Subject:  2010 Burgundy Tasting

Date: 9 January, 2012

Host: Charles Taylor Wines

Venue: The Travellers Club, Pall Mall London

Note: Charles Taylor deals with trade customers ONLY. So prices quoted are trade prices per case (duty paid but no VAT). Retail price would probably attract a 50% mark-up per case. I am summarising by Grower not by vineyard. Where a particular plot of land stands out, I shall mention it.

Summary:

2010 was a very good year. I rate it as 8/10.

The whites (at the bottom end) were better than the reds. Mid price wines were good for both reds and whites. Top end reds not as impressive – value for money. Most reds at the bottom end were low in tannin. So, it will drink well immediately.

Overall, the wines were clean, fruity and very good value when compared with Bordeaux and Italian wines.

Details:

In total 107 wines from 32 growers (most were present) were on show.

Xavier Ritton

The white wines (Marcon, St Vernon) were excellent value. The Pinot Noir Ok. All wines under £100 a case.

Jean- Francois Bordet

The Petit Chablis and Chablis were both ok. However  the 1 er Fourchaume lack the buttery taste usually associated with a premieur cru. Prices were £90-£144 per case.

Bernard Billaud.

I wasn’t sure about the Petit Chablis (£104). The Chablis (£112) was ok.

The 3 !er cru (Les Vallions, Mont de Milleu and Monde Tonnerre) were all impressive  -£155, £172 and £187.

Domaine Saumaize-Michelin

The Marcon Villages (£104) and St Vernan  (£112 and £132 for the villes vignes) were all very good. In fact all the St Vernan I tasted were outstanding.

The various Pouilly-Fuisse were all good at around £150 a case. The outstanding wine was Pouilly-Fuisse Clos sur La Roche at £167 a case.

Philippe Chavy

Phillipe Chavy was exhibiting more up maket wines . The Puligny-Montrachets were good . Corvees des Vignes (£230) was nearly as good as the 1er Blagny Sous le Dos d’ Ane (£286). I wasn’t sure about the Les Folatieres (£382).

Vincet Boyer

The basic Chardonnay at £126 a case was good. The more serious Meursaults   were fine but noit great.

Domaine Stephane Aladame

The Montagny (£137) was ok but the St Vernan from the previous growers were better value for money.

Domaine Jacques Cacheux et Fils

The Vosne-Romanee was perfumery and soft. This was drinking well despite the fact that it is a cask sample. At £225, it was an outstanding wine.

Not so sure about the Echezeaux (£575).

Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils

All the reds were good but the outstanding wine was  Nuits Saint George Vieilles Vignes (£245)

The best of the rest were

Cote de Nuits villages Le Vaucrian (£155)

Vosne-Romanee 1er Les Beaux-Monts (£350)

Jean-Marc Pillot

The Puily-Montrachet Les Noyes Brets (£242) and Chassagne- Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets were the best from this grower.

Jean-Jacques & Agnes Girard

The Aloxe-Corton was brilliant – fruit, depth and price (£175).

Bertrand Devillard

The Mercury (£165) was another find. This nearly matched the Aloxe-Corton from Girad for outstanding value.

Florence Rossignol

To me, the Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Prieur (£435) was the outstanding wine of the show. It had everything and very tannic. Will keep for 20-30 years.

The Chambertin which was the top price wine on show at £945 was totally closed. I could not tell.

For your information:

I purchased

Saint Veran Les Creches (Domaine Saumaize – Michelin)

 

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In response to a recent comment (see original article published on 13 March 2011) re sharks fin, I commended that “mock ” shark’s fin is now commonly in use in certain restaurants because of the costs and shark’s fin is a banned food in certain parts of the world.

I went seaching for “mock” sharks fin, expecting it to be tinned or dried. In fact it came as a frozen pack.

The one I got was from See Woo in Reading. It was £3.95 for 500g and very similar to the real macoy (from memory). As sharks fin is traditionally served in a soup, it is very difficult to tell – it adds texture ( thickens the soup as well as to give it some crunchiness from the cartilage) rather than taste. The taste comes from the stock – chicken, mushroom and ham.

To my surprise, the “mock” sharks fin was made in Taiwan and was manufactured from seaweeds. Some people may not be aware that deep fried seaweeds in a Chinese resratrant is in fact shredded cabbage.

 

E

 

Dec 2011

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Event: Armit trade tasting

Where: The Gallery Soho, 121 Charing Cross Road, London

When: 6 September 2011

Website: www.armit.co.uk

Intro:

Armit is one of my favourite wine merchants, he offers good quality and fine wines at a reasonable price. Armit is also heavily into the Restaurant trade. A significant number of London Restaurants offers wines from the Armit list.

