Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
We are delighted to be participating in this year’s Landmark Tutorial, to be held in the Yarra Valley in September.
Joining a group of 14 participants chosen from the around the world, this one-week, residential course exposes students to some of Australia’s greatest winemakers, wine critics, authors and other luminaries as well as several hundred representative and classic wines in vintages old and new (and in all colours and styles!).
Click here for the full list of this year’s participants. Further details on the Tutorial, can be downloaded here.
Click here for this year’s schedule of seminars and activities.
The inaugural Landmark Tutorial, held in 2009 in the Barossa Valley, showcased some 248 Australian fine wines. The success and stimulation of last year’s Tutorial was evidenced by student feedback and on the blog reports of 2009’s alumni, including the likes of Jamie Goode and Julia Harding MW.
We would like to extend our gratitude for enabling us this unique opportunity to the Landmark Tutorial Committee and to Wine Australia/AWBC for launching the initiative.
Watch the Dragon Phoenix Wine Blog for reports on this week-long course as well as our more recent forays within China and around the world.
Edward Ragg & Fongyee Walker
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
2008 La Spinetta Moscato d’Asti ‘Bricco Quaglia’, Piemonte, Italy (RMB 172)
Available from Watson’s, Contact Lily Li: LilyLi@asw.com.hk www.watsonswine.com
La Spinetta is one of the top producers in Italy’s Piemonte region. As well as making great Barolo and Barbaresco, among other wines - for a stunning example from the 1997 vintage click here - La Spinetta also produces one of the region’s best Moscato d’Asti, a delightful sweet sparkling wine (in this case named after a hill-top vineyard - bricco - frequented by quails - quaglia).
Light green in colour with attractive, gentle bubbles, the nose has Moscato’s wonderful perfume of orange blossom and lime fruit. The palate is medium sweet with just enough acidity to balance and low alcohol (5.5% abv.), making it very drinkable!
Moscato d’Asti – which is typically of higher quality than generic ‘Asti’ – does not get much better than this! Try with dishes that contain chilli (or other acidic spices) or enjoy with Chinese fruits at the end of a banquet.
NV McGuigan Sparkling Shiraz Black Label, Australia (RMB 128)
Available from Gelipu Wines, Contact Danny Wu: ausdanny@gmail.com, 13911229053 www.ai9.com.cn
Sadly, there is not much Sparkling Shiraz in China. Most of it is consumed in Australia where it is extremely popular, particularly for special occasions. This is a fun and food-friendly wine ideal for Chinese New Year banquets.
Medium purple with an attractive, full mousse, the nose has pleasant black cherry and berry fruits with a touch of spice.
The palate has refreshing medium acidity and tannin is kept to a minimum for this style of wine. Very adaptable to many kinds of Chinese dishes. We just wish there was more Sparkling Shiraz available here.
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
2005 Barone Ricasoli ‘Castello di Brolio’ Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy (508RMB)
Available from Watson’s. Contact: Lily Li. Email: LilyLi@asw.com.hk www.watsonswine.com
The Barone Ricasoli restored his family’s castle and vineyards in the early 1990s and now makes some of the finest Chianti available.
Predominantly Sangiovese, this wine is a gorgeous dark purple-red colour with a lovely nose of red and black cherry fruit, clove spice and subtle, savoury oak aromas. The palate is packed with sour, but ripe black and red cherry fruit, refreshing high acidity and a wonderful tannic structure with excellent length. Very high quality and superb with turkey, duck, goose or other roast birds!
2006 De Bortoli ‘Noble One’ Botrytis Semillon, Riverina, New South Wales, Australia 375 ml (443RMB)
Available from Torres China. Contact: Jenny Zhang. Email: jenny@torres.com.cn www.torreschina.com
Sweet wines are essential at Christmas! May be you have tasted France’s great treasures such as Sauternes from Bordeaux, Coteaux du Layon or Bonnezeaux from the Loire Valley or the wonderful sweet wines of Alsace. But Australia’s Noble One is among the greatest sweet wines available. In its first vintage in 1982 it even beat Chateau d’Yquem in a blind-tasting!
