Barolo Chinato

This is Barolo Chinato, a digestif made by adding to Barolo wine an alcoholic infusion of quinine bark and herbs and then sweetened with sugar. Invented by a pharmacist, Guiseppe Capellano at the latter half of the 19th century, it is a costly drink to produce because of the need to use Barolo DOCG as the base wine. (Imagine trying to produce a vermouth starting with Gevrey-Chambertin AC as a base!) As a result of this, Barolo Chinato nearly disappeared in the middle of the last century but a resurgence in the popularity of going back to agricultural roots as well as a revolt against mass market products led to a revival of this aromatized wine. Apart from being a digestif and as an accompaniment to chocolate desserts, it can also be served mixed with hot water as a toddy, when the medicinal origins of the wine becomes more apparent.

Cerasuolo di Vittoria

This is a bottle of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the only DOCG wine from Sicily made from Frappato and Nero d'Avola grapes. Before its elevation to DOCG status, it was for many years the only DOC wine in Sicily too. Given the paucity of DOC names, it is small wonder that many Sicilian wines we now encounter are IGTs rather than DOC. Back to Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the reputation of wines from this locality go back to Roman times, and in the 17th century, the wines of Vittoria were also highly esteemed. In its DOC days, it used to be a 60/40 mix of Nero d'Avola and Frappato, but the proportion of Frappato can now vary between 30% and 50%. Apart from oak aging, some producers have been known to age the wine in amphorae too! (see also blog on Georgian white fermented in clay vessels)

What of this wine? A deep ruby with a sweet berry nose hinting of jam, it was sweet with berry notes on the palate. There was a good dose of acidity, supported by a sprinkling of tannins to carry all this to a nice finish.

A German Red made from Pinot Meunier

Two names of this grape referred to the downy white undersides of its leaves, as though it was dusted with flour - both Meunier (French) and Mullerebe (German) refer to the floury hands of the miller (cf a sole filet coated in flour and pan fried is Sole Meuniere). Another synonym calls its the Black Riesling - Schwarzriesling as on the label of the above wine. Most people would be familiar with it being the third grape of Champagne with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but fewer have drunk a red (or even rose) wine made from this grape. I met this German red wine made from Meunier in last year's wine fair. Ruby with a slightly jammy berry nose, it was sweet and fruity on the palate with enough tannin and acid to hold it together till the finish and prevent it from being a sweet fruit alcohol bomb.

The Dead Arm Shiraz

The flagship of the d'Arenberg estate, Dead Arm takes its name from a fungal disease caused by Eutypta lata, which can affect vineyards randomly all over the world. The vines are opften infected down one side, reducing that side to withered brittle dead wood, whilst grapes are still produced on the other side, albeit with a reduced yield. This yield reduction gives the same outcome as pruning and green harvesting combined, with the harvest being fewer bunches of more concentrated grapes.

The Dead Arm is made from grapes harvested by the old affected vines, fermented in open fermented before foot-treading when fermentation is around two-thirds completed. The wine is then transferred to a mix of old and new French and American oak barrels to complete fermentation. The wine is kept on lees for its 22 moth barrel aging to maintain freshness and moderate oakiness. The wine is bottled after blending without fining or filtration.

Sciacchetra

Sciacchetra is a passito wine from the Cinque Terre DOC which encompasses five villages on the rugged Ligurian coast in northern Italy. The wines which are white and tend to be dry is made from at least 40% Bosco grape with up to 40% of Albarola and Vermentino (and up to 20% other white wine grapes). Sciacchetra is made from the same cepage, and this example above has only the three grapes already mentioned. This wine was tasted in the 2011 wine fair. Golden yellow in colour with a sweet luscious nose, it was sweet and fruity on the palate with a touch of lusciousness and acid aplenty to give structure to the wine right through to a good finish.

Chateau Talbot

Chateau Talbot is a 4th growth St Julien winery with a popular following. Named after John Talbot (the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury also appointed Constable of France during the time when the English monarch was also King of France) who had owned the Chateau for some years, it passed on to the family of the Marquis d'Aux before being bought by Desiree Cordier in 1917. The chateau still remain in the ownership of the Cordier family. Typically for a St Julien property, the bulk of the vines grown is Cabernet Sauvignon (66%), with 26% Merlot and a soupcon of Petit Verdot to add complexity.

Apart from the grand vin and the second wine (Connetable de Talbot), the chateau also produce a dry white - Caillou Blanc, which is one of the oldest Bordeaux blanc. According to the website, there is a special bottling (a twin brother to the second wine) destined for the PRC market of the vintages 2005-2008.

