Judgment of Singapore: Part 1 - Chardonnay and Syrah

This was the first installment of a zany idea to do "Judgment of Singapore" series. Inspired by the infamous Judgment of Paris, our plan was to expand the scope to cover the major international varietals / wine styles, with this first dinner focusing on Chardonnay and Syrah.

Each participant was to bring a blinded wine in set categories and vintages (e.g. New World Chardonnay 1995-2000, or Old World Syrah 2005-present etc). Each new world wine would be matched by an old world from the same range of vintages. The bottles were brought blind and the exact maker and vintage of the wines were kept secret. All the wines from the same varietal were then mixed up and served blind by the tasting-master from a decanter (thanks William for taking up the task this time round), and they were then be voted for en masse, with each person guessing either new world or old world and stating the order of preference. It was great fun.

The scores were collated by our resident mathematical genius HM, and ranked using three methods - Borda, First Past the Post, and Condorcet. The notes and scores below represent my own views, but I have also tried to plug in the group's overall ranking where possible.

• 2006 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Decent, but nothing special. Blind tastings are really a great leveller, and while this highly-rated wine was not at the bottom of the pile, it was nowhere near the top either. A majority of the table guessed it as a new world and, while most did not mind it, only a couple really loved it. It had a nice nose, it must be said, with dollops of of cream, sweet yellow fruit aromas and and earthier, more minerally undertow with bits if toasty oak and spice stuck in. A nice little bit of complexity there. The palate was not quite as nice a the nose though. I do not know whether the bottle was going through a little awkward stage, but it came across as rather heavy in spite of the good bit of citrussy acidity running though its sweet yellow fruited flavours on the attack. These were topped with more creamy nuances on the mdipalate and a nice minerality at the long finish. The wine had depth aplenty, but it just showed a touch disjointed with the acid, fruit and a little touch of alcohol heat sticking out here and there. All in all, a decent wine, but nothing much else. A bit of a disappointment when it was revealed as a Kistler - I would have expected more from either the price, the reputation or the good reviews.

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• 1999 Morey-Blanc Meursault 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Another drinkable wine that was just not very good. This was the lowest ranked Chardonnay of the night among the group. To me, it came across as rather too old and overly matured for its age, just on the edge of oxidative at points, especially on the nose, where it showed very developed aromas of damp earth and fig skin, apples with a slight hint of browning, some lemon zest inflections and a touch of caramel and spice. Still pretty nice though, with a lot of complexity, even if it did smell as though it was perched on the edge of oxidation. It was more of the same on the palate - slightly oxidative brown apple flavours at the fore gave way to a spicy, minerally note, all wrapped in a rather creamy Meursault-ness. There was also a touch of matured mushroom notes and savoury fig-peel nuances here and there. The wine initially did seem to have a bright balance on the attack and then again on the finish, with some fresh lemony nuances running under the more browned fruit flavours, but it unfortunately lost its energy and seemed a bit tired on the midpalate. I have a feeling that this bottle may have been much better say four to five years ago. It was high time to drink up when we got to it though, and it made for a drinkable rather than really pleasing experience.

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• 1987 Domaine Bachelet-Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Grandes Ruchottes 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

  This was a strange little wine that split opinions around the table. More than half of us (me included) did not like it much, while a couple of people voted it the white of the night. There was a 50-50% split in New World / Old World guesses as well. The only thing that was consistent is that nobody thought it was any older then the early 1990s. On reflection though, there were a lot of tertiary notes on the nose, with caramel and toffee showing alongside ripe yellow fruit aromas, and lots of little accents of dirt and earth, barnyardy funk, white meat and umami. Strange, but rather intriguing. It was the palate that showed a bit younger, with less tertiary or even secondary development in its white fruited flavours. However, the wine's age does perhaps explain why the fruit seemed a bit thinned out past the midpalate, showing in a rather flattish manner, so that some lemony acidity stuck out quite prominently. The finish again showed extremely mature notes of herb and bramble, almost ginseng-like notes, along with a lot of spice, smoke and a touch of slightly burnt rubber. A bit strange. It was not altogether unpleasant, but not great. I felt that this should have been drunk up quite a few years ago.

