The Many Faces of Riesling

Riesling is a bit like classical music. Complex, technically precise, and rich in history. And like classical music, it appeals to only a niche group. Jancis Robinsons says of it, "The most underappreciated white grape in the world, but in my opinion the finest." The presence of monoterpenes in Riesling, responsible for the delicate floral aromas of violets and rose petals, can come as a shock to wine drinkers more familiar with the citrus and oak character of Chardonnay. Add in a distinct, bracing acidity, and a lean body, and it is easy to see why Riesling accounts for only 12% of white wine sales in Singapore.

It wasn't always this way. In the 19th century, German Riesling sold for higher than even the grand crus of Bordeaux. Riesling was considered the finest varietal of the Rhine winemaking regions since the early 18th century, prompting various church authorities to encourage Riesling plantings over lesser varietals. But just as Germany was responsible for the rise and influence of Riesling, it also played a hand in its downfall. The 1971 German wine law, which associated quality with sugar and ripeness rather than terroir, unleashed a flood of sweet wine into the market just as consumer preferences were evolving towards drier styles. A plethora of similar sounding varietals, amongst them Welschriesling and Cape Riesling, which possessed some of the aromatic qualities but none of the finesse and longevity of true Riesling, put another nail in the coffin.

A recent tasting of Rieslings with The Local Nose, paired with a selection of tapas from Vintry reminded me how much this grape has to offer. More than any other varietal, Riesling expresses the soil and climate of the vineyard, while still managing to maintain an individual charm. It is like having Picasso, Dali and Monet painting the same vase of flowers. My tasting notes are reproduced below:

2009 Württemberg Lauffener Riesling - A good showing of German-style Riesling, with typical lime and kerosene aromas. Light bodied with an above average length.

2009 Tamar Ridge Kayena Vineyard Riesling - From Tasmania, a cool climate region. Very subtle aromas of kerosene and citrus. The body was rather thick for a dry Riesling, perhaps due to the alcohol. A very different style from Clare and Eden Valley Rieslings, which have more pronounced fruit character.

2007 Haart to Haart Riesling - From the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region, this wine had an unusual rubber-like aroma. Delicious minerality on the palate, reminiscent of small river pebbles. A long, persistent finish.

2009 Biffar Josephine Riesling Kabinett Feinherb - What a mouthful of a name! Kabinett Feinherb refers to the style of the wine, which is off-dry. The nose had a lovely lychee and candied fruit note, with a slight hint of lentil. Similarly rich on the palate, but with sufficient acidity to ensure that it did not become cloying.

2009 Domain Road Riesling - This Riesling from Central Otago displayed primary lime and mineral fruits with subtle floral notes on the nose. A fruit forward palate of lime and lemon curd, with slatey mineral notes. A very typical New Zealand Riesling, tightly focused with concentrated fruit.

There are many other regions now which make excellent Riesling. Alsace and Finger Lakes (New York) tend to make Rieslings in bone dry styles, while Austrian Riesling is dry with floral notes. Australian Riesling from the Clare and Eden Valleys have a distinctive petrol character, even in younger wines, and citrus characters. Even though Riesling is less popular than, say, Chardonnay, winemakers love to make (and drink) this grape for its finesse and complexity. Unless there is a change in wine drinking trends towards lighter styles of wine though, I do not expect the rest of the world to follow anytime soon.

On a final note, for those who have not tried out Vintry's Caramelised Roast Pork, it is the most tender, succulent, melt-in-your-mouth pork I have tasted in Singapore. A perfect match with dry German Riesling.

That Elusive Asian Spice

pic from www.japanfocus.org

I've noticed the term "Asian spice" cropping up regularly in tasting notes recently. Which is rather like saying, a wine has minerality. It's an imprecise word that can mean a variety of scents and flavours. Szechuan peppercorns, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, basil and lemongrass are all spices used in Asian cooking, but they taste very different from one another. When "Asian spice" is used to describe a wine, does it smell of lemongrass then? Surely an odd scent to find in Cabernet Sauvignon wouldn't you think?

