tasting merlot

this week, we tasted merlot. a grape that became super fashionable in the usa after the news program "60 minutes" had a feature on the "french paradox" and how red wine is possibly responsible for the low incidence of heart disease in france even though the french eat a lot of cheeze (and love it!).

the reason merlot is so popular in fact is probably because it gives a wine that is generally plump, soft, plummy, supple, and luscious.  thanks to its large berries and thin skin, it is much more approachable and easier to drink young than it's regular blending partner cabernet sauvignon.  for a wine grower, it's easy to grow, ripens quickly, and it gives a generous crop.

unfortunately, that can be sources of problems.  on its own, it can be very bland especially if it comes from too generous a crop in the vineyards.  picked too quickly and in a cold vintage, it can taste minty and often unpleasantly herbaceaous and green.  if the vintage and climate are too hot, it might easily be too alcoholic and jammy.

merlot finds its home in the st-émilion & pomerol districts of bordeaux from where the wines will generally be rich, gentle, velvety, and spicy. even though many people think that cabernet sauvignon is king in bordeaux, merlot is the most planted red grape and it provides flesh, softeness, and richness to blends.

merlot is also planted all over the world, especially in chile where it was once mixed up with another similar grape called "carmenere".  you can also find excellent examples from california, the north of italy, and from new zealand's hawkes bay region.

young, you can expect red & black fruits, figs, prunes, spices, and liquorice.  sometimes, it will be described as tasting of "christmas cake".  aged and from a good quality raw material, it will develop a deep bouquet with notes of truffles, coffee, and liquorice.

our notes this week (pdf), all tasted blind (based on the wset level 4 systematic approach):

marks & spencer friuli grave merlot 2006 - friuli-venezia-giulia, italy

acceptable entry level wine.  some complexity and an average length.  lacks concentration and depth.  tannin slightly off-balance.  good wine making from average quality raw materials.

cono sur carmenere 2007 - colchagua valley, chile

not a merlot, but often mistaken as merlot.  this was our weekly trick wine to identify which was the odd one out!

acceptable entry level wine.  hints of unripe fruits at first.  low tannins.  some fruit complexity but a short length.  the wine demonstrate that it was picked slightly under ripe possibly from a difficult vintage.

château lapelletrie 2005 st-émilion grand cru - st-émilion, bordeaux

acceptable premium wine – an elegant and refined nose changed into a very disappointing palate with a bitter and unpleasant finish.  although alcohol, tannin, and acidity in balance, the bitterness is empowering the fruit and the elegance perceived on the nose.  depth, finesse, and complexity of the nose shows it was made from excellent raw materials.

casa lapostolle merlot 2006 - rapel valley, chile

very good mid-level wine.  excellent balance and smooth, complex palate and nose.  long length and elegance showing excellent raw materials and wine making.  pleasant floral, savoury, and length of the after-taste.

trefethen merlot 2004 –napa valley, california

very good mid-level wine – excellent balance, complexity, and length.  savoury, from excellent ripe fruit and wine making.  high quality and excellent structure to age well and develop excellent characteristics.

 

all wines were bought at watson's wine cellars and marks & spencer in hong kong.

Published by jc on March 30, 2009

this week's tasting - riesling

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.

kientzler – riesling grand cru 2001 - alsace good premium level.

a good intensity & extraction.  good balance of acidity and alcohol supported by quality fruit.  long satisfying length.  well made wine of richness & complexity.

gunderloch rothenberg nackenheim 2006 - rheinessen 

an acceptable premium wine.  excellent complexity, richness, extraction, and length on palate but not matched by the intensity of its aromas.  good characteristic flavours and the acidity well supported by its fruits and sweetness.

grosset springvale riesling 2007 - clare valley

a good premium level.  excellent complexity and varietal characteristics with powerful fruit flavours that supports it’s high acidity. however, the length is a little short.

these wines were purchased at marks & spencer as well as watson's wine cellar in hong kong.

