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.