Out of curiosity, I made used of Google's date range function to find out how many web pages had the word "Asian spice" and "tasting notes" in them within a certain time frame. Up to the year 2005, there were 47 hits on these search terms. Extending the date range to the current date resulted in around 12,000 hits. Ok, I thought, maybe more tasting notes have been put online over the past six years. So I put in the terms "blackcurrant" and "tasting notes" and repeated the experiment. This time, there were 11,500 results up to 2005, and 149,000 up to today. So that means that there are now 255 times more tasting notes with the words "Asian spice" compared with an increase of 13 times for "blackcurrant".

Perhaps this growth of wines tasting like "Asian spice" has something to do with what a major player Asia (in particular China) has become in the wine trade. Hong Kong is already the largest market for wine auctions, and Asia is expected to account for a third of en primeur sales this year. With Europe and the United States still in economic doldrums, it is Asia which is setting new records for the price of fine wine. Maybe it follows, that if you are marketing to Asia, you should use terms that are more familiar to Asians? Just like Chateau Lafite adding the Chinese symbol for 8 to their 2008 bottles, is "Asian spice" a marketing gimmick?

I have no qualms about tasting notes featuring more descriptors that are easier to understand in the local context, such as litchi, mango and star fruit. Jeannie Cho Lee MW wrote an excellent article in the July 2009 issue of Decanter which examines the difference between Western and Asian palates. Such descriptors allow locals to identify better with the flavours of the wine, which is an important consideration when buying wines. Yet I can't help feeling that "Asian spice" is a catch-all phrase that doesn't really add value to a tasting note.

First Growth Wines for Less than a Dollar?

Chateau Haut-Brion 1997: £0.25. Chateau Latour 2001: £1.23. No, it's not a dodgy sale by some back street peddler in China, but rather a new auction model by Unique Wine Auctions. Instead of the winner being the one who puts in the highest bid, it is the lowest unique bid that wins the auction. The site makes money by charging for each bid put in. Each bidder has an account with the company in which he buys credits which are used for bidding.

It's a bit like buying a lottery ticket, and I am sure that the owners of the business have worked their sums to see if it is a viable business. Certainly with the prices of fine wine being what they are, it is easy to see why this model would attract a lot of attention. The company even includes free delivery for UK based addresses. 

The site has been in operation since February 2011, and it seems to focus on high quality Bordeaux wines, understandably so since these are the wines that generate the most interest due to their rarity and price. To encourage people to make more bids, every time a bid is placed the system will send a response letting the bidder know if the bid is "unique but not the lowest", "not unique" or currently the "lowest unique bid". The wine currently on auction is a Chateau Gruaud Larose 2000, with a maximum bid of £9.00. That means that there are 900 unique bid prices.

I wonder how the system will handle an increasing number of members. More bids mean a decreasing likelihood of unique bids, which can be countered by either limiting the number of new members (which doesn't generate profits for the company) or by increasing the maximum bid price (which means that a bidder would have to put in more bids to try and find the "winning combination"). The worst scenario of course, would be that the company ends up broke and all the unused credits are lost. Then again, it wouldn't be a lottery without an element of risk.

The Joys of Bordeaux

When I first started drinking wine, it was mainly New World wines from Australia and New Zealand. They were approachable, didn't need extensive aging and had identifiable fruit character. And though I am still a big fan of Margaret River Chardonnays (uber rich wines which taste like buttered toast) and New Zealand Pinot Noirs (silky, seductive and yet with loads of fruit), I find myself increasingly drawn towards the holy grail of wine lovers, fine Bordeaux reds. 

I'm not talking about your average AOC Bordeaux, but rather the good stuff, those wines which have attained the exalted ranking of being a classified cru. Of these rankings, the 1855 Medoc classification has the most prestige, quite impressive for a system that is over a hundred and fifty years old! The rankings for the 1855 classification were drawn up based on the price of the wines at that time, and they still command a lofty premium over other Bordeaux wines. 

These classified wines require a great deal of patience (and preferably deep pockets). At a recent wine dinner, it was those wines that had been aged at least eight years that started to show some lovely character. Younger wines, though well made and delicious to drink, tended to taste almost uniform. The highlight was a Chateau Giscours 1990 from Margaux, which had exotic dried herbs and licorice notes. It took twenty years for this wine to reach its peak. In a world where instant gratification is all the buzz, we frequently consume wines before they have the chance to mature into something interesting.

The ability of wine to evolve as it ages is one of its most interesting properties. Milk goes sour, soft drinks lose their fizz and flavour, but wines, like people, age slowly, losing the fresh fruitiness of youth and developing subtle, complex flavours. An exploration of Bordeaux wines is all the more interesting because it tracks the evolution of these wines over the years. 

