Shaw + Smith = Delicious Wine!

Michael Hill Smith wears many hats in the wine industry, among them as an international wine judge, wine writer and wine consultant. But perhaps his proudest achievement is the Shaw + Smith winery, jointly set up in 1989 with his cousin Martin Shaw. His annual luncheons in Singapore to celebrate the winery’s latest release are packed affairs attended by the cognoscenti of the wine trade. This year's luncheon, held at the Jade Palace Restaurant, featured four Shaw + Smith wines paired with a selection of dim sum.

Shaw + Smith is located in Adelaide Hills, a cool-climate region located thirty minutes away from Adelaide by car. I first visited the winery in January 2009 and was impressed by the quality and fruit character of the wines. Tasting the wines again reinforced my perception, despite the fact that 2011 was a challenging vintage. In particular, the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc was memorable for its pure varietal character and zingy acidity. Imagine a bowl of tangy passion fruit with fresh lime squeezed all over and you'll get an idea of how it tastes like.

During the past twenty years that Michael has been visiting Singapore, he’s noticed that there has been an “explosion in the interest, understanding and appreciation of wine in Singapore.” He commented that “In Australia, we are struggling somewhat because the younger generation is all drinking spirits, because they drink what their parents didn’t. Whereas in Singapore, you have the opposite; the parents are drinking spirits and beer, and the younger generation is embracing wine in a really exciting way.”

The increasing competition in the wine trade in Singapore means that producers have to find ways of differentiating themselves from the rest of the crowd, or risk disappearing amidst the multitude of labels on retail shelves. In particular, the big Australian wine companies are struggling to differentiate between the brands that they have. "In the old days," says Michael, "they used to pick a winemaker, and the focus of the brand was the winemaker. So if you tasted Seppelts, it was always Ian Mckenzie, if it was Penfolds it was John Duval.. so there was always a very likeable, very skilled winemaker who you liked and therefore you reacted well to whereas now, it's just a sea of wine."

Having a winemaker such as Michael, who is also Australia's first Master of Wine, at the helm certainly helps Shaw + Smith. In many ways, Michael is the public face of Shaw + Smith, and people come to the tastings not only for the quality of the wines, but also to hear Michael's opinion on all thing vinous. It really illustrates the two factors that come into play when choosing wine; the reputation and skill of the winemaker, versus the sometimes abstract notion of terroir. A discussion for another day perhaps.

Tasting notes:
Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2011 - A pale, silvery lemon robe with notes of lime and passion fruit on the nose. A fresh and lively palate with mineral notes and intense fruitiness. Long and juicy finish. 2011 was an unusually wet and cool vintage, with above average rain in February and March. Winemakers had to contend with botrytis and downy mildew. Shaw + Smith was able to maintain quality by hand picking grapes which were not affected by disease.

Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills M3 Chardonnay 2009 - The wine takes its name from the M3 vineyard which represents the owners Martin Shaw, Michael and Matthew Hill Smith. Pale straw colour. Lovely aromas of cashew, butter and citrus fruit. Medium bodied, silky texture with a lasting finish. The Adelaide Hills style of Chardonnay is a departure from the oaky, heavy flavours that dominate Australian Chardonnay. Clonal selection, whole bunch pressing and hand harvesting is done to produce wines of complexity and restraint.   

Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2009 - Deep ruby with aromas of dark chocolate and black fruit. A punchy palate with notes of blackcurrant, dark chocolate, graphite and a dash of white pepper. There will be no Shaw + Smith Shiraz for the 2011 vintage as the fruit was not judged to be up to quality standards.

Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2009 - Pinot Noir is often known as the heartbreak varietal because of its fussy growing requirements. This wine had varietal characters of raspberry and red cherry. Ripe, but with sufficient acidity to prevent it from being soupy. Shaw + Smith recently purchased the Tolpuddle vineyard in Tasmania, and will start bottling single vineyard Pinot Noirs from there in 2013.

Many thanks to Christine Wee of Monopole Pte Ltd for extending an invitation to this event.

