A Semillon Cremant de Bordeaux

This was the Cremant de Bordeaux that we had the other day at the doctors' association wine dinner. Cremant de Bordeaux sparklers are not very often seen and this particular one is unusual in that it is a varietal Semillon. Information about cepage for Cremant de Bordeaux is not all that clear, so it is not obvious if either varietal Semillon or Sauvignon Blanc wines are permitted. Since we have this example here, it is presumed that the former is indeed allowed. However, all told, varietal Semillon is rarely seen in Bordeaux anyway (although there are varietal Saivignon Blanc dry whites).

As for this wine, it was golden yellow with a few streams of fine bubbles. The wine had a  crisp appley nose with acidity. After the acid prickle on entry, the palate was acid with a bit of   fruit, with a nice acid backbone.

Lesser known appellations of Bordeaux

This was the theme of this year's doctors' association annual wine dinner, which was held a couple of days ago. The sub-theme could well be the opposite bank. Apart from the welcome drink which is a Cremant de Bordeaux (and therefore non geographical) all the other wines are from the opposite bank of what is more "traditional", though truth be said, the Right Bank per se is hardly lesser known, although I deliberately avoided the lesser appellations of the Medoc.

The Right Bank wines include both a white and a red from Cote de Blaye (I'm sticking to the old nomenclature for this piece), a Cote de Castillon, a Canon Fronsac, a Lussac St Emilion and a Lalande de Pomerol. The sweet wine comes from Loupiac which is on the opposite bank from Sauternes and Barsac, but actually physically in an area which would otherwise be known as Entre Deux Mers.

Chateau Grenouilles Chablis Grand Cru

 

One of the seven Grand Crus of Chablis is Les Grenouilles,  so named because apparently because of an abundance of frogs living nearby (grenouilles = frogs in French), as I blogged about Trittenheimer Apotheke. It turns out that this smallest of the Grand Crus of Chablis is close to the River Serein, where a large number of frogs live and which even get into the vines! Much of this Grand Cru is owned by the cooperative La Chablisienne, which makes a quarter of all the wines from Chablis. The wine above is one of the flagship wines of the cooperative.

This 2011 was a golden yellow colour with a crisp minerally lemony nose. The palate was rich fruity with a touch of lemon citrus character, well supported by a backbone with good acid and a touch of astringency. Nice!


BTW, the following web page had all this info and more about Les Grenouilles:
http://vindeling.com/2013/09/19/how-well-do-you-know-chablis-grenouilles-grand-cru/

New line of wines at the Club

I saw these two new wines at the coffee shop at the Club the other day. Now I know that KCC prides itself as a good sporting club here in Hong Kong, and I know it on good authority that the Club's wine and wine service is also well regarded. After all the Hong Kong Wine Society holds a joint Christmas Party with the KCC Wine Society every year for some time now.

Perhaps this is a new marketing gimmick from F&B to increase wine sales. I am not a golfer so I don't know of Ernie Els, but everyone knows Yao Ming irrespective of whether you are a fan of basketball or not. Until that moment I have not known that either had purchased vineyards and produced wines. There again in the first month of this blog, I had written about Gerard Depardieu's wine-making adventures  and also mentioned other celebrities in the entertainment business who had got into wine.

The myriad changes with extended breathing for the Coulee the Serrant

When we tried this wine at the PWC Loire tasting, I decided to open this wine the night before, so that it had a chance to breathe. Of course, I took a small bit to nose and taste, so that I would be able to see if this extended breathing helped bring out the best in this famed wine. At that point, the wine was a golden colour with a honeyed pruney acid nose and a sweet acid fruity palate supported by an acid backbone.

When we tasted the wine on the night(around 22 hours later), the colour had darkened to light tea, with more sherry like notes on the nose. In fact it smelt more like a Tokay with a bit less of the dried apricot acidity that the sweet Hungarian wine. The palate had become drier yet richer than the night before.

When the wine was revisited 3 weeks later,the tea colour seemed to have taken on a hint of pink. The dried apricot Tokay like nose had become richer and perhaps more honeyed (maybe even with a hint of sweetness, just like when it was first opened). The palate had now become very much like a Tokay, but without the sweetness (perhaps like the szamorodni). The acidic backbone was unchanged, giving sterling support for the wine. Interesting evolution over an extended period!

A 45 year old Coteaux du Layon

 

One of the highlights of the Loire tasting the other day was the 1971 Domaine Touchais Coteaux du Layon. After all, it is not everyday that one gets to taste a well aged wine and wines of over 30 years are decidedly special at any time. I had blogged about Domaine Touchais 3 years ago and this wine was mentioned then and it is finally being tasted now.

This wine was a nice old gold in colour tinted with a touch of orange. The nose was rich with a large dose of dried apricot though marred with a touch of alcohol. The palate was sweet acid and fruity with a good smattering of dried apricot acidity providing sterling support. Jolly good for a 45 year old specimen.

Ambonnay

Ambonnay (from which this Champagne comes) is a grand Cru village on the south side of the  Montagne de Reims hill, a favourable location shared with its neighbour Bouzy (also Grand Cru). It is planted with 81% Pinot Noir and 19% Chardonnay, and the village is famous for good Pinot Noir from vineyards of high elevation. With south facing vineyards, Ambonnay can produce red still Coteaux Champenois wines called Ambonnay Rouge.

There are many famous vineyards in this village, the most noted of which must the Clos d'Ambonnay, owned by Krug. Planted with Pinot Noir only, the rare single vineyard champagne is only made in the best years and its first vintage was 1995.