2/18/2019 - Jasonsoh83 Likes this wine:

Pleasantly surprised by this mersault from francois gaunoux!! Lovely pale gold coloured. On the nose, beautiful aromas of honey, apricots and caramelized toffee. On the palate, good minerality with a strong acid spine to support it. Lemons peels, apricot,peach flavour stands out with a buttery mouth feel on the back palate. Long finish. Absolutely delightful!!

2/5/2019 - Jasonsoh83 Likes this wine:

Decanted for 1 hr. Beautiful nose of smoke, cassis, graphite. On the palate, slight tinge of greenish which could be due to the 01 vintage, however still enjoyable. Medium body with good structure and fairly lengthy finish. Tannins still on the slightly grippier side. Drink or keep for another 3 to 5 years. One of the sleeper vintages that is starting to surprise now!

8/2/2014 - Jasonsoh83 wrote:

My first time tasting a wine from the Sancerre appellation from the loire region.
Made from pinot noir grapes. Ruby red colour with orangey purplish tint at the edges. Nose is elegant and rich with aromas of peach, apricot and tinge of leather. Mineral aroma opens up after some time in the glass.
On the palate, nice cherry flavours with tinge of orange peel. Slightly sharp finish towards the end which could be due to the high acidity. Relatively fruity length for a wine that light.

Good to drink by itself chilled as an aperitif or with duck breast sushi and possibly tuna carpaccio.

8/4/2014 - Jasonsoh83 Likes this wine:

This ripasso is definitely value for money. Made from the same grapes as the Amarone. The term “Ripasso” sounds like and in fact means “repassed.” That refers to its production process whereby regular, fermented Valpolicella is added to a cask containing the skins and lees left over from fermented Amarone wines. The process of adding (or “repassing”) the lighter Valpolicella wine over the remainders of the “bigger” Amarone wine imparts additional color, texture and flavor to the Valpolicella wine. Also, it induces a second fermentation of the wine that increases the wine’s alcoholic content.

The le Morente ripasso is inky black in colour reminscent of the darkness hr of the night. Nose of floral bouquet which opens up in the glass with some gentle swirling. On the palate there is sweet red fruit with background shadings of cola, root beer and candy. The wine is fruity and sweet in the mouth with a medium-long finish and soft supply tannins.

It’s a wine with sufficient structure and body to go with hearty foods such as stews, braised red meats, game and aged cheeses.

A good alternative to the Amarone, for a normal dinner night.

8/2/2014 - Jasonsoh83 Likes this wine:

One of my favourite wine. This is the wine i always go back to if i miss wines from Barossa Valley or if i miss Adelaide. A place i called home for 6 years.

Decanted for 2-3 hrs in a decanter. Deep purple/garnet in colour. Long legs. Strong aromas of black fruit such as plum, blackberry, including cassis. On the palate strong flavours of dark fruits mixed with licorice, cassis, chocolates and smokey feel. Extremely creamy and velvety on the tongue with tinge of vanilla oak. tannins has more or less settled. Extremely long finish.

Still a wine i will open on a night i need to impress. Always a safe choice. Less fussy compared to a good bottle of french which probably needs strict temperature control and the correct number of hrs of decanting.

7/31/2014 - Jasonsoh83 Likes this wine:

This wine was a pleasant surprise!

Deep black purplish colour with darkish rim. Bouquet is that of strong sweetly scent with a heady mixture of dark berry fruit, sandalwood and tinge of coffee beans.
On the palate it was full, with fairly rich cherry plum fruit with a sweetness that was just right as expected of an Amarone. However, it was more acidic than I expected from the nose, while the tannins are warm and savory, and flow into a clean slightly chocolatey bitter sandalwood finish.

Definitely value for money! time to for me start exploring more italian wines!!

7/31/2014 - Jasonsoh83 Likes this wine:

Had this as the 1st drink of the night at our fornightly wine session.
A Blanc de blanc which means its 100% chardonnay.

Pale straw in the glass with lovely minerality coupled with dried fruit & citrus aromatics that reflect the purest expression of the terroir. The palate is vibrantly alive with crisp citrus & melon flavors that are backed by deft acidity & dazzling minerality. The finish resonates with succulent citrus notes.
I am not much of a champagne drinker but this was a champagne that i wouldn't mind drinking again. Would love to pair it with lobster or even oysters given that its a blanc de blanc.

7/31/2014 - Jasonsoh83 Likes this wine:

The last wine of the night and aptly so. Powerful intense wine. I first tasted this when it was first released in 2006/2007 at the cellar door in Mclaren vale itself as a poor student. I am so glad i revisited this wine again last night.

Decanted for 2-3 hrs before serving. Totally opaque black purple colour with a purple hue and excellent cling. The nose is brooding and alluring. Earthy notes combined with dark fruits like blackberry, plum with a tinge of vanilla oak and oriental spice. The palate is voluptous with mouth filling flavours of dark fruits which then leads to explosion of spicyness which is nice but not overpowering. Lovely, fined grained, textural tannins that seem to linger on forever on the tongue.

This is definitely a wine to bring to impress if the theme of the night is shiraz or full bodied wines.

7/31/2014 - Jasonsoh83 Likes this wine:

To be honest, not a big fan of the sangiovese grape varietal. But i am starting to change my mind as i drink more and more brunellos. Definitely one of the best brunello i have tasted.

Blind tasted thanks to the generosity of Jess. Pop and poured. A colossal wine. Strong deep intense garnet inkish colour. Nose was a little closed initially but with a mild barnyard, bluecheese scent which blew off as the wine breathed. Opened up into an extraordinary bouquet of floral scent with a tinge of tabacco/flint.
The flavour is rich and well structured, with many layers beneath, upheld by a superb cutting acidity which is characteristic of the sangiovese grape varietal. Relatively long finish which returns a flavour of a tinge of leather and eucalyptic sensation.

To be honest i thought this wine was at least 15 years old. Drinking well now but could probably benefit from another 10-15 years of cellaring.

I'm sold.