You can buy from Armit as a retail (he sells by the cases) or trade customer.

The following report is my take on the annual tasting. Over 90 wines were on offer. They were mainly the cheap and medium price wines from his cellars. Please note that these are trade prices – cheaper than retail and NO VAT. Add about 30% to the price for the equivalent  retail price (including VAT).

Armit’s tasting uses different venue every year. This year it took place in one of Foyle’s old building – downstairs is now a Soho Bookshop and William Hill.

 

Tasting notes on recommended wines:

Gaicomo Fenocchio Barolo, Piedmont, Italy £28.99

Good. Tannic and still closed. Another 5 years before it opens up. This is a classic Barolo.

From La Rioja Alta, Spain:

Grand Reserva 904 1988, £24.99

Grand Reserva 904 1997 £24.84

Vina Ardanza Reserva Especial 2001 £31.99

Vina Arana 2004 £13.99

Aster Crianza (Ribera del Duero), £10.99

Aster Reserva 2004 (Ribera del Duero) £12.99

All the wines on offer were pretty good. The top mend was very woody.  However the Aster Crianza was a real find, jammy, easy to drink and at over £10 a bottle, a bargain.

Prosecco Frizzante NV, Biancaavigna, Valdobbiadene, Italy £6.85

An excellent brut Prosecco.

From Pierre Gimonnet et Fils, Champagne:

Cuis 1er Cru Brut NV £19.99

Brut Gastronome 2006 £22.99

Fleuron 2005 £24.99

The Cuis was all CO2 and had very bland taste and lacked the floral and biscuity taste of a good champagne. The Brut Gastronome was much better. I wasn’t sure that Fleuron was better than Brut Gastronome. Historically, I have found that these champagnes improve with age.

From: Gusbourne, Appledore, Kent

Blanc de Blancs, Brut 2006 £19.99

Sparkling rose £21.99

These sparkling wines from Kent were excellent and were one of the top find of the tasting. They have wonderful bouquet and fruit. However, they were on the expensive side.

From Gaja

Promis 2008 £35.30

Magari 2008 £22.50

Camarcanda 2204 £ 45.99

Bruenello Di Montalcino, Sugarille 2206, £63.48

They were all nice wines with plenty of fruit and the 2008 is still tannic – so will keep for another 10 years. However, Gaja has put his prices up in line with Bordeaux. Are they still value for money? The Camarcanda was top of the bunch.

From: Matetic Vineyards , Chile

Corrallillo Pinot Noir 2010 £8.99

Corralilillo Syrah 2009, £8.99

Chardonnay 2009, £8.99

EQ costal Savvignon Blanc £6.99

Matetic  Syrah 2008

The Matetetic wines were all easy drinking “restaurant” wine. I suspect that most of them (except the Syrah 2008) had never seen “wood” in their life hence the softness – lack of tannin. These wines won’t keep with age.

Chateau Dereszia, Dry Tokaji,  2010, Hungry £7.45

I like this. Having never drank any Tokaji that isn’t sweet, I found this to be like a troken fruity German wine with low alcohol.

From: Freemark Abbey, Napa Valley, USa

Sauvignon Blanc £14.99

Viognier 2010, Napa Valley £13.99

Chardonnay 2010 Napa Valley £13.99

Merlot 2009, Napa Valley£15.45

Cabernet 2007, Napa valley £19.99

Bosche Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford 2005 £44.99

Sycamore Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, 2005 £44.99

I used to  think that America wines are over priced as you can get a decent French 2eme Bordeaux for around £30 a bottle. However, since 2005, all has changed as the price of French wines just rocketed and the Italians are doing the same. The Spanish wines are still good value for money, the American wines are now re reasonable prices – similar to a Bordeaux 2eme growth. However, only the Americans can make big, jammy, blockbuster Cabs. The Sycamore Vineyard 2005 is a super Cab and will last 10-20 years but drinking well now. By the way, it is only 80% cabernet sauvignon, the rest is merlot, cabinet franc etc In fact it is a Bordeaux blend.

Valpolicella Superiore, Romano Dal Forno, Italy £44.95

If you think that Valpolicella Superiore is a cheap wine that you order in Pizza Express, think again. The top Valpolicella from Gaja sells at the3 sme price as a Bodeaux first growth – well not any more as Bordeaux prices are now silly. This one is ag good as it comes. Still very tannic but heavy with fruit. Tobacco, leather and …… are all there. At £44.99, it is probably good value. Will need another 10 years in the cellar before it opens up.