In Celebration of Diversity

There can be few joys in life greater than having a delicious morsel of food brought to new levels by a flavourful sip of wine. The interplay of different tastes is like a marriage where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In Singapore, we are fortunate that there is a vibrant dining scene. We may not have the unparalleled freshness of ingredients that Japan has, nor the mastery of sauces that the French are famous for. Rather, Singapore's strength lies as a confluence of cultures, a melting pot of diversity that lends richness and variety to the food we eat.

Take Keystone Restaurant, a newly opened dining venue in the heart of the Central Business District as an example. It bills itself as offering Modern European fare with a progressive twist. Singaporean chef Mark Richards has tried his hand at Thai, Middle Eastern and French cuisine, and uses various techniques such as spherification and dehydration to coax flavours out of his dishes. The menu, which changes every two to three months, feature seasonal ingredients sourced from Europe, Australia, the United States and regionally.

On the 12th of August Keystone played host to a wine dinner with winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner of Giaconda. Giaconda is located in Beechworth which is a three hour drive north-east from Melbourne. At an altitude of 400 metres, the climate is considered moderately cool with approximately 700 mm of rainfall annually. It has a miniscule production of 2000-3000 cases a year which, coupled with its fine reputation, has led wine critic James Halliday to term these as "super-cult wines".

Giaconda is a study in contradictions. The winemaking style is traditional, using wild yeasts, basket pressing and no filtration. Even the website, http://www.giaconda.com.au/, looks as though it was designed in the 1990s. In the business side however, Giaconda is a pioneer. It experimented early with online direct sales, and established an en-primeur system for selling its wines in Australia. Around a third of Giaconda's wines are now sold through its website.

The first course was Sarlat Foie Gras with pistachios, compressed pineapple and white balsamic gastrique. This ignited a discussion at the table on the ethicality of force feeding an animal, although I noticed that all the foie gras was duly finished. It was paired with the 2006 Aeolia Roussanne, a refreshing, citrusy wine with lemon pith notes. A tightly focused wine.

The next wine was surely the star of the evening, the 2006 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay. This wine was rated Exceptional, the highest level, in Langton's Classification of Australian Wine. Elegant and poised, the wine displayed a deft handling of oak that underlined rather than overpowered the fruit character. Rick felt that the wine was not showing as well as it should and would benefit from further ageing. Alongside this we were served Iberian Ham with passionfruit sorbet, mission figs and Tête de Moine (Swiss cheese). This dish showcased what a chef could do with high quality ingredients and a knack for balancing different flavours. The saltiness of the ham was perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the passionfruit sorbet, while the cheese served as a neutral palate cleanser.

Moving on to the red wines, we first tried a 2006 Pinot Noir from the Nantua Vineyard. A brilliant counterpoint to the Chardonnay, the Pinot Noir was expansive, fruity and aromatic. It reminded me almost of a New Zealand Pinot Noir, so ripe was the fruit character. This was paired with deliciously pink slices of Mair Cervena Venison with charred eggplant, black plums, shallot caviar and valrhona textures. The meat was cooked to perfection, and the eggplant exuded a wonderful smoky flavour that was accentuated by the Pinot Noir.

The final wines of the evening were a vertical pair of Shiraz wines from the Warner Vineyard. The 2005 vintage was more savoury and spicy while the 2006 displayed more ripeness, earthy elements and blackcurrant fruit. Rick is proud of making wines that "are not squeaky clean and commercial", and are different from year to year. 2006 was hotter and drier than 2005, accounting for the riper fruit. With these wines we were served Blackmore Wagyu Brisket with porcini & marrow jus, polenta, chinese broccoli and truffle egg fluid.

The let-down in most fine dining venues in Singapore is usually the service, but I was impressed by the attention to detail at Keystone. The staff addressed us by name and water glasses were refilled promptly and discreetly. There was no chaos despite having opened just a few weeks earlier, and the staff seemed to be genuinely enjoying their work. I even saw Chef Richards humming as he prepared the dishes.

