Lazy Saturday afternoons. Malaysia is hot. All the time. Eating and drinking outside can be a sweaty, uncomfortable affair. It wreaks havoc on wine. Both red and white warm up fast in the weather. Problems have solutions, ice buckets make a difference. It is worth it. The views we are afforded from our rooftop are…
Month: June 2020
2016 Lamole di Lamole Chianti Classico
End of term Chianti. Occasions don’t matter a great deal here. We do not celebrate milestones. Birthdays pass without mention, as do Anniversaries, there is no Christmas, no Ramadan, no Chinese New Year. Just passing days and a feeling of urgency to make every day count, not just the day’s people consider special. Opening a…
2017 Domaine Philippe Garrey Mercurey 1er Cru La Chassière
A French guest at the Italian lunch. Before we moved to Malaysia we drank mostly Burgundy. It almost sent us broke. Wine here is even more expensive. Drinking our beloved Burgundy was no longer an option. Even good Villages hurt the budget. Nevermind, we have since discovered Chianti which reliably delivers at a much less…
2015 Donnachiara Taurasi
A closer look at the wines from Saturday’s Italian lunch. I have only had a few Aglianico wines before. Both from Vulture, both were approachable and enjoyable. This was confounding. There was incredible funk on the nose when first presented. I was almost prepared to call it faulty. It persisted throughout the tasting, finally fading…
1999 Antinori Chianti Classico Marchese Antinori Riserva
A closer look at the wines from Saturday’s Italian lunch. Not all wines are made for aging. You often hear the comment that only 10% of wines are created to age. I am not sure about this figure, but in the context of 90% of the wine being produced is rather inexpensive, generic wines that…
2012 Fiorenzo Nada Barbaresco Manzola
A closer look at the wines from Saturday’s Italian lunch. My first two Piedmont wines were a 2014 Elio Altare Barolo and a 2012 Fiorenzo Nada Barbaresco Manzola. Both were oxidised and needed to be replaced. Not a great start to my Piedmont journey. I am yet to try the Elio Altare, but opening and sharing…
2008 Travaglini Gattinara Tre Vigne
A closer look at the wines from Saturday’s Italian lunch. The group needed a little research to get our head around the background of this wine. Made from Nebbiolo, there was an assumption it was from the Piedmont region. There was no mention of Langhe on the label, which usually designates the region when not…
Italian lunches and a French visitor
Friends with benefits. There is a strange insularity with work colleagues. The people we work with tend to socialise with each other. With a few exceptions, I prefer to keep my social network distant form my working network. There is no way to put this sensitively, being the only white guy in a large group…
2007 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru (Horizontal – Valmur, Les Clos & Les Preuses)
Chardonnay shines brightest in Chablis. Chablis is our favourite expression of Chardonnay. Montrachet can be stunning, Australia produces the occasional standout, but I am yet to encounter Chardonnay that matches Chablis. The purity of fruit, genuine vineyard terroir and a stunning minerality combine to make this region of France the Chardonnay mecca of the wine…