14 March 2008
Leroy Monthelie 1999
Earthy, taste of pork. After 2 hours of opening, developed a secondary hint of hickory. Structure strengthened throughout the drinking period of 3 hours. Rate: 86
Armand Rousseau Gervey Chambertin 1999
Leathery, medium hint of pork. More powerful than the Monthelie but surprisingly less complex over the drinking period. Rate:85
Ferdi
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1985
March 2007
Medium to full body, deep ruby color. Ripe with black currant. Primary bouquet of dark fruit with secondary hint of tabacco and vanilla. Long finish. After 3 hours of decanting the wine is still youthful. Can last for another 5-10 years. 93-95 points.
Ferdi
Medium to full body, deep ruby color. Ripe with black currant. Primary bouquet of dark fruit with secondary hint of tabacco and vanilla. Long finish. After 3 hours of decanting the wine is still youthful. Can last for another 5-10 years. 93-95 points.
Ferdi
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Robuchon a Galera, Macau
29 February 2008
It was not my first time at Robuchon but the experience was one of the finest I have had at the restaurant. Firstly we were given the only private room. Secondly we arrived at 6:30pm sharp and there were no other guests around. Therefore the service was very fast and attentive. But do not get me wrong, their usual standard of service is excellent, and this time it was just extraordinary.
My appetizer was pan-fried foie gras with tomato and grapefruit sauce. It was perfectly cooked and the flavours were very well balanced. The main course was Kagoshima beef with fried potatoes on the side. The meat was less marble than the usual Kobe beef, but was certainly more tasty. The dessert was rum souffle.
We had a bottle of 1996 Vieux Château Certan with the main course. The wine had a pleasant nose of mocha and black fruits, but the body was relatively light for the main course. There was still noticeable tannin, which gradually resolved after an hour in the glass. Overall it was elegant and well structured, but lacked a bit of weight. I gave it a score of 86.
The dessert wine was 1989 Château Suduiraut Crème de Tête. It was stunningly powerful, with a sweet nose of peach and pineapple. On the palate there were layers of glycerin, honey and a full body which was comparable to a good vintage of Chateau d'Yquem. What a pleasant surprise. Score 96.
Frederick
It was not my first time at Robuchon but the experience was one of the finest I have had at the restaurant. Firstly we were given the only private room. Secondly we arrived at 6:30pm sharp and there were no other guests around. Therefore the service was very fast and attentive. But do not get me wrong, their usual standard of service is excellent, and this time it was just extraordinary.
My appetizer was pan-fried foie gras with tomato and grapefruit sauce. It was perfectly cooked and the flavours were very well balanced. The main course was Kagoshima beef with fried potatoes on the side. The meat was less marble than the usual Kobe beef, but was certainly more tasty. The dessert was rum souffle.
We had a bottle of 1996 Vieux Château Certan with the main course. The wine had a pleasant nose of mocha and black fruits, but the body was relatively light for the main course. There was still noticeable tannin, which gradually resolved after an hour in the glass. Overall it was elegant and well structured, but lacked a bit of weight. I gave it a score of 86.
The dessert wine was 1989 Château Suduiraut Crème de Tête. It was stunningly powerful, with a sweet nose of peach and pineapple. On the palate there were layers of glycerin, honey and a full body which was comparable to a good vintage of Chateau d'Yquem. What a pleasant surprise. Score 96.
Frederick
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Harternberg wine tasting
Recently I went on a wine tasting tour in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek in South Africa. Due to time constraint we were only be able to visit three vineyards. Together with the wines we ordered in the restaurants we had tried a total of 30 to 40 wines. One interesting phenomenon I observed was the extremely rare use of decanters there. It was almost certainly due to the forward characteristic of SA wine in general.
It was my first visit of this vineyard, and was an enjoyable experience. Some of their wines were quite impressive, showing a complexity which excelled above the average SA wines.
