HONG KONG TRAVELS - Around HK (1/9/2006-1/19/2006)

Had to make a rather extended trip to HK for business. I love all
varieties of Chinese food, but don't find wine to be my favorite
accompaniment, so it was mostly beer and tea. However, Cathryn and the
kids came in for the weekend adn we saw old friends. Additionally, one
dinner was Italian so there was a drop of wine then.

1. Cathryn Arrives

Cathryn and the kids came in late on Friday night, so I had a bottle of
Champagne ready. I ran straight back to the room from a meeting, so was
limited to whatever was cold at Watson's in Pacific Place. Picked up
this wine and two for the next afternoon. Consumed with random snacks
and a relaxing pleasure of being off the plane, finished with meetings,
and together again.

*N.V. Gosset Champagne Brut Excellence - France, Champagne (1/13/2006)*

Slightly deeper than normal goldish-yellow with a larger bead and lower
volume of mousse than expected. For a moment I worried about storage,
but the nose was fresh with very light berryish and citrus fruit and a
strong yeasty character. Palate was perhaps a bit heavy (not oxydised,
just heavy) with the same fruit and more yeast. Perhaps the heaviness
came from the fact that the mousse was not very lively. Good
concentration, appealing flavors, broad shoulders, but somehow just
lacked any excitement.

2. Seeing Jonathan and Samantha the Next Day

Went to wander through HK Park and have dim sum with Jonathan, Samantha
and kids. Then, after the girls shopped, we gathered in the hotel for
more random snacks and some wine. Sam is a sucker for Champagne and I'm
drawing Jonathan to the dark side (i.e., Bourgogne).

*N.V. Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé - France, Champagne
(1/14/2006)*

The lightest and loveliest salmon-pink with a vigorous and enticing
mousse of minute bubbles. When first opened, the nose is more about the
white tree fruit and light citrus elements. With a little time, clear
strawberry and light raspberry come out in a puff of fruit and floral
sweetness. The sweet floral element settles down, but the berry fruit
persists nicely. On the palate, a tremendous balanced tension is the
main impression (fine pointal bubbles but still a creaminess; sweet red
fruit but still a brightness and deftness that makes it seem almost
weightless). Finishing with good concentration, this is a real
pleasure. Revisited two days later (largely flat), the wine displays a
greater degree of real sweetness than expected, but is still balanced
by very nice acidity and has a terrific purity of fruit.

*2000 Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru - France,
Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay (1/14/2006)*

Bright Burgundy color, not really thinning. When first opened, shows
typical tart cherry and hints of berry, along with some wet earth and
leaves. Other than that, shut up very tight. On the palate, a lot of
concentration and depth from the beginning. Good acid and red fruit
flavors with perhaps a tad of overripe darker fruit. Nice balance and
structure but, again, very much closed. The long and nicely expanding
finish shows there's a lot hiding, especially for the vintage.
Revisited several times over the next three days, the wine loses
freshness (as expected) but holds together and develops tremendously
well. Over time, it adds deep and ripe plum fruit, meat extract, soy,
sizzled pork fat, and a deep dark floral scent that is captivating.
Unlike most '00s, this is not even close to ready. Keep your hands
off, because there is a lot to come in another five or more years. Only
criticism is perhaps a slightly atypical note from the meatiness.
Still, this is a stellar effort.

3. A Drink Before Dinner

Donald and I shared a house in university. He and Kelly had their first
date the same night and to the same event as Cathryn and I did (all the
way back in Feb '87). Their son Peyton is our godchild. We're fortunate
that they live in HK so they're fairly close. Excited to see them, we
gathered for a drink at a new wine bar opened by their friends. An all
Aussie list full of names unknown to me, so I was at a bit of a loss
but chose...

