As a follow up from my previous post on Food and Wine pairings with Beringer’s Senior Wine Educator, here are some of my tasting notes on Beringer’s Private Reserves, some of which are Jerry’s favourite picks. After a truly informative and mind stimulating workshop, there comes the time to just ‘chill’ for some. However, for myself, it was great to have tasted the following:



Beringer, 2007 Private Reserve Chardonnay
Tasting Notes: Stonefruits, nutty and apple bouquet on the nose following on to a nice concentration on the palate with apples, mild buttery notes and slight honeyed like complexity.

Beringer, 2003 Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting Notes: Nose showing leafy blackcurrants, black fruits with herbaceous eucalyptus notes while it is medium bodied on the palate with good balance and nice acidity, once again with blackcurrants, herbaceous green pickles on the mid palate plus some chocolaty notes.

Beringer, 2003 Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepage
One of Beringer’s single vineyard icons!

Tasting Notes: Truly Bordeaux like for the ‘Bord’ lovers with a bit more sunshine in my opinion!
The nose is showing funky earthy and black fruity nuances while the body is well structured, medium in depth with good concentration and intensity displaying black fruits, blackcurrant and dusty chocolaty oak. A well poised wine that is not over the top with vibrant acidity keeping it in check.

 

Always trust your PALate, it’s your PAL!
Cheers!

French fries? Definitely not! But rather a French-affaire with three beauties. After missing out on limited and low production Californian Syrah line-up recently, we headed back to the native old world where the famous Syrah comes from, France. Ironically, the line up did not include any Rhone Syrahs however, we travelled to Bordeaux, then Burgundy and to finish it off…at Champagne!

What more can one asks for at the end of the week but to enjoy good wines in the presence of good company?! This Friday had truly been a fortunate one being able to enjoy a 21 year old Bordeaux (reached puberty? adulthood?), a Burgundian red from a stellar vintage and a Grand Cru growers Champagne.

Château Clerc Milon, 1989 Grand Cru Classe (Pauillac)

Most Bordeaux drinkers probably know where Clerc Milon lies….in Bordeaux’s left bank, Pauillac where most of Bordeaux’s big full reds are from. What makes Clerc Milon even more sought after is not just its finesse and structure but also because it is under the stable of the great Mouton-Rothschild which happens also to be its neighbour. Lastly, 1989 has been long lauded as a great vintage in Pauillac which would give this red a bonus. In summary, after having tasted this wine, it shows that with great care and providence, great Bordeaux can go the extra mile in the cellar! Extremely young and vibrant….Forever 21?!?

Bouquet: Showing nice fruits – plums, graphite, some wet earthiness and sweet spices.

Palate: Rich with a good vibrant structure holding it together while dusty chocolaty tannins remains soft for the long haul encasing sweet savoury moorish plums, red fruits, graphite and mild earthiness on the mid palate. Great after 2 hours decanting!

Maison Champy, 2005 Aux Saints Juliens (Nuits-Saint-Georges)

A beauty in the making which currently remains in its infant phase. Decanting required, of which only after 3 hours did the wine start to show its soul, packing up more weight and seriousness!

Bouquet: Red cherries, some mouldy notes plus herbal tea nuances with very slight mint

Palate: Medium bodied packing up more weight with air, high acid and high tannin structure – ideal cellaring potential. On the taste profile, dense red cherries and sour plum core with slight earthiness and minty tea notes.

Jean Lallement et Fils, NV Grand Cru Brut (Verzenay)

Some may say Grand Cru Champagne while others say grower’s Champagne…nevertheless, no matter what one prefers to classify this beauty as…it’s a great value champagne!

Bouquet: Complex ripe fruit aromas of apples and more, some gingery spice and nutty tones.

Palate: Ripe Granny Smith apples flavours, nutty, yeasty and dried smoked hay notes. Sharp bubbles but great freshness!

For the lovers of grower’s Champagne…stay tuned!

Always trust your PALate, it’s your PAL!

Salut!

What better way to WINE down a hectic day than to dine in the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore?!

I joined OpenRice.com on behalf of TLN for a mid-week chill out at Oriole Café and Bar to do just that. Oriole’s menu is extensive - spoiling us for choice and making wine-pairing slightly tricky - though The Local Nose had no problem finding two value-worthy wines to compliment the highly praised signature dishes of Oriole.

First wine was Gracebrook Vineyard’s ‘The Stable’ Riesling 2008 (Available at Straits Wine Company), a pretty refreshing wine with citrusy floral and mineral notes.  One ‘Open Ricer’ praised the Riesling - declaring it to be worth twice the RRP – a definite ‘excellent buy’ as recommended by TLN’s Noses.

The second wine, Peccavi ‘No Regrets’ Cabernet Merlot 2007, was an instant hit among the majority. “No Regrets”  showed its true potential as a very approachable soft and juicy, easy drinking food-friendly wine.  One prominent Open Rice blogger was convinced that it was, ‘the best red I’ve ever had’  - no doubt it was the star-drink of the night and confirms that this recent TLN recommendation is a no regrets choice!

Back to the foodie in me… we kicked off the evening with starters to share - like hand-cut thick fries with aioli garlic, rosemary & parmesan. Then came the garlic prawns bruschetta with tomato & basil followed by spicy calamari battered squid rings with pickled chilli peppers. Last but not least came chicken quesadillas with spicy tomato salsa, onion & mozzarella.  What better way to drown these finger licking starters than with a lip-smacking crisp Riesling, eh! 

True enough…the wine strode well with the creamy garlic aioli dip likewise with the garlic prawn bruschetta bringing out many more fruity nuances to compliment the flavours.  The Riesling wasn’t just limited to an aperitif…it proved versatile enough to keep up with the mains and paired really well with the cod fish pie in creamy mushroom ragout baked within a puff pastry crust.  Riesling’s signature acidity cut through the richness of the dish while the fruit enhances the sweet fishy flesh.

The evening’s triumph for me was that I finally found a nice wine to go with a gourmet burger - The Oriole Burger that is a recommended dish (100% Angus beef patty) and as any steak lover would put it, is succulent.  I found the Peccavi “No Regrets” Cabernet Merlot to be a star pairing with my burger; the fleshy wine with sweet cherry flavours worked well with the juicy patty.  Both utterly charmed my palate!

Besides the wonderful food, we enjoyed decent discussions about wines, appreciation groups and the interaction between wines and foods that form perfect marriages. Do check out TLN and OpenRice websites to find out more about upcoming events and these discussions – the two make a great pairing themselves!