Deep gold in colour, the nose has lovely honey and citrus lemon with the savoury aromas of noble rot (botrytis). A rich, sweet palate with balancing acidity and wonderful length make for a special Christmas treat! Don’t just think to match this wine with fruit or cream desserts. Try with paté, especially foie gras (fatty goose or duck liver). The trick with sweet wines is: never serve a dish that is sweeter than the wine itself (otherwise your delicate ‘dessert’ wine, so-called, will taste unduly sour).
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
(Photo: The Hill of Corton with crop-thinned Pinot Noir)
Aromatic Red Varieties: Pinot Noir
Although the Chinese autumn is short, the welcome change in temperature means that many wine lovers turn to red wines for comfort. But not everyone likes to drink big, full-bodied, high-alcohol reds. If you would like something often elegant, usually lighter-bodied and wonderfully perfumed, Pinot Noir is the answer.
Pinot Noir will typically have lovely red fruits, aromas of violets or other flowers – Pinot has its own distinctive perfume – combining with lighter tannins and the refreshing acidity that makes it such a good partner to many types of foods.
Pinot Noir is, however, difficult to grow and only comes from distinct regions. Its home is France’s Burgundy region, but the variable climate means that you should only choose red Burgundies from the best producers. New Zealand, especially in the Martinborough and Central Otago regions, produces excellent Pinot Noir. Australia too, in the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Geelong regions of Victoria, has some great Pinot Noirs.
Good-value Pinots can also be found from Chile; whilst the wines of Oregon and certain parts of California (Sonoma, Carneros), although often expensive, can be very high in quality (see this month’s Wine Picks for some good value Pinot Noirs available in China).
Amazingly, Pinot Noirs from warmer climates – especially Australia – can even go well with Sichuan cuisine.
If you don’t believe us, try any well-made New World Pinot Noir with kou shui ji (mouth-watering chicken). You may be surprised! Or go for a sparkling white wine rich in Pinot Noir. This works brilliantly too with chilli-hot and aromatic, spicy cuisines.
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
(Above: Andrew Caillard MW presents)
23rd September 2009
Andrew Caillard MW of Australian fine wine auctioneers Langton’s - creators of the Langton Classification (1991) - presented this year’s Landmark Tasting courtesy of Wine Australia at the Park Hyatt, Beijing.
The Landmark wines, as their title suggests, represent some of the most notable achievements in Australian winemaking taken from the general topography of Australia’s diverse regional offerings where another tier of Regional Heroes can be found (’regionality‘ being the critical and often apt buzz-word among Australian wine circles).
This was the second year in which a selection of Landmark wines were shown in Beijing to a select group of local media, F&B, wine educators and wine importer-distributors influential throughout the PRC; joined by AWBC representatives, the new Chairman of the AWBC James Dominguez and personnel from Austrade.
Caillard gave a fun and informative introduction to each of the below wines, providing some compelling anecdotal glimpses into their respective histories in a presentation carefully pitched to the assembled audience. Certainly, as elsewhere in the world, but especially so in China, it is a critical time to introduce or re-introduce the fine wine message with respect to Australia (which has come in for a fair amount of flack in the international wine press).
For my part, the tasting and dinner were an incredible experience, a privilege; as the below wines should amply indicate:
On tasting were (click on links for full tasting notes):
2002 House of Arras Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir, Tasmania
2009 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, Clare Valley
1999 Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon, Hunter Valley
2006 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, Margaret River
2006 Giaconda Chardonnay, Beechworth
2007 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir, South Gippsland
2006 Mount Mary Quintet Cabernets, Yarra Valley
2004 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River
2004 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
2008 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier, Canberra District
2004 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley
2004 Penfolds Grange, South Australia
2007 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon, Riverina
1909 Seppeltsfield 100-Year Old Vintage Tawny, Barossa Valley
(For anyone interested in a vertical tasting of Penfolds Grange, featuring the 1983, 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2003 vintages, please click here).