*2004 Willow Bridge Estate Firefly - Australia, Western Australia,
Geographe (1/14/2006)*

Single glass in a wine bar before dinner at M on the Fringe. Softish
white-yellow typical of sem-sauv blends. Nose has a slight bit of
waxiness to it, but seems mostly to favor the ripe sauvignon blanc.
Somewhat tart green berries, very ripe citrus, just a little
grassiness. Palate is rich and maybe just a tad hot, but is kept just
on the right side of the line by decent minerality and the slightly
herbaceous edge to the ripe finish. Falls right between the styles
I'd choose (either full on grassy/****y sauv blanc or a softer/riper
wine that features more of the semillon texture), but pleasant enough
for a glass or two. Given that the publicly stated goals of the young
winery are to be easy and forward (and easy to market) and to achieve
large production in a short timeframe, this is a pretty good effort.
This is one of those wines that I'd be happy to run into at a
cocktail party or similar, but wouldn't buy for home.

4. Regrouping for Dinner

Jonathan and Sam, Don and Kelly, Cathryn and I, and another couple went
to M@ the Fringe for dinner. A mix of foods that are impossible to
match perfectly, but we wound up doing pretty well with...

*2003 Carpineto Vernaccia di San Gimignano - Italy, Tuscany, San
Gimignano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano (1/14/2006)*

Light white-gold color with appealing flashes of yellow. Looked clean
and refreshing. On the nose, primarily floral with a little cool
mineral character. Nicely subdued and sandwiched in was simple and
fresh apple fruit. On the palate, incredibly fresh and pleasantly
bracing, but with only a little acid. Freshness came from clean and
crisp fruit plus an incredible dose of minerality. With every sip,
there was growing sensation of clean and cold water that had been
burbling for years through a column of fine granite. If I taught wine
tasting, I would use this wine to demonstrate minerality. A little more
sweet flower perfume lightens up the finish. My second experience with
Carpineto and my second good one (first was with the '90 CCR).

*2002 Palliser Estate Pinot Noir - New Zealand, North Island,
Wairarapa, Martinborough (1/14/2006)*

Clear cherry color. Nose gives an immediate whiff of sweet spicy oak.
Underneath is bright cherry and berry fruit along with some
earthy/mushroomy funkiness. On the palate, the fruit provides a nice
combination of sappiness/richness/ripeness with a level of deftness and
freshness that is very pleasing, especially combined with a bit of
mineral. Too bad that it feels like one has to chew a tree to get to
it. Maybe this will integrate with time, but somehow I doubt it.
That's a shame, because the underlying material seems to be good
stuff. Damn busybody winemakers!

*2001 Chteau du Cros - France, Bordeaux, Entre-Deux-Mers, Loupiac
(1/14/2006)*

Gold not yellow, but still relatively bright for a botrytised sweetie.
And, with the first whiff, it does prove to have a very nice dose of
botrytis. Under that bracing initial zing is pretty rich peach/apricot
fruit and some creamy orange. This wine doesn't have tremendous size
or complexity, as the palate pretty much follows the nose, but it does
have good concentrated fruit, a nice creamy texture, and that great
botrytis-honey prickle on the finish. This could easily be mistaken for
a good second-tier Barsac. Don't know how it will age, but I'll buy
some to sock away (and more to drink now) if I see it at retail. 2001
vintage in the region does seem to be the rising tide that lifts all
ships.

5. Farewell to My Team

Several members of my team had also been in town from other locations
in Asia, so I took them to dinner before they left. They chose Italian.
Food was pretty good, but list was limited and we wound up with...

*2000 Cantina di Soave Valpolicella Superiore Rocca Sveva Ripasso -
Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Superiore (1/17/2006)*

Middle red color. Typical, middle-sized nose of cherries, a little
licorice, and some fresh tanned leather. On the palate, middle-weight
with good balance of a bit of brightness, some cherry and slightly
deeper berry, and a hint of nuts on the middle-length finish. Lot's
of "middle" here, no? Well, that's what this is - a correct,
standard cantina sociale wine that does its job well, but nothing more.
Simple Valpo flavors intensified a little by the ripasso treatment. Not
exciting, but a good safe order in a restaurant with a very limited
wine list. I'm always happy to find a wine that I wouldn't buy for
home, but that can be a way out when the list gets difficult.


Lafarge shines as always. The Loupiac and the Carpineto Vernaccia were
great surprises (and made me look smarter than I really am). The
Billecart was on form. Other than that, the highlight of the week was
Tiucheow, Hunan, Szechuan, Cantonese, Shanghainese food and seeing old
friends.

Posted from CellarTracker

Enjoy,

Jim