Chinese wine tasting

Tasting of Chinese wines at Christie's.

2017 Tiansai Skyline of Gobi Sparkling Wine - this was decent, with a little flint and some fruit on the nose.

DEVO MV03 Brut Nature - this was more lively, with bigger flinty nose, and good acidity on the palate.

2023 Longting Spring Rosé - big nose with lots of flint. Very sweet with stone fruit notes.

2022 Zaxee Syrah Reserve - kinda funky, reductive, a bit stinky, mineral, and minty. Once it opned up more it got better.

2012 Franco Chinois Reserve Marselan - this was really good, with a fragrant and open nose.

2022 Amber Memorable Jin Prestige Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon - this was more Bordeaux-like, showing a decent nose with smoky and earthy notes. Also very decent on the palate, soft but not too boring. Almost a bit of a floral finish.

2019 Renyiyuan Tao Cabernet Sauvignon - this was also kinda Bordeaux-like, smoky, minty, with good fruit. Nice on the palate with good concentration.

2021 Xige Estate Jade Dove Cabernet Gernischt - the nose was more smoky, but also came with more woodsy fragrance.

2021 Helan Mountain Special Reserve Chardonnay - a bit oaky on the nose with flint and tropical stone fruit. Ripe on the nose as well as bring very ripe on the palate, this was definitely on the sweet side.

2022 Chateau Hesoute White Muscat - so flinty and also very obviously lychee, and this reminds me of Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.

Gohgan 7 wines

Dinner at Gaggan in Bangkok, for the 7th edition of Gohgan.

Charles Ellner Grande Réserve Brut, en methuselah - yeasty with good acidity.

Senkin Snowman unfiltered sake (千禽 雪だるま しぼりたて活性にごり酒), 2017 - with seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 50%.  Sweet with fermented rice flavors, but dry and spicy mid-palate.

2014 Sebastien Riffault Sancerre Les Quarterons - really ripe and sweet, with crisp acidity that was just right.  Lovely floral notes. 

2014 Christian Binner Muscat - very aromatic and floral.

2015 Frank Cornelissen Contadino - a little pungent on the nose.  Stemmy and slightly bitter, with lots of ripe fruit.

2011 François de Nicolay Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Fontenys - slightly pungent, a little stemmy and bitter, with good amount of sweet fruit.  Slightly chewy tannins.

Marguet Shaman 14 Rosé - ripe with lots of strawberries.

Full post on dinner is here.

Two Hands tasting

Tasting at Wine Vault featuring wines from Two Hands.

2010 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden - ripe and sweet, jammy, definitely an Aussie Shiraz, alcoholic, slightly pungent nose.  Surprisingly a little acidic on the palate.

2012 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden - even bigger and more powerful than the 2010.  Huge levels of extraction here, sweet nose almost like cotton candy, with a little green and forest underneath.  Also a little pungent with plastic and sulfur notes.

2012 Two Hands Shiraz Bella's Garden - really sweet and jammy, with some of that pungent sulfur in the nose.  More tannic.

2012 Two Hands Shiraz Secret Block - the nose tells me this seems to be made with cooler fruit... and there's also more acidity here on the palate.  Nose has more strawberries, a hint of animal, also cotton candy, with more complexity and balance.  Lighter on the palate, too.  Probably my favorite wine.

2008 Two Hands Grenache Aerope - nose of plastic, polyurethane on top of the fruit, with a slight hint of leather.  Lighter body.

2010 Two Hands Cabernet Sauvignon Aphrodite - sweet and jammy, more concentrated here, with a hint of pine needle and mint.  More tannins here.  Alcoholic and somewhat pungent.

2010 Two Hands Shiraz Ares - really ripe, alcoholic and sharp on the nose... The wine burns going down the back of the throat.

2007 Two Hands Shiraz Ares - rounder than the 2010, also sweet, slightly lighter body.  More open nose with bacon fat, but still sharp and alcoholic.

Two Hands Muscat Fait Accompli - really sharp alcohol here, to the point that it singes the hairs inside my nostrils... Nutty, honey, and molasses nose.  Very thick and viscous, and very sweet.  Lovely, nutty palate.

Alinea wine pairing

Dinner at Alinea.

R.H. Coutier Brut - nice bubbles and mousse, very ripe, nice and full-bodied, woody and oaky.

2011 Georg Breuer Terra Montosa Riesling - very heavy petrol in the nose, smoky, white flowers, steely and flinty, with plasticky notes which were rounder and richer than most other German Rieslings.  This was actually slightly sweet and ripe on the palate, not bone dry as Andrew the sommelier described.

2010 Domaine de l'Octavin Pamina - this Chardonnay from Arbois matched the rice crispies really well, with its very heavy toasty corn nose that was raw, pungent, and just a little overpowering.  From the looks of it this was probably not filtered nor fined.

2011 Domaine du Viking Vouvray Tendre - aged in chestnut casks.  Definitely fragrant nose with an off-dry palate.

Sato no Homare Junmai Ginjoshu "Pride of the Village" (郷の誉 純米吟醸酒) - an unfiltered sake from one of my favorite breweries, with a seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 48%.  This was pretty sweet, rich in body, with fermented rice, pineapple and banana notes.

2013 A Tribute to Grace Rose of Grenache - My Beloved Cousin would call this lolly water, and I'd have to agree with her.  Besides the obvious sweetness, my first thought was "bubblegum"... and Mo' Unni also thought it was just so Bubblicious... Also a little banana, and slightly ripe on the palate.

2012 Jamsheed Beechworth Shiraz - I was eager to try out this wine, which Andrew the sommelier had described as an "Australian Syrah" instead of a Shiraz.  Well, he was right.  While it had plenty of ripeness, it was cool fruit instead of the usual fruit bomb, along with lots of potpourri, pine needles and mint.  We both agreed that it reminded us of a Northern Rhône like Saint-Joseph.  Delicious.

2009 Marion Valpolicella Superiore - forest and potpourri notes.

2013 Jorge Ordonez No. 2 Victoria - definitely a lot like Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, although the lychee was a little dialed down.  Sweetness was there, but slightly pungent with perhaps some sulfur.  Still young and raw.

2009 Maculan Torcolato - nutty with orange blossom, peach and blood orange notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Die-Nasty and more

Dinner at Dynasty.

Hanzo Plum Liquor (半蔵の梅酒) - not bad, actually...

2002 Comte Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre - Anjou pear, mineral, a bit flinty, a little sweet on the nose, a hint of straw.  Two hours later the nose was much more open, with a little almond/marzipan even...

2007 Chateau Ste Michelle Muscat Canelli - initially a little menthol?  Lots of tropical mango, a hint of flint and a tiny bit of effervescence.  Very sweet on the palate.

2007 Chapoutier La Croix des Grives - minty, pine needle and leather.  Pretty concentrated and I definitely felt the alcohol.

2009 Chateau Dynasty Merlot Red Label - smoke, pine needle, a bit sweet... not very complex.  Nose was still a little sharp after double-decanting for 3 hours.

Full post on dinner is here.