(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.

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Edward has recently posted in-depth articles on Catavino and Enobytes:

DBR Lafite, Bodegas Torres and The Future of Wine in China

‘Nava Valley’: The Fate of American Wines in China

The Enobytes piece was also aired on Wine Business.com (where Enobytes is a Featured Blog)

Look out also for Edward’s and Fongyee’s recent ‘Sinophile’ column in The World of Fine Wine Issue 24: ‘How Large is a Chinese Grand Cru?’

There’s also a fascinating article by Jamie Goode in the same issue entitled ‘Help or Hype? Fine Wine on the Internet’. Goode praises some aspects of Adegga, the on-line community and tasting note resource of which we at Dragon Phoenix are also big fans!

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22nd April 2009

In the opulent surroundings of Beijing’s China Club, Links China welcomed Michael Silacci, winemaker at Opus One, and Roger Asleson, Opus One’s Director of Public Relations, to host a lunch and tasting with a small group of local media and wine professionals.

The prestige of Opus One requires little introduction. But it is not often that wine lovers have the opportunity to separate the myth-making side of this famous venture from the actual quality of the wines.

We tasted a single bottle of 1992 Opus a few years ago (click here for full tasting note) which was very impressive indeed.

On the evidence of this tasting – where several bottles of different vintages were opened and some wines were also served from magnum – Opus One fully deserves the accolades and iconic status it has attained.

Here’s what we tasted (click on links for full tasting notes) with the menu to follow, plus some further notes on Silacci’s and Asleson’s personal insights:

Opus One, Oakville, Napa 2005

Opus One, Oakville, Napa 2001

Opus One, Oakville, Napa 1995

Opus One, Oakville, Napa 1986

These were served with the following menu, a mixture of Sichuan, Shanghai-ese and southern Chinese dishes:

Cold dishes:

Shredded cucumber, jellyfish and wood fungus

Crystal pork elbow

Bang bang ji (chicken in chilli sesame sauce with hua jiao - see below)

Marinated kao fu (gluten)

Followed by:

Crystal prawns

Fried fillet of grouper in black bean sauce

Braised bamboo pith roll with julienned vegetables

Tea-smoked duck

Fried crispy noodles with shredded beef and mushroom

Sweetened almond cream

Some of the thinking behind this menu probably came from an understandable concern that the Sichuan dishes for which The China Club is well-known would be too robust for the wines, especially, with that cuisine’s use of hua jiao (translated as ‘Sichuan peppercorns’, these numbing and fragrant pods actually come from the prickly ash tree).

But some of the dishes – especially the crystal prawns – were too light and had the wrong flavour profile and textures for the likes of Opus One (or any Cabernet-blend).

That said, as Roger Asleson pointed out, there were two very good food-and-wine matching combinations. One real hit was the tea-smoked duck, a Sichuan classic, with the 2005 Opus: where the 05’s bright fruit and pronounced tannic structure stood up very well to what is a strongly flavoured, relatively rich dish.

Another excellent match with the older vintages of Opus, especially the 1986, was the noodles with mushroom and shredded beef. China has an abundance of amazing mushrooms which may well suit older red wines in various styles or aromatic red grapes such as Pinot Noir or Nebbiolo.

In between courses, Michael Silacci explained how on his first vintage as winemaker (back in 2001) he insisted on harvesting at night – not initially a popular move, but now standard practice at Opus.

This not only ensures harvesting grapes at cool temperatures – where unwanted initial fermentation is unlikely to occur – but is designed to capture an optimal balance between water, sugar concentration and acidity (as the grapes expand again following their diurnal contraction under the sun).

Roger Asleson, meanwhile, spoke not only about the collaboration between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild that made Opus One possible, but about the staying power of this wine during the global economic slowdown.

Various markets in Asia are holding strong – Japan especially – with the prospects for Hong Kong and mainland China still looking good. No less a wine could continue to command such a following.

All of the wines were characterized by finesse, impressive structure and obvious ageing capability. They are a far cry from the Napa Cabernets that elevate extraction over elegance (our recent trip to Napa in February was an education in how many different styles of Cabernet blends exist in the region).

Our thanks to Opus One and the Links China team for this fantastic tasting and lunch.

Watch this space for further posts on Napa wines.

Previous posts on Napa (and Sonoma) include visits at:

Robert Mondavi

Franciscan Estate

Grgich Hills Estate

Limerick Lane

Simi

Clos du Bois

For a full summary of our recent Californian tastings, please click here.

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11th April 2009

At China Agricultural University some 170 students gathered to hear Fongyee deliver a lecture and wine-tasting seminar focusing on the wines of Robert Mondavi (as donated by Constellation and organized through local wine importer Jebsen).

The lecture was part of the popular series intiated by Prof. Ma Huiqin (of CAU) which opens its doors to several other Beijing universities.

This was the first occasion that a sizeable number of the audience had tasted wine and the wines chosen were designed to reflect varietal differences and consistency of style for entry-level Californian.

Thus, under Fongyee’s guidance, the students tasted their way through the following:

2007 Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Sauvignon Blanc

2007 Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Chardonnay

2006 Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Shiraz

2006 Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon

It was fascinating to hear the students’ first impressions of the wines. These were consistent with what we hear from many Chinese tasters.

For example, although the aromatic nose of the Sauvignon Blanc proved attractive, many struggled with the inherent acidity of the grape. Generally speaking, much of the audience preferred the mouthfeel and lower acidity of the Chardonnay; although not all warmed to oak flavour.

Of the reds, the distinctive fruitiness of Shiraz matched by ripe, chewy but not too high tannins proved popular.