Guests then sat down to a sensibly chosen and innovative menu, enjoying the following dishes (with some of the Landmark wines re-tasted for good measure):
Oolong tea-smoked lobster, chrysanthemum cress in a seasame-soy vinaigrette with blue-fina tuna and scallop timtable
2009 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, Clare Valley
Twice-cooked crispy duck “Mille Feuille” in sweet and sour kumquat sauce with foie gras and a taro-truffle fritter
2007 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir, South Gippsland
Jasmine tea and lychee sorbet (served in ice - as pictured above)
Wok-fried Wagyu beef tenderloin in black pepper sauce with braised veal cheeks in abalone sauce accompanied by sauteed pea sprouts and pumpkin risotto
2008 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier, Canberra District
2004 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
Imperial bird’s nest, coconut pudding and sherry ice cream
1909 Seppeltsfield Para 100 Year-Old Vintage Tawny, Barossa Valley
All in all, this was a very wine-friendly menu and especially appropriate for the fruit-driven complexity of many Australian wines. The below picture of the 1909 Seppeltsfield Vintage Tawny almost captures its dark brown oxidized colour, an incredible wine to experience (all tasting notes above on Adegga).
Our thanks to Wine Australia, Austrade and Andrew Caillard MW.
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Rounding off the end of September’s Beijing wine events in style, Torres China hosted its third annual Taste of the Nations portfolio tasting at the Chilean Embassy in Beijing.
(Read more about previous tastings here: 2008 Taste of the Nations, 2007 Taste of the Nations Part I, 2007 Taste of the Nations Part II).
Among dozens of wines, we tasted a snap-shot and took notes on the following:
Champagne Taittinger Brut Vintage 2002
Torres ‘Natureo’ Muscat, Catalunya 2007
Pintia, Toro 2005
Torres Mas La Plana, Penedes 2005
Symington Family Estates Altano Red, Douro 2006
Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003
Domaine Bila-Haut ‘Occultum Lapidem’, M. Chapoutier 2006
Gigondas, M. Chapoutier 2006
Chateaneuf-du-Pape ‘La Bernardine’, M. Chapoutier 2005
Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling, Clare Valley 2007
Bass Phillip Estate Pinot Noir, South Gippsland 2007
Henschke Keyneton Estate Euphonium, Eden Valley 2005
John Duval ‘Plexus’ SGM, Barossa Valley 2006
The Australian wines on offer were especially strong and the 2003 Graham’s LBV stunning.
Monday, September 14th, 2009
In association with importer Mercuris Fine Wines, Nick Yap of Aussie power-house Angove’s recently visited Beijing to host a media lunch at The Opposite House’s Sureno restaurant.
This tasting was something of an education because I hadn’t realized, among the many wines and brandies Angove’s produces, that there were some very good value wines in the Nine Vines and, especially, the Vineyard Select range.
Winemaker Tony Ingle and team are clearly doing great things. If you get a chance to sample the immensely refreshing Nine Vines Grenache Shiraz Rosé, do! (Ingle recently described this as his version of an eminently food-friendly Provence rosé).
Here’s what we tasted:
Angove’s Vineyard Select Clare Valley Riesling 2007
Angove’s Vineyard Select Limestone Coast Chardonnay 2007
Angove’s Nine Vines Shiraz-Viognier 2007
Angove’s Vineyard Select McLaren Vale Shiraz 2006
Angove’s Vineyard Select Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Dean Hewitson of eponymous South Australian winery Hewitson recently presented a range of his wines with importer The Wine Republic at popular Sanlitun eatery Mosto.
Hewitson makes some of South Australia’s most restrained and elegant wines including some superb old vine Mourvèdre (these are genuinely ‘old vine’ emanating from a vineyard planted in 1853 - see below).
Unusual in this line-up was also the Private Cellar Shiraz Mourvèdre blend.
