Taittinger Artist Series

It was entirely serendipity that I got to find out about this Taittinger Artist Series of champagnes. There was an importer's Xmas champagne promotion and I thought I might try and get a bottle or two of the 1985 vintage (that being the year of my medical graduation and with the 30th anniversary around the corner).There was this Taitinger Artist Series 1985 on offer at what seemed a reasonable price and so I bought one. I got a surprise when the above arrived, especially after I opened the box and took out the blue bottle.

Googling the Web yielded more information. The series was started in 1983 and the Taittinger Website shows a dozen bottles, with the date of the art bottle, which is however different from the vintage inside it. The above bottle was done in 1990 by Roy Lichtenstein, but the wine was from the 1985 vintage as already mentioned.

A mind-boggling red blend

Now Cabernet Sauvignon can blend with a large variety of grapes, but most are not shy wallflowers like Pinot Noir, so when I came across a wine with exactly that blend at the Winter Food Festival last weekend, and in equal proportions, I was intrigued as I would have thought the Cabernet would overpower the Pinot and the latter's delicacy would be drowned out. In  a way I was right. That 2010 Rosso del Camul was a deep ruby, with a berry fruity nose tending towards the more dominant black fruit types. The palate was sweet and fruity with a touch of wood, well supported by an acid backbone. No one would have guessed the 50% Pinot Nero from the colour, nose or palate.

Verdeca

I tried this white the other day; a Verdeca del Salento IGT 2013 from Rosa del Golfo. Although it sounds like a varietal, it is actually only 90% Verdeca, with 10% Chardonnay. Although Verdeca can ba a synonym of Verdicchio, this grape is not related to those other grapes. This Verdeca is an indigenous Italian white wine grape mainly grown in the Emilia-Romagna (Colli Piacentini) and Apulia where the grape is thought to originate. Varietal Verdeca can be minerally (even flinty) tending to high acidity and vegetal notes especially when under-ripe. The wine itself was a lemon yellow, with a slightly crisp almond nose. The palate was soft and fruity with a soft acid backbone in support.

W... Dreams ... ......

To continue from yesterday's blog, we explore about the wine itself, W... Dreams ....... The wine is only 97% Chardonnay, with a sprinkle of some local Italian grapes to spice up the wine a bit. Jermann does make a pure varietal Chardonnay (which sees no oak), but this oak matured wine (11 months in 300L French oak barrels) seems to be better as well as the better known one. AS for the wine I tried (vintage was in Italian and unfortunately off the photo due to curvature), it was a nice golden yellow, with a grapefruit nose sporting meaty notes. The palate was crisp with grapefruit notes, well supported by a lemony acid backbone.

The naming of that Jermann Chardonnay

It must have been the time when I looked up Vintage Tunina in my Hugh Johnson Pocket wine book that I first became aware of this eccentrically named wine. As I wrote in the blog about the estate, I met the wine in person a few weeks ago. Dedicated to the U2 album "The Joshua Tree" (1987) and with the name of the wine taking inspiration from a song in it - Where the Streets have no name, the wine (first made in 1987) was initially called "Where the Dreams have no end" for the first nine years. From 1996, the name became" Were Dreams, now is just wine!" for seven years. After this the wine became W... Dreams .... .... (see tomorrow's blog). For further details about the label and capsule, you might like to go to Jermann's website to learn more.

Morellino di Scansano

This is an appellation which I read about (probably from one of the Johnson Pocket Wine Books) some time before, but only just got to taste. Made from at least 85% Sangiovese, like the other Tuscan wines as Chianti, Brunello and Vino Nobile etc, this wine obtained DOC in 1978 and got upgraded to DOCG in 2007.

Morellino is the local synonym for Sangiovese, so the name of the wine is directly derived from the main grape and not from any connection with morello cherries (which it may taste like0 or other spurious speculations. This example was ruby with a slightly sweet tannic nose. The palate was soft slightly fruity and a touch tannic, well supported by an acid tannic backbone.

Folle Blanche

I was given a couple of bottles of Gros Plant du Pay Nantais, which is made from this local grape Folle Blanche (Gros Plant is the local synonym in the Nantes region). Folle blanche comes from the Cognac and Armagnac region and has been used for brandy production. It tends to produce tart acidic wines, more suitable for brandy production than as a table wine.