Nascetta, A Little Known Varietal, and Creative Labelling

No doubt about it, Italy is huge. With 20 administrative regions all making wine, a person could study Italian wine all his life and barely scratch the surface of all there is to know. Which is why I jumped at the chance to attend an Italian wine tasting last Wednesday at the World of Wines branch in Novena.

Among the usual suspects of Chianti and Amarone was a little known Piedmontese wine made from the indigeneous varietal Nascetta. So obscure that it is not even mentioned in The Oxford Companion to Wine, it is grown by only a handful of wineries. This particular wine was produced by Elvio Cogno, located in the Langhe area of Piedmont. Back in 1994, Elvio Cogno was the first winery to bottle this wine, and they had to label it as a vino da tavola (table wine) as it was not an approved varietal for quality wine. It was only in 2000 that Nascetta was elevated to DOC level, and even then it could only be used in the blend but not mentioned on the label. To get around this, winemaker Valter Fissore cleverly named the wine Anas-Cetta. Since brand names are permissible on wine labels whether or not they are registered, Valter was able to use varietal labelling by disguising it as a brand. Bravo! 

The wine has undergone six months aging in stainless steel tanks and a further six months in French oak. Common with most Italian whites, the nose is rather neutral, with notes of peach and apricot. It has a light body with higher than normal alcohol (for Italian whites) at 14%. The palate is slightly herbaceous, with flavours of fuzzy peach skin and stone fruit. A difficult wine to enjoy at first, as it lacks the punchy forward fruit that Riesling, or Chardonnay for example possess. As a wine lover though, I am always overjoyed to find something different.

A final note on the labelling regulations, as of 2010 the varietal is allowed to be mentioned on the label. Wineries such as Rivetto are experimenting with skin maceration to extract greater aromas from the grape. Watch closely, the future of Nascetta as a nobel grape unfolds now.

Regulations on Alcohol Advertising

The beer industry is really clever. Just look at their ads and see how they cater specifically to different groups. For example, wander into any open-air food court in Singapore and chances are good that the pillars will be plastered with advertisements featuring cheongsam clad pouty ladies. At night, groups of middle aged men will be seen converging at tables and flirting with the "Beer Aunties", cheerful, busty women who will regularly top up their drinks.

Wander into a sports pub and the image subtly changes. Football matches are heavily sponsored by beer companies. The players wear shirts emblazoned with beer logos. And what could be a better match for spicy chicken wings than a cool draught? Now the advertisements emphasise friendly competition and bonding, targeting the younger crowd that frequent these places.

I am reminded of the early days of smoking advertisements, where it was permissible to market cigarettes as making one "cool" (anyone remember the Marlborough Man?). Although the moderate consumption of alcohol does not pose a significant health risk, alcohol is still lumped into the "sin" category, attracting more regulation and taxes. My Diploma assignment this past week was to research alcohol advertisements, and there are suprisingly quite a few guidelines on what can and cannot be shown. For example, in the European Union, the following rules apply:

• it cannot be aimed specifically at minors, or in particular depicting minors consuming these beverages.
• it shall not link the consumption of alcohol to enhanced physical performance or driving.
• it shall not create the impression that the consumption of alcohol contributes towards social or sexual success.
• it shall not claim that alcohol has therapeutic qualities.
• it shall not encourage immoderate consumption of alcohol.
• it shall not place emphasis on high alcoholic content as being a positive quality of the beverages.

With the exception of the first rule, alcohol advertising does sometime walk a fine line. Tiger Beer caught some flak in 2008 for a UK ad featuring a ladyboy cabaret performer next to a bottle of Tiger Beer and the tagline "The Far East’s Most Desirable Export Since 1932". People linked the ad as saying that beer and sex were two of Asia's best exports, and the Advertising Standards Authority forced Tiger Beer to pull the ad.

Even worse is when someone else makes use of your brand to make an ad. The Guinness Good Times video created a buzz when it came out on Youtube, but it wasn't even an official ad. Diageo (the owner of Guinness) said that "Guinness is in no way associated with this video, and has approached YouTube to have it removed. We are proud of our brands, and our commitment to responsible marketing, and this is not how we want our brand portrayed."

