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.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

10th March 2009

Importer Watson’s joined by Bernard de Laage de Meux of Chateau Palmer organized a special seminar on the wines of Palmer at Beijing’s China World hotel.

Monsieur de Laage de Meux spoke of Palmer’s unique place within the Margaux appellation, both stylistically and with respect to the property’s soils (he also noted that Petit Verdot has largely replaced Cabernet Franc in the vineyard’s plantings).

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

Alter Ego de Palmer, Margaux 2001

Alter Ego De Palmer, Margaux 2004

Alter Ego De Palmer, Margaux 2005

Château Palmer, Margaux 1995

Château Palmer, Margaux 2000

The 2000 will be very good indeed, but is still predictably on the young side (it will likely outclass the 1995 over time). Of the Alter Ego de Palmers, the 2005 was, unsurprisingly, especially good.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

6th March 2009

Importer Links China joined hands with Christophe Brunet of Paul Jaboulet Aine for a sumptuous dinner and tasting at Beijing Raffles‘ Jaan Restaurant.

This was a great opportunity to asssess the current state of affairs at Jaboulet; with several new wines and the comprehensive label re-designs instituted by the Frey family in evidence, as well as a look back at some older vintages of La Chapelle and the excellent Chevalier de Sterimberg.

Here’s what we tasted (there’s an additional note on Caroline Frey’s 2004 Chateau La Lagune which we happened to sample also):

Le Petit Jaboulet Viognier, Paul Jaboulet 2007

Crozes-Hermitage Mule Blanche, Paul Jaboulet 2005

Hermitage Chevalier de Stérimberg, Paul Jaboulet 2004

Hermitage Chevalier de Stérimberg, Paul Jaboulet 2001

Crozes-Hermitage Thalabert, Paul Jaboulet 2005

Châteauneuf-du-Papes Les Cèdres, Paul Jaboulet 2006

Hermitage La Chapelle, Paul Jaboulet 2004

Hermitage La Chapelle, Paul Jaboulet 1997

Château La Lagune, Haut-Médoc 2004

Of these wines, the Petit Jaboulet Viognier is charming and very true to varietal; the Mule Blanche is an impressive white Crozes, which, though developing well, will last a little longer in bottle; the Chevalier de Sterimberg vintages were both very good indeed, although the 2004 is very much on the young side; and the Thalabert and Les Cedres not perhaps showing as well as they might (Jaboulet needs to work on its Chateauneuf especially).

That said, the vintages of La Chapelle were fascinating. The 2004 will be very good with time and the not-always-trumpeted 1997 seemed to be in finer shape than some have suggested in previous years (i.e. when tasting the 1997 at an early stage in its development - see tasting note).

Finally, the 2004 La Lagune is one of the stronger wines of that vintage without a doubt.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

28th November 2009

Coinciding with the arrival of the Bordelais in China for the Union des Grand Crus 2008 tour - which takes in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou this year - fledgling wine club Les Millesimes hosted a highly successful Bordeaux dinner and auction, attracting some top chateaux owners.

An impressive French menu (see below) generally matched very well with the following wines (click on links for full tasting notes):

Chateau Olivier (Blanc), Pessac-Leognan 2003

Chateau Grand-Mayne, St.-Emilion 2001

Chateau Olivier (Rouge), Pessac-Leognan 2003

Chateau Poujeaux, Moulis-en-Medoc 2004

Clos Fourtet, St. Emilion 2004

Chateau Angelus, St. Emilion 2000

The Menu:

Fine de Claire oysters on seaweed

Pan seared foie gras with marinated duck breast, figs stewed in red wine and ginger and pumpkin chips

Oven-roasted chicken stuffed with homemade Chorizo

Australian Kobe-style beef rib eye served with potato gratin, arugula salad and Bordelaise sauce

Deep-fried walnut-crusted Camembert with mango salad

Trio of chocolate desserts

There were some lovely wines here, the Olivier Blanc, Grand-Mayne and Angelus showing particularly well.

At our table, organizer and Bordeaux-educated Ma Jun oversaw the ensuing auction with the owners of all the above properties watching closely (Fongyee translating for Anne Cuvelier of Chateau Leoville Poyferre who also joined the party).

