Wine News : Wine at Kopi Tiam

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New developments in the heartland's of Singapore! Mr Bob Tan, a wine lover and manager of A*coffee-shop in Ang Mo Kio Ave 8 is offering wine to go with your plate of Hawker food. Business has been brisk and close to 100 bottles have been sold last month. Most of the wines come from France, Australia, South Africa and Argentina. According to the report only 7 coffeshop/foodcourt eating establishments in Singapore are allowed by the authorities to sell wine in their premises.
Commendable initiative to introduce wine to the heartlanders. Now-a-days it is typical during wedding dinners for wine and beer to be the main two alchoholic drinks served, so many people would not be strangers to wine. Nice to know that the proper stemware is provided. And hopefully, more people will be educated not to add ice to their glass of merlot or cabernet.

However, I hope that the trend persists and not fizzle off after the New Year/CNY festive season. It would be still difficult to cultivate the drinking of wine in the hot lunch afternoon and return to work with a blush red glow on your face.

Wine Fair : Carrefour Beer & Wine Fair, Carrefour Plaza Singapura Atrium (REVISITED)

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Saw this advertisement in the Friday 18 Jan 2008 Straits Times.

The recent Carrefour VIP night special offer wine Chateau Bernadotte 2005 whose property is owned by Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is now going for S$59 each and if you buy 2 you get 1 free! Which equates to ~S$39 per bottle, comparing this to the "VIP offer nite" price of S$47. This is a 17% discount from the "VIP offer price". Glad I did not buy this wine due my palate's assessment that it was somewhat lacking in intensity for a 2005 vintage.

But it really does question whether there is any incentive to purchase the supermarket's fair offer wine. Understandably, they would have import a vast quantity to lower the prices, and now have to further reduce prices to clear stocks. Surprised that there is a need for reductions for a 2005 vintage.

Wine Entry : Ernest & Julio Gallo Sonoma Country Pinot Noir 2001

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Pinot Noir, the occasional grape varietal that does brush my palate. When it great, it is divine. But when it is bad, it can be sure a pain. Thankfully, this bottle from Crystal Wines was on the right side of Pinots. At $35, it is a reasonable Californian wine of a pale ruby colour.

Smell : Intriguing violet and morning glory, but with some unpleasant sulphides which dispells after subsequent sniff.

Taste : Mineral, metallic flavours. Smooth easy drinking with nice complicated light pepper.

After-Taste : Easy on the palate and comforting finish. Pleasing to drink with no/mild tannins.

Wine Lunar New Year Sale at NTUC Fairprice (11 to 24 Jan 08)

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I usually dun take much notice of the selection of wines at NTUC Fairprice, but this time, they do have some quaffers worth taking a second look. I believe these wine are offered in all the NTUC Fairprice chain of stores in Singapore. The one that caught my eye is the Dourthe Barrel Select, a French bordeaux Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon blend by négociant Dourthe who are one of the best and most successful negociant firms in Bordeaux. They own a number of leading chateaux throughout Bordeaux including the Bordeaux Superieur, Clos de La Tour, Classed Growth Chateau Belgrave and La Garde in Pessac-Léognan. They are also involved in ventures in Argentina (Clos de los Siete) and in Languedoc (Ch. de Serame).
2 bottles is only going for S$39.95. There is a good review here by Blogger of Club Sunset of the St-Emillion version. I was also pleasantly surprised at the quality of wine of the same brand in a past review.

The other is Chateau Barit, a Bordeaux Superieur going for S$25.48 (why is there a 48 cts?, I thought we had abolished 1 cent coins already?! Could be a typo.)

Some nice quaffers to buy for the CNY 2008!

Wine Carry : Louis Vuitton Wine Case (Part 2)

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The Louis Vuitton Wine Case is featured again as the 32nd "hottest places, people and trends of the year 2007"

Source : The Edge Magazine Dec 31, 2007

Wine Clubs : Jasons Wine Cellar's Wine Press

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Just received the newsletter in the mail this week. Jasons Wine Cellar's monthly newsletter the "Wine Press" has gotten a make-over. I call it a "make-over" because it is now aesthetically more pleasing to the eye, despite the smaller size and font. Kudos to Jason if the overall paper amount for the newsletter is less to save the earth's resources.
The newsletter now has coloured pictures of over 20 wines Jason recommends monthly. The content is generally similar to that of the recently superceeded issues Dec 2007, with wine tasting events and cheese recommendations at the last page. I also included a previous 2003 issue to portary the previously used landscape format. (Yes, I still have the 2003 old editions till 2007! It is just like keeping vintage wines eh?!)

Wine Entry : New Year 2008 celebratory wines

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A Happy New Year 2008 to all readers!

As part of the New Year's Eve celebration with honey roasted spring chicken, pepper BBQ ribs and fresh sushi, one red and one white were drawn from my cellar for the dinner.

Chateau Cordet 1996 Margaux (French)
I was pretty impressed how this bottle managed to age so gracefully, still vibrant dark red for a 1996 wine andthe tannins had evolved finely. It is also not a common wine from Margaux and was purchased from Carrefour.
Smell : Classic Bordeaux with cassis, blackcurrent and some vanilla oak

Tastes : Nice delicate blackcurrent flavours with a substantial body for a 1996 vintage. A silky smooth middle divinely easy on the palate.

After taste : Finishes off with a mild medium epilogue.


Chateau Filhot 2001 Sauternes (French)
This bottle was purchsed from Ponti wine cellars during their sale for $38. Ranked as one of the fourteen deuxieme cru properties in 1855 classification. The vines at Chateau Filhot is a mix of 60% Semillon, 36% Sauvignon Blanc and 4% Muscadelle.
Smell : Scents similar to a blend of sauvignon blanc and chardonnay with citrus and glycerol

Taste : Cordially delicate honey lemon with complementing light spicy pepper

After taste : Some lemon citrus spice, slight hint of bitterness at the end