Wine Entry : Chateau Suduirant 2002 (B'day Celebrations)

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Hi all, just a short entry. We celebrated DesDragon and BlueDolph Birthdays at KT's place last Sat.

Had Pizza, Sushi, Thai Express and this bottle of very nice Sauternes, not overpowering, a delicate sweetness.

It came in a half bottle format..so it was finished by us there really fast. Got it at the Vinum Sale as per previous post. KT also got a new mini mahjong set from HK, so we were posing the "HUAT" tiles with the wine. Cheers!

Wine Exhibition : Wine For Asia 2007 (Part V)

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Last installment for Wine for Asia…Look forward to WFA 2008 !

Chateau de Varennes, Loire, Savennieres, Chenin Blanc 2004 (French)
Smell : Deceptively honey-like with some minerals.

Taste : Minerally stone and crisp with dry acidity.

After-taste : Stone-clay minerals permeate through.

Domaine des Chartreux, Pinot Gris, Alsace 2005 (Chile)
Smell : Delicate longan and flora flavours.

Taste : Slight lime acidity followed by light-touch of honey sweetness.

After-taste : Some acidity at the end. Uncomplicated finish.

Wine Exhibition : Wine For Asia 2007 (Part IV)

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These wines were presented at the Decanter Awards exhibition area. As mentioned, we had free-rein to taste and decide on which wines we liked. I have listed the ones I found to be of worthy mentioned. Most of which I do not see often in the wine shops I frequent.

Chateau Le Boscq Saint Estephe 2004 (French)

A silver medal winner.

Smell : Tobacco, cigar box, some warm balckcurrents.

Taste : Classic Bordeaux, well balanced currents and dark fruits with woody oak.

After-taste : A respectable finish of warm oaky tannins.


Chateau Reysson, Reserve du Chateau 2004 (French)
Smell : Warm brown leaves intertwined with soft current scents.

Taste : On the first palate it is some what sweetish in style, but the fruits do come thro’ eventually.

After-taste : Fairly well liked length.


San Simon Curico Valley, Gran Reserva 2005 (Chile)
Smell : Ripen fruits comprising of sweetish apricots scents.

Taste : Sweetish first palate, smooth highly ripen fruits, a little medicinal .

After-taste : A very respectable length of warm fruits.

Wine Fair : Bonjour Wine Fair Vivocity (8 to 11 Nov 07)

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Hello readers, sorry about this late posting for the Bonjour Wine Fair currently going on at Vivocity. The wine shop participants of the Fair included Bottles & Bottles, Le Rouge, Cold Storage and Indoguna. Pretty small set up, and space was probably cannibalized by the other French products, cheese, apples, etc. The wines displayed were pretty pedestrian and not something I would be excited about. Though two vendors were selling Reserve de la Comtesse, one vintage 2004 at $68, and the lady was experienced enough to say it was a classical year. The other vendor proclaimed that the 2001 going for $59.90 was a very good year (?!).
Well I managed to pop into Bottles & Bottles and found the better deal than any at the Bonjour wine fair. 2 bottles of Penfolds 389 vintage 2004 were going for $102. i.e. each bottle going for $51.
If you were visiting Vivocity for other than the wine fair, then I guess it may be alright swinging by to take a look, otherwise it will not be a shame if you missed it.

Wine Exhibition : Wine For Asia 2007 (Part IV)

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The next installment…

Chateau Pontet-Canet 2003 (French) Smell : Sweetish ripe fruit.

Taste : Very ripe fruits. Smooth and easy-drinking, without the intensity or significant complexity.

After-taste : Fast and rushed.

Chateau Giscours 2003 (French)
Smell : Warm sweetish aromas.

Taste : Light-easy drinking, cherry-based but overall weak intensity.

After-taste : Uncomplicated finish.

In a nutshell, the overall impression I had of the 2003 Bordeaux Reds is that of a very summer ripen set of wines, which are pleasant to drink, with smooth tannins and would go well with food. Almost like a New World freshness and fruity forthcoming, however, I would not recommend that they be kept any longer for aging and in fact would drink rather well now. In fact, based on this tastings, I would dare say the 2003s are somewhat overpriced in the shops.

Chateau Suduiraut 2003 (French)
Smell : Sweet honey lemon with no bitterness.

Taste : Smooth on the tongue with medium viscosity, flavourful with orange marmalade .

After-taste : Smooth after-taste with lingering sweetness.

Chateau Guirand 2003 (French)
Smell : Sea-salt and honey lemon.

Taste : Intense honey and well balance, with no orange peel bitterness.