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• 2004 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  A lovely wine. This was a real relief after three rather disappointing bottles Chardonnays. It had an entrancing nose, wafting out of the glass in drifts of smoky gunpowder and flint that floated around a core of ripe fruit tones - jackfruit almost - and then white peach and floral blossom aromas. Beautiful stuff. The palate was every bit as good. After the initial trio of slightly disjointed wines, this came across as a perfectly integrated and gracefully balanced wine, with a beautifully melting mouthful of pure apple flavours shading into sweeter stone fruit territory on the midpalate. There was a good depth of fruit here, perhaps not as outwardly powerful as one would expect from a Leflaive Grand Cru, let alone a Batard, but this was made up for by a brilliant sense of poise and focus, with lovely gobs of fresh, lemony acidity keeping the wine ever so lithe and elegant. Past the midpalate, the fruit was lined with wonderful in-seam of stony minerality, almost flinty as it rounded the corner into a long, powerful finish, where the wine stained the back-palate with layers of yellow fruit and mineral, before lingering with just a little lick of gunpowder right at its very tail. All in all, a beautiful drink. This may not be the longest lasting of Batards, but it is a classy drop that will make a rewarding drink from now and probably over the next decade or so. Overwhelmingly voted the Chardonnay of the night.

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• 2008 Vincent Dancer Meursault 1er Cru Perrières 93 Points

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

  This was excellent. It pushed the eventual white wine of the night (a lovely 2004 Leflavie Batard) all the way. Opening with slightly funky, cheesy accents on the nose, these gave way to a touch of smoke and flinty minerality, a little layer of oak, and then ripe stone fruit notes, almost apricots there. All in all, rather sweet-smelling for a 2008, but wed as it was to real undertow of minerally accents, still clearly Burgundian. The palate was a wonderful expression of the terroir. Rich, slightly oily textured, with some creaminess layered over sweet lemons and ripe apple and melon flavours, this had a good bit of fruit and all of the voluptuousness you would expect from a Meursault 1er Cru. However, while the acidity was just a tad lower than on the 2004 Batard, it was still brilliantly balanced, with a lovely sense of fresh and precision, even if it was definitely on the fleshier side for a Perrières. The terroir really spoke on the finish though, where the sweet, fleshy fruit was underscored by a beautiful streak of stony minerality and a nice ream of spice that stretched away into the distance. The wine has opened up and fleshed out quite a bit from when we last tried it at the domaine a year ago. In contrast, it seems to have lost just a touch of the zen-like litheness that I remembered from back then, but it is nevertheless a lovely wine. Still very young, this will reward patience in the cellar. One to try again in four to five years.

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• 1996 Penfolds Chardonnay Yattarna 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  A very nice wine, just perhaps coming to the end of its peak-drinking window - this was voted as the group's #3 amongst the whites, a little distance behind the 2004 Leflaive Batard and a 2008 Vincent Dancer Meursault Perrieres. It had one of the most mature bouquets on the night, with rich toffee, caramel and Manuka honey aromas alongside apricots and peaches and some white meat and minerally accents. It was beautiful, complex nose. The palate was also very nice, if just a bit more one-dimensional. It was still rich and full, with lots of sweet lemons on the attack and ripe stone fruit flavours at the core, alongside some zippy acidity that stuck out just that very little bit with what seemed like a telltale kink of acidification (with a caveat being that I do not know for sure of the wine was acidified). It finished with another citrus lift, kumquaty, guava-ish almost, and a little kiss of smoky mineral. A very nice drink. It may have lacked the layered depth and graceful litheness of either the Batard or the Meursault, a bit more facile maybe, but this was nevertheless a delicious Chardonnay that was beautifully integrated and nicely complex. A good time to drink-up if you have any left - I do not see this getting any better.