Among the auction highlights, two mixed four-bottle presentation packs of Chateaux Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothshild, Cheval Blanc and Margaux (all from the 2000 vintage) reached 60,000RMB and 65,000RMB respectively.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

25th November 2008

Several months ago, at a Sauternes dinner in Hong Kong (click here for post), Fongyee casually mentioned to Christian Seely, Head of AXA Millesimes, the idea of introducing the joys of fine wine to some of China’s most promising students.

Citing the good fortune of students at Oxford and Cambridge, who do have the opportunity to be exposed to top Bordeaux, Burgundy and the like, Fongyee and Seely pondered what a difference it would make to China’s budding student population to get a taste of some of the very best.

On Tuesday evening, 150 students at China Agricultural University – the vast majority of whom are enrolled on Prof. Ma Huiqin’s popular oenology and wine appreciation programme – experienced a dream come true.

Aymeric de Gironde (pictured top), Head of the AXA-controlled and legendary Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, had shipped to China a whole array of AXA’s best wines: vintages of Chateau Petit Village, Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Chateau Suduiraut and various Ports from the superb Quinta do Noval.

On tasting were (click on links for full tasting notes):

Chateau Petit Village, Pomerol 2004

Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Pauillac 2004

Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Pauillac 2001

Chateau Suduiraut 1999

Quinta do Noval 10 Year Old Tawny

Quinta do Noval Traditional Late Bottled Vintage 2001

Monsieur de Gironde pitched his introduction to AXA Millesimes at exactly the right level for a group already familiar with basic viticulture and vinification, but uninitiated in the delights of Pomerol, Pauillac, Sauternes, their respective terroirs and the special conditions of the Douro.

With Prof. Ma translating, the students hung on every word. A delightful evening was rounded off with a quick quiz in which the first students to answer questions about Right Bank grape varieties and the type of rot responsible for Sauternes, were awarded with bottles of Petit Village and Suduiraut.

But perhaps the most revealing moment was when Aymeric de Gironde suggested AXA Millesimes might assist Prof. Ma in establishing a working stock of wine for her courses and programmes.

Our thanks go to Aymeric de Gironde, Christian Seely and everyone at AXA Millesimes for making this wonderful evening possible: a tasting these students will never forget.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

12th March 2008: The Wine Republic at Café Europa

An inaugural tasting event celebrating the founding of Beijing’s newest wine company, The Wine Republic, hosted by Managing Director Campbell Thompson.

Guests assembled at Café Europa to sample the wines of Victorian estate Mount Langi Ghiran, part of what looks to be an inspiring range, set to include other Australian producers such as Yering Station, Yarrabank, a joint venture between Yering Station and Champagne Veuve A. Devaux, Parker Coonawarra Estate, Xanadu Wines and Hewitson.

Thompson explained how it was not just important for him to import genuinely good wines into China, but that the logistics-side was a pressing concern: how wine is shipped, how it is stored and transported within mainland China; and, of course, how it finally reaches the consumer.

Those of us who have had clearly heat-damaged bottles know only too well the problems with storage and transportation that routinely occur here.

We were certainly impressed by the quality of Mount Langi Ghiran’s wines (see full tasting notes below) and welcome the appearance of The Wine Republic on the Beijing and Shanghai scenes.

Despite recent shipping, the wines seemed to be in fine fettle. The Wine Republic joins a handful of companies including Globus Wines and Ruby Red Fine Wines (both in Shanghai) that takes issues of transportation and storage seriously.

Each wine was paired by a particular dish and the food-and-wine matching was generally very well-done. Here are our notes:

2004 Mount Langi Ghiran Riesling

Appearance: medium yellow green.

Nose: instantly appealing developed Riesling nose featuring lime and grapefruit aromas with marked kerosene notes. Savoury and subtle.

Palate: mellowed ripe lime fruit with lovely acidity and excellent concentration. Good length too.

