Felix and Ruth's Wedding Wine Tasting

Two old friends are about to get hitched, and our mission on a blazingly hot Saturday afternoon was to search out good value wines for their wedding banquet. Two stops on the day, both with pretty interesting stuff. I left out a couple of notes from Le Benaton for wines that I had tried in the past - the better ones are set out below though.

• 2007 Château Fontvert Luberon Le Mourre Nègre 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Luberon

  Rather unusual to find in Singapore - a 100% Mourvedre from the Luberon. I actually kinda liked this. Lots of character here, beginning with the nose, which had lots of savoury aromas - meat, fur, earth, truffles - and then some dark cherry fruit scents seasoned with lots of sweet spice and a twist of licorice root. Nice. The palate was really interesting too. Lots of nice spice at the attack, more dark cherry nuances and a nice layer of earth on the mid-palate, and then licorice and mineral notes moving into a long, detailed finish where there was a yummy savoury underlayer running through the back-palate. Still very young, this was very clearly shaped by firm but fine tannins. It was very well-balanced though, which made it not too difficult a drink even in its youth. A very pleasant wine that should age quite well over the next 5-6 years and beyond. Interesting.

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• 2005 Guillemard-Pothier Beaune 1er Cru Grèves 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

  Decent, but this came across more as a 2007 than a 2005. It had a nice, classic Greves nose, with flowers, strawberries and a hint of earth. Pleasant stuff. The palate was a bit on thin, simple side, with really high acidity for a 2005, but it was otherwise very pleasant drinking with its sappy sour cherry notes laced with bits of mineral and spice. The shortish finish was a bit of a disappointment, closing more like a village than a 1er Cru, yet alone a Greves. Nonetheless, it was a decent drink.

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• 2009 Casisano-Colombaio Rosso di Montalcino 89 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino

  A really pleasant wine. Lovely nose here, very Tuscan, with dusty earth, Italian herbs, lovely sunshiney sweet dark cherry scents and a touch of mineral floating around. Really pretty. The palate was everything you would want in an entry level Rosso - it was bright, clear, with a lovely lick of fresh acidity running through a mid to light-bodied mouthful of pretty cherry flavours, a bit of earth and a into nicely lingering finish with a little touch herb and spice. Simple, but delicious.

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• 2009 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Dragonstone 90 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  This deserves it reputation as a solid value wine. Nice nose - lots of chalky, slatey aromas, nice bits of grapefruit, peach and apple. No let down on the palate either. It was very nicely balanced, rather more citrus than the nose led on, with grapefruit notes again, some pomelo and a touch of lime this time, shading into a surprising long, minerally finish. At 14 grams of residual sugar, this was a nicely weighted wine with a fine balance of fruitiness, freshness and minerality. A lovely wine for its price bracket.

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• 2009 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling trocken 91 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  This was good - a seriously accomplished wine for something at this price range. Tasted side-by-side with a bottle of Dragonstone from the same vintage, I thought this dry wine was one notch up. It had a lovely nose, rather more attractive than its sweeter sibling, and perhaps more clearly Rheingau, with an attractive layer of earth, chalk and spice along with some musky white flowers and ripe white fruit scents. The palate was really nice too. There was lovely balance and poise carrying a body that showed an impressive amount of richness for a QBA, with nicely citrusy notes on the attack and a crunch of green apple on the midpalate, all couched in lovely bright acidity. The mid-lengthed finish continued with that little touch of the mineral that was hinted at on the nose and a nice mouthfilling linger of apple and pear fruit. Very decent on its own, but this should be even better when paired with food. Nice.

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