It was interesting to see the ideological difference between Giaconda and Keystone. The former holds fast to traditional methods of doing things, believing that their product should be as natural as possible. The latter is akin to a mad scientist, gleefully experimenting with its product and adopting the latest technologies. Yet both are capable of delivering sublime culinary experiences, proving that passion and determination are the true magical ingredients.

Keystone Restaurant

11 Stanley Street

Singapore 068730

Tel: +65 62210046

Lunch: 1200h to 1500h

Dinner: 1800h to 2230h

Corkage policy: SGD42 per bottle

Monopole Pte Ltd is the exclusive distributor of Giaconda wines in Singapore.

Many thanks to Natasha Beh of Ate Consulting for extending an invitation to this event.

酒

Having some free time in Shanghai recently, I decided to check out the local wine scene and see what changes had occured in the past few years. In particular, I was interested to taste a Chinese wine (made from grapes, not rice) and see if there had been any improvements. I still recall the first time I tried a "Made in China" wine in 2006. It was a Dynasty Cabernet Sauvignon, costing around RMB40, or SGD8. Drinkable, but it lacked ripeness and had some distinctly un-winey notes. The palate reminded me of soya sauce and dried watermelon seeds.

Admittedly, Dynasty is on the lower end of the quality scale. Along with Great Wall and Changyu and Tonghua, these four producers are the giants of China's wine industry, accounting for 60% of market share. The wines are priced from  RMB30 to RMB50, although Changyu does sell a Selected Cabernet Dry Red for RMB73. In comparison, a Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia's mass market wine, retails for RMB125.

There are some Chinese producers who have achieved fame outside of China. Grace Vineyards (from Shanxi) and Silver Heights (from Ningxia) were favourably reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW in September 2010 for Robert Parker's wine website. It is difficult to get these wines from the local supermarket though, so I headed to Ferguson Lane, a small cluster of shops converted from goverment buildings in the former French Concession.

There are two wine specialists here, Globus wine and Pudao Wines (formerly named Wine Way). The latter is equipped with an Enomatic machine which allows tasting of wines by the glass. Normally, one would need to purchase a membership card (RMB300 with RMB200 credit), but you can also ask for the "store card" which will allow you to pay for just the wines you taste. There are 8 whites and 8 reds available for tasting and the selection is changed every week. They also have a "wine of the week" which retails at just RMB1 for a tasting portion. The day I was there this was the 2006 d'Arenberg Stump Jump White blended from Riesling, Marsanne and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. They stock two labels from Silver Heights, the Family Reserve and The Summit. Both are Bordeaux blends with a small proportion of Cabernet Gernischt, a varietal with murky origins unique to China. Unfortunately, both the wines had sold out due to extremely limited quantities, and so I went over to Globus wine.

Compared to Pudao Wines, Globus is more of a wine bar, with seating space and a food menu. The store manager, Leo, proved to be extremely knowledgable about wines and the wine industry in China. He explained to me that wine consumption in China is being encouraged by the government, because "the move towards drinking alcohol made from grapes rather than rice puts less pressure on rice crops, which are an important staple in China." While this has spurred production of wine locally (China is now the world's 6th largest producer of wine), much of this is poor quality and lacking in flavour. Imported wines attract a tariff of 14% on top of 17% value-added tax and 10% consumption tax. Says Leo, "The high taxes on foreign wines create little incentive for local wine producers to improve quality since they have a pricing advantage."

I asked Leo if he had any Chinese wine in his portfolio, and he recommended to me Sunshine Valley from Gansu province in northwest China. They make two red wines, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinot Noir. This was the first time that I had heard of Pinot Noir being planted in China, as it is a notoriously fickle grape, requiring careful handling in the vineyard and the winery. Most of China's wine production is red, and dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to being an auspicious colour (white is associated with death in Chinese custom), red wines have a premium image and are able to command higher prices. "In China's market," says Leo, "you must have a Cabernet wine."

