Odd Bottle Night

Alex, Ming, Kelvin, Elsa and I met up for a midweek feast at Ming Kee. We bumped into KG and friends at another table, who very kindly shared the bubblies and the CSJ with us, and Charles with yet another party. Small world. Theme was "odd" bottles - wines that we ddi not normally drink (i.e. like the Chave Hermitage and the Sherry), or in some cases, wines that came in oddly heavy bottles (the Beaux Freres and the San Gregorio - boy that was heavy!). All served blind as always.

This was a really wonderful evening. For once, the whites almost completely overshadowed the reds. The trio we had here must be amongst the very best I have ever for sheer variety, interest and superb quality across the board. Food was great as usual, but what really set the dinner apart for me were the pairings. Every single wine was paired with a dish that seemed to be tailor-made specifically for it. Every one of these made-in-heaven, pitch-perfect matches is a rare enough treat, but having five or six of them in a row was downright incredible. I have noted some of these down in the body of the notes for reference.

• 1998 Bollinger Champagne 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  A beautiful Champagne in classic Bolly style. Lovely nose was all llithe minerality wed to bright white fruit and lime scent, along with a touch of fresh flowers and hints of maize, wheat and yeast. All very vibrant and fresh. Super-fine bead on the palate. Super-fresh entry, very precise on the attack, with super clean lines and brilliantly refined, pristine flavours of white fruit and lemons at the fore, followed by slightly more aged, more savoury notes of umami, kumquats, dried limes, haw flakes and a nice flowery lilt, all riding on a bed of earthy tones. I just loved the beautiful focus and effortless elegance on the wine. Nothing extraneous, nothing awkward, not a whisker out of place. This was like a perfect Olympic diver, elegant twists, beautiful form clean entry, no splash - just laser-like refinement all the way from the attack into the long finish, which just lingered on and on with lines of bittersweet minerality. Superb, and absolutely delicious.

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• NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Cuvée Rosé Brut 89 Points

  France, Champagne

  I much preferred the last bottle of this wine I had. Still a decent Rosé Brut, but this did seem a little tired and unconvincing from Laurent-Perrier. Nose was pleasant enough, if a bit on the sweet and fruity side. Quite a bit of funky earth notes. a bit of umami and some toastiness, but all this was riding on little waves of sweet cherry and rose petal scents, along with whiffs of fresh cut flowers. Palate was quite pretty, as the nose suggested, but just a little insubstantial. Nice balance, with a light bright touch, it showed more cherries and strawberries on the attack, before moving into a drier mid-palate. It just lacked a punch beyond that though, finishing rather shortish and truncated with a little burst of mineral. Storage issue? Or was the last bottle I had just punching above its weight-class?

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• NV Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino 15 "Macharnudo Alto" 95 Points

  Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

  This really hit the spot. A brilliant wine, and when paired with Manila clams cooked in soy sauce and garlic, quite, quite wonderful. Super-complex on the nose. Walnuts, almond essence, lots of beeswax, plenty of chalky, saline shellfish accents, kumquats, some soy sauce notes, even a bit of rosewood, and a really serious minerality underneath all this. Wow. Palate was every bit as profound. Savoury, saline, almost salty sea-breeze flavours were at the fore, along with preserved lime and kumquats, all super-intense, rich and deep, but entirely undergirded by a fresh liveliness that gave the wine an exquisite sense of balance. With the clams, the wine took on a honeyed, almost flowery note as it moved into a finish that showed quite astounding length. On and on it went, with preserved limes, almonds and more seabreeze, just loaded with the same intensity and concentration that marked the rest of the palate. A wonderful wine, I can still remember every nuance as it lingered and lingered in the mouth.

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• 2004 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Absolutely incredible. This bottle has become my reference white Rhone. I guessed it as a Chave Hermitage, it could hardly be anything else, but thought it was a 2001 rather than a 2004, given the already stunning complexity on both the nose and palate. Just incredible on the nose, this showed a veritable kaleidescope of lovely smells, with classic chalk, beeswax and a dollop of clarified butter when first poured, quickly opening up into rich, thick almost viscous scents of honey, flowers and almonds, then savoury earth, umami, and white fruit, along with a layer of saline mineral and some almost oily scents - think Omega-3. Wow. The palate followed on almost seamlessly from the nose. Rich oily texture, incredible concentration, tons and tons of weight and depth; but rather unsually for what would normally be a low-acid blend, it showed a nice juiciness, probably courtesy of the vintage, so all that density came across as almost structured and super-focused, with an almost Burg-like elegance to add to its wonderful sense of presence. All this formed a lovely backdrop for profound flavours of savoury earth, almonds, besswax, some beautiful minerality, and moving seamlessly into the super-long finish, a glorious unfolding of white Osmanthus flowers seasoned with sprinkles of spice. Fantastic when had on its own, this shifted gear and took on an almost transcendantal aspect when drank with Hong Kong style steamed fish in soy suace (a rather heavy-fleshed Marbled Goby aka Soon Hock was used for the dish), with every bite of the fish drawing out an explosion of sweet white fruit, almond cream and white flowers from the wine. A pitch perfect pairing for a wonderful wine. A brilliant experience. This was a wine to sip and comtemplate and give thanks that such a wonderful thing as this could come to be made.

