WEA portfolio tasting

Attended a WEA Wines portfolio tasting last Friday over dinner. You can read about their mission-statement here (http://weawines.com.sg/mission-statement/). We had 6 wines (under WEA's portfolio) that evening, and I must say most, if not all wines showed well. If WEA continue to expand on their portfolio with producers/makers of the kind of calibre of what we tasted, I'd say they'll be well on their way to deliver on their mission-statement.

Of the 3, only the Donnhoff isn't part of WEA's portfolio. This was BYO'ed by me.

• NV Cheurlin Noëllat Champagne Coeur de Famille

  France, Champagne

  My 2nd BdN this week. Nice. White flowers, a little peach on the nose. On the palate, clean, light-medium weight, even with a slight hint/tinge of red-fruits. Finished with quite a bit of minerality. A nice drink to start off the dinner.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2009 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs

  Germany, Nahe

  Served a bit cold. Aromas was initially rather muted, though on palate it showed plenty of tropical fruits - pineapples, lime, a bit of peaches. Minerality was not that evident, with the fruit being the overpowering component. Overall, it appeared a bit plump and a tad short on the finish. With more air and as it warmed up in the glass, this developed more precision, clarity and the minerality also started showing. Perhaps this just needed more time in bottle...

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2011 Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Clos de la Chateniere Blanc Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru

  First wine of the evening under the WEA portfolio. Perhaps it was a bit "unfair"; Served blind, most guessed Meursault while I, St. Aubin... as it tasted extremely similar in style to its '12 sibling which I just had recently - "lots of lemons, oak/wood spice and just a bit of chalk. On the palate, minerality aplenty, quite broad actually". I actually preferred this '11 to the '12. It's a bit more precised at this juncture. A good white that will no doubt improve with time...

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

All Burgs. The over-achiever (unanimous across the table) was the village wine from Duroche. In fact, another participant commented that if the price were "affordable" (of recent, Burg prices have shot thr' the roof), he would make this his de-facto "house-pour" for 2015. So would I...

• 2012 Domaine Duroché Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jeunes Rois

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Again, served blind. Along with most others at the table who ventured a guess, I thought this was a Chambolle; Exactly the same mistake most made when I blinded a Latricieres (same maker) to another group 2-wks back. This was firing from the start. Very pretty aromas, floral, perfumy. Very pure & silky on the palate. It was red-fruited at the beginning, but became darker & a tinge of earthly note developed as it got exposed to more air while maintaining its elegance throughout. A wonderful village wine!

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2012 Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Orveaux

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  I had thought this was a Sirigue as it had that "airy"/ethereal nose amidst red-fruits and some spice. This was another elegant wine. Not quite as showy as the Duroche, it was still very good in its own right - pure, red-fruited, good complexity and length. Very nice!

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2012 Gérard Mugneret Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Brulées

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Spices on the nose led most of us to guess Vosne. Very attractive, but compared to the previous wines, this seemed to be much darker-fruited, more "serious". One could sensed the power coiled behind the dark but silky layers of fruits on the palate, awaiting to be unleashed with more bottle-age. With more air, it also seemed to gain an additional layer of complexity, exhibiting some red-fruited profile as well. An "intellectual" wine requiring one to go to it rather than it comes to you. Very impressive!

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2008 Domaine Jean-Marc / Thomas Bouley Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens

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

  Another very pretty wine. Very floral and perfumy on the nose, most of us had this as Vosne/Chambolle. Red-fruited and minerally-infused, this was very well-balanced and elegant on the palate. When told it was a C-d-B wine, my guess shifted to Volnay. Was quite surprised when it was unveiled to be a Rugiens. My first JM Bouley and a good one!

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

This was also BYO'ed by another participant. After all the elegant Burgs, this was somewhat a "bruiser". Having said that, it was still a well-made wine...

• 2001 Parker Coonawarra Estate Terra Rossa First Growth

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Our last wine of the evening. Like the Donnhoff, this was BYO'ed by one of us attendees and not part of the WEA portfolio. It has been a long time since I last had a Cabernet from Down Under. After all the Pinots, this came across as a bit "over-weight". Dark-ruby, nose was a mix of tobacco, coffee, indian-ink. Palate was dense, dark-fruited, ripe. Drinkable, but still seemed young. Would've been very good with a steak. I'd like to taste this again with more age on it...

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No