I thanked Leo for his time and paid for the Sunshine Valley Pinot Noir. Back at the hotel, I tried it with some roast duck, which turned out to be quite a pleasant match. The wine still lacked ripeness (in fact Leo had mentioned the herbaceous note) but managed to display some varietal character. At RMB200, there are better value wines to be found elsewhere.

There is tremendous potential for the wine industry in China, but development is uneven. Made in China wines still struggle with poor quality grapes and lack of winemaking expertise. Wine consumption in China is also at a fledgling stage. While many Chinese have the money and access to high-end wines, few understand how to appreciate it, instead mixing it with ice or soft drinks. I am heartened though by the expertise of trade people such as Leo, who have formal qualifications in addition to tasting experience. As most people find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings when entering a wine shop, it is helpful to have someone who knows the wines intimately and can make helpful suggestions. 

Addresses:

Pudao Wines
House 102, Ferguson Lane
376 Wukang Road
Xuhui District, Shanghai 200031
Tel: +86 21 6090 7075

Globus Wine

376 Wukang Road

Xuhui District, Shanghai 200031
Tel: +86 21 6466 8969

US$117,000 for a bottle of wine? Sweet!

These days, Christian Vanneque is looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. The sommelier and restaurateur entered the Guinness Book of World Records on 26th July this year when he became the owner of the world’s most expensive bottle of white wine, an 1811 vintage of Chateau d’Yquem that sold for US$117,000. Made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes infected by noble rot, Chateau d’Yquem ranks as the greatest sweet white wine in the world. Wine critic Robert Parker has the following tasting note on the 1811 vintage: “……The d’Yquem, with its dark gold color, awesomely intense, sweet nose, unctuous, thick, fabulous flavor extraction, pinpoint precision, and a finish that lasted a minute or more, is the kind of wine on which Yquem’s reputation is based. It was liquified crème brûlée – an astonishing wine…” Adding to its value is a Record of Inspection from Chateau d’Yquem that authenticates the design of the bottle as consistent with production methods used at that time.

Christian was transiting in Singapore last week en route from London to Bali, where the precious bottle will be displayed at his new restaurant, the SIP Sunset Grill in Seminyak.  At the grand opening on 1st August 2011, members of the public will be able to view the record-breaking bottle, albeit through a custom made bullet-proof, temperature and humidity controlled showcase. Even when displayed at a press conference in Singapore, the bottle was assiduously attended to by security personnel. This careful handling displays the reverence he has for the wine. Perhaps he also remembers the lesson of wine merchant William Sokolin, notoriously remembered as having broken the world’s most expensive bottle of wine, a 1787 Chateau Margaux valued at US$225,000.

What possesses people to pay such stratospheric figures for a bottle of wine? For Christian, the bottle represents a piece of history. He says, “1811 is a date that Napoleon was in power in France, James Madison was the President of the United States, Beethoven was writing the 7th, and Franz Liszt and Napoleon II were born. I always knew that I had Napoleon’s height, but now I know that I have something from his reign also.” 1811 also marks the year a brilliant comet appeared in the night skies; wine lovers claim that the astronomical entity bestowed wines from that vintage with extraordinary finesse and longevity.

The bottle was sold to Christian by the Antique Wine Company, a London-based rare wine specialist that was also responsible for the sale of the previous record holder, a 1787 Chateau d’Yquem. Its track record of selling fine wines since 1982 gave Christian the confidence to purchase the bottle. At the handing over ceremony in London, Stephen Williams (Managing Director of the Antique Wine Company) said that “Most days, we handle extraordinary transactions, but today is very, very special because this is such a unique, rare and valuable bottle of wine.”

Christian plans to open the bottle in August 2017 at the three Michelin-star La Tour d’Argent restaurant in Paris to commemorate the 50th anniversary since he started his career there as the Head Sommelier. It was at that very establishment that his love of Yquem came about, having purchased numerous bottles for the restaurant’s wine cellar. The guest list and menu for the dinner have already been planned out. He says, “A sommelier is not a collector, a sommelier is a wine drinker. This bottle was never purchased with the idea of investment in mind.”