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• 2002 Far Niente Chardonnay 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This was actually very decent. It had a very nice nose, very mature, with a slight whiff of almost Chevre-like cheesy funk that blew away slightly to reveal some creme fraiche scents, ripe white fruit aromas and some dulcet honeyed tones with whiff of roasted chestnuts at the edges. A nice, intriguing bouquet. The palate was a bit weaker than the nose - it seemed to be coming apart a little at the seams, with slightly disjointed bits of lemony acid sticking out amidst a good bit of fleshy, weighty appley fruit, honeyed melons and tropical mango flavours, and there was just a hint of alcohol heat in there as well. However, it still managed to come across as well-packaged. It was quite a pleasure to drink actually - rather sweet, a bit clunky at points, but somehow still quite balanced and certainly yummy in spite of all that. It had a good, lingering finish too, with spice, a nice minerality and more honeyed fruit playing a nice little harmony on the back-palate. A neat drink, but this is just starting to get past its peak drinking. I think it would have been a pretty nice new world Chard a few years back.

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• 1995 Clarendon Hills Chardonnay 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon

  I was one of the two outliers with this bottle. The rest of the group was not too thrilled by it (it was overall #7 out of 8 Chardonnays), but I actually loved it. It was just a bit past its prime maybe, but I still found this rather better than the last bottle we had a month back. It had an absolutely beautiful nose, almost liquered, with apple schnapps, ciderish scents, and umami-ish mushrooms (ceps I thought) and chicken essence aromas floating out alongside golden honeyed notes and dried stone fruit smells. All very lovely and seemingly very old. The palate was very developed too, with notes of preserved limes and figs, toffee, nougat and caramel, tarte tartin almost, and then tertiary touches of mushrooms and earth, lemons and red apples - wonderful complexity all held in pitch perfect balance by some melting acidity. The finish was starting to flag ever so slightly, but still had a lovely honeyed glow to it and a soupcon of spice as the wine pettered out. Beautiful stuff, obviously not as strong as some of the other favoured wines in the pack, but with tons of charm to make up for it. I was very taken by this - I actually thought it was a nice Burgundy village from the 1970s or early 80s.

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• 2001 Rockford Shiraz Basket Press Flawed

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  There was some disagreement on whether this bottle was fatally flawed, whether it was just marked by Aussie "Shirazness", or Brett, but the majority view at the end of the day was TCA. I thought it was quite clear actually, with a clear pong of wet cardboard and gingko nuts underlying more typical aromas of deep, dark fruit, plums and some smoke. The sheer depth of fruit on the nose may have masked the corkiness somewhat, but there was no mistaking it on the palate. Again, there were deep layers of sweet black fruit and a whole lot of muscular depth and power obvious from the attack. However, it was haunted by the telltale cardboard notes and, even more tellingly, seemed to be scalped of any finer, more nuanced character from the midpalate onwards, so that all one got towards the finish was a faint linger of alcohol. Pity.

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• 2006 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

  This was yet another super-highly rated, rather expensive wine that ended up doing really badly at a blind-tasting. Two people actually listed this as their favourite Syrah, yet it still managed to end up quite overwhelming the least-favoured bottle on the night (#6 out of 6). The nose was typical of a huge Californian Syrah, with oodles of black plums and blackcherries - just layers of big black fruited aromas laced with glycerol and spice. A bit challenging to say the least. I found the palate extremely rich, more than a little sweet, and certainly rather heady given the mix of high alcohol and low acidity in its almost syrupy layers of cassis and blackberries, cherry syrup and spice. No doubting the huge depth and hulking power of the wine,and even though it was not entirely imbalanced, with some velvety tannins in the background holding the fruit up, it was definitely not the easiest thing to drink. In fact, it was almost Woods cough medicine-like on the finish. Not a bad wine, but this was very man-made and just too sweet, big and viscous at the moment for me. This could well be one for those who like a more fruit-forward style and massive depth in their wines. But even then, I would think that it would benefit from a few more years in the cellar.

