Joy. Journey. Jotter.

Dry River Lovat Vineyard Syrah 2009, Martinborough

Meng Teck — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:45:27 +0000

One of the iconic wineries in New Zealand, located in a quaint little town over the hill from Wellington. Picked up this bottle at the village’s wine centre on a rainy afternoon. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to splurge on a bottle of wine like this on the eve of Chinese New Year without any of my loved ones around. Bright purplish red with a red cherry rim and thin pale meniscus. Floral, perfumed, ripe macerated red fruits and white pepper on the nose. Dark chocolate bits, cedar, tart black berries, black olives and five spice on the palate; tasty; savoury. Smooth ripe tannins. Medium to medium-plus acidity and finish. Has aging potential. Should be interesting to taste this again in 10 years time.

Ata Rangi Craighall Chardonnay 2009, Martinborough

Meng Teck — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:00:31 +0000

Bright yellow-lemon core; flint, minerals, oak, vanilla, sour lemon on the nose; spicy, mineral, oak and lemon on the palate; medium-plus acidity and finish; tasty. Went down pretty well with my melted anchovies, onions and broccoli angel hair pasta after a long day’s work in the vineyard

Margrain Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2010, Martinborough

Meng Teck — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:57:58 +0000

Pale yellow core with shades of bright green hue; lime peel, fresh stoned fruits, floral tones on the nose. Off-dry, ripe lime, mineral, fresh ripe guava, slightly spicy, clean and crisp. Medium to medium-plus finish; medium-plus acidity. Only 11.5% v/v. This is one of the only six producers in NZ who grows this variety and I possibly find this interesting based on that very fact. The botrytis version of this is pretty good too – not cloyingly sweet with sufficient acidity to cut through the ~~sweetness~~ stickiness (and with a somewhat long finish). Margrain carries a huge portfolio (about 14 wines produced) for such a small vineyard. Not easy feat I’d say but most of the other wines lack a little focus I’m afraid.

sometimes this is why i love nz

Meng Teck — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:29:23 +0000

感恩、情谊、老酒聚一堂

Meng Teck — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:21:41 +0000

昨晚伯父伯母在家烧菜请客。伯父把一整瓶Quintarelli的Amarone倒进他拿手的梅菜扣肉里头，效果确实与众不同。没尝过的人可能会觉得这样有点浪费，但我倒不认为这算糟蹋好酒。说实话，我们的确是喝太多了啦！六个酒痴（伯母和萍姐没怎么喝）干掉了九瓶酒，其中两樽是上图左角的香槟。

2005 (Disgorged) Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, Jacques Selosse
大师风范就是与他人有别！第一瓶表现得非常好。漂亮的金黄色泽带有燧石、熟透的青苹果和少许的红苹果香气。质感和口感一流，有纯净度，清爽可口。中上的酸度与回味，让酒逗留在嘴里时有一点甘苦的滋味。吃完饭后开的第二瓶却显示出bottle variation的差异。但我和几位酒鬼还是把她给喝个清光。呵呵！这酒应该是属1999或2002年份的。

1979 Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes, Robert Ampeau
看到伯父提着和我同样年龄的霞多丽出来时我可是乐翻了！清澈明亮的淡金黄色刚开瓶时香气有些封闭。两小时后由淡淡的干贝和干草气息转变成了熟红糙米饭香，还带有浓浓的矿物质气味和熟柠檬香。在口中的质感、酸度和回味都不错。开始走下坡的这瓶白勃艮第虽然没让我和友人惊叹，但能有这般能耐已经很好啦。

2001 Criots Batard-Montrachet, Roger Belland
年轻小伙子一名！木桶香味浓得连一向寡语的伯父都忍不住批评她两句。矿物质味、柠檬香、八角、薏米糖味都特明显。酸度和回味属中等到中上之间。还须陈窖好几年才可以再开一瓶试试。

1994 Alzero Vino da Tavola, Giuseppe Quintarelli
意大利传奇人物酿的丽珠（卡本内弗朗）！去年到Veneto在这值得尊敬的酒庄品酒时就已经喝过比较年轻的Alzero。当时我觉得他家酿的Recioto把其他的酒都给比下去了。但昨晚的Alzero显示出她妩媚的一面，一整晚飘浮不定。多层次的香气和味道不停的转变。红豆沙、青红椒、梅干、无花果、黑巧克力、木桶香和诱人的烟草风味梦游般的在酒杯里晃来晃去。酸度，醇厚但柔滑的单宁和悠长的回味和所有的果香混合的几乎天衣无缝。十七年大的Alzero还能呈现浓浓的紫红色酒裙是酒化学稳定性的特征。我想她的顶峰期应该还有20-30年左右。那时我也两鬓斑白了吧。

1980 Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes, Barthod-Noellat (没有图片)
Ghislaine Barthod老爸酿的酒！陈年勃艮第干红该有的色泽、香气和味道都毫无瑕疵地表现出来。花香、鲜红醋栗和山楂片香气浓而不腻，风干的火腿肉片风味隐隐约约的在花香中出现。丝绸般的单宁质感有后劲。酸度与回味十分悠长。