That being said, Christian is already reaping rewards from his purchase. Newswires around the world have been buzzing about the transaction, and this has helped generate tremendous publicity for his new restaurant. There will no doubt be a long queue of people craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the famous bottle at the SIP Sunset Grill, and people who do not usually associate Bali as a place to drink fine wine will have to rethink their position. In fact, the SIP Sunset Grill will boast the largest and most comprehensive wine cellar in Indonesia when it opens. From a marketing perspective, the purchase has been a complete success.

As a judge in the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting, Christian witnessed a landmark event in which the superiority of French wines was challenged. However, his latest gambit shows that when it comes to prestige and resale value, Bordeaux still sets the standard. A thought that will surely make the wine taste all the sweeter.

Top 100 South African Wines Tasting

South Africa is one of those places that stuns with its beauty. Lush greenery, exotic animals and exquisite handicrafts offer unique propositions for a holiday getaway. The successful 2010 Fifa World Cup introduced millions of tourists to the South African culture and provided a major boost to the nation's image. 

Image is important in the world of wines as well, and it is interesting to see what connotations come up when thinking of wine from a particular place. For better or worse, Australia has a reputation for affordable, fruity wines, while to think of Napa is to recall high alcohol, expensive Cabernets. But what comes to mind when thinking of South African wines? 

The South African wine industry has undergone a renaissance since democracy took hold in 1994. Deregulation, access to international markets and the ending of government subsidies provided the impetus for growers to improve quality and explore new viticultural areas. Major export markets are the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. Promotion and marketing is handled by WOSA (Wines of South Africa), while the Wine of Origin system, similar to France's Appellation Contrôlée, is handled by SAWIS (the unwieldly named SA Wine Industry Information and Systems). The former has come up with the tagline "Variety Is In Our Nature" to describe the appeal of South African wines.

I was able to see this theme in action during a recent tasting held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Johannesburg this month. Organised by Top 100 SA Wines, the wines on display were the result of a competition held in mid-April. The panel of judges include well-known names such as Tim Atkin and Jamie Goode, both UK-based wine writers.  

Being an inaugural event, there were bound to be some hiccups. The wines were grouped by type instead of by producer, leading to the awkward situation where winery representatives were pouring wines other than their own. It was slightly frustrating wanting to learn more about a wine but being unable to because the representative was two tables down pouring a different wine from the same winery.

The wines were mostly from the Coastal Region, a large area that makes most of South Africa's fine wines. Particular districts of importance include Paarl, Stellenbosch and Constantia. There was a good mix of varietals including Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux-style blends and Rhone-style blends. Conspiciously underrepresented was Pinotage, of which only four examples could be seen.

I started off by tasting the sparkling wines, made using the Méthode Cap Classique which, like Champagne, creates the bubbles through secondary fermentation in bottle. The wines spend less time on the lees (dead yeast) compared to Champagne though, and correspondingly the wines exhibit more lemon notes than biscuit and toast. For the still wines, I found the whites more interesting than the reds, many of which had a jammy note and high alcohol levels. What doesn't work for the reds does for the fortifieds, and my favourite section of the tasting was probably the South African ports.

Wines from cooler climate regions such as Elim, Walker Bay and Elgin were interesting. They displayed less overt alcohol and more delicate aromas compared to wine from regions such as Stellenbosch and Paarl. Winemaking skill is crucial, as South Africa suffers from myriad adverse growing conditions such as mildew and excessively acidic soils (which inhibits root growth but has no effect on wine acidity). Perhaps the most serious problem is viral infections, including Fanleaf and Leafroll viruses. This reduces yield, and wines made from affected vineyards are lighter in body, colour and flavour. There is even speculation that viruses are responsible for the odd note of burnt rubber in many South African wines, although I have tasted wines from other countries that displayed this aroma.

Selected tasting notes:

Ken Forrester Stellenbosch Reserve Chenin Blanc Reserve 2010 - According to the winery representative, this wine was hand harvested from pesticide-free vineyards. A clean, fresh nose. Medium bodied with notes of ripe melon and honey. Ken Forrester is known for producing good-value, high-quality Chenin Blancs, and this is a typical example.

