Warmth in Winter --- 做冬

There are many ways to find warmth in winter times.
Bonfire, heater, fireplace, a BBQ, a Sunday roast..
well I found warmth celebrating Chinese winter festival with my beloved family

perfectly cooked home-made delicacies to pair up with what wines?
something a little special perhaps..

2008 Chambolle Musigny by Alain Hudelot Noellat

CC: "i treated this wine a sacred one as vintage 2006 led me to an endless journey, nose of sweet spices and shy fruit, beautiful acidity (perhaps too young), sweet red fruit, lacking yet the perfect balance and harmony, but I wouldn't rule this one out. let's wait"

2005 Chateau Boyd-Cantenac, Margaux, Bordeaux

CC: "the classic intensity of a Margaux wine, sweet vanilla aroma, intense ripe plum, balanced, smooth and not a single harsh moment from a GIANT vintage, that's the elegance of Margaux, lengthy finish."

.. and one drunken dad...

Those Years -- 那些年

1961.. 1982.. 1985... 1986.. 1990.. 2000.. 2005.. 2009....
these are so called the remarkable vintages when God blessed the vines with perfect dosage of sunshine, warmth, rain and other various factors which made wine-making effortless.
What about those vintages that didn't make it on the list of remarkable years?

for those years without the blessing from the nature
it was down to the producer himself/herself to show off their talents fight against the nature

2004 in Burgundy was one of those vintages but to taste from the best producers
A M A Z I N G

2004 Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Les Murgers by Alain Hudelot Noellat

CC: "that's the colour i adore, sitting gloriously in the Spiegelau burgundy balloon glass, I'm bias Yes really I am for Alain's wines, the nose is serously a--mazing, sweet fruitful red fruits, light silky texture, element of elegance, the longer it sits in the glass the better it gets, long lingering finish, it's like a raspberry liquorice only sweeter!"

It's been a long time -- 久違了

It's been a long time since home coming
The sincere faces of the family

It's also been a long time waiting to taste it
The elegant bordeaux for my palate

1996 Chateau Pontet Canet, Pauillac

CC: "Pontet's elegance was there initially, but then what happened? it became so hard to approach, young? I think not. over-anticipated? umm maybe.. bottle variation? most possibly!! high alcohol, dried-out tannins, lack of the usual dark fruit and a short-enough finish"



Chilled it --- 被冷凍了

it was another unplanned Saturday when I'm stuck to the couch, reading a magazine (a wine magazine surprise surprise) with the sun sneaking through the gold stripey sheer hanging down the window.

A sudden call to ask, "fancy a glass and a catch up with good old friends?", without a doubt yes was my answer.

now there was a serious decision to be made
a wine for a dull and warm Saturday afternoon.. ah ha! I found her...

2010 Brouilly by Dominque Piron

 

CC: "what was I supposed to get from a chilled Cru Beaujolais? a blessing and a sniff of summer in advance, a beau in beaujolais and beautiful, sweet red cherry, raspberry, "candy-like" sweet aroma, soft tannins and a taste of earth, summer why can't you come sooner..."

Jason Mraz says...

Just came home from Jason Mraz's concert.
If he's not soulful then who is?
BEST CONCERT OF MY LIFE (to date)

Anyway.. during the concert he said something very philosophical and very true.
He said, "..I learnt not to have expectations but to have possibilities... because if expectations fail to fall through then you fail... but if possibilities fail well then there are more possibilities.."

The same philosophy can be applied to wine.
You see, if you knew a wine is expensive and famous then you would EXPECT it to taste good.
But what if it fails to reach your level of expectations?

With the same wine, if you taste it with a mindful of possibilities (+ imagination), the end result could become umm.. somewhat unexpected!!

Just Another Monday

Just like any other Monday of the week you taste an extraordinary line up of wines.............. yeah right!

2009 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs Canet by Louis Carillon (below left)

CC: "forward striking ripe lemon bouquet, warm and round, hints of coconut, it's like a lemon sponge cake with a sprinkle of coconut on top."

            

2008 Gevrey Chambertin by Domaine Armand Rousseau (above right)

CC: "beautiful ruby red, dressed with sweet red fruit nose, a young village wine with power, fruit and structure, juicy and dangerous, by dangerous I mean I can easily drink a bottle or two. King of village bourgogne rouge @ a King's price."

2006 Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers by Domaine Faiveley (below left)

CC: "bright charming red, excellento nose with forward dark fruit, ripe 06 fruit YES, a pleasant amount of acidity YES, fully integrated and balanced.. not quite.. this wine needs a bit of maturing! but hey.. so far so good"

         

1989 Chateau Haut Batailley, Pauillac (above right)

CC: "It's always good to meet a vintage Bordeaux and it greets you with elegance and charm! classic bordeaux nose and palate.. sweet cigar box, tobacco, dark fruit and.. coke?! it's mellow really is.. could this age a bit more? yes would be my answer"

2007 Chateau Haut Brion, Pessac Leognan (above)

CC: "to meet a 1st growth Bordeaux is like meeting a Hollywood Celebrity (for me anyway)! my mind is lost in its fame as I stare at its unusual bottle shaped rather like a Burgundy. The colour? deep and intense and not a ray of light could shine through, the nose of sweet vanilla, coconut, that kind of sweet savoury aroma, and Taste of pure elegance and silkiness, bare in mind the grip from the tannins gently squeeze against your mouth to remind you this wine is yet to grow! judging by how much I have written about this wine.. I think I really like it! Salut"

Weinbach

Weinbach, pronounced 'wine-bark', produces some of the best white wines in Alsace. Their wines range from Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer to of course my favourite Rieslings. From a casual tasting, I was fortunate to re-visit a Weinbach Gewurztraminer Grand Cru wine which really lives up to their reputation in wine production.

