2004 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne

The color is the orangy, brownish, cloudy, murky color that one associates with Leroy.

Wowwww.... the nose is what remembers from this mind. The smell of the wine kept on lingering in my mind for over 2 days. Orangy, rich cheeries, peppery spices, floral and superbly feminine.

Of course, with Lalou Bize-Leroy declassifying the wine in 2004, this Bourgogne probably is the most expensive Bourgogne with taste to match.

The taste is with medium acidity, cherris, some fitz and nice and tight finish.

A simple girl can sometimes become a fine princess, and one will fall for her, not becoz she is a princess, but just because she is a simple girl.

Leroy Website

Chinese blog on 2004 horizontal tasting

2007 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Kabinett trocken

Had this from the selection of Shanghai Garden. It caught our eye as we visited the vineyard in 2008, and rieslings, with their high acidity, go well with shanghai food, especially for the fatty foods. This Kabinett tastes of honey, apple and is creamy. Acidity is decent but not too high. Finish is enjoyable and long enough. Excellent wine for the price, and goes extremely well with the food.

2004 Bodega Norton Perdriel Single Vineyard Blend

Good wine with blend of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Very high scores with RP and WS. You can taste the Malbec, but blends so well with the other grapes and french oak. When you would be expecting something really powerful, this wine shows surprisingly good finese and elegence.

The Bodega Norton is owed by Swarovsi, the crystal family and the wine shows that what good management, innovation and persistance can create exceptional wine. This vineyard shows great promise for the future.

More on Bodega Norton

Fact Sheet

2001 Château Haut Baradieu Cru Bourgeois

Good Cru Bourgeois from St. Estèphe , although it does taste much more of red fruit with herbs. Tasted more like a burgundy for this one as the spices and complexity was missing. Still very enjoyable and classy with good structure and enough power that feels just right. Tastes better than most of the 2nd wines of St. Estèphe Cru Classe.

Drank with lamb shank at Le Bistrot, Macau

2003 Barossa Valley Estate E&E Sparkling Shiraz

This sparkling Shiraz is the best I have tried to date. At over HKD4XX per bottle, it is certainly not cheap but certainly worth it. Very concentrated, black current, peppery, oaky and chocolate. Chilled and well balanced, and does not feel watery or just like grape juice. Nice round finish. Too bad someone drank my only bottle left at my wedding party!

2002 Chevalier de Lascombes

Simple, easy to drink, and not particularly good. Never have been a particular fan of Lascombes, and this second wine is probably not worth its price.

2006 Tamaya, Late Harvest Sweet Goat

An inexpensive sweet wine from 90% Muscat, with the rest made up of Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Viognier. Concentrated enough for a late harvest, with almonds and apricot. Price at HKD140.00

2004 Robert Keenan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain

Quite a good Cab. Good intensity, full bodied, purple red with cedar, minerals and spice. At 400, quite a good price.

Parker notes on producer website

2000 Château Pontet-Canet

Opened as second wine for the night. Tannins still in early stages. Too early to drink, harsh, with too much everything.

1997 Penfolds Grange

Opened 2 bottles on wedding on freezing roof, but best condition to drink as temperature around 12 Celsius. Decanted and drank after around 1 hour. 96% shiraz and 4% cab. Well structured, all kinds of black fruits and red fruit, minty cool feeling, oak, red to purple, well integrated tannins, but clearly young. Wonderful way to spend the evening with good friends with something complex yet refreshing.

1997 Château Suduiraut

Medium sweet, touch of botrytis, apricot, honey and good balance. Good acidic and long finish. Stone throw from d'Yquem, though hardly in the same league. Light yellow, excellent time to drink this wine.

2005 Antis Malbec

Wine from Mendoza and the Vistalba District of Lujan de Cuyo. Situated at altitude of 1050M. Purple in color, dry, chocolate and black fruit. Malbec wines show good value and good well with Pizza.

2004 Castello di Pomino (Frescobaldi) Pomino Benefizio

Truly surprised with this white wine from Frscobaldi. Dark golden color with peachy, honey and complex wine. Pomino means "Little Apple" and the wine is a great chardonnay blend that is oaked. The white wine shows great history and character, and goes well with strong, oily foods.

Frescobaldi History

2001 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss

Great structure and with elegance. Nice tannins is long finish. Cherry, floral and minty. Nice balanced acidity, but I really need to try a older Sperss to really know why Gajas are rated as they are.

1997 Gaja Langhe Darmagi

First time trying the Cabernet from Gaja. Super rich nose, with leafy, tobacco, licorice and strong blackberry. Smooth, strong structure with reasonable finish. Powerful wine, and very different from Gaja's Barolos and Barbarescos, but very enjoyable. Tannins well dissolved. Probably about right time to drink it now.

Darmagi means "What a pity"? since they converted the vineyard from Nebbiollo in 1978?

2000 Chateau Musar Blanc

Make from native grapes of Merwah and Obaideh from Lebanon, the white Musar is truely a treat if not an acquired taste. Smoky, complex with strong, ripe fruits. Unique and no need to chill. Needs very strong food to go with it. Once you have it, you will recognize it next time.

