27th September 2008

Champagne Henriot was in town with importer Jointek and we were lucky to be part of a small group of media and other wine commentators who got to taste the delights of these well-made Champagnes (including a very special 1988 cuvée – see below), all matched expertly with the extremely fine cuisine and superlative service of Beijing’s Maison Boulud (of Daniel Boulud fame).

Set in the heart of the newly opened Legation Quarter (see above), just to the east of Tiananmen Square, Maison Boulud also has one of the most impressive wine lists in town.

Click on the links for full tasting notes:

Henriot Brut Souverain

Henriot Brut Souverain Blanc de Blancs

Henriot Brut Rose

Henriot Cuvee des Enchanteleurs 1988

Of these wines, the Brut Souverain is very classy and the non-vintage Blanc de Blancs very good indeed (although would clearly benefit from extra time in bottle post-disgorgement).

The Brut Rosé is definitely well-made, but the piece de la resistance, unsurprisingly, was the 1988 Henriot Cuvée des Enchanteleurs: a great vintage, great wine.

This special cuvée is one to watch and definitely worth ageing in younger vintages. It is only made in particularly good years, of course, which is a relief given how some ‘luxury brand’ Champagnes are now being made in suspiciously regular vintages froma region which, by definition of its location, is going have variable years.

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(Click on the links for full tasting notes):

Penfolds Grange 1983

Penfolds Grange 1991

Penfolds Grange 1998

Penfolds Grange 1999

Penfolds Grange 2003

After a short intermission, Kym Schroeter introduced the philosophy behind Grange, Max Schubert’s 1951 creation. Grange was originally something of a controversial wine with intense fruit and prolonged maturation in 100% new American oak and a full five years ageing before release.

In fact, it was so ‘big’ and massively concentrated that the senior brass at Penfolds actually ordered Schubert to stop making the wine in the mid-1950s. Schubert did not desist, however, and cannily kept on producing Grange, but without mounting expensive orders for new American oak barrels.

Thus, the 1957, 1958 and 1959 vintages, now hugely sought after at auction, were still made but aged in old oak already on the property, without arousing much suspicion.

The fruit for these wines is sourced from only top sites, of course, e.g. Magill Estate (for Shiraz). Grange is rarely 100% Shiraz, however - only five vintages since 1961 have been purely that grape - with the Kalimna Block 42 vineyard remaining the top source of Cabernet Sauvignon (from very old vines).

Clearly, the wine to drink on the afternoon was the 1983, although this still has a huge life ahead of it. The 1991 and 1999 Granges are more restrained and savoury and will be brilliant over time. The 1998 has the most attractive and concentrated fruit and is set to be a great vintage, whilst the 2003 is ‘lighter’, in relative terms, and at least gives Grange fans a vintage to approach earlier.

The 2003 is hardly a light-weight wine, however; it just has a different tannic structure (see tasting notes above) and more immediately appealing fruit than some of the ‘darker’ vintages.

All in all, this was a huge privilege and ASC put on a very professional tasting with simultaneous translation, while Grange (the restaurant) is obviously serious about proper service and handling.

If you can wait for these wines, your patience will be rewarded!

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24th September 2008

ASC hosted a very special tasting in Beijing recently, presented by Kym Schroeter, Senior Winemaker at Penfolds. The venue was the appropriately named Grange restaurant in the newly-opened Westin Hotel, Chaoyang (Beijing’s second Westin, in fact).

Grange restaurant, as you might think, does have a full list of vintages of Penfolds’s iconic wine of the same name, but this venue also sports a diverse wine list with a healthy smattering of wines from China and the first Swiss wine I have seen on a Beijing list, or, for that matter, anywhere else in China.

We tasted in the following order (click on the links for full tasting notes):

Penfolds Koonunga Hill 1986

Penfolds Koonunga Hill 1991

Penfolds Koonunga Hill 1998

Penfolds Koonunga Hill 2004

Penfolds Koonunga Hill 2006

Penfolds ‘Seventy Six’ Koonunga Hill 2006

Kym Schroeter gave an informative power-point presentation on the history of Penfolds, its philosophy of regional blending (mainly from sites in South Australia) and the development of the nominal ‘entry-level’ wine Koonunga Hill as well as Grange itself, before leading guests through 6 vintages of Koonunga Hill (going back to 1986) and 5 vintages of Grange (going back to 1983).

