By: Simon Roberts
Graileys hosted a tasting in conjunction with Christopher Burgess and Julius Baer Banking at the superb George Restaurant in Hong Kong’s most exclusive enclave, Parkview Estates.
This city-within- a-city is a completely self sustaining luxury complex nestled in the mountains overlooking the bay. Just sitting in this most impressive dining room surrounded by great friends, superb wine and food would be enough to make it a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but after taking a tour of the wine cellar stacked with vintage Petrus and Latour and then admiring the wall adorned with Dali, Picasso and French renaissance paintings, you soon realize this is a truly special event.
Thanks to our host Christopher and his many guests, the evening was indeed ‘one for the ages’. Our first wine was a 1964 Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne. It had huge anticipation for me as I have had this particular bottle sitting in my cellar for a couple of years now. This was the perfect setting and occasion; it did not disappoint.
This wine had everything an old Champagne should have, a golden yellow hue, backed up with a very subtle effervescence that had flavors of baked apples and sourdough, yeast, butterscotch and honey. This stunning example of aged Champagne set the tone for a wonderful tasting. It was quickly followed with a 2004 Cristal that was drinking exceptionally well, full of vibrant fruit yet ever so well balanced. A great way to start any tasting!
The theme for our tasting was California versus France, all paired with some succulent plates.
Our Tasting…
Flight 1 Rhone/Rhone-style Whites
2007 Guigal Hermitage Blanc Ex-Voto versus 2009 Sine Qua Non On the Lam
Winner here by only one vote was the SQN. It had some very interesting nuances, kind of what you get when you mix Viogner with Chardonnay but overall the balance of acidity to fruit was just about perfect. It just overshadowed the Guigal, which showed a wonderful citrus and tangerine component that had everybody talking. Round 1 to the States !
Flight 2 Chardonnay-based Wines
2001 Leflaive Batard Montrachet versus 1998 Peter Michael Mon Plasir
Unfortunatel, the Peter Michael was not showing well and the sommelier and I pulled the wine out of the tasting. I had a back up though! We pitched a 1999 Leflaive Batard Montrachet against its older sibling. It was interesting to taste these side by side, the 1999 was head and shoulders above the 2001, showing lots more definition and focus, all at the table agreed the 1999 is a very special wine.
Flight 3 Syrah-based Wines
2007 Guigal Cote-Rotie ‘Chateau d’Ampuis’ versus 2008 Sine Qua Non B20
Ze French won this flight, though just by a single vote again. The SQN B20 was decanted from a magnum two hours prior to tasting and was still showing very tightly. It does have an amazing backbone, this wine, but when compared to the Ampuis, which was drinking straight out of the chute, it just fell short. Guigal’s 38-month in barrel aging regime allows significant integration of fruit and wood, so distinctive but still very individual wines in their own right.
Flight 4 Pinot Noir-based Wines
2008 Sea Smoke Ten versus 2009 Meo Camuzet Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes
California did indeed smoke the Meo…for some! The table was split down the middle on this one , some guests going for the silky smooth, fruit forward Cali Pinot, which was worlds apart in complexity for me. I had the swing vote and thought the Meo Camuzet had a lot more going on; deep red cherry with a savory spice on the mid palate that intrigued. The 2009 Meo Camuzet is going to be some wine in 10 years, if you can keep you hands of it. France edges it, only just!
Flight 5 Bordeaux/Bordeaux-style Wines
2003 Chateau Pavie St Emilion versus 2005 Phelps Insignia
This was the best example of Chateau Pavie that I have tasted. It actually had a Harlanesque taste going on. The St Emilion is starting to strut its stuff and seems to be coming out of what I think has been a dormant stage for this wine. A little more time and I think it would have edged the Insignia. The Phelps, which was served out of a double magnum was exceptional. Phelps Insignia really is a well made California cabernet that is built for the long haul. The tannins are just starting to flesh out on this wine and it is showing beautiful crème de cassis flavors that leave a lingering impression, so much so that all but two around the table picked the California Cabernet as winner here. California triumphant again here.
We finished the night with a nice bottle of… San Miguel! After all the vino, a palate cleanser was in order, we had to show it in the lineup picture. It’s only fair, right!!