selected Auslese fruit. More spicy apple with savoury flavours. Good length and lovely balance of sugar to acidity here.
Conclusion: very good, but still needs time, depending on how you like your German Auslesen in this style. Drink 2008-2017 or beyond.
Rating: 18.5/20
2005 Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Beerenauslese, Markus Molitor, Mosel
Appearance: deepish gold-green.
Nose: very honeyed grapefruit nose with slate aromas and some cheesy notes.
Palate: complex with superb extraction and a very good balance of high residual sugar to rapier acidity. Excellent length.
Conclusion: very high quality indeed, but, surprisingly, without overt botrytis character. Subtle stuff. Drink 2008-2015, although essentially indestructible.
Rating: 18.5/20
2005 Wehlener Klosterberg Riesling Beerenauslese, Markus Molitor, Mosel
Appearance: medium gold.
Nose: beautiful first nose with mellowed apple fruit, noticeable but restrained botrytis and honeyed aromas.
Palate: excellent palate with integrated high sugar and mouth-watering acidity. Considerable length.
Conclusion: very, very good. Drink now to whenever…
Rating: 19/20
For a further Markus Molitor wine, the 2005 Zeltinger Deutschherrenberg Riesling Auslese, see separate post on the ‘Wines of Germany: Noble Sweet Wines’ seminar.
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
27th May 2008
As hundreds of visitors congregated for the first day of Vinexpo Asia 2008, Mr Thierry Fritsch of the CIVA gave an excellent presentation on the region with some useful facts and figures.
We then tasted through the following wines, a really representative, well-chosen range:
2005 Pinot Blanc Reserve, Moltès
Appearance: pleasant gold green colour.
Nose: apple and pear fruit first nose, slight almond or other nutty note.
Palate: fruity palate with slight residual sugar (but basically dry); surprisingly good acidity with quite a bit of ‘freshness’ for Pinot Blanc and slight fat, glycerol feel.
Conclusion: well-made. This wine is actually half Pinot Blanc and half Auxerrois – Thierry Fritsch explaining that Auxerrois does give the richer, fatter mouth-feel we found here. Drink now.
Rating: 16.5/20
2005 Riesling ‘Cuvée Henri Albrecht’, Lucien Albrecht
Appearance: medium to deepish green gold.
Nose: young green apple Riesling fruit with some mineral and slate notes, but a bit closed at present. Very young on the nose still.
Palate: characteristic high acidity, lovely apple fruit, essentially dry and with good length.
Conclusion: representative Alsatian Riesling from a producer that also makes good Crémant, apparently. Drink 2010-2015.
Rating: 17/20
2004 Riesling Grand Cru Vorbourg, René Mure
Appearance: deep gold with slight green tints.
Nose: mellowed Riesling fruit (sour apple) dominated by mineral and slightly cheesy notes indicating development. But there’s also some candied lemon peel here introducing a citrus element. Complex.
Palate: extremely well-integrated and refreshing high acidity with lovely green apple fruit and even some honeyed fruit flavours. Tiny bit of residual sugar here, thereby essentially dry. Excellent length.
Conclusion: René Mure is a justifiably well-known and respected producer whose wines we’ve tried before. This fantastic Riesling can be approached now, but will also age superbly well. Drink 2008-2014, perhaps longer.
Rating: 18.5/20
2006 Pinot Gris Reserve, Bestheim Co-op
Appearance: medium gold green.
Nose: spicy pear fruit (characteristic of Alsace Pinot Gris) with some honeyed aromas.
Palate: more spicy pear fruit on the palate with quite good acidity, slight residual sugar (but basically dry) and some glycerol fatness.
Conclusion: Well-made, pleasant Alsatian Pinot Gris. Drink now.
Rating: 17/20
2002 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Mambourg, Pierre Sparr
Appearance: deep gold to amber.
Nose: complex nose of honeyed and spicy pear fruit, almond and other nutty notes and even washed rind cheese.
Palate: rich palate, impressive acidity for the grape, lovely ‘fatty feel’ and well-integrated residual sugar (about 13 g/l r.s. here). Good length.
Conclusion: a beautiful example of Grand Cru Pinot Gris. Drink now or up to 2012.
Rating: 18.5/20
2005 Gewurztraminer, Michel Fonné
Appearance: medium to deepish gold.
Nose: fragrant gingerbread first nose (that pain d’epice aroma you get on some Alsatian wines, particularly Gewurztraminer) backed by classic lychee fruit with some rose petal aroma; but quite restrained, not showy.
Palate: decent Gewurztraminer fruit, impressive acidity for the grape and that touch of bitterness that only high-quality Gewurztraminer possesses. A small amount of residual sugar here (about 7 g/l). Good length.
Conclusion: stylish Gewurztraminer. Drink now or up to 2010.
Rating: 17.5/20
2004 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Frankstein, W. Gisselbrecht
Appearance: fairly deep gold.
Nose: complex nose of lychee, rose, gingerbread and even some mineral aromas.
Palate: rich mouth-feel with Gewurztraminer’s trademark fatness offset by decent acidity and some well-integrated residual sugar (about 10 g/l). Impressive length.
Conclusion: high-quality Grand Cru Gewurztraminer. Drink now to 2010.
Rating: 18/20
2005 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sonnenglanz (Vendange Tardive), Bott Geyl
Appearance: deep gold.
Nose: intensely spicy pear and ‘grapey’ fruit with some gingerbread and botrytis aromas. Complex.
Palate: hefty residual sugar (up to 105 g/l), although this is not exorbitant for a late harvest wine, balanced by excellent medium-high acidity. Lovely fruit on the palate with very good length.
Conclusion: clearly, very high quality indeed (as one would expect of Bott Geyl). Superb late harvest Pinot Gris. Drink now to 2012, perhaps longer.
Rating: 18.5/20
