Dim Sum Club celebrates CNY with Teochew Lo Hei

CNY rolled around again and we gathered at Cheng Hu Tien for a great lunch, complete with a unique dish of Teochew Lo Hei. No sweet, sticky sauce here, just fresh vegetables and thick slices of raw fish with a dipping sauce. I must say that the food was very good throughout though - one of the best meals I have had there.

• NV Ruinart Champagne Brut Rosé 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Pretty good, but man - this was big, powerful and unyielding; as tough a Rosé as I have ever drank. There was certainly some quality on it, but it rather punches you in the face, showing almost like a red wine with bubbles. You could already see that in the colour of the wine - it was orangey red rather than pink, an onion-peel colour if you can imagine. The nose was super-tight at first, showing some reduction alongside little scents of mineral, yeast, some white meat and a light dusting of berries. With time, it cracked open just a little to let out some floral notes with time. The palate was big and burly, very masculine in its tightly wound structure and powerful flavours of fresh strawberries and slightly unripe raspberries threaded through with deep-set notes of mineral and spice. It was well-integrated and nicely balanced, but boy, this really needed a lot more time - it was so tight, especially towards the minerally finish. Right now, perhaps more impressive than enjoyable, but this was interesting. I would not mind trying a bottle that has a few years more age on it.

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• 1975 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon

  Wow, this was really nice - a wine that snuck up on you with just how good it actually was. It was just so understated and easy to drink that it was easy to miss its more rarified qualities. The nose seemed a bit simple at first, with a sweet, very honeyed character. However, with a bit of air and after warming up a little in our glasses, it slowly unfurled with super-complex notes of musk and mineral, kumquats and sweet plum sauce, with a nice earthiness trailing behind - a beautiful, subtly nuanced bouquet. The palate was sweet as well, but not cloying in any way. In fact, it came across more fresh than sweet, with lovely acidity winding its way through yummily layered flavours of malt honey and spiced apples, kumquats, some peach melba, and then earth and mineral notes pulling into a long graceful finish. This was so well-integrated and balanced that our glasses emptied almost too quickly, because the wine only truly came alive when the food arrived, especially when it was paired with deep-fried Toechew liver-rolls wrapped in beancurd skin. Drank with the meaty rolls dipped in a sweet plum sauce, the wine blossomed in an incredible way, taking on a deliciousness moreishness that echoed the food wonderfully. Excellent stuff. It may not have the depth and oomph of the great sweet Loire wines, but it was memorable in a quiet, reflective way.

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• 2011 Schloss Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Spätlese 92 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  I really liked this. There was a touch of sulphur on the nose even after it sat in an opened bottle for some time. As that faded away though, really pretty aromas of white roses and musk, sweet lemons and white peach started coming up alongside some touches of mineral at the corners of the nose. The palate had a soft, melting texture to it, showing a bit sweeter and fattier than a classic Spatlese. However, it must be said that this was nowhere near as Auslese-like as some Mosel Spatlesen have been in recent warmer vintages. Part of that may have been down to the beautiful balance that the wine had, with its fleshier flavours of white peaches and sweet apple flesh punctuated by lovely, racy acidity that kept it almost weightless. The finish was long, open, and wonderfully poised, with sweet white flower notes infused with a bright citrusy energy. This was such a pretty wine, and drinking quite well in its youth too. I have gotten myself a few more bottles. No harm drinking now, but unless it shuts down, I think it will be even better with a few more years in the bottle to gain some complexity and shed more of its baby fat.

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• 1971 Cantine Fratelli Francoli Spanna Riserva 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC

  Spanna is apparently a Northern Piedmontese term for Nebbiolo, and this was quite nice. It was getting old and tired, but was still a charming delight even in its dotage. The nose was super funky at first, lots of sauvage, barnyardy, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar smells. A bit overwhelming really. Thankfully, the funk faded away quite significantly to reveal roses, dark cherries and spice, earth and orange peel and some menthol. Nice stuff. The palate had more of those very tertiary notes floating about - soy sauce, menthol, Chinese herbs, but beyond that, the wine still showed a lovely core of dark cherries that had a wonderful purity and balance to them. There was not great power or substance here, and the tannins had mellowed into a finely elegant texture, but the palate was still carried by a lovely sense of freshness that made it great to drink. Nice little finish too, with a slightly saline mineral note that made it (strangely) a great pairing with Teochew Orh Jian (aka fried oyster omelette). This was on its last legs, but boy was it enjoyable.

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• 2009 Bressler Pinot Noir 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Actually quite impressive. Very clearly not a Burgundy, but we all enjoyed it around the table. What I did not quite like was the nose - very ripe, sweet, with cola and slightly confected cherry scents wreathed in a garland of oak and floral notes. Thankfully, the palate was a whole lot more balanced than I would have expected. There was a sweetness to the wine's cherry and raspberry notes, but this were a more stewed, or cooked fruit sweetness rather than a candied tone. Actually quite nice, especially when paired with more savoury preserved orange peel notes and an earthier, spicier finish lead with fine tannins. A nice wine, and should get better given another couple of years in the bottle.

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