1. The Mackenzie Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004
2. Hartenberg Wine Estate Pinotage 2004
This purple red wine has a nose of cherry and vanilla, with a medium body and meaty aftertaste. It showed some evolement in the glass. Score 80
3. Hartenberg Wine Estate Shiraz 2004
Excellent nose of sweet red currant and vanilla. Medium to fully body, but it showed no evolvement in the glass. Score 82
4. Hartenberg Wine Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
The nose of this dark purple wine showed blackcurrant, cherry, herbs, vanilla, and oak. The wine was more diluted than the pinotage, with a light to medium body. Noticeable tannin and a medium finish. Score 80
5. Hartenberg Wine Estate Stork Shiraz 2004
The best wine we had tried from this estate. Loads of jammy black fruits, liquorice, cinnamons. The palate was a little bit more on the acidic side but was quite balanced by the fruits. It was dark red in colour, with a medium to full body, medium length and black currant on the palate. The wine was smooth yet powerful. In the glass it showed some evolvement with vanilla and chocolate flavours coming out after a while. Score 85
Frederick
Chateau Fonbel, St Emilion Grand Cru 2001
Medium-to-full body. Deep Ruby.
With 7 years of bottle age, the wine still show some tannin but overall still quite balanced. Smells of chocolate, coffee and red fruit. It is approachable now. After opening for 4 hours, the wine did not weaken. At less than HKD300/btl, it is worth every penny. I give it 83 points.
Ferdi
With 7 years of bottle age, the wine still show some tannin but overall still quite balanced. Smells of chocolate, coffee and red fruit. It is approachable now. After opening for 4 hours, the wine did not weaken. At less than HKD300/btl, it is worth every penny. I give it 83 points.
Ferdi
Three Pinot Noirs
This is our first official tasting notes. Ferdi has done a great job to get us going and contributions from other authors are coming up. - Frederick
1) Gevrey Chambertin (Au Velle), Denis Mortet 1995
Medium-to-slightly heavy body. Strong hint of pork meat after 30 min. Masculine. Quite powerful. After 2 hours, strong hint of smoky hickory flavor. Seems to be a good time to drink now and next few years. Could be good match with tomato-based pasta.
2) Latricieries Chambertin, Grand Cru, Faiveley 1995
Balanced. Less meaty than the Denis Mortet but more complex. Strong hint of black fruit and black currant. After 1 hr, complexity increases with a hint of cinnamon.
3) Sea Smoke "Ten" Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills 2004
Upfront, sweat, rounded. Simple tasting however with little evolvement over the next several hours. After 3 hours, a strong scent of sugar cane was developed. Powerful in terms of global pinot noir standard but quite balanced in the US pinot angle.
Ferdi
1) Gevrey Chambertin (Au Velle), Denis Mortet 1995
Medium-to-slightly heavy body. Strong hint of pork meat after 30 min. Masculine. Quite powerful. After 2 hours, strong hint of smoky hickory flavor. Seems to be a good time to drink now and next few years. Could be good match with tomato-based pasta.
2) Latricieries Chambertin, Grand Cru, Faiveley 1995
Balanced. Less meaty than the Denis Mortet but more complex. Strong hint of black fruit and black currant. After 1 hr, complexity increases with a hint of cinnamon.
3) Sea Smoke "Ten" Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills 2004
Upfront, sweat, rounded. Simple tasting however with little evolvement over the next several hours. After 3 hours, a strong scent of sugar cane was developed. Powerful in terms of global pinot noir standard but quite balanced in the US pinot angle.
Ferdi
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Welcome
Welcome to GGH-Dirty Pig. It is a site shared by three wine lovers whose friendship dates back to childhood. We intend to make a blog for us to cherish all the wonderful moments in wine tasting together. To me, this is a place more than just for scoring and commenting. You will find discussions not just on wine, but also on food, sport, travel, and anything in life that's worth sharing.
Frederick
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