Paul Cluver Elgin Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - Elgin is a cool, high-altitude region located east of Cape Town. The climate enables Paul Cluver to make wines from varietals that are less common in South Africa such as Riesling and Pinot Noir. The Paul Cluver Sauvignon Blanc displayed notes of ripe passionfruit and lime aromas, backed by nervy acidity. Medium+ length with a peppery finish.

Paul Cluver Elgin Chardonnay 2009 - Quite lush on the palate with toasted hazelnuts and apricot notes. Displays some complexity and richness.

Bouchard Finlayson Overberg Limited Edition Kaaimasgat Chardonnay 2009 - From bottle design to the palate, this wine displays evidence of Burgundian influence. A blend of 60% Chardonnay barrel-fermented in new oak with the remainder being unwooded. Very elegant, with lemon and stony aromas. A deft touch of oak underlines the ripe tropical fruit on the palate. Above average length.

Tokara Director's Stellenbosch Reserve White 2009 - A blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon. Lemon and gooseberry aromas. The Semillon provides some attractive fleshiness to the body. Refined, quite similar in style to a white Bordeaux.

Quoin Rock Winery Simonsberg Oculus 2007 - One of the more unusual wines at the tasting. 85% Sauvignon Blanc blended with 15% Viognier. Barrel fermented and aged on lees for 12 months. Vanilla and cream with some citrus notes. Lacking in identity. Seems like a rather experimental wine that exemplifies the South African motto of embracing variety.

Groot Constantia Shiraz 2008 - Have consistently been impressed by this wine. White pepper and gamey notes on the nose, followed with black cherry and sour plums on the palate. Nice chewy tannins. Dense and layered.

AA Badenhorst Rhone Blend 2007 - 80% Shiraz, 10% Mourvedre, 7% Cinsault and 3% Grenache. Black pepper and garrigue aromas. Medium+ tannins and medium+ alcohol. A powerful wine, but fresh and balanced. Red fruits and black pepper on the palate.

Creation Wines Walker Bay Syrah Grenache 2009 - A relatively new winery that started operations in 2002 in the cool coastal region of Walker Bay. A structured wine with notes of ripe red cherries and pepper.

De Grendel Rubaiyat 2007 - A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot from the Cape of Good Hope. The winemaker, Charles Hopkins, uses satellite imagery to detect which plots are ripe enough to be picked. The label contains a poem by Persian poet Omar Khayyam which changes with each vintage. Blackcurrant leaf and dark chocolate on the nose with hints of tree bark. Ripe rich blackcurrant fruit on the palate, with medium body and ripe tannins. Medium length.

De Krans Cape Tawny Port NV - Made from traditional Port varietals. Raisins, caramel and nutty flavours. A little sherry-like. Very drinkable.

De Krans Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2008 - Dried game and spice on the nose. Full bodied with notes of candied lemon, raisin and fruitcake. Medium+ length.

Overgaauw Cape Vintage Port 1998 - Sour plum aromas. Warm and opulent texture. Complex layers of fruitcake and tea leaf. Still able to keep for several more years.

An Interview with David Powell of Torbreck

When a winemaker slams Lafite as "not being as good as half the second growths", you know that you are talking with someone who speaks his mind. That someone is David Powell, winemaker and owner of Torbreck. Mr Powell is no stranger to controversial opinions. Last September he released Australia's most expensive wine, the Torbreck 2005 The Laird at AUD700 a bottle. By comparison, Penfolds Grange, a wine with a rich heritage and proven track record sells for AUD600 a bottle. The pricing is a bold effort to raise the image of Australian wines, which over the years has cultivated a "cheap and good" image. All 400 cases of The Laird have already sold out, proving that money is not a consideration for those looking to get Laird.

