TLN is back from VinExpo in Hong Kong where we discovered some very interesting wines, a few of which are now officiallyon the "Please Import to Singapore" Wish List!
Surprise #1
When someone says, “Come with me…I’ve got something for you to taste blind.” I never know whether to be excited or anxious.
Much like when someone shows you a purchase that they are really proud of then says with great excitement, “what do you think?” it’s not really an honest opinion they’re after, they want you to agree!
Still, I went along. When the light, golden honey-coloured wine was put into my hand I knew it was a special wine in some way, but how? At first sniff the intense, nutty, oxidized aromas led me to hastily blurt out that it was an Oloroso sherry. No confirmation came back – clearly I was going to have to say “uncle” to get the answer. More sniffing revealed a definite, faint, honeyed aroma yet that tell-tale, oxidized character still made me think I was going to drink a totally dry wine.
Then came the sip. Definitely not a sherry, perhaps an aged Madiera -but it wasn’t like anything I’d ever tasted before; it was fresh, still had some well-balanced acidity, loads of roasted nut, figs and stewed apricot flavours and a sweet finish that is now lingering in my memory…
I was stumped, but with good reason – how could I have guessed I was tasting a 110 year old Kopke Colheita port wine barrel sample from the 1900 vintage? It had been bottled especially for Vinexpo. By far the oldest wine I’ve ever tasted to date, and perhaps ever again!
Wine surprise #2 came from South Africa by way of surprisingly good Pinotage. That may seem like a harsh statement, but until now I’ve only come across one or two Pinotage (a mixed marriage between the refined Pinot Noir and a hardier beau Cinsault) that I’ve liked. To me, Pinotage has unusually acrid, unripe and stemmy aromas and a palate that is somewhat unremarkable.
In fairness, I revealed my personal Pinotage bias to the winery rep who was pouring. Not at all deterred, he poured the Bellingham Bush Vine Pinotage 2007, assured me that this was one of South Africa’s best Pinotage and awaited the verdict.
After a sniff and sip I could only confess that he was right - the wine showed wonderfully ripe and concentrated black fruit and spice aromas with silky, well-structured tannins. It was really good
Vinexpo surprise #3 was the quality improvement of Portuguese still wines. I mostly tasted red blends made from Portugal’s relatively unknown native grape varietals like Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz (a.k.a. Tempranillo) all of which offered very tasty alternatives to international varietal wines – plus they have very attractive price tags.
The two Quintas (that’s Portuguese for winery…) that stood out from the crowd were Quinta Crasto and Quinta Vale Dona Maria. These wineries are headed by two quality-minded producers in the Douro valley known as the “Douro Boys” – who share that nom de vin along with 3 other winemakers responsible for raising the quality standard of wines from that region over the past 10 years.
Keeping in mind that the Douro is a blisteringly hot and harsh climate, these wines showed incredible freshness and finesse, and were not at all alcohol “hot”. Definitely deep and concentrated, the wines were also balanced, with ripe succulent black fruit flavours and surprisingly well-heeled tannins – particularly the Crasto which doesn’t have any oak ageing to tame the tannins. Plus the white blend was a real stunner too!
I’ll have elaborate more on these Quintas in a lengthier article, but for now suffice to say that I hope to see them in Singapore sometime soon because I want to drink them! (See video clip below)
Surprise #4 was a range of U.S. wines from Washington State that used to have distribution in Singapore but no longer do. Pity that they are no longer here as these Hedges Family Estate wines were at once rich and restrained – styled more like French wines than New World and are a great weight of wine for the Singapore climate - not too heavy and tannic, but plenty full.
Both the Hedges (Cab blend) and the CMS (Cab Sav, Merlot, Syrah) offered great bang for the buck though their newest label, the Red Mountain Syrah, may end up being the most interesting buy in the range.
Styled like a Rhône wine, the Red Mountain Syrah I tasted was made from two year old vines – this is unheard of really. Most vines don’t give fruit that can be vinified until they are four years old, but these young Syrah vines produced a crop and the owner, Tom Hedges, decided to make a wine and see what it gave. Youth and all, it gave a lot. It is surprisingly balanced- not at all green – and definitely has a great future ahead of it. Hopefully a few bottles will make their way to Singapore!
Unfortunately none of these wines are distributed in Singapore...TLN will let you know if that changes!
Contributed by Sarah Mayo, TLN Editor