Champagne Veuve Clicquot, Reims

While attending a Veuve Clicquot tasting in London in March, I had no idea that a month later I would be touring its vast underground cellars and having a tasting tutorial conducted by the esteemed winemaker himself, Dominique Demarville. Dominique created waves when he became, in 1998, the youngest ever chef de cave in Champagne at the age of 31. He joined Veuve Clicquot in 2006 as Deputy Cellar Master, and in 2009 was promoted to Cellar Master, responsible for the winemaking and blending of all Veuve Clicquot wines. 

Champagne (the very word is protected under European Union regulations) is a mix of three grape varietals; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. A still wine is made from each of these varietals, which are then blended together and fermented again to produce the distinctively fine sparkle. To start our tasting, Dominique had prepared samples of still base wine from the 2010 vintage. These are not wines which you would normally find on supermarket shelves. They were distinct for their low alcohol and high acidity (though the Chardonnay was most striking in its sharpness). Through tasting the base wines individually, it was possible to understand why it is said that Chardonnay provides freshness, Pinot Noir contributes body and Pinot Meunier gives fruit and aromatics.

The Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut is the bread and butter house blend. Made from a high proportion of Pinot Noir (50% or more depending on the year) and reserve wines, it displayed toasty aromas and a lovely depth of flavour on the palate. Veuve Clicquot also produces a vintage champagne in the finest years, and I was fortunate to be able to sample the 2002. This bottle should come with a warning label to prepare people for the shock of absolute purity and concentration of flavour that will hit them when tasting this wine. Rich and buttery on the palate, with a lip smacking, lasting finish. It is definitely a wine for a very special occasion. Although it is drinking wonderfully now, I recall tasting a 1953 Vintage Veuve Clicquot in London, and it makes me wonder how long these wines can age. Eternally, I suspect.

I was gratified when Dominique brought out the final wine for tasting, the 1998 La Grande Dame. The top line of Veuve Clicquot champagnes, this wine is bottled in magnificient, jet-black glass that hints at the precious liquid within. Over 13 years old, but still young! It has not yet developed the rich, honeyed notes that come with age. The style is different from the Vintage Veuve Clicquot, I would say that the La Grande Dame is more austere and less approachable in youth.  

The story of Veuve Clicquot is long and fascinating, guided by the strong hand of Mme Barbe-Nicole Clicqout Ponsardin, widow of the man who started the company. Her keen eye for business and innovations in the disgorgement process allowed the winery to outpace its competitors and come back from the brink of ruin several times. "Only one quality, the finest", became her motto, and it is clear that the latest generation of winemakers follow that principle with utmost dedication.

Perfect Picnic Wines

Every Sunday, the Singapore Botanic Gardens puts on a concert at the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage. I attended one such event two weeks ago, under a glorious spell of warm, sunny weather. We had a picnic in front of the open air stage, and brought KFC, pasta and wines. There was a pretty large crowd made up of locals and expatriates living around the area.

With the numerous kids (and quite a few friendly dogs) running around, it is a good thing that Jasmine brought wine glass holders, a metal holder that could be staked into the soil to hold our wine glasses. She obtained them from Margaret River, but I notice that Amazon also sells them (USD12.50 for a set of two). A perfect solution for where to put our wines without worrying about them spilling. We still had to keep an eye on them to prevent curious kids from trying them out though (those budding alcoholics!).

We started the picnic with a Vinho Verde Alianca from Portugal. Made from the indigenous Pederna and Azal varietals, it was light and fruity with a slight spritz caused by the injection of carbon dioxide. I had brought a bottle of M&S 2009 Beaujolais, a forward, fruity red with lively notes of cherries and bananas. Neither of these two wines were terribly complicated, and should be drunk sooner rather than later, but they were accessible and refreshing. In fact I was pleasantly surprised by the range of wines offered by Marks and Spencer, there were some easy drinking wines at very reasonable prices (around SGD25-30). Alcohol was a definite consideration when selecting wines for the picnic, I chose those that were on the lower side to account for the warm weather.

As the full moon ascended we moved on to a more contemplative wine, the 2009 Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir. To me Pinot Noir is a wine for night time drinking, its seductive, layered nuances beg for laid back conversations and the companionship of close friends.

I can't recall the last time Singapore had such fine weather (it's been afternoon thunderstorms for the past few weeks), but I am grateful that nature was in a generous mood that day. Looking forward to the next picnic session!