Conclusion: impressive Australian Riesling from at least 20 year-old vines. South Australia’s Clare and Eden Valleys usually get the limelight for this grape, but it’s lovely to have such a good Victorian example. Very good and capable of some further ageing in bottle if you like your Rieslings a bit older (up to 2010). Went very well with a tuna carpaccio with mango salsa. Note: The Wine Republic will carry the 2007 vintage for those who like a younger expression. Retail approx. 220RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20

2003 Mount Langi Billi Billi Shiraz

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: attractive cool-climate Shiraz nose showing black cherry and blueberry fruit with distinctive peppery notes (that pepper is lost in hotter climates, even if Shiraz retains other spicy aromas). Non-intrusive oak, if any here.

Palate: lovely fruit, medium chewy tannins and good acidity here. Pleasant length too.

Conclusion: well put-together and drinking well now. 2003 was not the greatest vintage anywhere in Australia really and a number of reds are looking tired already (certainly in comparison with 2002 and 2005). But this wine is ready and a lovely expression of cool-climate Shiraz. Paired extremely well with a grilled duck breast and rocket and parmesan salad. Retail approx. 180RMB.

Rating: 17/20

2001 Mount Langi Cliff Edge Shiraz

Appearance: dark purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: crushed red and black fruits of various descriptions (everything from red and black cherry to Shiraz’s slight blueberry character), lovely oak (largely French oak here), mature, slightly leathery notes.

Palate: medium-high chewy tannins, although mellowed, backed up by lovely fruit and nice acidity. Alcohol is balanced as it was on the Billi Billi Shiraz above.

Conclusion: lovely cool-climate Shiraz already benefiting from modest ageing. A pretty good accompaniment to the pepper-crusted beef fillet, but I think the pepper in the dish was too much for the wine in this case. A quibble. Retail approx. 260RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2000 Mount Langi Cabernet-Merlot

Appearance: dark purple-red to black, orange rim.

Nose: dark blackcurrant fruit with some plummy notes, nice oak again here. Still quite young on the nose.

Palate: very good palate with integrated medium-high tannins, good fruit, good acidity and impressive length.

Conclusion: this wine still has some time to go really, although it’s clearly drinkable now. Very well-made; but the Cliff Edge Shiraz might be the best of the reds here in terms of quality-price ratio. A pretty good match with the gratinated field mushroom. Retail approx. 420RMB.

Rating: 17.5/20

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Featured Tasting: Jaboulet (including two vintages of La Chapelle)

Summergate hosted Christophe Brunet of famed producers Paul Jaboulet Aîné and Château La Lagune, now jointly owned and managed by the Frey family. Caroline Frey is winemaker at both properties (at La Lagune, Denis Dubourdieu, her former professor, is also a consultant). But this tasting focused solely on the Jaboulet wines – La Lagune having already been a presence at the Union des Grand Crus visit to Beijing in late November (see previous posts).

Christophe Brunet explained the current innovations the Frey family is instituting at Jaboulet. The main idea is to refine the quality of the Hermitage La Chapelle and limit its production. To put this in perspective, Brunet pointed out that in the 1990 vintage 100,000 bottles of red La Chapelle were made compared with some 30,000 bottles in 2005. A ‘second wine’, La Petite Chapelle, will shortly be released and may well represent good value, particularly as La Chapelle has now become a costly collectors’ item.

2006 also saw the re-launch of a white La Chapelle (Jaboulet had previously stopped making its top white Hermitage in 1961). This wine is a 100% Marsanne and, judging by how well the 2001 Chevalier de Sterimberg showed - see below - will be one to watch.

We tasted the following wines:

2004 Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône White, Jaboulet

Appearance: dark yellow green.

Nose: noticeable pear fruit with some waxy aromas.

Palate: strong pear fruit, more waxy flavours, nice acidity though too. Has kept quite well.

Conclusion: made from a blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Bourboulenc, this is impressive at its level and a nice expression of white Côtes du Rhône.

Rating: 16.5/20

2001 Le Chevalier de Sterimberg Hermitage (Blanc), Jaboulet

Appearance: dark yellow green.

Nose: complex pear fruit with nutty aromas, wax and butterscotch. Developed nose but will still probably age happily enough.

Palate: rich mouth-feel with mellowed pear fruit, toffee and butterscotch flavours and considerable length.