Published by jc on March 8, 2009

an excellent tasting with pierre legrandois

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

wollersheim domaine reserve 2005 - tasting notes

on my last trip to madison, wisconsin, everyone thought i was joking when i said i wanted to buy the local wine.  in fact, it was not easy to find as well.  i was so surprised by this and also disappointed.  we had to go to 3 different wine shop before we cold find a decent bottle. 

we then went for dinner at one of the top streakhouse in madison to be told they it would not be possible to drink our bottle.  ok, i said, in that case, we will drink the local wine on your list.  the waiter told us they did not have such!  it in only by insisting and speaking with the manager that they realised that in fact, they did have one choice... 

i do not understand this.  madison is the capital of wisconsin and i had read in some magazine prior to my trip that wisconsin actually has an up an coming wine industry that is definitely worth to look at.

and so finally, i bought a bottle from wollersheim winery, which i was told was a leading winery and one that actually won some awards before.

finally, i opened it with alexandre who thought i was joking and we were pleasantly surprised by what we poured in our glass.

as usual, our tasting notes are based on the WSET systematic approach to tasting (level 4 diploma - light wines):

appearance:

clear bright, medium ruby red a core, breaking paler at rim.  with many thin and ong legs around the bowl

nose:

clean, youthful, with medium intensity aromas of soft red fruit, smoke, vanilla, and hints of pepermint.  a soft nose, pleasant and perfumed

palate:

dry, low acidity, low tannin (ripe and round), medium + alcohol and medium body.  medium intensity flavours as nose with more pronounced pepper and vanilla.  medium - lenght.  very well balanced, with a very soft mouthfeel and pleasant complexity.

conclusion:

certainly acceptable if not good.  it is soft, pleasant, with some complexity and very well balanced.  unfortunately the lenght is short.

ready to drink, can age 2-3 years.

bought in madison wisonsin, april 2007 for usd 35 in a nice wine shop outstide of town which i forget the name but the good people of madison would know as they serve food and have a super nice selection of cheezes and also a wide range of beers.

 

Published by jc on November 17, 2007

Inniskillin 2004 icewine - riesling - Tasting Notes

our notes are based on WSET Systematic Approach to tasting:

appearance:
clear bright with deep intensity golden color at the core and watery rim. with several thick luscious legs at the bowl.

nose:
clean, developping, medium (+) intensity aromas of dried fruits - raisins, apricots with layers of nuttiness, petrol, honey.

palate:
sweet with a medium acidity, medium (-) alcohol level, and a full body.   medium (+) intensity flavours at first of candied citrus fruits evolving to honey, dried apricots, hazelnuts.  with a smooth silky texture that covers the whole tongue like satin.  a long lingering finish teasing you to take another sip.

conclusion:
a good wine.  complex aromas & flavours.  beautiful texture on the palate and long finish

this bottle was offered as a gift from my parents in november 2006 and was purchased at the inniskillin estate in september 2006

Published by jc on November 2, 2007

la face cachée de la pomme - neige 2004 - tasting notes

an amazing little discovery, we had this wine together with desert at a birthday brunch this week-end. 

as i brought this wine all the way from canada as a kind of experiment, i only served 2-3 glasses to those i thought would know how to appreciate it. within 5 minutes everyone at the party (about 25 people) wanted to taste at least a sip, to see the reactions and the word of mouth spreading like wildfire in the room was in itself quite an experience....

reviewed using the WSET systematic approach to tasting:

appearance:

clear bright of medium intensity golden color with luscious legs at the bowl

nose:

clean with medium (+) intensity, developping. aromas of apple skins, orange blossom, honey,  with medicinal characteristics reminding one of a spirit rather than a sweet wine

palate:

sweet with medium acidity and medium alcohol level.  a medium (-) body with medium (+) intensity of orange blossom, honey, apricot, ripe apple, pinapples.  a complex, fresh, and luscious palate with a long finish and watery freshness that calls for another sip.

conclusion:

good: a fine balance between acidity, flavours, and alcohol level.  a very refreshing wine which shows smoothness and complexity of flavours.

a very surprising discovery considering that it is made from frozen apples and not from grapes.  definitely to look for.

Published by jc on September 24, 2007