The point of each vertical was not only to display the staying power of these very different wines, but to make good on the claims of the 6th edition of the comprehensive The Rewards of Patience guide. This unique reference work provides tasting notes on all of the Penfolds range compiled by an independent tasting panel (boasting the likes of James Halliday, Huon Hooke and Neil Beckett) lovingly compiled by Andrew Caillard MW.

Koonunga Hill was created in 1976 by Don Ditter. Penfolds wanted to produce a wine which would, as Schroeter explained, ‘over-deliver at the price-point’, providing a decent blend without expensive oak treatment from regions of over-supply (originally a Cabernet-Shiraz blend from Coonawarra and Barossa respectively).

Koonunga Hill itself, however, is the name of an actual vineyard in the Barossa. So the name testifies to a particular part of South Australia whilst also providing a catchy title for a multi-regional blend meant to maintain ‘consistency of style year on year’.

Of these wines, the 1986, though fading, was clearly fascinating to taste, the 1991 was still austere (with some ageing potential left) and the younger vintages showed the bright fruit-forward quality Koonunga Hill should always show. I loved the 1986, but the commemorative 2006 Seventy Six Kooonunga will provide lovely drinking (only available in restaurants) with the 1998 being very attractive too.

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20th September 2008

Torres China ‘Taste of the Nations’, Radisson SAS Hotel Beijing

This portfolio tasting, now in its second year, drew quite a crowd at the Beijing Radisson SAS Hotel.

Here is a selection of some of the wines we tasted (click on links for full tasting notes):

Champagne Taittinger Brut Vintage 2002

Domaine de Vaudon Chablis, Joseph Drouhin 2006

Marimar Estate Chardonnay, Russian River Valley 2003

Marimar Estate Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 2002

Torres Nerola, Catalunya 2005

Torres Gran Coronas, Penedes 2004

Torres Mas La Plana, Penedes 2003

Torres Mas La Plana, Penedes 2004

Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Riesling 2007

Peter Lehmann Art Series Shiraz, Barossa Valley 2005

Peter Lehmann Eight Songs Shiraz, Barossa Valley 2003

Peter Lehmann Mentor, Barossa Valley 2002

Henschke Keyneton Estate Euphonium, Eden & Barossa Valleys 2004

Te Mata Awatea Cabernet Merlot, Hawke’s Bay 2004

We were also impressed with the Kleine Zalze range from Stellenbosch, South Africa, Torres China has just begun importing, especially the 2006 Kleine Zalze Cellar Sellection Pinotage (not always the easiest grape to get right), well-priced at 140RMB.

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3rd September 2008

Importer ASC hosted the launch tasting of Champagne Ayala at Sadler Ristorante in the heart of Beijing’s recently re-opened and fascinating Legation Quarter (home to a number of other restaurants including the top-notch Maison Boulud). Guests enjoyed a selection of four wines (see below: click on links for tasting notes) overlooking the wide open spaces of the Legation Quarter and, a little further on, Tiananmen Square itself.

Champagne Ayala’s wines have definitely improved in recent years following acquisition by Bollinger and it makes sense for ASC to add this Champagne house to its expanding portfolio. At the same time, Ayala is actually a veritable old Champagne house dating back to 1860 and the good fortune of Edmond de Ayala, a Spanish aristocrat who came to France whilst serving as Consul of Columbia (his wedding dowry, in marrying Gabrielle d’Albrecht, involved acquisition of the Chateau de Aÿ in the heart of Pinot Noir country).

The star wine to drink on the night was the Ayala Brut Majeur, closely followed by the Ayala Blanc de Blancs 2000, a wine which will need further bottle ageing to show its true finesse. Generally, Ayala seeks lower dosage (i.e. adding less sugar before bottling), preferring to show the quality of its many Grand Cru vineyards in and around Aÿ, where it is still based.

Although some people at the tasting liked the Ayala Zero Dosage, a wine that has no added sugar, we didn’t feel this Champagne (at least the bottles we tried) held together. Perhaps Ayala needs a different mix of base wines in order to make a more drinkable no-dosage Champagne rather than using exactly the same blend as the Brut Majeur. But there was also the Ayala Rose Majeur on show for those who like a lighter-style rose Champagne.

All in all, the Brut Majeur was our favourite to drink now, a well-made, very drinkable Champagne dominated by Pinot Noir fruit and with a sensible 9g/l sugar at dosage. But it’s worth trying the Ayala range to see for yourself.

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