2007 Gewurztraminer Furstentum Alsace Grand Cru by Domaine Weinbach

CC: "..aroma of warm spices, spring-like in a field full of white flowers, classic lychee characters, taste of liquid gold, the concentration of fruit and intensity is remarkable with tropical fruit of pienapple and dry apricot, so rich and bold and yet I can drink this happily all day(night) long."

Night like this -- 這一個夜

A night like this after a day of work..

Why would you want to work more..

I am so exhausted and can hardly walk..

and my back is freaking sore!

but to serve le vin

and see happy faces

what else can you ask for in life!

Waiters' BEST Friend -- 酒侍的最佳損友

Laguiole corkscrews are the king of all corkscrews made to an extreme high quality from Laguiole, a small town in the Aveyron region of Southern France. Nowadays, only the best manufacturers still handcraft these corkscrews and have become a dream item for all waiters and sommeliers out there.

Beware that Laguiole is now commonly used as a generic term for cutlery, knives or corkscrews produced within the town of Laguiole. To truly explore the high-quality and beauty of a Laguiole corkscrew, try searching for a ‘Chateau Laguiole’.

.... A price to pay but a price well paid ...

Serve Red Chilled --- 被雪藏的紅酒

it's common knowledge to serve red wines at room temperature to allow each element of the wine to showcase itself. BUT a wine which is made from the forbidden grape variety of Burgundy is often best served lightly chilled. Allow me to introduce to you a wine once regarded as 'vin de merde', Beaujolais.

As summer approaches the southern hemisphere, why not give a chilled Beaujolais a try instead of your usual summer whites or Rose?! Beaujolais is often light, forward and appealing with forest fruits, imagine a long waited shower in the hot humid rainforest. Beaujolais is the shower of savior!

My first encounter with Beaujolais was a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau which is intended for immediate drinking to celebrate "Beaujolais Nouveau Day" on the 3rd Thursday of every November.

2009 Beaujolais Nouveau by Bruno Matray

CC: "enchate Mademoiselle Beaujolais Nouveau, clear purple hue, wave of aroma reminds me of a candy house that sweet confectionary nose, light-bodied, sweet candy-like fruit encompasses the mouth, liquid candy !!!"

Right or Wrong? -- 對與錯?

people say this is not my cup of tea
the same attitude should be applied towards your glass of wine.

If you dislike a wine then so be it, it is not your glass of wine. There is no right or wrong nor should one say "You know nothing about wine!". To be honest, no one knows your senses better than you.

Afterall, you are the owner of your tongue!

Endless Journey -- 不歸路

The more I drink (or taste) the stronger the desire to have them.
Thinking back to the start of my wine journey, it was this astonishing wine blow which captured my soul and led me on an exciting yet endless journey.

2006 Chambolle Musigny by Alain Hudelot Noellat

CC: "Bright glowing light red, sweet berries floated across the air from the initial pour, then silence.............. balance, ripe fruit, juicy and intense all compacted in this light light wine!!" .... left me speechless and mentally weeping

The Magic of Burgundy - 勃艮第的魔法

I never believed in the existence of magical power, for as much as I'd love to have it, it was never real. It wasn't until my birthday this year that I realised perhaps I could be wrong for all these years. Magical power does exist in this world. It was there all along. Well the magical power I encountered was of course in wine.

At my birthday dinner this year, carrying over a hangover from the night before, my kind brother-in-law slammed a bottle of 2006 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru "Les Baudes" by Geantet Pansiot on the table, I thought "hell no! here we go again.". But since it was brought along as a gift to celebrate the creation of me! OK I poured myself a weee glass... then something magical happened.
After one generous sip of the wine, I was magically brought back to the real world. It was like an instant cure, a potion made from the ancient vines of Chambolle Musigny.

Never expected a burgundy would cure a hangover.. but hey.. it worked its magic on me!!

2006 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru "Les Baudes" by Geantet Pansiot

CC: "surprising dark brownish red, sweet ripe 06 fruit, leading on to silky smoothness, and a mellow finish like it was never leaving your mouth. MAGICAL"

ALL BLACKS -- 全黑狂迷

Finally the 2011 Rugby World Cup is over and All Blacks sealed the deal over the French!

What a 'nail biting' finale it was and at last Webb Ellis has once again found its way back to Aotearoa.

To show my support to the ABs, I decided to 'crack' the french open before the game. Festive drink for a Festive day!

二零一一年國際攬球"世界杯"終於完滿結束 , 眾望所歸全黑隊大熱捧走金盃!
全黑大戰法蘭西 ----  只可以用險過剃頭嚟形容
全黑唔贏嘅話我可能真係要剃咗我全黑嘅頭

好彩我嘅第六感準預早喺賽前開香檳慶祝
一支.......

G.H.Mumm NV Brut

CC: Nothing but crisp refreshing citrusy fruit, tickled by hundreds if not thousands of fine petit bubbles. Taste of pre-match victory!

START -- 首

To kick off this blog like never before, an extraordinary introduction is the least I can do!
Flicking through my moleskine tasting book I found her. A special gem only the special ones or keen wine fanatics would get to taste.

Domaine Leroy Savigny les Beaune Narbantons 1999

CC : Brown garnet in colour displaying its age. A breeze of dry prunes, raisins and ripe dark forest fruit came and greeted me. 'please drink me it said' !! Smooth silky texture glided through my system, strength, concentration and balance in one. Developed it has! and there it finishes with a tint of smokiness which I loved! A Gem