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• 2007 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  I liked this very much, but it was really far too young to really appreciate fully. Indeed, given its youth and the fruit-forward character of the vintage, more than half the table guessed it as a new world. It was voted #3 out of 6 Syrahs. I thought it had a very nice nose, full of ripe black cherries, sweet blueberries, wafts of violets that almost suggested Cote Rotie, and just that tiniest hint of savoury earth and meatiness. A gorgeous bouquet, just perhaps slightly distracted by a touch of glycerol that wiggled its way in there. The palate was still youthful. Certainly less developed than the nose, it was rather primary, with sprightly acidity and super-fine tannins running through clear, clean flavours of black cherries, berries and a touch of meat. There was great depth and a lovely purity to the fruit in spite of all that rich, primary character though. All very nice, and nicely balanced, at least until the finish, where the alcohol and some acidity stuck out a tad obviously. With time though, and especially when paired with nice bit of beef, it melded together better, showing more pure fruit notes alongside some mineral and a kiss of garrigue strectching into a long finish. Actually, with the acidity and structure to it, this really was a lovely pairing for the meat on the table. This needs some time to come together yet, but it was a very attractive wine, full of luscious fruit. Popped and poured, it just grew and grew in the glass over time as well. This should improve dramatically over the next decade in the bottle and continue developing for a long time after that. A rather atypical Chave given the vintage, but it is an impressive wine.

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• 1997 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This was quite brilliant - quite clearly my favourite the wine of the night, white or red, and one of only three wines where the entire table guessed old world or new world correctly. In fact, I liked this even more than a previous bottle that impressed us greatly in the midst of a La Chapelle vertical a couple of years ago. This time round, it was showing right off the bat with an absolutely beautiful nose. It had lovely wafts of red cherries and rapsberries, strawberries maybe, with a nice curl of smoke, a pat of earth and some dried flower accents. Lovely stuff - it could almost have been Burgundian if not for a nice touch of roasted meat in the background. The palate was at a great place too - beautifully elegant, with firm, yet super-fine, very classy tannins cosseting a lovely, pure mouthful of cherry and strawberry flavours, all beautifully balanced with ample acidity. On the midpalate, little complex notes of earth and spice and a touch of dried flowers lingered into beautifully long, rather perfumy finish that wafted around the backpalate in mouthfilling fashion. A line of stony minerality then underscored the whole package. What a lovely, elegant expression of Syrah. We were all shocked when it was unveiled as a La Chapelle. This bottle really belied the commonly held notion that Paul Jaboulet Aîné did a terrible job with the wine in the mid-1990s. It has blossomed amazingly over the past two years and is at a nice place now - a beautiful drink.

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• 2003 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  This rounded up a trio of very nice Northern Rhones. The nose here staddled the Côte-Rôtie and cooler-climate Australian Shiraz, with a rich melange of black fruit and roasted meat aromas, dried earth and spice, wild garrigue, eucalyptus and a whiff of crushed beetle carapaces. Very attractive, but there was certainly no running away from the heat of the vintage on that bouquet with its ripe fruit and toasty character. The palate was quite another story though. After the rich ripeness on the nose, this was ever so clean and clear, with a lovely sense of balance and poise lent to the wine by its beautifully structured backbone of fine tannins and some very decent acidity for the vintage. There were openly delicious flavours of black cherries and blackberries seasoned with spice, cinamon and licorice root on the midpalate, yet one somehow still got the feel that this was still rather tight, and that it needed time to draw out its subtleties and more complex nuances. No complaing though, it was nevertheless a delicious wine from its fruit-kissed attack and midpalate into a long finish, where slightly powdery tannins framed more obviously 2003 notes of dried earth and dried cherry bits wrapped in a lovely halo of spicey aromas. A solid wine, and one that should continue improving with time. I would really like to try this again in another five years.

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• 1996 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone Flawed

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

  Yet another tragically flawed Aussie Shiraz. The TCA was even clearer here than on the Rockford Baslet Press, perhaps because the fruit character was far less pronounced. A great pity, given that the wine showed a lot of character beneath the corkiness. In fact, it still had quite a beautiful nose, full of violet flowers, cherries and blueberries, and little touches of earth and spice, with just that wash of wet cardboard at the end that spoke of TCA. The palate was a lot more affected though, scalped as it was from any top-notes or bottom-depth, so that it seemed a little hollowed-out but for a thinning, but still quite yummy layer of black cherries and spice and earth on the midpalate and towards the finish, before more wet cardboard set in. It was clear from that little bit that the wine was blessed with good balance and a nice sense of purity, but it was just not very good given the flaw. Sigh.