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• 2003 Künstler Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 94 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  This wine stuns me with its quality everytime I have it. This was just a ridiculously delicious, sexy, almost seductive bottle of Riesling goodness, with no lack of serious content to boot. Beautiful nose. Hints of petrol, lots of botrytis, with caramel and honey notes, sweet yellow fruit scents, along with rich apricots and peaches and dollops of sweet lemon candy. All making for a lovely introit. The botrytis showed up again very clearly on the palate. Gerat richness, with fresh apricot juice, more peaches, more of that lovely sweet lemon tone - almost limoncello-like here - dancing tropical notes and lovely flowery nuances, all presented in a smooth, creamy package. Great depth, lovely weight, but what really set this wine apart from other 2003s is its wonderful balance, so it never came across as sweet or cloying - just deliciously rich. Finish was not the longest in the world, but had very decent length, and lovely flavours of nectar and honey. THe (rather unexpected) extra-bonus was the fact that it paired quite beautifully with Ming Kee's famous Crab Bee Hoon, with its creamy crab-roe-laden richness. Yum yum!

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• 2006 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Not my preferred style of Burg, but this was a pretty good bottle of wine for sure - clearly Gevrey, clearly quality terroir, just that it was also clearly gift-wrapped in rather modern packaging. Nose showed clear toasty mocha-oak scents, along with classic meaty, bacon rasher notes and deep red fruit tones - sweet cherries, raspberries and a touch of strawberry. Very attractive I thought. Palate carried much of the same sweet red fruit character, with sweet cherry and strawberry tones, straying into almost cola-like terrirtory and dried fruit aspects at points. It was extremely well balanced though, bright, fresh high-toned, with an elegant, almost silky feel, and clear, clean flavours. Towards the mid-palate, an iron-clad, minerally undertone emerged, speaking quite clearly of the vineyard. Past that and into the finish, the oaky notes peeked out again, along with woody spice and vanilla notes and some rather drying tannins. There was quite a bit of extraction obvious here, even though the wine always showed some of the soft, fleshiness of the vintage. Really nice length though. All in all, a well-made effort, and one that gave quite a bit of pleasure. Miles better than the 2004 I tried some time back.

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• 2001 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Belles Soeurs 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Actually a pretty nice wine - but is it really a Pinot? When tasted blind, guesses were all all over the place - I thought it was an old garnahca from Priorat, we had guesses for old Aussie Shiraz, someone thought Rhone - nobody thought it was a Pinot. Nose was actually really pleasant. Lots of dusty earth notes, obvious oak, some plums and a strong underlayer of sweet cherries and a little spice. Palate was quite sweet, with the cherry accent taking on a kirsch note, along with cherry cola tones and some sweet haw flakes. Plenty of extract, so the tannins were quite firmly obvious, with a bit of heat at the edges, but it was all super-lively, with very high acidity running through the palate. Finish showed more of that extraction, with wood spice and talcum powder notes mingling with rather clear, clean cherry flavours. It was the rich thickness and extracted firmness on the palate that really moved it out of Pinot zone for me. It was certainly balanced, but lacked the lithe clarity one would normally associate with a Burgundy or even a top new world Pinot. I was thinking of marking it down for that, but decided not to. Varietal fidelity aside, it was actually an enjoyable wine to drink. Quite food friendly too, this paired really, really well with smoked duck breast.

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• 2002 Feudi di San Gregorio Pàtrimo Campania IGT 92 Points

  Italy, Campania, Campania IGT

  Still really young, but this was a very nice wine. Incredible nose, with plenty of herbs, bramble and brush along with deep earthy notes, all very Mediterranean, and then whiffs of plums and cassis, sweet cherries emerging with time, floating notes of incense and spice, some cigar notes and toasty coffee tones all melded together nicely. Extremely expressive. The palate still wore a patina of slightly powdery but firm tannins, lending the wine a certain chewiness. Beyond that though, there were rich dark-fruited flavours of plums and deep cassis tones spread out with plenty of breadth and depth. A Merlot on Cab steroids? There was just a little alcohol across the mid-palate, but otherwise this was beautiful balanced, with lots of energy and drive all the way into a nice finish, which showed another layer of rubbery drying tannins and more coffee grounds. It really needs quite a bit more time in the bottle, and this certainly has the breed and structure to age well. A very interesting wine, full of character. This was yet another pitch-perfect pairing, this time with pork-ribs sauteed in a Guiness Stout sauce.

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