1999 Hetszolo Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos

Honey, floral, apricot. Sweet, but not over the top. Very well balanced and good Tokaji. Does not feel as strong and concentrated as a 5 Puttonyos, but still provides great value and an excellent finish to the night.

2005 Fontodi Chianti Classico

Good value for money. With Strawberry, cherry, jammy and refreshing acidity. Tannin and structure is reasonable. Good with antipasto like we had that night.

2005 Forest Hill Block 9 Shiraz

I like this Shiraz a lot! At 14%, it has strong alcohol content, but not over the top of taste nor flavor. Well balanced with berries and touch of leafy and cedar with excellent finish.

http://www.foresthillwines.com.au/foresthillredwines.htm

2007 Wolf Blass Chardonnay Yellow Label

Citrus, pear and oak. Well balanced and refreshing. Always consistent from Wolf Blass. Not fat, and tasted well both chilled and more closer to room temperature.

2005 Torbreck Shiraz The Struie

Another go and the Struie, always wonderful with the berries, the licorice, the toasty oak and great smooth complexity. Always a pleasure to drink!

(refer to other post)

2004 The Colonial Estate L'Explorateur

Big berry, big prune, hot, acidic and alcoholic. Big shiraz wine that probably goes better with food then just drinking alone.

2002 Altaïr Vineyards & Winery Sideral

Tasted this wine, thanks to Arthur. Hard to decipher, soft and mellow, but it is chiefly Carbernet, with merlot and carbernet franc. Not at all like a Chilean wines that we have tasted. Blackberry, tobacco and soft dissolved tannins.

Pretty good, but wonder where you can get it? This wine is the joint venture from Chateau Dassault and Chateau La Fleur, and is a fine effort

Website

2006 Cat Amongst the Pigeons Shiraz Grenache Alley Cat

Again, great value for money for Cat Amongst the Pigeons. Buy before the price goes up. The wine is bursting with fruit and alcohol but a bit to the harsh side and considered hot. The Shiraz Grenache blend is finely balanced with great length. Lacks finesse but more than makes up with it black fruit and yummy taste.

2006 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir

Still my favorite Pinot Noir from New Zealand!! Chocolate, so much red fruit, orange peel, floral, bursting with fruit yet with good balance. A bit young, bit still really really enjoyable. If only the price was not so high. Again, an excellent and improving effort from Ata Rangi.

Still don't understand how they can make such powerful pinot from Martinborough!?

2000 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco

So so tight it hurts. A bit of a disappointment when compared to the Barolo tried earlier this month. Again, thank you Alex for these 2 wines!

Cherries, mushrooms, minerals, floral scent and still pronounce tannins. Shows potential but somehow did not open up even after couple of hours.

2004 Domaine Mazilly Pere & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes

Bought quite a bit of this some time ago. Color dark ruby. Fine tobacco, vegetation, red berries and fine tannins. Everything just subtle and well composed with good acidity. Classic Gevrey Chambertin which should be enjoyable for many many more years.

Web Site

N.V. Jacob's Creek Sparkling Rosé

Chardonnay + Pinot Noir. Very light pink with fat bubbles. Yeasty with strawberries. Good for its price.

2004 Château Suduiraut

Apricot, floral, honey, orange peel, tropical fruit, nutty, fatty but not over the top. Well made Sauternes with good finish. A well deserved end to any dinner.

History of Château Suduiraut

N.V. Ruinart Champagne Brut Rosé

Strawberries and floral. Color is light pinkish red. Straight forward, with slight acidity. Very easy to drink but lacks complexity. Simple champagne that gives your date a light buzz - it does its job.

2006 Glaetzer Shiraz Amon-Ra Barossa Valley

This wine from Barossa is so so powerful, so powerful that it makes you doubt if you can handle all of the fruit, all of that tannin and all of that alcohol. A scary wine, in the bottle, the color (deep purple red, so dark, so much alcohol!), and in the smell. It is so young, and probably not ready to drink.

Drank too fast, as was having with pizza, just filled with blackberries, blueberries, black currant, jammy, tannins, some pepper and oak. They say you need to wait for 4-48(!) hours for this wine, I look forward to opening it for 24 hours before drinking. But personally, this is way too powerful for me and I prefer the Anaperenna, which is more approachable and more well balanced.

The eye corresponds to the "sixth" sense, I would say the "sixth" part is the feel of history in the old vines of this Shiraz from Ben Glaetzer.

Description of wine from official website

2007 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc

This Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough is better when well chilled. Pale straw yellow, with slight fruit, grassy, lots of citrus (grapefruit) and mineral tones. Lots of acidity and really refreshing. Less herbaceous then the previous ones, but ready to drink right after opening. Zesty, crispy aftertaste. When it warmed up, everything was too much - too much acidity, too much minerals, but fruit still not pronounced. Served with food and chilled it will be an excellent choice for the money!

N.V. Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Rare Cuvee Reservee Brut

Beautiful bottle N.V. champagne, with yeasty, biscuit notes. Some honey, beautiful color and consistent bubbles. Very easy to drink and enjoyable.

