Chateau Haut Brion 1981

Date: 21 October 2006
Venue: Xie Yian

A relatively lean example from Haut Brion, 1981 is not a particularly good year for bordeaux. Light leathery, tobacco nose with pear and herbal elements. Palate was soft with reasonable concentration of fruit. Finish was smooth.

Rating: good

Petit Village 1999

Date: 20 October 2006

Blackcurrant nose with just the tiniest bit of leather. Medium to light bodied with good concentration of fruit and a little spice. Nice finish.

Rating: good

Krug Brut 1988

Date: 19 October 2006
Venue: Le Mieux Bistro

Le Mieux Bistro is located in an industrial building in Chai Wan, an unexpected location for a restaurant. The deco is simple but elegant and the kitchen is in full view behind glass windows so customers can see but not smell the cooking fumes. Starters consisted of 'Tian of scallop, salmon, cod and apple with citrus kaffir lime sauce' served in a glass tumbler, then there was the fusion dish 'sashimi of sword fish, scampi and salmon, braised abalone and sea whelk'. Each item has it's own texture and flavour and one has to eat it in sequence in order to get the maximum effect on the tastebuds. This was followed by a Chicken Consomme, and then the 4-item main course 'Baked king prawn coated with seafood mousse, roasted barramundi, Kurobuta pork loin and French spring chicken.

A bottle of Krug 1988 and L'Eglise-Clinet 1994 accompanied the food. The Krug 88 has a wonderfully refreshing citrus aroma, flavour was intense with remarkably ripe fruit. Still firm and youthful on the palate, this is an amazing champer.

Rating: excellent

Pichon Longueville 1997

Date: 6 October 2006

Black currant aroma with tint of smoke. Spicy oak with mild tannin on the palate, moderate fruit but lacking in depth. Fully approachable now, probably won't improve much with further cellaring.

Rating: average

L'Eglise Clinet 1994

Date: 19 October 2006
Venue: Le Mieux Bistro

This Pomerol has fragrant aromas of cherries, blackcurrant and truffle. Medium bodied with ripe fruit and a rich finish. Compared to Certan de May 1994 from the same region, this is a better sample.

Rating: good

Certan de May 1983

Date: 2 October 2006 National Day Holiday
Venue: Lucky (Ho Choi) Restaurant, CRC Building

The Lucky Restaurant has branches on the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Penninsula and New Territories. We went to the one in CRC Building, Wanchai, which is probably the flagship of the group and we ordered abalone, spotted coral cod and a few other signature dishes. The restaurant was jam-packed and it was an hour before they served us our first dish, that was after we threatened to leave and not wait any longer. The food was good but the delay unacceptable.

We tasted 2 wines, the first was the Certan de May 1983, this Pomerol was probably close to the expiration date. Colour was brick red with a cloudy rim. Nose was faint with cherry and herbs. Soft and smooth palate with very little tannin and light fruit. The late arrival of food was good for the wine because it would have been overpowered by the intensely flavoured dishes.

Rating: average

La Mission Haut Brion 1999

Date: 2 October 2006 National Day Holiday
Venue: Lucky(Ho Choi) Restaurant, CRC Building

The La Mission was the second wine to be tasted in the evening. Dark vibrant ruby in colour with a ripe and complex nose. Floral bouquet with blackberry, chocolate and the faintest hint of smoke. The palate was medium-bodied with sweet fruit and smooth tannins. I prefer this to the more leathery Haut-Brion although some might consider the La Mission 1999 a bit too feminine. Compare this with the La Chapelle 1999 (second wine of La Mission) which was more smoky and leathery, with less fruit and body (refer to June 22 post). I think vineyards compensate for substandard grapes by adding timber, i.e. more time in new oak barrels, in an attempt to increase complexity and depth.

Rating: excellent