I had the opportunity to speak to David while he was in Singapore last week. An energetic and forthright man, he gives a clear direction for where he wants Torbreck to be positioned in the hierarchy of Australian wines, which is at the very top. His winemaking approach is highly focused on what happens in the vineyard and he says that "During harvest, I don't spend much time in the winery. I spend more time in the vineyards, tasting fruit, talking to growers, stuff like that... I don't want to have to start manipulating things to make up for deficiencies in the vineyard". David is adamant about making the growers part of the winemaking process. To this end, Torbreck holds an annual Growers' Night six months after the vintage (but before the blending process) where all the wines from individual vineyards are laid out and labelled with the grower's name. Each grower is also provided with a dozen bottles of wine made from single varietals from his vineyard. This allows the grower to judge the quality of their fruit and to compare it with other growers.

Torbreck produces 60000 cases of wines yearly, about half of which is the Woodcutter Shiraz. The higher end range is comprised of the Runrig, Descendant, and Factor labels made from ancient, dry-grown (non-irrigated) Shiraz vines. The wines tend to be big and rich, coming as they do from from the Barossa which has a warm, Mediterranean climate. In several aspects though, David's winemaking differs from what is traditionally practiced in the Barossa. For example, he uses French oak instead of American oak, because "French oak pulls the wine back a little and gives it more finesse". He also uses open-top fermenters, which help dissipate the volatile alcohols during fermentation. In essence, this means that he can pick the fruit when it is riper and not end up with excessive alcohol levels.

Each label in the Torbreck range tells a story. Many of them, like The Pict, The Laird and The Struie have Celtic origins that can be traced back to the period where David worked as a lumberjack in Scotland. Of particular interest is the Grenache-based Les Amis, made in collaboration with Ignatius Chan as a house wine for the Singapore restaurant of the same name. Dave says, "Everywhere else in the world the wine sells like hot cakes, but in Singapore no other restaurant will carry it because it bears the name of a competitor!" A lot of consideration has gone into the design of the bottle, right down to the type of closure used. David prefers screwcaps, because "Every cork is different. They're like fingerprints, and so every bottle of wine is going to age slightly differently." He notes though, that market perception (particularly in Asia) is that screwcaps mean cheap wine and so a proportion of the higher end wines will still be bottled under cork. The iconic logo, comprising of three trees set against a forest backdrop, was designed in-house by his mother.

In 2009, David embarked on the Natural Wine project, making a wine from organically farmed vineyards and refraining from adding yeast, acids or sulphur during winemaking. Representing a new trend in winemaking, proponents of natural wines argue that they taste better, contain less harmful chemicals and reflect the vineyard properties more closely. But because the wine does not contain any preservatives, it tends to be less stable. David doesn't even sell the wine at the cellar door, only at restaurants because he doesn't want people storing it for years (the wine actually has a use-by date printed on the label) and then complaining that the wine doesn't taste good. "In Australia, it's still a bit of an education process with people." He draws a distinction between natural wines and simply bad winemaking. "It's become such a trend, that there is a lot of natural wine made around the world that is absolutely crap."

We also talk a little about the challenges facing Australian wine. David believes that the Australian dollar is going to remain high for some time, hurting exports of Australian wine. He also takes a strong stand against the involvement of public companies in the Australian wine industry, as they are all about "10% growth,10% profit". He says that their financial models do not take into account agricultural risk, and that "There is no guarantee that you are going to get a certain amount of fruit every year off your vineyard." David took a bold step this year when decided to declassify his entire range of higher-end wines due to a rainy 2011 vintage. "If I was answering to a public company, there is no way they would let me do that," says David.

This focus on quality has cemented Torbreck's reputation as a producer of outstanding wines. Langton's 2010 Classification of Australian Wine included the Runrig Shiraz under the top Exceptional category, calling it "gorgeously opulent, perfumed and densely concentrated." Even the Woodcutter Shiraz and GSM wines display a delicious drinkability that serves as an introduction to the rest of the Torbreck range. 

Many thanks to Geslyn Ngiam of Culina and Sarah Mayo of The Local Nose for setting up the meeting with David. Culina is the local distributor for Torbreck wines.