 

I was on the whole disappointed with the white burgundies on offer. Two wines were pretty good:

St Romain 2007, Maison Deux Montille, Burgundy £14.99

This won Gold at the 2011 Decanter Sommeilier award. On the whole, I don’t trust award as the njudging is pure on the wines submitted – if you make a good and well known wine, why would you submit it to be judged? So, It nearly always newcomers.

Ruilly 1er Cru 2009, Leflaive, Burgundy £29.32

Crisp, fruity – no butter taste . Excellent but over priced. This was less than £20 a bottle 3 years ago.

 

Best of the rest – budget wines

Victoria Pinot Grgio, Plozner, Italy £4.99

Light but very drinkable.

Six Foot Six Pinot Noir, Geelong, Austria £8.99

Another Aussie wine with a silly name but this is not bad at all. Very soft, probably never seen oak in it’s life.

Klein Steenbery Bordeaux Blend 2009, Constantia, South Africa £4.99

Good stock wine to entertain your neighbour.

Riesling Gutswein Halbtroken 2008, Weingut Theodorus, Pflanz, Germany £7.15

Good clean wine – on the nose and palate. Good with seafood.

Paper Road Pinot Noir 2009, Borthwick Vineyard, New Zealand £8.75

Pretty good. Rasberry, nearly a proper burgundy.

Momo  Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand £7.25

Nearly as good as Cloudy Bay but at half the price.

 

E

Sept 2011

PS if you start a wine club with a few friends or work colleagues, you can buy wine at trade prices!

 

 

 

 

 

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My friend Demetris (Senior Wine Steward, SCR, Univ of Reading) has recently been to a Charles Taylor tasting with over 60 Bordeaux 2010 wines.

In  his view the wines are quite good. The best are from Pessac-Leognan & Graves and St Estephe.

The premieur  cru are likely to open at 10% above 2009 price – which was a record price.

The problem is that Bordeaux Reds are now an investment and no longer a pleasure.

Wines (affordable) that Demetris recommend are : Partache d’Aux, Chesse Spleen and Lafargue.

Of course, now is the time to buy older vintages – 2005, 2001 and 2000. 2003 and 2006 were ok for some wines but not all. Not only are they drinking now but they are ” cheaper”. For older vintagers, try Tanners, Berry Brothers and Armit – you can find their contact details under “Links” on Bottles and Cooks.

 

E

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Location: Place de Grand Sablon, 42 – 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Web site: www.lentreedesartistes.be

Telephone number: •    02 502 31 61

Date of visit: April 3 2011

Approx. cost per head: Euros £53

Comments on wine list/beer: good variety

Media link:

Review:

In an atmospheric Brussels Square, with restaurants and shops dotted around …. a delicious entrecote with herb butter and the best frits …. simple …. very cosy …. popular …. service on the slow side at times …. but they responded quickly to prompts …. if you are in the vicinity it is worth a visit.

Jane Bennett

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The draw for the user competition took place at 11am at my house. Dr M Davis who happened to be visiting me did the draw.

The winner is Leigh Maude. Congratulations Leigh. I shall be in touch!

There were only 7 entries for the user competition so the 6 names left is carried forward to the April draw. As the interest for this draw is very low, this will be the last month for the user competition. I shall do another one when we reach another usage milestone

This month’s offer is a bottle of Vega Sicilla Unico 1990. This currently retails for over £200 a bottle. I have a bottle each for the user and review competition.

Vega Sicilla is considered by most wine buffs to be the “best” Spinash red wine. When Winston Churchill first came across it, he thought that he was drinking an old vintage of Ch Latour.

All previous entries except Leigh Maude (March winner) will be automatically entered into this draw. If you have not entered, just add enter competition in the comments column of this article. Rules are the same as that published on 21 February 2011.

Good luck.

E

PS see competition for the winner of the review (articles) competition.

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Hi,

I am surprised that we only had a hand full of people entering the first competition.

Here is a repeat of what was published on 21 Feb. Use the comments page on this article if you want to enter. There is still time. It will be a random draw.

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Since January 2011, Bottles and Cooks.com has over 1200 regular unique users.

To thank you for your support, I have dug out a few bottles from my cellar.

To enter the  competition, all you have to do is enter your details and the words “user competition” in the “leave a comment” section of this article. All entries will be acknowledged.

Your email address will not be passed on or used for anything other than for this competition. We will destroy the data when the competition ends.