Here’s what we tasted:
Hewitson ‘Gun Metal’ Riesling, Eden Valley 2007
Hewitson ‘Lulu’ Viognier, Victoria 2006
Hewitson ‘Ned & Henry’ Shiraz, Barossa Valley 2006
Hewitson ‘Mad Hatter’ Shiraz, McLaren Vale 2006
Hewitson ‘Old Garden’ Mourvedre, Barossa Valley 2006
Hewitson ‘Private Cellar’ Shiraz Mourvedre 2006
Many of the reds will pay long-term cellaring, although the Ned & Henry will be approachable younger. The Lulu Viognier was varietally pure, racy and not too heavy (none of that overly extracted, glycerol mouthfeel); whilst the Gun Metal Riesling is as flinty, smoky and impressively ‘mineral’ as one could wish.
Friday, September 11th, 2009
2007 Domaine Saint-Remy Gewurztraminer, Alsace, France RMB 260
Special offer for newsletter readers only (please mention the Dragon Phoenix newsletter when making your purchase). To sign up for our DP Newsletter, please click here.
Available from Cellar Le Pinot, contact Scarlett: 85151715 or jiali@lepinot.com
Alsace is the home of high quality Gewurztraminer. The wines can be dry or range in sweetness level (Vendange Tardive or late harvest wines are usually sweeter and the famous Sélection des Grains Nobles or SGN wines are very sweet!).
This wine is a lovely medium gold colour. The nose has perfumed lychee, mango and rose petal aromas.
The palate is low in acidity, quite dry with a rich mouthfeel and beautiful length. This highly aromatic wine is good with certain soft cheeses – especially the famous Munster cheese of Alsace. Try with sea-food filled dumplings (like crab xiaolongbao), fried wontons or even spicier dishes like Singaporean chilli crab.
2008 Yalumba ‘Y Series’ Viognier, South Australia RMB 199
Available from Summergate, contact Jim Yang Jim.yang@summergate.com
Telephone 86.10. 6562.1800 ext 16. www.summergate.com
Yalumba is one of Australia’s great producers, based in the Barossa Valley. The winery actually produces many types of Viognier from South Australia as well as very good reds.
A new arrival in Beijing but popular around the world, the ‘Y Series’ Viognier is a beautiful light gold in colour. It has delicate, perfumed peach and apricot fruit with a lovely palate of low to medium acidity, medium-high alcohol and good length. Try with lightly stir-fried seafood dishes, especially crystal prawns.
Friday, August 14th, 2009
On the back of our 17-day trail-blazing tour of Australia’s major wine regions, we thought we’d recommend two reliable Aussie wines.
Both are from large scale producers that many think of as simply ‘cheap and cheerful’; but do get round to sampling Angove’s Vineyard Select range - the below Clare Riesling is very good and the McLaren Vale Shiraz and Coonowarra Cabernet are both superb - and Jacob’s Creek’s Reserve range.
Jacob’s Creek also offers the top-notch Heritage wines which few of us outside of Australia ever knew about until getting round to discovering what this mammoth company actually produces.
2008 Angove’s Vineyard Select Clare Valley Riesling, South Australia (RMB 249)
Available from Mercuris Fine Wines, contact Olivier Gilles: olivier.gilles@mercuris.com.cn
Australia’s Clare Valley is home to some of the world’s most exciting dry Riesling. This example from Angove’s is elegant and restrained. Light green in colour, the nose has gorgeous lime fruit with mineral aromas followed up by refreshing acidity and lovely length on the palate. Fantastic with Chinese cold platters, Cantonese seafood or whole fish dishes and even Sichuan dishes (as well as summertime salads).
2006 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz, South Australia (RMB 170)
Available from Pernod Ricard, contact Jane Liu: jane.liu@pernod-ricard-china.com
Jacob’s Creek is a large-scale, reliable producer, but some wine lovers have not tried the promsing Reserve or excellent Heritage wines. This is classic South Australian Shiraz sourced from several regions within the state. Dark purple in colour, the nose has attractive black cherry and blueberry fruit with well-integrated French and American oak (giving a touch of vanilla and other spicy aromas). The palate has lovely fruit, good acidity, chewy ripe tannins and promising length. Great with beef or lamb, this robust Shiraz can also match meat-filled jiaozi or Beijing duck.