Conclusion: a wonderful example of aged white Hermitage, something of a rarity and thankfully relatively undiscovered in the wine world (it’s certainly not popular in fine wine markets). Still has some life ahead but drinking beautifully now.

Rating: 18.5/20

2005 Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône (Rouge), Jaboulet

Appearance: medium purple-red.

Nose: light red berry fruits, slight white pepper from the Grenache and some darker fruit coming through from the Syrah here. Attractive.

Palate: light chewy tannins, nice fruit, lively acidity; well put together with quite good length.

Conclusion: a decent wine at its level. Dependable stuff.

Rating: 16.5/20

2005 Les Cedres Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Jaboulet

Appearance: medium purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: mix of red and black fruits with some characteristic Châteauneuf spice (Grenache-dominated). Oak is non-intrusive.

Palate: chewy medium tannins, medium-high acidity and with good length, the wine does not show much oak and is largely fruit-driven.

Conclusion: a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre, this is a reliable Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s not going to excite in the same way that wines from single domaines in the region can, but it’s a decent expression.

Rating: 17.5/20

1988 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet

Appearance: medium purple-red, with very marked orange rim.

Nose: decaying black and red fruits with a distinct meaty nose that later shows leaves, mushrooms and other secondary aromas. Very complex.

Palate: lovely mature palate with mellowed fruit, meaty and mushroomy flavours, softened medium grainy tannins, good acidity and superb length. Unfiltered, its throws a sediment that we recommend eating! The flavours are heavenly and show what aged Syrah at this level is all about.

Conclusion: clearly a very fine wine. Collectors will debate whether the 1988 vintage is the best La Chapelle, but here’s a wine to enjoy now that seems to be at its peak and in fine condition.

Rating: 19/20

2001 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet

Appearance: darkish purple-red, already showing orange rim.

Nose: a bit closed at first, then showing complex dark fruits, corned beef, liquorice and some characteristic black pepper (a signature of cool-climate Syrah).

Palate: ripe medium-high chewy tannins, excellent acidity, integrated dark fruits, but a bit tight right now.

Conclusion: this will clearly be an excellent vintage of La Chapelle, but should be left alone at present. Very good, but try again in 2011 and thereafter.

Rating: 18.5/20 [but may be higher]

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

15th December 2007: ASC invited Pierre Lurton, GeneralManager of both St. Emilion’s Château Cheval Blanc and Sauternes’s Château Yquem to give a specialist tasting and dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing.

Before his arrival, Bertrand Carles,Buying Manager and Director of Bordeaux negociant Ginestet, gave a short introduction to the two properties, speculating on their markets in China. Carles had been travelling with Lurton throughout their tour of the country and was optimistic about the wines’ reception (hardly surprising, given the prestige of these propertites and Chinese consumers’ receptivity to French wines in general). As Carles joked, his problem is not one of selling top wines, but one of securing allocations in the increasingly competitive Bordeaux market.

Pierre Lurton first spoke about the diversity of soil types that characterize Cheval Blanc’s terroir (a mixture of gravel, sand, and clay). About 60% of the vineyard is given over to Cabernet Franc with Merlot making up the remainder. Lurton explained that in cooler vintages the early-ripening Merlot takes centre stage, but in hotter years Cabernet Franc plays more of a role. As Lurton put it, in warmer years, ‘Cabernet Franc invites Merlot for the long trip’, helping to produce wines that should have great longevity.

Whatever the assemblage, Lurton is adamant that Cheval Blanc’s terroir dictates the style of the wine and its overall expression. He referred to Cheval Blanc’s often silky tannins (or ‘cashmere’ tannins as Lurton put it); although this quality is presumably also achieved by care in the vineyard and limited extraction in the cellar. Cheval Blanc itself is made up from 25 different plots, all of which are vinified separately and then blended according to the nature of the year. Regular racking and fining are practised and the wine is unfiltered.

Here are our notes on the Cheval Blanc wines first. The notes on the 2004 and 1998 Château Yquem follow.

2004 Le Petit Cheval, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: light red and black fruits (mix of plum and blackberry), fair bit of oak here, leather.

Palate: medium-bodied at most, good acidity, soft on tannins but these are definitely there. Not bad length.