The above example is a biodynamic product from Domaine de l'Ecu, and is my first encounter of  Gros Plant du Pay Nantais. It qwent quite well with the seafood elements (clams, garoupa slices, abalone etc) of a Cantonese hotpot. The wine was a lemon yellow, with a crisp fruity nose. The palate was acidic with slight fruitiness and a hint of wood or plum or prune notes. An acid pruney backbone provided structure.

The seventh grape of Champagne

Although I had stated that there are 6 permitted grapes for making Champagne in the blog entry about the cuvee de 6 cepage from Moutard, I was wrong; there is a seventh grape. The grape is called Fromenteau locally but is in fact none other than Pinot Gris elsewhere in France. Thus the permissible cepage for Champagne contains four variations of Pinot Noir - Pinots Blanc and Gris being colour variants by mutation and Pinot Meunier being a chimeric variant giving a downy underside to its leaves (cf Grenache with colour variants as well as Garnacha Peluda). Chardonnay sort of bridges the pedigree, being a crossing of a Pinot grape with Gouais blanc, which also gives Petit Meslier when crossed with Savignin. That leaves Arbane, for which no pedigree information is easily available.

A 40 year old Banyuls

Apart from the Mas Amiel '69, I had also tasted another old fortified wine from the Languedoc-Rousillon region - a 1974 Banyuls at this year's Wine Fair. Although both Maury and Banyuls are both Grenache based vin doux naturel, the latter has an added appellation of Banyuls Grand Cru, which is matured for a longer time. However, this 1974 wine is of the basic Banyuls appellation and not of the stricter Grand Cru one. As for this wine, it was a ruby red with a sweet spirity fruity nose. The palate was sweet fruity and nutty, and well supported by an acid tannic backbone.

Krasnostop

Although I was unable to attend the full Wine Fair, and though I was also much occupied with the Mexico Conference, I had nevertheless tried doing a tiny bit of homework before the show. One of the results of such homework was that I could add Krasnostop to my collection of eclectic grapes. Looking the name up in VIVC, most entries point to Krasnostop Zolotovskii ( with Krasnostop Anapskii being a mutation). The odd one out is that Krasnostop could also be a Tsimlyanskii Chernyi. However as all three are black and originate in the Russian Federation, I am at a loss to know which of the three it could be. These three grapes have been found to be unique to the Rostov area where they are now grown. If one takes safety in numbers, let me guess that the wine I tasted was made from Krasnostop Zolotovskii.

The above wine was a deep ruby, with a plummy acid nose. The palate was sweet acid with berry notes and a touch of wood (reflecting 18 months in barriques), leading onto a soft plummy acid backbone.

Bellavista Vittorio Moretti 2006

This was the top offering from Bellavista and the climax of the tasting flight at that annoying importer's tasting. Like the others in their range of sparkling wines, this special cuvee (named after the founder) which is only made in the best years uses just Chardonnay (55%) and Pinot Noir (45%). The base wine is fermented in old oak barriques with the secondary fermentation bottles, both stoppered with cork as opposed to closed with crown caps as is done normally. A total of 8 years bottle aging passes prior to release.

This wine was a pale straw in colour with a few streams of very fine bubbles.There were tuna and bamboo shoot notes on the nose with perhaps a touch of wood. The initial acid prickle leads to an acidic palate and then a soft mousse, going onto a lemony acid backbone which gave good support and structure.

Champagne Charles de Cazanove Traditional 1er Cru Brut NV

This was tasted blind against a South African sparkler in and Old vs New World tasting at the end of the anaesthetic conference. As it turned out, this is a champagne from an interesting house. Founded in 1811, it grew in reputation eventually supplying Prince Metternich as well as various presidents of the Third French Republic. Served to King Edward VII as a prelude to signing the Entente Cordiale, the British King was taken by the wines and had it supplied to him under a personal label.

The 1er Cru Brut NV champagne we tasted was a golden yellow with few streams of fine to medium bubbles. The nose was crisp with a hint of fruit. The palate started off with an acid prickle turning into a delicate mousse, showing a delicate acid palate with a touch of bamboo shoot and a smattering of pineapple notes, leading into an acid fruity backbone.