1990 Hermitage, Jean-Louis Chave
只能说句人间难得几回闻啊！大名鼎鼎的Chave西拉子充满了北隆的土壤森林气息，浓郁的风干火腿肉、铁质味、猪血块、皮革、草药和黑果酱风味。层次感甚佳。酸度与回味悠长持久。喝惯澳大利亚Shiraz的人可能会觉得这西拉子的闻名地有些难以接受，但我本人就深深地被她着迷。来块带点血水的生煎牛肉是配这种酒的首选。

2001 Musigny Grand Cru, J.F. Mugnier
Mugnier的干红最近价格都被人炒得有些过分！而这瓶Musigny也价值不菲。透亮的宝石红色令人赏心悦目。樱桃酒香渗了些皮革、红果酱和香料气味。喝到最后一杯时香气和味道都还是挺封闭的。纯净度额外明显。矿物质味和木桶香味承托着浓浓的黑樱桃鲜味。酸度、单宁和回味都很好。这Musigny须再闭关几年方可重见天日。

NV Jerez Moscatel Toneles, Valdespino
伯母酷爱的超甜雪梨酒。昨晚喝了伯父酒窖里的最后一瓶。犹如机油般浓稠的Moscatel是深褐色带点琥帕色。倒进杯里立马显示出她浓稠的干枣、焦糖、梅干、葡萄干、罗望子和咸海水的芬芳和味道。复杂性和层次感让人惊喜。是佳酿！碰见她的话，赶紧把她统统买下来！

1999 Regnard Chablis Valmur

Meng Teck — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:45:51 +0000

Brilliant golden yellow core; bretty, lemon drop, oak, honeyed, light minerals on the nose; oyster shells, good minerality, ripe lemons, apricot, slightly spicy; medium to medium-plus acidity, medium finish. A little bitter aftertaste. This bottle checked all the boxes that I look for in an old Chablis but I won’t be rushing out to buy them again. Need to decant this before drinking next time so that the Brettanomyces odour will dissipate quickly.

some old les cazetiers and a vintage henriot

Meng Teck — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:11:07 +0000

Brought a magnum 88 Henriot Rose to dinner yesterday evening and it was superb: copper-salmon pink core, bright and crystal clear; very fine & persistent effervescence; clean, nutty, ripe red apples, cream on the nose; tasty, slight sherry-tones, tart pink grapefruit, smoky and oak flavours on the palate; medium-plus acidity; long finish. Drinking beautifully but has the potential to age gracefully too.
A good friend shared two aged Burgundy that she acquired recently and they were also in excellent conditions. Both corks came out perfectly. The 1979 for me was floral, elegant, poised and well integrated while the 1986 was a little more masculine but fell short on the acidity and finish. Both were supposedly “off-vintages” but they were surprisingly good with all the seafood we ordered. And for the first time in a long while, I didn’t get any pressing request for beef or meat dishes when there’s still red wines involved

1979 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers, Vallet Freres
Garnet-ruby core with a bricking rim, not as crystal clear as the 86; Muted nose on first whiff but opened up quickly to reveal prominent rose petals, dried orange peel, dried red berries; dried hawthorn, dried red fruits, leathery, slightly metallic; medium to medium-plus acidity; medium-plus finish; smooth tannins.

1986 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers, Vallet Freres
Ruby red with a salmon-orange rim; red flowers, bacon fat, dried meat, cloves, a little dirty; dried salami, iberico, dried red fruit on the palate; tannic grip was prominent; medium acidity and finish.

Viré-Clessé Thurissey 2007, Domaine Sainte Barbe

Meng Teck — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 04:21:17 +0000

Bright lemon-yellow core with a slight greenish hue; cream, vanilla, oak, fresh lemon peel and high mineral tones; nutty, vanilla, minerals, lemon, malo on the palate. Medium to medium-plus acidity; medium-plus finish. Quite chablis like. Sulphides content still pretty high even after 3 years of bottle aging. A well-made and affordable chardonnay. I just wasn’t sure if I could finish the whole bottle on my own. Not exactly a straight-forward wine for food pairing.

everything with fries

Meng Teck — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:44:49 +0000

could hardly finish the set meal but the har jeong kai burger wasn’t bad, just a tad too oily. The fries with sour cream on the side was decent; the coleslaw was forgettable. Not a bad place to catch up with an old friend from home. I was told their Nutella tart was excellent. Tempting.

take-out + riesling = dinner

Meng Teck — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:12:16 +0000

Just a simple no fuss dinner with some chinese roast meat takeaway and a bottle of German Riesling (I drank it all!). I think I’m addicted to the roast chicken from this particular stall at Toa Payoh Central, but their soy-based braised chicken was less than inspiring, sadly. Next time I’ll just stick to their roast chicken and fatty roast pork. I literally had to stop myself from consuming too many of those deep fried lard pieces (in those kailan)! Anyway, the 2002 Spatlese Riesling by Von Schubert had a bright canary-yellow core; lifted aromas of yellow flowers, honey, fresh cantaloupe and spiced pears; ripe limes, lime peel, sweet n sour green mangoes on the palate with medium to medium-plus acidity. Finish was not as long as I hoped it would be but quite a refreshing drink with all the food. I won’t recommend drinking this as a dessert wine at all – probably best served just slightly chilled as an aperitif or with some light food. A slight whiff of TDN was detected but that was pretty subtle and forgivable. I could easily drink lots of this given its 7.5%v/v!!!