By contrast, many of the students were surprised they didn’t like the Cabernet Sauvignon more – a grape variety extensively grown and recognized in China (in various forms). As for many Chinese tasters, however, the tannic structure of Cabernet – although blended here according to the 75% labelling rule in California – is not especially appealing.

Wineries interested in supporting the CAU programme should contact Fongyee on fongyee@longfengwines.com

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21st February 2009

After a month away from Beijing - taking in the UK, Canada and the US - we can promise a series of posts on all the wines we tasted in California including winery visits at:

Grgich Hills Estate, Clos du Bois, Simi, Limerick Lane, Franciscan Estate, Robert Mondavi, Heitz Cellars, Clos du Val, Silverado Vineyards, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Cakebread Cellars.

The first post can be found here: Grgich Hills Estate.

Click on each of the following links for write-ups of each respective winery: Clos du Bois, Simi, Limerick Lane, Franciscan Estate, Robert Mondavi, Heitz Cellars, Clos du Val, Silverado Vineyards, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Cakebread Cellars.

Admittedly, during this marathon tasting tour, Fongyee was mostly couped up in Yountville studying for the Master of Wine programme and Edward set a day aside to complete the Certified Specialist in Wine exam with the Society of Wine Educators in Napa City.

It was a jam-packed trip during which Edward blogged on US site Enobtyes (click here for his first post) and we drafted our first column for The World of Fine Magazine (see forthcoming Issue 23).

But given all the hype surrounding California, especially Napa, what was this cross-section of wines really like? Can they deliver a reasonable quality price ratio within the region and perhaps further a field?

Posts are archived according to time of winery visits (with full accompanying tasting notes on Adegga).

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12th February 2009

Following a superb tasting at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, we rolled up for our final visit of the tour at Cakebread. We were already fans of Cakebread’s Sauvignon Blanc, but were able on this occasion to taste a much fuller range (of which the Dancing Bear Cabernets from the Howell Mountain area were especially good):

Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Napa 2007

Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay, Napa 2007

Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve, Carneros, Napa 2006

Cakebread Cellars Rubaiyat, North Coast 2006

Cakebread Cellars Zinfandel, Lake County 2005

Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2005

Cakebread Cellars ‘Dancing Bear’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Napa 2004

Cakebread Cellars ‘Dancing Bear’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Napa 2005

The wines are available in China through ASC.

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12th February 2009

Nearing the end of our time in Napa, we were highly fortunate to enjoy a tasting and tour at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars with exemplary guide Laura Weaver.

Among the ‘premium’ Cabernets, the Fay Vineyard has the brightest and most attractive fruit at an early stage, whilst the SLV and Cask 23 will need considerable ageing to show more favourably (brilliant though they are). Don’t overlook the Artemis Cabernet blend or excellent Chardonnays either.

Here’s what we tasted (click on links for full tasting notes):

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ‘Rancho Chimiles’ Sauvignon Blanc, Napa 2007

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ‘Arcadia Vineyard’ Estate Chardonnay, Napa 2006

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ‘Karia’ Chardonnay, Napa 2007

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Merlot, Napa 2006

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ‘Artemis’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2006

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ‘Fay Vineyard’ Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2005

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ‘SLV’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2005

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ‘Cask 23’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2005

In China the majority of the wines are available from Summergate Fine Wines.

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10th February 2009

Following a pretty impressive tasting at Clos du Val, I crossed the road to Silverado and enjoyed a very informative and fascinating line-up of wines with GM Russell Weiss and his very helpful team.

This transpired to be another chance to taste some older vintages of Californian Cabernet (having had a similar experience at Simi). Brit though I am, I’m convinced that many Californian classics and many of Australia’s iconic wines are often consumed too young; or at least without enough time in bottle to show their full colours.

Here’s what we tasted (click on links for full tasting notes). The 1998 and 1982 Napa Cabs were especially fascinating to taste:

Silverado Vineyards Miller Ranch Sauvignon Blanc, Napa 2007

Silverado Vineyards Vineburg Chardonnay, Carneros, Sonoma 2006

Silverado Vineyards Sangiovese, Napa 2006

Silverado Vineyards Zinfandel, Napa 2005

Silverado Vineyards ‘Fantasia’, Napa 2006

Silverado Vineyards Merlot, Napa 2004

Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2005

Silverado Vineyards ‘Solo’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2005

Silverado Vineyards ‘Limited Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2005

Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 1998

Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 1982

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10th February 2009

Clos du Val, in the Stag’s Leap district of Napa, is well-known for the restraint and elegance of its wines. Here’s what I tasted on a relatively swift, but highly enjoyable visit.

Clos du Val Chardonnay, Carneros, Napa Valley 2006

Clos du Val Pinot Noir, Carneros, Napa Valley 2006

Clos du Val Pinot Noir Reserve, Carneros, Napa Valley 2005

Clos du Val Merlot, Napa Valley 2005

Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2005

Clos du Val Stag’s Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2005

All the wines are very well made but the Reserve Pinot Noir and Stag’s Leap Cabernet stood out especially.

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9th February 2009

As I rolled up to the cellar door, I realized I was lucky to be visiting Heitz just as the winery was releasing its 2004 Cabernets, including the single-vineyard range.

Here’s a quick preview (together with a number of other Heitz wines). The Bella Oaks Vineyard Cabernet will be superb, as will the Martha’s Vineyard eventually. I was particular taken with the more modestly priced Petit Verdot, however:

Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2004

Heitz Cellar Bella Oaks Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley 2004

Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley 2004

Heitz Cellar Petit Verdot, Napa Valley 2006

Heitz Cellar Ink Grade ‘Port’, Napa Valley

Heitz Cellar Grignolino ‘Port’, Napa Valley 2006

Heitz Cellar Zinfandel, Napa Valley 2005

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