Ch Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 2010

I had blogged about this estate before, but more about the spa and the cosmetics made from the waste from winemaking. My wife introduced me to the estate. as its red wine was one both she and her mother liked. I tried the white later and found it very good as well. I had a taste of both white and red wines at their table in that unsatisfactory importer's tasting at the end of November.

After tasting the white second wine, I moved to white Grand Vin which (unlike the 100% Sauvignon Blanc of the second wine) had a splash of both Sauvignon Gris and Semillon (both at 5%). The wine was a pale lemon yellow, with a crisp acid and fruity nose.The palate was crisp fruity acid and woody, well supported by an acid woody backbone.

Jermann di Silvio Jermann

This is an Italian winery I first met over 10 years ago, with their Vintage Tunina white wine at a "Tre Bicchieri" dinner organized by a wine importer at a hotel restaurant. This family owned winery traces its history back to 1881 when the founder left Burgenland in Austria, to settle in Friuli Venezia Giulia via Slovenia. I met its iconic and eccentrically named Chardonnay (blend) at the annoying importer's tasting the other week and so I decided to blog on this estate.

Leaving this Chardonnay to another entry, I recall looking up the Vintage Tunina after having tasted it. This is a field blend involving Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana and Picolit. When I first met this wine, I had no started collecting grapes yet. Now Vintage Tunina would be a good introduction to some interesting indigenous Italian grapes.

La Boheme Wines

With my wife and daughter busy with the final rehearsals leading to the opening night of Turandot at the end of the week, opera is very much on my mind. What I did not expect was to find 3 bottles of a set of four wines on the shelves of one of the supermarket chains, sporting the label La Boheme (both operas were by Giacomo Puccini). The wines turned out to be from the De Bortoli stables and the name celebrated the fact fact that the famous Australian diva Dame Nellie Melba came from the Yarra Valley, where these wines originate. One of her famous roles was as Mimi in La Boheme.

As you can see, Act One is a Riesling, Act Three a Pinot Gris and Act Four a Syrah Gamay. What is missing  here is Act Two, a dry Pinot Rose according to the website. The opera itself contains a tavern scene where the main protagonists eat, drink and order different types of wines, though they do not really correspond to the ones in this range.

Another range of wines from different soils

I had earlier blogged about a range of Muscadet exploring different soils, which I saw in the neighbourhood wine shop specializing in organic wines. I just found that the same shop now carries another series of wines, this time from the Languedoc region, doing exactly the same across a total of 11 subsoil types.

They have four wines from that series available (here in Hong Kong, since they are an outlet for an importer),  namely Basalte, Marnes, Poudingue and Schiste. Unlike the Muscadets in the earlier blog, the cepage varies and so do the appellations. As you can also see in the picture above, the wines available also vary in their vintage too!! Well, let me see if they have a set of a single vintage, then we can really do a "soil tasting" with the Muscadets together.

A deceptive Barolo

I tasted this Le Cecche Barolo 2010 at the organic neighbourhood wine shop the other day. I am not sure if this wine is organic or not (probably not) but the deceptive bit is nothing to do with this, it is to do with the light colour of this traditional style Barolo. If no one had told me that this is a Barolo, I would have said from the colour that it is a Pinot Noir. It was difficult to catch the colour on camera, so I had to tinker with exposure to get it to match what I saw in the glass.With a sweet berry nose, for which the WSET terminology use the term strawberry, I can see many being surprised when the encounter the heavy presence of tannins in the mouth.

Erbach Marcobrunn

Apart from wines from Niersteiner Pettenthal, I was also able to taste wine from another great German vineyard, Erbacher Marcobrunn, at this year's Wine Fair. I think I read of this vineyard in a Chinese book, claiming to survey the top100 wines in the world. The Marcobrunn of the name literally means the spring at the border, the border being that between the towns of Erbach and Hattenheim, also named thus (or near so) from around 1200. in 1810 thepeople of Erbach built a frame over the well and named it Erbacher Marcobrunn, much to the annoyance of Hattenheim townsfolk. In the 18th century, the Barons Langwerth von Simmern helped established the reputation of this vineyard all over the world, with the Tsars of Russia, Presidents Jefferson and Eisenhower being amongst the lovers of this wine. Unfortunately, the presenters of this wine at the Wine Fair is not Langwerth von Simmern, but an equally fmaous estate with a long history Schloo Schonborn.

