A New World Semillon + An Old World Chablis

Rockford Semillon 2003:

Appearance: Pronounced golden hues.

Nose: Strong intensity of lemon, spices, oak and vanilla.

Palate/ Flavour: Medium acidity. Taste of lemon and mineral with a slight touch of dried sugarcane and ends with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Hints of smokiness detected. Alcohol level is only 11.5% abv.

Comments: I thought this was quite drinkable for a nicely aged semillon though my dinner companion thought otherwise. Not much life left in it and should be consumed as soon as possible – fading fast. Paired this with a pork goulash with couscous.

William Fevre Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons 2006, Chablis, France:

Appearance: Bright yellow, lightly golden core with a pale rim.

Nose: Muted at first but opened up after awhile with medium aromas of lemon, ripe apples and minerals.

Palate/ Flavour: Medium (+) acidity with a creamy texture on the tongue. Lemony and flinty (soft) with strong notes of ripe citrus fruits and minerals. A subtle touch of oak and honey detected on the palate as well but not persistent in the finish.

Comments: I should have had more patience with this bottle – still far too young for it to shine.

Marques de Caceres Grand Reserva 2001, Rioja

Appearance: Beautiful garnet core with a cherry-red rim.

Nose: Perfumed nose with strong aromas of ripe dark cherries, cinnamon, cloves and spices. Pronounced scents of oak and vanilla.

Palate/ Flavour: Taste of dark fruit, mocha and chocolate on the palate with a long finish. Strong oak and buttery aftertaste. Nice, supple tannins but should improve with some cellaring time.

Comments: Made of 85% tempranillo and 15% of graciano & garnacha tinta. There’s room for improvement with some aging as the tannins and fruit level are still pretty high. Nibbled some Munster Les Chaume and crackers with this spanish rioja – the combination was wonderful.

Freixenet Cava Carta Nevada Semi-Seco, NV

It would have been perfect if SluttyLinh actually drinks coz it would have been an excellent pairing with the nicely done mushroom omelette at Windows Cafe this morning. Anyway, I’ve been feeling a little under the weather and it didn’t hurt to have some sparkles.

Appearance: Nice bubbles (though it didn’t last very long), with a yellowish hue and pale rim.

Nose: Intense mineral tones hit the nose on first sniff, but that turned into a pleasant flowery notes with hints of green mango/ apples. Slight brettanomyces aroma detected but disappeared in the glass after awhile – not sure if it was intentional.

Palate/ Flavour: Off-dry with a touch of honeyed character and ripe white nectarines. Medium (-) acidity and body. Slightly creamy mousse and finished with a medium (-) length.

Comments: Wonderful sunday afternoon drink with a sweltering heat of 34degC outside. Good value for money too. Simple, easy to drink,  and pleasing to most people I would think.

Clos du Bois Zinfandel, North Coast California 2006

Tonight is probably one of the coldest night I’ve experienced since I moved to Ho Chi Minh City. It’s about 21degC out there right now and there’s strong gusts of wind blowing just outside my balcony that makes me wanna reach for my blanket while typing this. I would image the effective temperature would be a few degrees lower that that. If only this would last for a few months in South East Asia, that would make an ideal room temperature to serve red wines

Well, it’s been raining the whole day too. Kinda miserably if you ask me as it was difficult to get to work, and I wasn’t keen to carry any umbrella or raincoat with me. So right after the gym session tonight, I just ordered a simple vietnamese caramelised fish with rice from the restaurant downstairs and had it with a bottle of zinfandel that I bought over the weekend.

Appearance:  Attractive deep garnet with a red-ruby rim.

Nose: Pronounced vanila and oak greeted me at the first whiff which eventually developed into black plummy aromas with hints of spices and liquorice. Earthy tones were detected after more than an hour.

Palate/ Flavour: Ripe raspberries and red plums evident when the wine was still a little cold. These turned into layers of sour plum with medium (+) acidity with tannins to match, and ends with a slightly peppery and mocha-like finish.

Comments: The caramelised fish would have been a wrong match if it weren’t for the strong, peppery and sweetish gravy that accompanied the meal. Finished the rest of the bottle on its own and interestingly, some chinese medicinal herbs were detected in the palate after 2-3 hours. This wine is approachable right now but might benefit from a few more years of cellaring time for the tannins to soften somewhat (and perhaps develop some meaty, savoury flavours?). Otherwise, I think it would go well with some nicely grilled chorizo sausages and caramelised root vegetables.