Every month (deadline is 12.00 noon on the last day of each month) for the next 3 months (March-June), we will randomly draw a user from the pot of emails addresses submitted. Please, no spamming, no funny email addresses and one entry per user only. Once you have entered, you will stay in the draw until the competition expires. Winners will not be re-entered. However, this does not exclude you from winning the “review” prize if you enter articles on shopping experiences or dining experiences.

My decision (E) is final for both the users and reviewers competition. Please also be aware that we will not guarantee the condition of the wine. As far as we are aware, the wine has been kept in perfect conditions.

If you live in the UK, I will try to get the bottle to you within 2 weeks. If you live outside the UK, you will receive wine vouchers to the value of £150 (per draw) if we are unable to get the wine to you because of logistic or “local laws on alcohol import” . If we can’t find a suitable wine merchant in your country, you will receive a cheque to the value of £120. Please note that the vouchers and cheques are only applicable to non UK residents there is no cash alternatives. All winners outside the UK will bear the cosequences – if any-  of exchange rates changes, commission and local or import tax.

If we can find a suitable wine merchant in your country to issue vouchers, there will be no cash alternative. By entering the words user competition, you will have read and agreed to the rules. We will disqualify enteries that have not followed the above procedures.

The first competition will run till the end of March 2011.

For this competition we are offering abottle of  Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1989. There is also a bottle of the same wine on offer for ALL reviews submitted from now till 31 March 2011

Parker gave it 90 and said: It is a medium weight clasic Lafite. It is elegant, restrained……..Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.

I had a bottle the other day and it offered elegance and smoothness that the modern day wines from the New World lacks. It is currently available at over €1,000 a bottle from certain sites!

Good luck. The competition starts NOW!

E

February 2011

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Web site: http://www.loddonbrewery.com/

Address: Dunsden Green Farm, Dunsden, Oxon RG4 9QD. (Near Sonning)

Telephone number: 0118 948 1111

I have just bought my second 5 litre can of Hare Brained from the Brewery this month.

Loddon has been around since 2003 and you can sample its fare in various Pubs around Reading or buy directly from the Brewery. So far, I have stuck to Ferryman’s Gold, Hocus Pocus  and Hoppit  which are all right but nothing that special – I buy from them because they are sited within 2 miles of where I live.

This month I went to the brewery to pick up some beer for my friend J as a  birthday gift . J is an ex-Welsh international, was an orthopaedic surgeon and know his bitter inside out but is not so good on wines. The strange thing is that he will pay a lot for beer but not wine.

The owner at Loddon recommended Hare Brained – special brew for March 2011. J and I both thought that it is fantastic.

I have since been back to get more and will get even more before the end of the month. This is what proper bitter used to taste like. Unfortunately, most brewery have now gone for a milder (taste) or stronger (alcoholic content) brew. For example, Youngs and Brakspear are no longer the beer they were. London Pride (Fullers) is still there but Hare Brained (4%) is far superior. Try it bedfore the month is out – just in case they stop brewing it.

E

PS My views are totally independent. Bottles and Cooks will pay the full tab for anything we sample. We do not accept free gifts or promote anything for rewards!

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I just thought that it would be interesting to compare my dining experience in 2003 with my recent visit to Australia

Syndey

Est and Rockpool on George Street are still amonst the top restaurants. I couldn’t get into either as they were fully booked. Theres top received top marks from me last time.

Aria  (opp Opera House) is still very good. I went in 2003 and managed to visit again for the pre-opera dinner. Saw Madam Butterfly. Awsome. Best death scene and singing – I have seen 4 differnt Madam Butterfly so far.

Bel Mondo and  Sailor Thai is still there. Sailor Thai has changed hands – no longer owned by David Thompson the Thai Food Guru.

Didn’t try Billy Kwong  (Surry Hill) and Tetsuya (Kent Street). Billy Kwong doesn’t take bookings so unless you want to turn up at 5.30 pm, you will have to queue. Pointless in trying Tetsuya unless you have booked 6 months ahead.

Sky Phoneix (see review) on Castlereagh Street is still churning out dim sum by the cart load and you can still get served within minutes.

Melbourne

Abla (Carlton) and Mo Mo (Collins Street) still offer top Middle Easr Food. Couldn’t get in. Instead I went to Maha (see review) which was strange.

Flower Drum (Market Lane) is still the top Chinese in Melbourne with prices to match. Had a good meal there – see review.

Tasmania

First visit in 2011.

According to the 2003 guide, Strathlynn is the top vineyard restaurant. It is still rated as the top vineyard restaurant in 2011. Had a good meal but no great meal there. I preferred Josef Chromy.