Wine Tasting: Poderi Aldo Conterno

In an issue of the popular Japanese manga about wine, Kami no Shizuku, the protaganist is seen comparing French and Italian wine. "French wine", he declares, "is superior over Italian wines because of the wide variety of flavours and aromas they have". This is due to the wide variety of French cuisine, which requires pairing with different styles of wine. Imagine a dense red Bordeaux, packed with blackcurrant and cedar notes, paired with delicious grass-fed lamb, or a layered, creamy Grand Cru Burgundy with sweet, delicate river crab. Is your mouth watering yet?

Likewise, the range of Italian food (think tomatoes, pork, pasta and pizza) is well suited with Italian wines. While the variety present in French cuisine may be lacking, the pairing of Italian food and wine is simple due to their great affinity for one another. Try tasting an Italian wine by itself, and notice how tart, light bodied and tannic it seems, then try it with some Italian food and notice how the acidity and tannin now complement the olive oil and tomatoes in the dish.

Beam Global Asia organised a wine tasting with famed Italian producer Poderi Aldo Conterno recently, represented by Andrea Carelli. With 20 wine regions and numerous indigenous varietals I was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about Italian wines, especially from a producer that has five generations of winemaking tradition. Aldo Conterno is currently run by three members of the Conterno family; Franco, Giacomo and Stefano. Respectively, they handle the marketing, viticultural and vinification aspects of the business.

The vineyards comprise 25 hectares of land situated in Bussia in the village of Monforte d'Alba within Piedmont in the north west corner of Italy. The land is hilly with layers of sand alternating with calcerous marl. The most prized sites, named Cicala, Colonello and Romarisco are used in the production of long lived and intense Barolos. Aldo Conterno is known for their draconian approach to fruit selection, sometimes discarding as much as 50% of the grapes. This has led to their production gradually declining from as much as 200,000 bottles in 2000 to around 80,000 bottles a year currently. In recent years, they have also introduced the use of rotofermenters and temperature controlled fermentation to produce wines that are more approachable and less tannic. Interestingly, Andrea mentioned that the rotofermenter is an innovation of chocolate maker Ferrero SpA which makes Ferrero Rocher.

Tasting notes:
Aldo Conterno Chardonnay Bussiador Langhe D.O.C. 2006 - Aged in 100% new oak. A fresh, almost modern style of Chardonnay with notes of lemon peel, citrus fruits and fresh vanilla seeds. Slightly creamy. A long finish.

Aldo Conterno Masante Langhe Dolcetto D.O.C. 2009 - The workhorse wine, designed for everday drinking. Deep purple robe. Primary fruit characters of blueberries, red cherries and vanilla. Slightly warm on the finish.

Aldo Conterno Conca tre Pile Barbera d’Alba D.O.C. 2006 - Aged in 100% new oak. Rather closed on the nose, with notes of licorice and wood. Juicy acidity. Palate has notes of sour cherry and dark chocolate. Medium+ length.

Aldo Conterno Bussia Barolo 2004 - 100% Nebbiolo. No tar here,  but an exotic, floral nose with minty notes. Quite enticing. Body has good structure, firm acidity and fine tannins.

Aldo Conterno Romirasco Barolo D.O.C.G. 2004 - 100% Nebbiolo. Opinions around the room were divided. I found the wine slightly closed with tart acidity. Sweet red cherry on the palate.

Aldo Conterno Granbussia Barolo Riserva D.O.C.G. 2001 - 100% Nebbiolo. The flagship wine, consisting of 70% fruit from Romarisco, 15% Cicala and 15% Colonello. The Romarisco fruit provides body and character, while the Cicala and Colonello fruit contribute spice and elegance in that order. The wine was aged Medium ruby appearance with fine sediment. A mélange of scents including roses, black cherry and soy sauce. The tannins have integrated well. Medium length.

One thing I noted about these wines were that even though they were 14% alcohol or higher, they did not taste overtly warm.

Aldo Conterno is distributed in Singapore by Beam Global Asia Pte Ltd.

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.