2004 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans

Dark ruby red. Raspberry, dark cherry, light tobacco and orange peel. Fantastic tannin, which is still strong after 4 years and good structure. Chocolate and spices, strong alcohol. Very persistent and with time, increased in complexity and smoothness.

More info

2001 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin Au Velle

After En Champ and Cinq Terroir, again, another Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin. Smoky, leafy, with black cherry and some floral notes. Tannins still quite chewy and acidity still high. Compared to En Champ (same year), slightly less powerful, but with greater leafy smell. Compared to Cinq Terroir, much less powerful, but more finese in that you can slowly appreciate the terroir whereas the Cinq Terroir gives you so many flavours that might be at times overwhelming.

After 1 hour, the smell was diminished a bit, however the tannins and acidity blended nicely to create a wine that has its highly enjoyable with good structure.

2004 Schmitt Söhne Riesling Eiswein

From Rheinhessen under Schmitt Söhne. Simple ice wine with honey, rasins and caramel. Very syrupy, sweet and sticky. Concentrated and at 9% alcohol.

2003 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Footbolt

Deep red purple color. Cassis, blackberry, raspberries, pepper. Nose, a good new world shiraz but not fake nor overpowering. Compared with the dead arm, more approachable, not as much heat and not as much complex nor powerful. Very good for the price, enjoyable with meat. Finish with hint of meat and fine stable long finish.

On other years, it scores very high with WS and RP. Sometimes wine is more enjoyable when it is trys not too hard. Without the old vines, the conentration, too much french oak, it tastes fine for a night with friends or pizza in front of the TV.

Write up on the maker

2003 Château Menate

Caramel, honey and alcohol. Not particularly good nor elegant but probably worth the price.

2006 The Hess Collection Chardonnay Late Harvest Su'Skol

Excellent dessert wine with elegance and finesse from Napa for its price. Apricot, peaches, honey, orange skin and citric notes. The name of the vineyard SuSkol comes from the original indigenous name of the land. This late harvest is concentrated but not over the top and it claims on the bottle there was botrytis was present as the weather was particularly bad that year affecting their normal Chardonney from this vineyard. The best "late harvest" I have had and very Sauternes like.

Hess Collection Web Page

Web page notes on it

2004 Domaine Bernard Morey et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot

The beautiful wine from Morey et Fils. Nose with peach, floral, nectar, toasty notes and fine vanilla. So much complexity and great finish of minerals, acidity and the sweat round fatty notes.

Have to say that Chez Patrick sure has a good selection of wine. The more important thing is to find the right sweet person to drink it with.

1998 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba

Chinese is 巴络络? Barolos are one of my favorite wines, but I seldom just drink it without eating Italian and enough decanting time.

Excellent Barolo with find ruby red color with orange rim. Roses, floral, cherry, minerals, strong tannins and strawberries. So complex, yet still so young with still harsh tannins. Excellent long finish which shows what a Barolo Nebbiolo grape can do. With time and decanting, became even better with bursting fruit and floral but fine acidity, never dropping off.

The Barolo is aged in 30 month Allier barrels and gives the wine the classic silky Barolo feel. This producer is considered to be a traditionalist.

Probably just right for the 1st taste of the wine. Looking forward to more of this!

2000 Château Pontet-Canet

Thank you Alex for opening this 2000 wine. As a usual drinker of their second wine, Les Hauts de Pontet Canet, this was a great treat to taste a wine from their good year.

Cabernet Sauvignon 66%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 4%, this compares to 53%, 46% and 1% for the second wine. Compared to the other 2nd wines, it is a more similar combination, so this Pontet Canet was very similar to the other 2nd wines we have drunk, except more powerful and much more complex.

The nose was fantastic!! With berries, mushrooms, cassis, earthy, leafy, licrorice, coffee and some oak. The first taste right after opening was ok, not as strong as what you expect from the strongest paullic, but with elegence and good acidity. Tannins soft with very long and smooth finish.

After decanting and 2 hours, red fruit, more floral, leathery, melting tannins but still very much present. Very good!

2006 John Duval Wines Shiraz Entity

Dark purple color, nose has alcohol, blackberry and vanilla. Tannins still way too strong and high in acidity. Fruit intense but not overpowering. Finish long but lacks a bit complexity. Not as good as remember tasting the other years.

John Duval is a ex-Penfolds man and produces some very good wines with good character. Look forward to trying the other wines soon from him in Barossa Valley.

John Duval Web Site

2005 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Merlot

Blackcurrant, pepper, tobacco leaf and a bit of animal. Very good with the steak. Grainy, high tannins, acidity and finish that is not long but with the sticky mouth feeling.

Good wine from Margret River. This wine is very popular on the web. I guess also a very good wine to go with Pizza, as mentioned by Carmen.

Cape Mentelle web site

2002 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Bourgogne Cuvée Sylvie

Again, impressive wine and food match. The Sylvie Esmonin has red cherry bursting, with yeasty, cinnamon and little earth. Nice finish, very smooth and went fantastic with the Black Truffle angel hair! Well done Heline!