Fortified Cabernet for the Tsar

This is Livadia Red Port, a fortified Cabernet Sauvignon made for the Imperial Russian Court since 1891. First made in the Imperial Estate at Livadia, the wine is made from Cabernet Sauvignon grown at Livadia (one of the Tsar's Crimean palaces as well as wineries), Massandra and Ai-Danil. The grapes are harvested at no less than 22% sugar. After fermentation is stopped by fortification, the wine is then matured in casks for 3 years. The wine tasted at this year's Wine Fair was the 2008 vintage. Ruby red with a sweet spirity fruity nose, the wine was sweet and fruity on the palate with acid slightly tannic but still sweet backbone to support it to the finish.

Pino de Bali

This is a mistelle from Bali; made in the mould of Pineau de Charentes (hence the name), but with local spirits (origin not specified) muting Alphonse Lavalle grape juice. The mixture then undergoes maturation in a Solera of French, American and Hungarian oak barrels, a departure from the usual way of making Pineau de Charentes. They have two versions, a white and a red version; this is the red one. I suppose some form of skin maceration is done for colour extraction. As for the wine, it was tea coloured with pink tints, with a porty vine fruit nose. The raisiny profile carried through the sweet palate to a sweet acid finish, with some nutty notes in the tail. Actually not bad at all.

Humagne Rouge

This is a bottle of Humagne Rouge from Valais. As we have noted before, the Prime Name of the grape is Cornalin d'Aosta, which has the potential to cause confusion with the Cornalin which is Rouge de Pays. I had a wine made from this grape some years ago, at a Swiss wine tasting jointly organized by the KCC Wine Society and the Hong Kong Wine Society. I had the above example at the doctors' association dinner that I organized a couple of months ago, which featured Rhone wines (including Swiss Rhone ones). Purple ruby and with a sweet jammy fruity nose, the palate was similarly sweet but a little less jammy and fruity, giving an unfortunate impression of dilution. An acid backbone provided support and structure.

1996

To finish this little miniseries, we will look at 1996, which was a very good year for Champagne, clarets, red and white Burgundies, Loire (especially botrytised sweet wines) and Alsace. It was an outsatnding vintage for Sauternes, giving the richest and most complex wines since 1990. Rhone had a good vintage, but the wines were variable, especially in the Southern Rhone. Outside of France, there was a very good vintage in Italy and Spain as well as Australia and New Zealand. The growing season was a touch too dry for Germany, although some elegant ageworthy wine still managed to be produced, including some superb Eiswein. It was good for California too, but 1996 tended to be overlooked being sandwiched between the superb 1995 and 1997 vintages. The wines for Chile, Argentina and South Africa are also quite good for 1996.

A supermarket surprise

This is a bottle of Rose d'Anjou from one of the big 2 supermarkets. I have seen it before and not given it a thought. It was when I found out that Rose d'Anjou is the main appellation in which you find the Grolleau grape that I began to take notice. I know I had had Cabernet d'Anjou before and as its name implied, that Loire rose was made from Cabernet (Sauvignon or Franc). I wasn't sure which rose (Cabernet or Grolleau) they had in the supermarket, but was delighted to find this on the shelves. Who says the big supermarkets (and I don't count Marks & Spencer amongst them) are unadventurous? The Amorghiano red from Rhodes was from another one. In the supermarket above, I also found a Gros Manseng Sauvignon Blanc blend too!

Chateau Lynch-Bages

Chateau Lynch Bages is a chateau whose grand vin was as fifth growth in the 1855 Classification. That ranking belies its popularity and its recent performance which would have many consider it a super second were the clarets reclassified again. The estate was founded in 1749 when Thomas Lynch (an Irish immigrant) inherit an estate in the village of Bages through his wife. The estate then passed through the Jurine family and then the Cayrou family before being purchase by the Cazes family just before the Second World War. Apart from the grand vin and the second wine (now renamed Echo de Lynch Bages) the estate has been making a white wine since 1990. What is unusual is that the vineyards growing white varietals contain 20% Muscadelle, and the asssemblage for the last 3 years contain 12%, 18% and a whopping 22% Muscadelle respectively.

Xynisteri

This is a bottle of Cypriot white wine made from Xynisteri grapes. Xynisteri is indigenous to Cyprus, where some 13% of the vineyards, especially some 500 hectares on the south slope of the Trodos mountain range, are planted with it. Various delicate and fruity whites are made from this native aromatic variety but its fame lies with the famous dessert wine Commandaria, which is made from sun-dried Xynisteri and Mavro (indigenous red grape).

What of this wine? Golden straw with green hints, the wine was initially sweet and fruity on the nose, subsequently becoming crisp lemony and acid. The palate was neutral dry and lemony, turning a minerally acid towards the finish, all the while retaining a citrussy lemony note.