Conclusion: 53% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, this wine has some of the delicacy of the 2004 vintage. Although it could be approached now, it would be better to wait five years.

Rating: 17/20

2001 Le Petit Cheval, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium purple-red, orange rim.

Nose: shows much more tobacco on the nose than the 2004 Le Petit Cheval with similar fruit underneath (blackberry, plum etc.). Oak is less prevalent, but this is because it has settled down; plus the tobacco and leathery smell is traceable to the use of oak here anyway. Complex.

Palate: more structure and tannic backbone here than on the 2004 Le Petit Cheval and better length too; also features good acidity and impressive fruit.

Conclusion: 53% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, this wine was more impressive than the 2004 Le Petit Cheval and should age for much longer.

Rating: 17.5/20

2004 Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, St. Emilion

Appearance: medium to deep purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: crushed berry fruits (red and black), very perfumed with some fragrant green pepper notes from the Cabernet Franc. Oak comes in later.

Palate: strong fruit, ripe coating tannins – smooth in texture, not chewy – lovely acidity with good length. Slightly tight and clearly very young at present.

Conclusion: 55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot, this wine needs time. It is clearly sophisticated St. Emilion.

Rating: 18/20

2001 Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé A, St. Emilion

Appearance: deep purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: metallic first nose (iron, sanguineous kind of smell) followed by strong red and black fruits (chiefly plum and blackberry) along with integrated oak and considerable complexity.

Palate: ripe, silky and fully integrated tannins with excellent fruit, considerable length and fine acidity.

Conclusion: 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, according to Robert Parker (but we’ve seen all sorts of different percentages for the assemblage on the same vintages of Cheval Blanc wines on the web!). This is clearly very fine St. Emilion which still has a long way to go to reach maturity.

Rating: 18.5/20

Pierre Lurton then talked in some detail about the production of Sauternes and the qualities of Château Yquem specifically. He described Yquem as ‘an icon of wine’, referring to the property as ‘the story of the Lur-Saluces family’ (rather than discussing the controversy of how Yquem ceased to be under Lur-Saluces control).

Like Cheval Blanc, Yquem is also typified by a varied terroir incorporating 130 hectares of gravel, sand, clay and chalk soils. These soils do not contribute directly to wine flavours (if at all), but do have different drainage and obviously different exposure in the vineyard itself.

Yquem is typically a blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc and Lurton explained the various risks inherent in Sauternes production, particularly given the need to wait for the right conditions over several trie (select harvests through the vineyard as noble rot develops). These separate pickings typically take place in the middle and end of September, the middle and end of October and conclude around the middle of November.

All in all, Lurton aims in Yquem to achieve a ‘clean, pure Sauternes with a good level of acidity’ to balance the natural residual sugar. It is certainly worth remembering that these are not particularly sweet wines (reaching about 130 g/l in sweeter years) - certainly alongside the likes of Ice Wine/Eiswein.

2004 Château Yquem, 1er Grand Cru Classé Exceptionnel, Sauternes

Appearance: medium-yellow gold.

Nose: very ‘fresh’ nose (with botrytis only suggested, really). Instead, there’s more evidence of fresh orange and other citrus aromas. Candied fruit with slight honey.

Palate: not super-concentrated. More of the delicate candied, citrus fruits with an excellent balance of medium residual sugar to high acidity. Good length.

Conclusion: a delicate vintage for Yquem (which is not a euphemism for ‘lacking concentration’ – this is just a different vintage). Will repay medium-term keeping.

Rating: 18/20

1998 Château Yquem, 1er Grand Cru Classé Exceptionnel, Sauternes

Appearance: distinct orange gold.

Nose: intense candied fruit, marked botrytis, spice and other complex aromas.

Palate: superb fruit, fantastic balance of robust residual sugar to delicate high acidity. The balance here really is very, very good! Excellent length.

Conclusion: this is a superb wine. Super-intense, but hardly cloying because of the fine acidity and amazing integration of the total wine. A brilliant Sauternes!

