Pale, crystal clear lemon yellow. Lime, fresh melon, and a slightly sweet nose. Off-dry with good lime pith, and green pickled papaya flavours amidst its racy, steely, assertive acidity. Simple and pleasing. Don’t expect great texture here but absolutely great value for the quality of a well made entry-level German Riesling. I miss Ricca’s spargel already!
Beautiful garnet core with quite a fair bit of sediment. Rim showed some brownish tinge. Pronounced red cherries and earthy tones with strong acidity and grippy tannins. Medium to medium (+) finish that left a somewhat sweetish aftertaste in the mouth. I felt that this was drunk too soon as the robust tannins could use a few more years to blend with the fragrant fruit profile. Unfortunately, this is the only bottle I have – won’t be able to tell how it would evolve in a few years.
Crystal clear golden yellow with plenty of minerality and lemon flavours that matched wonderfully with the deep fried frog legs and ginger slices served at Jade Palace, The Forum Shopping Mall. Finish is somewhat medium (+) on the palate with good acidity to cut through all the deep fried beancurd rolls, pork floss with deep fried aubergines and kangkung with fermented beancurd ala HK style. Medium to full bodied burgundy white that has enough texture to show its complexity – all that wood treatment was not in vain after all 
Another bottle of a 1996 Bourgogne by Domaine Bachelet (which is already fading fast) and two bottles of 2001 Amiral de Beychevelle later, we were ready to call it a night and made our way home. We should have ordered a whole peking duck really but the half portion of their normal roast duck which we had as our last course was quite yummy with the left bank bordeaux anyway. And oh, the salt & pepper lamb cutlets we had before that were pretty scrumptious as well!
Anyone interested in a vertical flight of Guy Bocard’s 2002, 2004 & 2005 Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru?
Appearance: Dark cloudy garnet, almost brownish with a brick, brownish-orange rim with sediments.
Nose: Fruit aromas were still very forward with plenty of crushed ripe blueberries and dried figs. Vanilla and cedar notes were quite evident from the nose. Very subtle hints of leather.
Palate: Blueberries filled the mouth while vanilla and oak flavours displayed quite prominently on the plate. Retained good acidity that provided a somewhat tart medium to medium (+) finish. Berries flavour still dominant with a touch of spiciness.
Comments: The cork disintegrated completely when I opened it this evening. But the wine was not oxidized whatsoever and probably won’t last very long given its current condition. My mum’s sieve actually did pretty well in separating all the broken cork pieces in the bottle. Drink up if you have any and check the cork. If cellared properly, this should be able to withstand a few more years before taking an exponential downward turn. Not exactly a wine layered with complexity but not quite a single dimensional one too. An excellent bottle to pair with the salty pork floss sticks that my sis brought back from Bangkok!
