Men Drink White

This has been in the pipeline for sometime - the third event that Alex and I have co-organised. Great seafood, with a whole series of white wines encompassing different regions and varietals. We hoped to use this for exposure and education as well, to compare the wines and to see how they would pair with Asian seafood dishes, hence the wide range. Attendees were William, Lawrence, John, Byron, Daniel, Nancy, Qin Xiao, Alex and I. After we had chosen the wines and made the pairings, they were wrapped up, numbered and served blind.

Paired with three fried appetisers: deep-fried baby quid in black sauce, cuttlefish you-tiao with rojak sauce and fried crispy chicken with sweet sauce

• 2002 Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Spätlese 92 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  Somehow not as profound as the last bottle I had. Still great though - typical German Riesling nose that opened with a light whiff of pertoleum / rubber, and then fresh fruit - nectarines and peaches - and a streak of flinty mineral. Somewhat a cross between Mosel and Rheinghau. Wonderful fresh acidity on the palate, which was rich and round, but nicely balanced. Some sweet stone-fruit here as well, but more lemons and minerals than anything else. Very well delineated with a great sense of focus all the way into its good long finish, with more of the flint coming out. Delicious and classy, but rather overshadowed by the very impressive Alsace Tokay Pinot Gris that we had alongside. I will wait some time before popping my remaining bottles - while the last bottle was singing, there is a sense with this one that there is an underlying complexity just waiting to come out of its shell

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• 2002 Domaine Ernest Burn Pinot Gris Goldert Clos Saint Imer La Chapelle 93 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Voted by most on the table as wine of the night. Not quite a VT, but suprisingly sweet for an Alsace Tokay Pinot Gris. I guess the golden yellow colour was a telltale sign of the ripeness that it displayed - the grapes certainly must have had a really long hang-time. Nose showed honeysuckle and some tropical lychee-ish scent along with a very classic minerality. More tropical nuances on the palate, along with a slight golden sultana accent, some honey and a fresh herb lift. But what really struck all of us was a flinty, stony dryness and structure. This wine certainly had breed and class - this sense of structure and the rather wonderful, steely mineral backbone really made it stand out for quite a few of us. Rich and concentrated, although not quite as fresh as the Weil Riesling on the same flight, this was certainly not flabby, showing a lovely balance and poise. Long steely finish ended wth a twist of orange peel. This wine was extremely interesting - a fascinating study of balance between sweetness and structure.

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• 2004 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvée Ste. Catherine 92 Points

  France, Alsace

  Qin Xiao very kindly threw this in and it was a really good comparison with the German Riesling and and Alsace Pinot Gris on the same flight. Nose opened with grassy herbs, perfumed flowers and whites musk - made me think Gewurz at first. But instead of Lychees or other tropical fruits, this showed more white fruit and melon. Some telltale kerosene tones emerged with time. Very balanced on the palate, which had Grand Cru weight and bright, round acidity. Some sweetness showed, with more white fruit and a steely, mineral backbone. Certainly more restrained than the other two wines, but very nice indeed. If finished with good round fruit and a pleasing touch of dryness. Very focused, classy wine.

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Paired with fish done two ways: one a steamed grouper topped with fried chai poh and garlic and the other a more tradiitional Cantonese style steamed fish

• 2006 Alain Paret Condrieu Lys de Volan 87 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

  So hard to judge now, so take the score with a pinch of salt. When we tasted it, the wine just screamed "New Oak!" Loads of butter and spice on the nose, almost obscuring the Viognier bouquet of perfumed flowers and layers of sweet musk, almost a little bug-spray like. A little herbacious tone was also fighting to get out from under all that toasty butter. Palate was extremely dry, with a bit of flint, but almost no noticeable fruit. Instead, we got dollops and dollops of butter, some almond nuttiness and a slight savoury tone. The wine finished with more mineral and a liberal sprinkle of peppery spice. I think there is some raw material and a good balance with this wine - only time will tell if it will emerge from under all that wood.

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• 2007 Garbin Estate Verdelho 90 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, Greater Perth, Swan Valley

  This was really good as Aussie Verdelhos go. Pale gold colour. Flowers, melon and tropical fruits on the nose - I got some pineapple and guava. The palate showed big and sweetish, as would be expected, but showed really decent balance with good acid. Again, succulent tropical flavours of pineapple and guava, with a touch more citrus in the form of grapefruit and lime flavours. It finished actually flinty and dry, without any hint of the flabbiness or alcohollic heat that usually plagues Verdelhos from this part of the world. Very nice - especially with the steamed fish with chai poh that we had.

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Paired with a fried seafood egg dish and steamed crab with egg custard

• 2001 Wieninger Grüner Veltliner Herrnholz 91 Points

  Austria, Wien

  I liked this wine - very classic Gruner. Golden yellow colour. Cous cous and lentils on the nose, which translated seamlessly into the palate, which was fresh and lively, with lemon and alfafa flavours adding to the lentils. Rather concentrated and almost oily, yet this had a very structured feel, with a pleasant mineral backbone and an almost firm, punchy mouthfeel. It finished with a sense of ripe sweetness and more mineral. An excellent food wine.

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• 2002 Tyrrell's Sémillon Single Vineyard Stevens 90 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Pretty good, surprisingly evolved, but this needs more time to come around. A greenish gold colour. Nose opened with truffles, a blue-cheesy tang and a touch of musk and grassiness. I thought this was okay, but it disturbed some others around the table. Very clean on the palate though - good acid, fresh grassiness and lemony flavours with a nice minerally streak. All this was packaged in a toasty butternut package. Very dry. Most of us called it a Chard, with only the bright grassy / lemony flavours suggesting otherwise. Decent finish, with a touch of mineral and more of that buttery nuttiness.

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Paired with creamy butter and milk crab - delicious!

• 2000 Louis Lequin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 92 Points

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

  This was really surprisingly good. Light golden yellow colour. Really attractive nose, almost a little new-worldish, with flowers and nuts intermingling with white fruits and buttery tones. Rather rich on the palate, with a slight creamy mouthfeel, but very nicely balanced and held together with decent acidity and a flinty backbone. The minerality was nicely pronounced in fact, streaking through fresh lemon / lime flavours, very nicely cirtus here, and toasted almond skin into a nice finish with a little spread of butter. Modern, but rather classy and certainly well-made. Very young for a 2000. I think this can evolve for some time yet.

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• 2001 Kooyong Chardonnay Faultline 87 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula

  Disappointing. Clearly shown up by the modernly styled Louis Lequin Chassagne 1er Cru on the same flight. Very forward nose, lots of white fruit, flowers and musk. Certainly sweeter than the Burg, the palate showed lots of white fruit, some spice and a little heat. Rather strange though, the constituent parts were rather disparate and unintegrated, as if the wine was falling apart arouund its fruit core. Finish was okay, with a bit of mineral adding interest, but all in all, it came together as a simple, rather clumsy effort. Poor William was the most disappointed of all, since he is a big fan of the winemaker.

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• 2000 Markgraf von Baden Durbacher Schloß Staufenberg Gewürztraminer Auslese 88 Points

  Germany, Baden

  Something sweet to round-off the night. I found this pleasant but very simple. Golden yellow colour. Pineapple, longans and white flowers on the nose. Much the same on the palate, with an added twist of mineral. Very Gewurz but, not having has an Auslese Gewurz before, none of us could figure out what it was. Not bad.

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