Rating: 19/20

There were limited opportunities for questions as Pierre Lurton and Bertrand Carles were coming to the end of a fairly arduous Chinese tour. But I did manage to ask Lurton if he uses different types of French oak when maturing Le Petit Cheval and Cheval Blanc respectively or whether the wines see similar oak treatment but for different periods. Lurton explained that he works with five different coopers, but didn’t divulge the types of oak used. Instead, he pointed out that Le Petit Cheval usually spends about 12 months in oak whereas Cheval Blanc would usually receive about 15-18 months.

Fongyee also managed to ask at what point the grapes for Yquem’s dry white (the ‘Y’) are generally picked each year. The blend for the ‘Y’ is quite different: 60% Sauvignon Blanc with 40% Semillon; and the grapes are usually harvested, we learnt, just before the end of the vintage.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Here are the rest of the wines from the Antinori tasting organized by Summergate and hosted by the Italian Ambassador, Mrs Riccardo Sessa and Alessia Antinori. Wines were available from Umbria and Tuscany, the original Antinori home (see separate posting for the three whites on show and the Umbrian and Tuscan wines we tasted) as well as Piemonte (Prunotto) and Puglia (Tormaresca), both also under Antinori control.

2005 Dolcetto d’Alba, Prunotto

Appearance: deepish purple colour, clear rim.

Nose: lots of red and black cherry but with noticeable almond nose and some white pepper. No oak.

Palate: chewy medium tannins (well managed here for Dolcetto!), medium-high refreshing acidity, lovely fruit and impressive length. Alcohol is well-balanced too.

Conclusion: a lovely example of Dolcetto from a strong vintage. Retail 203RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2005 Barbera d’Asti ‘Fiulot’ Vineyard, Prunotto

Appearance: medium red-purple, clear rim.

Nose: light red cherry nose with some stalky fruit. Some other savoury smells, but no oak.

Palate: bright fruit, nice acidity, and moderate spiky tannins. Quite good length.

Conclusion: medium-range Barbera in a light style. Well-made. Retail 179RMB.

Rating: 17/20

2000 Barbera d’Asti ‘Costamiole’ Vineyard, Prunotto

Appearance: dark purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: complex nose with intense black cherry fruit and several different savoury aromas including herbs (rosemary, oregano). Some of the spice here must be traceable to oak.

Palate: very ripe chewy tannins, great acidity and fantastic complexity of fruit and oak. Well-balanced throughout.

Conclusion: part of the Prunotto ‘Cru’ range and a superb Barbera! The wine does actually spend 12 months in barriques and is then aged for a year in bottle before release. Retail 660RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20

2001 Barolo ‘Bussia’ Vineyard, Prunotto

Appearance: medium to dark purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: immensely perfumed Nebbiolo with a mixture of black cherry and redcurrant fruit, peppermint and florality (although what flowers we couldn’t tell you!). Oak is well-integrated here as the grape variety is allowed to sing.

Palate: seems tighter in flavour on the palate (this is not a function of the gripping tannins as such). Very good length, however.

Conclusion: obviously high-class Barolo from a really good year that has an impressive life ahead. The ‘Bussia’ vineyard is in Monforte. The wine is aged in large French oak barrels, then in smaller barriques before being aged for a further year in bottle. Approx. 839RMB retail.

Rating: 18.5/20 [might be higher with time]

The Puglian reds from Tormaresca:

2004 Rosso Puglia IGT, Tormaresca

Appearance: medium red, clear rim.

Nose: attractive red and black cherry fruit, ‘warm’ and quite alcoholic on the nose. ‘Rustic’ in a good sense.

Palate: chewy and spiky medium tannins, refreshing acidity, pleasant fruit, quite good length.

Conclusion: 70% Negroamaro and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is an attractive blend for everyday drinking. Retail 167RMB.

Rating: 16.5/20

2003 ‘Masseria Maime’ Salento IGT, Tormaresca

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: ‘crushed berries’ with leathery notes, also savoury and, again, ‘rustic’, although that needs qualifying. There’s an alcoholic quality to the nose, probably helped by the 2003 heat. This is attractive though.

Palate: nice ripe tannins, pleasant fruit, decent acidity and a good overall balance despite the ‘warm’ alcohol nose. Good length.

Conclusion: 100% Negroamaro and very drinkable. Impressive. Retail 419RMB.

Rating: 17.5/20

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.