Chateau St. Jean - Cinq Cepages 2000

Date: 19 November 2005
Venue: Andrew's home

The full name of this wine is misleading - Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cepages 2000. According to the back label,the wine consists of five varieties of grapes - cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, malbec, merlot and petit verdot, it is not a single varietal wine. The liquors are supposedly aged separately for two years in French oak, then blended to create a Bordeaux-style wine. Wine spectator gave it a rating of 90 points.

Entrees were baby abalones, crackers and goose liver pate. Dishes included Shanghainese Pig Knuckle, the meat was tender, juicy and full of flavour after being broiled for hours in an earthen pot with a special marinate, Vegetarian Koufu with shitake mushroom and ginkgo fruit, and Cantonese-style Prawn toast. The main attraction was the hairy-crab feast, the critters weighed well over 6 ounces each with ooddles of crab roe and cholesterol in the carapaces.

The wine was poured straight into the glasses without decanting. Nose is rich and powerful fruit with a touch of leather, the winemaker succeeded in accomplishing their goal - Bordeaux style. The wine was immediately pleasant on the palate without airing, in contrast to the classified French growths which requires hours in the decanter before showing their best. It was smooth with a fairly long, sweet tannic finish. Food and wine meshed remarkably well and dinner finished off with a Cova St.Honore cake.

Rating: Good

Delor Corbieries 2000

Date: 4 November 2005

Colour medium red with a clean rim. The nose was red vinegar with just a hint of flowery notes if you have a vivid imagination. Alcohol content was stated as 12.5%, it felt lean and without depth. I was unable to taste any fruit, and there was no finish to speak of. 30 minutes later, the wine smelled like weak mineral turpentine after the original scent had gone. It now tasted like rubbing alcohol and should be used as such.

Rating: suitable for cooking

Mouton Rothschild 1990

Date: 3 November 2005
Venue: Orphee Restaurant

This was probably the 10th or 11th Mouton 90 I've tasted. Immediately evident was the powerful berry aroma. There was quite a bit of leather and herbaceous nose. Colour was dense purple to the rim. Cork was in perfect condition. The first mouthful was a little disappointing as the leatheriness was overpowering, the tobacco and cut grass aroma overwhelmed the palate and the fruit couldn't come through. I couldn't recall if previous bottles were similar. 20 minutes later, after the soup and the thinly sliced duck breast with zucchini and red wine vinegar, the Mouton 90 metamorphosized. The smokiness and leather has dissipated significantly for the tastebuds to sense the underlying grape. The palate became much smoother with a long tannic finish. This intense full bodied wine went perfectly with the medium cooked rib-eye, and continued to improve in aroma and palate over the evening until the very last drop. Service from the Latin looking (Filipino?) captain was excellent.

The Mouton 1990 should be aired for at least 2 hours prior to tasting.

Rating: Good