love it or loath it, riesling is a special grape indeed.  producing wines of all degrees of sweetness, riesling is grown all over the world and finds it's home in germany's mosel region where it can produce some of the finest, most complex, longest lived white wines.  in fact, german rieslings were once commanding higher prices than today's most expensive bordeaux and its wines are sought after by wine lovers from all over the world.

the grape can produce wines of refreshingly high acidity with a lightness of body that is rarely matched by any other whites.  it is highly aromatic, delicate, racy, and expressive.  it can make a totally different wine depending on where it is from and sweet wines can be extremely complex with layers after layers of mind boggling flavours, refreshing acidity, and fantastic length.

from germany, wines are produced as per various levels of ripeness.  kabinett wines will be dry, crisp and light.  spätlese, one level more ripe will be off-dry and medium dry.  at their best, they will be complex, fuller, rounder with a long lingering after-taste.  up one level, auslese wines will be made from very ripe grapes in a sweeter style.

from alsace, the wines are bigger and more alcoholic with riper fruits, flavours and touch of spices.  there are various levels of sweetness and the best are from grands crus vineyards.  from austria's wachau and kremstal's regions, the best in the country for fine riesling, the wines will have similar classifications as in germany with generally higher alcohol content.

from australia, they will be fuller bodied, with limey, tangy, and tropical fruit character.  the best come clare valley and eden valley. from new zealand, especially from the cool central otago region, the softness and extreme purity of fruit will show more elegant and complex wines with peachy and kerosene characters on the nose and palate.

typically, you will find a crisp and refreshing acidity together with powerful aromas, reflecting minerals, lemon, lime, grapefruit, muscat, apples and pears.  white flowers, roses and peach.  as it evolves, wonderful spices, honey, and some say kerosene or petrol notes will be detected.

today, we tasted 4 wines from various regions of the world (our notes are available in pdf format by clicking on each link):

darting estate dürkheimer michelsberg riesling kabinett 2006 - michelsberg

an acceptable mid-level wine in balance, some varietal characteristics, but lack complexity, a little short.  more complexity on nose than palate.  simple.

sommelier at the mandarin oriental in hong kong, pierre has tutored for us another excellent tasting last week in the super exclusive krug room hidden deep into the kitchens of the hotel.

the theme this time: "hidden gems of the old and new world". an excellent selection of well chosen wines that were as surprising as to where they came from as to how they tasted. of course, all are available at various restaurants and bars of the hotel.

first off, we had a super refreshing assyrtiko paris sigalas 2006 from surprising santorini. made from organically grown assyrtiko grapes: pale straw, delightful peach, pear, and minerals. slightly salty and super pleasant on the palate: light, succulent, and refreshing. would have been so perfect with shellfish, watching the sun set on my beloved mediteranean sea....

then, we had château bela riesling - egon muller 2004. from slovakia, a perfect representation of a riesling: medium intensity lime flesh color, floral, citrusy minerality. apple & grapefruit. slightly spicy. lovely acidity, smooth mouth feel, long length. lovely with lobster...

next on the list and to my absolute delight, maria's all time favourite: donna fugata's vigna di gabri contessa entellina 2006. i was delighted to hear that pierre carries it by the glass at "pierre", the upstairs restaurant by pierre gagnaire. produced in sicily, the wine is an excellent expression of ansonica grapes (also known as inzolia), typical of sicily. a lovely pale lemon flesh color, fresh, medium + intensity of apples, white flowers, mineral and hints of salt. a special taste, surprising on the palate. nice long finish. would be beautiful with a branzino gently steamed and served with lemon and a branch of thym...

next was alentejo esporao reserva 2005. from portugal, it is made with antao vaz, roupeiro, and arinto grapes. lovely. medium strae color. Intense aromas of vanilla, smoke, citrusy cream, with hints of honey. refreshing, lovely finish. reminiscent of a well made california chardonnay. to match, i can think of that nice roast chicken they serve at cococabana, you know the one with a lovely lemony paella and lots of thyme and lemon...

for the first red, we had carmenero ca del bosco 2001. a carmenere from lombardy in the north of italy. from a top quality producer, ca' del bosco, famous for his franciacorta sparkling wine. medium ruby, intense red fruits, plums with mint, vanilla, and spices. refreshing with a medium length on the finish.

next was a cabernet sauvignon superior barkan winery 2003. surprising red from israel. typical of a cabernet sauvignon. intense aromas & flavours. powerful ripe tannins. concentrated with a medium long finish. drink at a nice bbq and share with friends.

from spain this time, bierzo corullon descendes de j. Palacios 2005. from a region more famous for white wines vinho verde. made from mencia grapes, it had a rich ruby color with intense aromas of dark berry fruits, spicy, animal. long length. have it with roasted lamb for great pairing.

the last red was cotes de provence cuvee columelle domaine richeaume 2003. made with syrah & merlot it was dark ruby color leaving a thick brown coating on the bowl of the glass. concentrated, intense and powerful. spicy, minty, round black berry fruits, dark cherries, liquorice, pepper, plums. a lot went on at each sniff and sip. long complex length. beautiful, requests a steak, a roast. my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

to finish the tasting, pierre served us a beautiful ben rye 2004 from donna fugata. intense, complex. like drinking liquid marmalade, orange peal, apricot, spices: cinnamon, cloves, honey, grapefruits. fantastic. in fact i liked it so much that i am offering this wine to my guests at my 40th birthday dinner this week-end. don't worry franco, we will have a bottle to share together the next time you come.

a great tasting. excellent wine selection. i am impressed with pierre's wine picks. always excellent representations. wines with personality and character yes, but also with finesse and elegance in the sense that they are confident in what they are simply by being what they are, not by being show off about it. difficult to explain, i am sure you came across that type of people before and automatically wanted to be friends with them. just like these wines...

Published by jc on March 7, 2008

• There are and 0 trackbacks. Permalink
• • 
  Filed in: Italy, france, other europe, other world, tasting notes

ever since catavino invited me via facebook to participate to wine blog wednesday #38, i have looked for portugese wines in hong kong without much success. so it was with anticipation that i brought back a bottle from a trip to macau and we had it for dinner on last saturday:

on the nose, pleasant aromas of dark forest fruits, slightly jammy and spicy.  on the palate, concentrated, full bodied, flavours as nose with long finish.

Published by jc on December 9, 2007

• There are and 0 trackbacks. Permalink
• • 
  Filed in: other europe, tasting notes

our notes follow the guidelines of WSET systematic approach to tasting:

appearance:

clear bright of medium intensity garnet color with a tawny rim and several luscious legs

nose:

clean of medium (+) intensity, although fully developped with aroma characteristics of a well developped rioja: plums, raisins, tobacco, leather, cloves, we can still perceive hints of berry fruits

palate:

dry with low acidity and medium (-) tannin, medium (+) alcohol level and a medium body, medium flavour intensity of a developped rioja: raisins, hints of plums & tobacco.  nice hints of dark berries on the finish.

slightly off balance with alcohol a little higher than the flavours, with a medium (-) lenght.

conclusion:

good, however, the palate does not fulfill the promise of the nose but the flavours although not as intense as the bouquet still offer a nice complexity and succulent after-taste. 

hints of tannins and fruits makes us beleive the wine can age for some time.

please let us know your comments on our notes.  do you agree?  do you have advice on our style?

Published by jc on August 12, 2007

• There are and 0 trackbacks. Permalink
• • 
  Filed in: other europe, tasting notes