After-taste : Slowly transcends to a nice somewhat attap seed-like finish.

Again I found the Sauternes wines this year exceedingly enjoyable. I introduced the two Sauternes wines to friends I met at the fair and many were enjoying them too.
Hopefully we see more of them next year.

Wine Exhibition : Wine For Asia 2007 (Part III)

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The next Quartet…

Chateau Phelan Segur 2003 (French)

My personal view is that this was the best of the range of wines. Seemingly odd that this wine also out-weighed the super seconds.

Smell :Fierce over-riped fruits with scented roses.

Taste : Well ripen fruits of berries and warm alcohol. Nicely balance and round. Inviting for a second sip.

After-taste : Well-structured tannins with a length that was respectable for a Grand Cru. Impressive.

Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2003 (French)

Smell : A little unpleasant with sulphides and acetone. Fairly warm with the alcohol.

Taste : Fruity round and balanced but with a slight unpleasant acetone layer.

After-taste : Smooth silky tannins with a medium length.

Chateau Beychevelle 2003 (French)

Smell : Nice warm blackcurrent fruits.

Taste : Round and fruity raspberry sweetness. Light and wispy in nature without intensity.

After-taste : Nothing to crow about, uncomplicated length.

Chateau Brane-Cantenac 2003 (French)

Smell : Alcohol, warm blackcurrent with mineral and stones.

Taste : Well-balanced, light cherry, blackcurrent fruits. Somewhat sweetish.

After-taste : Unimpressive, quick and interrupted.

Wine Exhibition : Wine For Asia 2007 (Part II)

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As promised here are the first four tasting notes for the wines I had tried at the Great Wines of Bordeaux 2003 booth. The super seconds (i.e. the Pichons) of the vintage still stood out, but if not lacking in the nose, it was lacking in the after-taste. Personally I did not find them as impressive in terms of length as some previous vintages e.g. 2002. The reason could also be because of the double-decanting method used and perhaps I had tried them after they have been left over night. (I am sure I was the first few in the morning at the booth and some bottles were half empty)

Chateau Branaire-Ducru 2003 (French)


Smell : Fragrant cherry and raspberry aromas

Taste : Warm, uplifting with dark current fruits with some woody oaky tannins. Medium-bodied intensity.

After-taste : Fairly fast finish for a Bordeaux red.

Chateau Lynch Bages 2003 (French)

I had high expectations of this bottle, especially after I had tried the 2002. But personally was disappointed.

Smell : Ribena-like sweetness scents.

Taste : Slight fruitness, good balance and round, but feather-weight for an expected intense body.

After-taste : Vanilla oak flavours present in a quick and un-impressive end.

Chateau Pichon Longueville 2003 (French)


First of the super seconds. I was in great anticipation.

Smell : Somewhat closed, I had difficulty in detecting the aromas, but managed to find a slight taffy sweetish scent.

Taste : An intense blackcurrent fruit and alcohol start. Well-balanced with the oak aromas.

After-taste : Round and very pleasant to ease down the throat. But it did not have an extensive length.

Chateau Pichon Baron 2003 (French)

The next super second.

Smell : Had better luck detecting the aromas this time and found delicate flora scents and some berry undertones.

Taste : Warm and ripe fruits of raspberry/ cherry, which complemented well with the oak.

After-taste : Comforting round silky tannins with a substantially more respectable length.

Wine Exhibition : Wine for Asia 2007

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This is the third time I am blogging about Wine for Asia, how time flies!
It is an annual event for the Wine Trade to meet and network within the region. Wine for Asia 2007 ran from 25th to 27th of Oct this year, first two days for Trade and the last day for Trade and Public. I was not able to make it for the first two trade days so I was thankful I could make it for the last day. Missed the opening cermony though. The turnout was somewhat disappointing, but considering the rain and the early morning, I was actually happy to have the luxury of choosing which booth to go to, without worrying about the crowd. I was rather happy for the Decanter awards which allowed me to taste wines which I have never seen before, and was given the free rein to taste and gauge my palate vs the judges. Interestingly, I did not agree with them on most of the wines ! But there were a few gems and I will posting more pictures up later.
Overall, the exhibition hall size seemed to have been reduced, but there was good representation from France, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Spain, Italy and other Old World wine making countries. Understandably due to distance, Califonian wines did not have a strong representation. I plonked myself at the Great Wines of Bordeaux 2003 (as I did last year too!) and enjoyed going through most of the 41 bottles of classified growths as well as 2 Sauternes. These are coming up in my upcoming posts...Stay tuned....