Singapore Wine Market

These are exciting times to be in Singapore. The country weathered the financial crisis better than most, and rebounded strongly in 2010 with double digit GDP growth. Sales of still wine took a hit, falling 7.5% in 2009 to SGD285.5 million, but rose to SGD304.6 million in 2010. The opening of the two integrated resorts has attracted scores of well-heeled tourists eager to spend on wining and dining.

I read a recent report from Euromonitor that had a few interesting insights into the current state of the Singapore wine market.

• Australian wines have seen the fastest growth in the past five years, and New Zealand wines are gaining in popularity.
• The average unit price of wine continues to decline in 2010 due to consumers being more price conscious, and intense competition in the wine market leading to discounting.
• Off-trade sales (wine sold in places other than restaurants and bars, e.g. retail shops) accounted for 71% of wine sales in terms of volume.
• Cabernet Sauvignon is the top red wine seller in 2010 (30%), followed by Syrah (24%) and Merlot (15%). Chardonnay dominates for the white wines (35.5%), followed by Sauvignon Blanc (22.5%) and Riesling (12%).
• Sale of rosé wines remain minimal, accounting for just SGD3.5 million.
• Sales of Champange increased even through the recession, from SGD52.4 million in 2008, to SGD54.8 million in 2009 and SGD56.8 million in 2010. Nicolas Feuillatte champagne is expected to perform well this year due to extensive marketing. (I recently attended a tasting by Appetite magazine where this champagne was selling for less than SGD 60. What an opportunity!)

A lot has been said about how Singapore missed an opportunity to position itself as a wine hub by reducing taxes on alcoholic beverages. Hong Kong abolished the wine tax in 2008, and has now become the world's most important centre for wine auctions. However, considering that Singapore accounts for only 1.1% of Asia Pacific wine market value, I doubt that abolishing the tax would make much of a difference in sales (although as a consumer I would definitely welcome it). Singapore's importance in the wine world is as a place to hold events and launch products. It is well positioned to do this, having excellent facilities and a large number of distributors. There have been several high profile events held in Singapore over the past few years, such as Parker in Asia in 2010, and the Union des Grand Crus tasting in 2011. I am also seeing an increasing number of winemakers coming to Singapore to host wine dinners and promote their wines. In fact, actor and winemaker Sam Neill will be appearing on Channel News Asia tomorrow morning to talk about his wines.

Bordeaux 2010 En Primeur

April is the busiest month in a wine critic's calendar. This is when the en primeur tasting is held in Bordeaux, with scores of people flying in from all over the world to assess the previous year's vintage. After the stellar year that was 2009, winemakers in Bordeaux are touting 2010 as another vintage not to be missed. Looking through Robert Parker's Vintage Chart, three years out of the past decade have scored highly (2000, 2005 and 2009) compared with just two in the 1990s (1990 and 1998). Furthermore the 1998 vintage displayed inconsistencies between the Left and Right Bank of Bordeaux, with Pomerol and St-Emilion garnering higher scores.

If this trend continues to hold true, it would indicate that there is no need to rush and buy the latest, hyped-up vintage as undoubtedly another one would be right around the corner. Famed oenologist Denis Dubourdieu sums up 2010 Bordeaux as "certainly a great and even very great year for both red and white wines". Former Wine Spectator editor James Suckling awards near perfect scores to four out of the five First Growths (the exception being Chateau Haut Brion which received a score of 97-98). Similar things were said for the 2009 vintage, like Robert Parker stating that it "may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux."

With such high scores being awarded even before the wines have started maturing, what meaningful comparison can be made should a vintage that is even better come along (probably 2011)? Would Robert Parker then have to change his 100 point scale to a 1000 point scale? Would the English language have to come up with words that are more superlative than superlative?

In one respect, the consumer benefits from the en primeur process, as there is overwhelming coverage of Bordeaux wines and the influx of cash from buying en primeur has allowed the Bordelais to introduce innovative new winemaking methods such as laser sorting, leading to wines of ever improving quality. The downside is of course the increasing wads of hard earned dollars that one has to fork out for the privilege of tasting these rarified wines. A bottle of 2009 Cheval Blanc ex-château would have set you back by 900 euros. It will be interesting to see the prices for 2010, and if consumers bite or balk.