The Red Velvet Lounge and Black Cow which are top restaurants in the 2011 Guide for Tasmania did not exist in 2003. I had a meal at The Red Velvet Lounge which was ok but the it was not the weekend when the chef puts out a special menu. Black Cow aws excellent. Monty’s was also no listed in the 2003 guide.

E

PS Wines are all screw tops now. Most wines have gone for an early release date by not maturing the wine in wooden barrels.

February 2011

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Address:  9 Cheong Tai Road, Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok , Hong Kong

Telephone number: (+852)2286 8888

Website: http://www.regalhotel.com/Regal-Airport-Hotel/main/restaurants-bars.aspx

Date of visit: 30, 31 January 2011

Comments on wine and beer: International list at normal mark-up. You can spend serious money here. Beer is only HK$68 a pint at The China Bar and Grill, happy hour (6pm-7pm) 2 for the price of 1. In room, can of Asahi (330ml) HK$50.

Exchange rate: £1 = HK £12.20

Summary:

Regal HK Airport Hotel is attached to Terminal 1 (HK has 2 terminals, next to each other).

The rooms in the hotel are best described as 3 or 4 stars. There are over 100 bedrooms and suits. If you pre-book by over 30 days, it is just over HK$ 1000 a night. Being a modern building, the windows are sealed so it only works by air con.

There are 6 restaurants and cafe inside the hotel. If you think that is a lot, try The new Hyatt Regency on Moody Road, HK. There are over 40 restaurants in the building!

I stayed there for 2 nights and I have to say that most of the restaurants are empty despite the hotel being nearly full.

Dragon Inn (Shanghainese Cuisine)G/F – I ate there twice. (see report)

China Coast Bar and Grill (Grill) G/F – had a beer there $68 for a pint of Tsing Tao. The menu is steak and lobster. Steaks are from just under $400 to over $700 – depending on cut and size. Sides (veg, chips etc) are another $40. From what I saw, the meals look pretty good.

Airport Izakaya (Japanese) G/F– The place looked empty every time I went pass. Although the menu was exciting and covered anything from sashimi to shabu shabu, I am uneasy about eating raw fish anywhere that has a low turnover.

Rouge (Cantonese Cuisine)  (1/F)– Usual sharks fin soup and abalone (the Chinese love this extra large shell fish) at around $200 – $400 for a portion. Then it is the usual seafood and roast meat menu.

Regala Cafe & Dessert Bar (Desserts and Drinks – non alcoholic) Lobby level (2/F) – cakes and coffee.

Cafe Aficionado, G/F. All day buffet – breakfast ($183), lunch and dinner ($250). Huge selections of everything and as much as you like. I had breakfast there one morning and they offered Chinese (4 types of dumplings, congee, fried noodles), Japanese and Western (more American than British) – the difference is in the sausages – they are small not like our “bangers” and is usually veal, turkey or chicken – horrible stuff! The only strange thing about this set up was that there was no bacon. For dinner, there were several roasts, sashimi, several hot dishes with sauce (chicken, fish, beef etc), salad bar etc.

Extra notes on Dragon Inn

I went there 2 nights running as I have not eaten Shanghainese food since my trip to New York last Autumn.  Whilst I was there, several groups of people turned up making enquiries as they have no clue as to what Shanghainese Cooking is all about. Think everything more oily and intense. Use of preserved vegetables and other dried ingredients (such as dry shrimps). Lots of “bready dough” dumplings and noodles plus something called “new year cake” which is made from glutinous rice and served like thin gnocchi. Rice is not a staple food in Northern China but it is eaten and Dragon Inn does a mean special fried rice.

Over the two meals, I had onion cakes (too flaky for my liking), cold terrine of beef tendons (chewy like squid, drunken chicken (cooked chicken marinated in a sherry like wine), dumplings in a spicy sauce (essentially meaty won tons served in a garlic, soy and chilli oil sauce), spring rolls (vegetarian), fried dumplings (minced pork in a bready case , fried and steamed – the result is that you have bread like dumpling with a crispy bottom). To fry and steam dumplings, place the dumpling in an oiled frying pan and cook over high heat. As the bottom of the dumpling crisp up, throw in several table spoons of water, cover the pan immediately and cook on a low heat.

For main courses, I also tried the stir fried fresh water shrimps (bit bland) and Lamb slice  fried with spring onions (pretty good).

If you have never tried Shanghainese food, try this place. However, this is a 6/10 restaurant and there are better Shanghainese Restaurant than this in Hong Kong (e.g. Snow Garden in Causeway Bay). The prices at the Dragon Inn are quite reasonable. From just under $100 for starters and under $200 for most main courses.

E

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