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• 1996 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz Michael 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  I quite taken by this wine. I thought it stood toe-to-toe with both the (admittedly much younger) Chave Hermitage and Chapoutier la Mordoree on the night in terms of sheer deliciousness and drinkability. Not everyone agreed though. Tasted blind, this was ranked #5 out of 6 Syrahs to the Chave's #3 and the Chapoutier's #4. There was no doubting that this was an Aussie Zhiraz though, especially from its sweet nose of cherry syrup and blackberry jam, along with a really strong cassis aromas and then typical Coonawarra scents of eucalyptus and rosemary and a touch of dried, toasty earth. Such a sweet nose would not normally be up my alley, but I must say that this was very attractive. Not sickly sweet, but certainly blessed with a bright fruitiness. The palate carried on where the nose left-off, with lots of juicy black fruit - cassis, black cherries and berries. Nice depth here, and plenty of sweetness too, but it also had a clean, bright acidity that gave the wine a lovely fresh balance and a very energetic feel. It was delicious on the finish too, with a savoury touch of sour plums, earth and meat sprinkled with a bit of eucalyptus, all adding a sense of complexity and relief to the fruit on the midpalate. A little touch of formic acid, with a hint of crushed cockroach aromas floating around here and there at the finish, more or less confirmed that this was an Aussie Shiraz - a very nice one at that. My only issue was that the wine seemed to lack a little power and conviction on the finish, but it was very nicely elegant and balanced indeed. Really nice. This is probably at the end of its peak drinking window, so time to pop your bottles if you have any.

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• 1982 Emile Champet Côte-Rôtie 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  The oldest wine on the night, this was a beautiful Syrah. More Pinot than Syrah-like, it had a complex, haunting nose, where lifted scents of red cherries and raspberries mingled with earthy undergrowth notes, wood herbs and bramble, and just a little touch of spice and garrigue that pulled one ever so slightly back to the Rhone. the palate had resolved into a glide of silken tannins, so that it almost melted across the mouth in brightly delicious flavours of red cherries and raspberries twisted together with another hint of herb and bramble and a little waft of Oolong tea. A most un-Syrah-like Côte-Rôtie, all feminine and mellow, but this was certainly a very intriguing, complex, and very yummy wine. In spite of its silky smooth feel though, there was still with enough structure and acidity to keep the beautifully alive into long finish blessed with garrigue and spice, dried earth and delicious red fruit inflections. Only a little touch of balsamic that weaved in and out of the backpalate suggested that the wine may be about to flag. What an absolutely lovely drop, quite at peak and ready to go. This was the group's #2 out of 6 Syrahs.

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• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Brilliant stuff. Off-theme, but who's complaining when a bottle is as good as this. It was clearly old, clearly a Touraine, clearly Moelleux-style, but I was just not sure it was a Huët 1ère Trie. It just did not seem to have the layered depth and botrytis. Nevertheless, this grew and grew in the glass until it was clear that it was a top-drawer Loire Chenin Blanc. It was ever so subtly complex on the nose, with little nuances of earth and undergrowth, and then figs and apples, peaches and nectarines, a touch of honey, some cooked barley and that telltale touch of lanolin. Never insistent, the bouquet just drifted gently out if the glass. Very Huët-like in that aspect I guess. The palate was a bit confusing though. It was fleshy and ripe, with deliciously pure apples galore on the attack, but while lightly honeyed, it did not quite have the golden glow that one would expect from a 1ère Trie - a result of the warm vintage perhaps. The wine was nevertheless absolutely delicious though, with the overt appley notes subtley melding into fleshy, ripe notes of figs and whites peaches, and some lemon curd layered over a creamily textured midpalate. There was a nice ripe sweetness to the fruit expression and a lovely juicness to its depth, yet the wine was so beautifully balanced, complex and nuanced, with such a wonderful sense of integration, that it almost came across as understated and zen-like. It was only at the long, long finish where the it shifted gear somewhat, with a lot more honey dripping all over more pure apple notes, which were then seasoned with earth and spice and a final little waft of lanolin. What a nice wine. I do not think this will be one those Huëts that will last decade after decade, but it was beautiful on the night. It could well go on for a quite a few more years as well.

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