St Laurent from Stift Kloster Neuberg

This is a wine from the Klosterneuberg Monastery, situated in the Lower Austria town which takes its name from the monastery, just north of Vienna. Founded in 1114 by St Leopold III (patron saint of Austria, who is also buried there), the monastery also has been growing wine for centuries and owns one of the largest wine estates in Austria. The vineyards are in Klosterneuberg, Vienna, Gompoldskirchen and Tattendorf. This latter is a red wine village and plantings include varieties associated with this part of the world such as St Laurent, Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt as well as international varieties as Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.

St Laurent is the monastery's flagship variety, being a grape related to Pinot Noir and having been brought over to Austria by the monastery in the 19th century. Although the grape is the most widely planted variety in the Czech Republic, the 40 hectare Stiftsbreite vineyard, where grapes for the above wine was planted, remains the largest St Laurent vineyard in the world. I tasted this wine in last year's wine fair: deep ruby with a slightly fruity woody nose, the wine was off-dry with fruit, acid and oak on the palate and a good dose of acid to keep structured till the finish.

A varietal Chateauneuf

The appellation of Chateuaneuf-du-Pape is famous for allowing 13 varieties of grapes (including both red and white) into its wines. In fact, in the latest (2009) edition of the AOC rules, the different coloured versions of the various grapes are listed as separate varieties, making the grape count a grand total of eighteen. Before 2009, there was only Grenache Noir and Blanc, but the latest version included a separate listing of the pink Grenache Gris. However as there is no differentiation of the grapes into principal and accessory varieties, not a stipulation about minimum or maximum allowable proportions, it is in fact possible to have varietal Chateauneuf wines.

The red wines of Chateauneuf are dominated by Grenache (noir) and some estates (like Domaine de Marcoux above) produce a monovarietal Grenache wine. This wine was bought for a tasting I organized for the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists' Annual Scientific Meeting, when I explored the different regions of France with a the dominant variety associated with that region.

BTW, if you are looking for a Chateauneuf wine that includes all the 13 varieties, Chateau Beaucastel is the wine for you.

Casa Marin Sauvignon Blanc

Casa Marin is a Chilean family-owned winery well known for its white wines, and its Sauvignon Blancs have been winning many prizes through the years. Founded only in 2000, its 2004 Laurel Vineyard Sauvginon Blanc took the Decanter Regional Trophy and went on to score 90 points and over in 4 subsequent vintages with Robert Parker and Wine Spectator. The Cipreses Vineyard version also scored 90+ with RP and WS with 3 vintages and this particular wine in the picture above was crowned Best Sauvignon Blanc of the World at both the Decanter International Trophy as well as the first ever Concours Mondial du Sauvignon in Bordeaux in 2010. So much for awards, how did it taste? Golden yellow with a grassy asparagus nose hinting of passion fruit, it had a crisp slightly sweet fruity palate, with plenty of acidity to give structure to the wine. It was nice with the prawn salad.

Chateau Pape Clement

Classified as Grand Cru Classe for both red and white wines in 1959, Chateau Pape Clement is the oldest wine estate in Bordeuax, having been planted in 1300. It was presented to Bertrand de Goth upon his appointment as Archbishop of Bordeaux and the estate was renamed Chateau Pape Clement when its owner became Pope Clement V, and he gave the vineyard to the next Archbishop of Bordeaux, in whose hands the estate remained until the French Revolution. The estate produces mainly red wines, with a few hundred cases of white. I don't think I have tried any of their whites, though I have tasted a number of their reds including the one above. The oldest vintage I have tasted (in 2003) was from 1966, which was a nice garnet colour, with a fruity nose with hints of leaf as well as alcohol on the nose. The palate was soft and plummy, with a sour plum acidity, which persists to the finished accompanied by a touch of tannins. (Just as I could not lay my hands on that 1966 label, I could not retrieve the notes for the above wine!)

BTW, Pope Clement V was the one who moved the Papacy to Avignon and it was his successor who promoted the wines of the region - which became the wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

A Sicilian Dessert Wine made from exotic grapes

This is Passopisciaro Bianco Dolce, an eclectic sweet wine from Sicily. It is made from Minnella, Grecanico, Catarratto, Coda di Volpe, Insolia and Caricante, which were picked and hung up to dry for some 5 months from cellar beams. With grapes normally associated with a number of different regions and with such a disregard for rules, this wine is unsurprisingly a Vino da Tavola (in the spirit of such eminent forebears as Sassicaia once was). This wine has a lovely golden tea colour, with a rich dried apricot nose with a bitter note. The dried apricot notes followed through the sweet palate (again with a slight touch of bitterness) to a sweet acid finish. Yummy!