Mas Amiel '69

This wine was on show at this year's Wine Fair. I had known of Mas Amiel many years earlier and I am sure I had tasted some of its modern style Maury, but I cannot recall having tried the traditional rancio style fortified wines from their stables. These latter are the wines which are aged in glass demijohns in the open for a year of the sun, the moon, the heat and the cold of the Cotes de Rousillon countryside, before prolonged aging in old vats in their cellars. This results in the traditional oxidative style of fortified sweet wines, which are characteristic of a few traditional fortified wines. As for this 45 year old Maury, it was a light garnet with a slightly nutty sweet acid nose with a hint of smoke. The palate was sweet acid a touch nutty and a touch pruney, well supported by an acid backbone.

Noval LBV and Vintage 2007

There was a booth which must be from AXA Millisme (from the wines showed) in that frustrating tasting. They had both the LBV as well as the conventional vintage port from the same year (2007) on show. Now this presents an interesting opportunity to taste an LBV against its own vintage of the same year (and estate). Just because both wines are from the same vintage and estate does not mean that the blend is the same for the two. Indeed, since the end charactersitics of the two wines are different, one would expect notable difference is both the grape as well as the sites for the fruit going into the different wines.

Although the vintage port had been decanted and aired for 2 hours prior to tasting, a spirity nose was still unavoidable. It was thus a touch surprising that the LBV just as hot and spirity on the nose, even with the extra barrel aging. The acid was less apparent on the palate with the LBV compared to the vintage, but the backbones were both spirity, sweet and acidic.

German Chasselas (or Gutedel)

I mentioned that I was attracted to the Britzingen booth by its wines made from Chasselas (or Gutedel in German) in the blog entry on Cabernet Mitos at the beginning of the week. I had only tried Swiss versions and I was interested in trying other versions, though some might say that the Swiss examples are all one needs to try.

There were a couple of wines on show, a dry one as well as an Eiswein. The dry was dry, crisp and slightly fruity with a good acid backbone. The Eiswein was a nice lemon yellow but the nose was a touch closed when I tried it, with only a hint of fruit and acid. The palate was sweet a touch fruity with a fair dose of acid, but the balance was a bit off kilter leading to a feeling of cloying sweetness. There was enough acidity in the backbone to keep the sweetness in check.

Bellavista from Franciacortia

The Bellavista winery was one of the tables that I spent a bit of time at, in the frustrating importer's tasting the other weekend. I have been trying Ca' del Bosco's wines for some time, including a still wine of theirs, but that is about all I know of the wines of Franciacortia and Curtefranca. Bellavista is another famous winery from the same area and they have one still Chardonnay and 5 sparklers on show, including their premium cuvee (named after the founder) the Vittorio Moretti 2006. Apart from the Brut NV, all the wines on show were vintage offerings, and included a rose as well as a zero dosage cuvee. The still Cahrdonnay was not bad either!

A Cabernet Mitos sweet wine

We went by the Britzinger booth in the German Pavilion at the Wine Fair last month and tried this Rotwein Beerenauslese 2013. I was attracted to this booth because they were presenting some wines made from Gutedel (ie Chasselas) of which I had only tried Swiss examples. (That is for another blog entry.)

This red wine was a deep ruby with a plummy sweet acid nose. The palate was sweet acid slightly plummy with hints of wood, well supported by an acid plummy backbone. The grape turned out to be a German Cabernet, this time Cabernet Mitos, originally believed to be a cross between Blaufrankisch and Cabernet Sauvignon bred in Weinsberg in 1970. This turned out not to be the case, as the second parent was found to be Teinturier du Cher rather than Cabernet Sauvignon after DNA analysis. Released for general cultivation in 2001, this grape showed good winter hardiness, making full bodied wines, with good levels of tannins and similar aromas to Cabernet Sauvignon. Since the Germans seem to want to make Bordeaux look-alike red wines, I would not be too surprised to hear more of this grape in the future.