Pinot Mania @ Yung Kee (in progress)

Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc Reserve 2001
The making of sauvignon blanc with heavy oak treatment, which is a clone of Pouilly Fume, has been one of the successes of Robert Mondavi’s Winery. The wine was in light gold color with very high acidity. Nose was full of smoke and coconut oil, while fruitiness like green apple and pear were still prominent. A forward wine which was definitely a nice starter of the night.

Benoit Chablis 1er cru 2001
Nose with nice buttery and creamy aroma while citrus fruits were clear. A bit out of my expectation was that she was rather simple on palate with little mineral and medium acidity.

Verget Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Chenevottes 2003
A very expressive wine with strong creamy vanilla nose, and also ripe yellow and stone fruits like pear, peach, apricot, etc. Bitterness of chardonnay was noticeable on palate, which was balanced by the medium-high acidity and strong fruitiness. Modern style Burgundy white.

Leroy Meursault 1er Cru, Blagny 2002
Leroy is always Leroy, which is equivalent to the term of elegancy and beauty. Nose was not too strong when first poured into glass, maybe affected by the low temperature of the wine. Yet, throughout the night, she just performed like a sophisticated lady who was able to show her attractiveness but not too overwhelmingly. Nice citrus nose and taste, with complexity of gun flint, blossom and white flower.

Chateau de Pommard 1997
Pommard is an area famous for strength of their wine as compare with other regions of Burgundy, and this bottle was a stereotype of Pommard for sure. Full of red fruit like cherry, strawberry, raspberry, etc. while vegetal note of cabbage were all consolidate in the wine. Pronounced nose and palate, a very nice food wine.

Faiveley Echezeaux Grand Cru 2002 (? Not sure the vintage)
If Pommard is the name for strength in terms of area, then Faiveley is the name for power in terms of domaine. Very well structure wine, with strong nose of black and red fruit (blackberry, dark cherry, raspberry, plum, etc.) and strong tannin on palate. The fine tannin and med-high acidity suggested that the wine should have a huge potential for ageing. If I have another bottle of this wine, I would definitely keep her until at least 10 years later.

Georges Roumier Chambolle Musigny 2002
Elegant and traditional style of Burgundy wine, a slim and charming lady indeed. With delicate nose of red fruit and vegetal note, she was a bit overshadowed by the previous two powerful wine. If chances arise, this should be drunk in the first place to let everyone understand her true image.

Bass Philips Premium 2004
New World Pinot Noir which was focus on the performance of fruitiness and balance. Lovely red cherry and strawberry nose, with nice vanilla and caramel note, she was very smooth and balanced on palate. Hint of sweet tone was noted also.

Chateau Pichon Baron 1986
I failed to give her a chance to show herself, as I wrongly believed that she should not be decanted. When first poured into the glass, she was still very close like a shy girl, just showed minor tone of branches, mushroom, green pepper, blackcurrant, herbs. Throughout the night, she evolved into different tastes, black fruit, tea leaves, truffle, etc. were shown more later, but there should be much more room for her to perform better. I suggest keeping her for another 5 years to see the difference.

Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 1989
Medium amber color with oily full body, she should the style of a good aged Sauternes. Very concentrated dried fruit like apricot, raisin, nuts, botrytis favor, and she was a bit out of my expectation that the sweetness is just med-high, which matched with the “goose liver sausage roll” of the night nicely. An interesting food and wine matching experience.

Dessert as Meal

有幸得網友kikikuet邀請到其府上參與一次「盤菜」為前菜，甜點為主菜的晚宴。吃甜品當然是配上甜酒的了，當晚各酒友帶來了不同類型的甜酒，我想趁此機會說說部分甜酒的特質 - 「貴族霉」。

或許該先說說為甚麼甜酒會是甜的。相信大家都知道釀造葡萄酒就是用上葡萄汁，經酵母發酵把糖份轉化為酒精。如果葡萄汁的糖份濃度極高，發酵的過程便會於酒精濃度約為15%時停止，因超過該濃度的酒精會把酵母殺死，而剩餘的糖份便會令葡萄酒帶甜味。

那甚麼東西會令葡萄汁中的糖份濃度會極高呢？其中一樣就是「貴族霉」(Noble rot / Botrytis cinerea)。「貴族霉」一種天然的霉菌，通常出玩在時而潮濕、時而乾燥的環境。法國波爾多的蘇玳區(Sauternes)正正是這樣，在入秋時分，該區早上受河流影響而會出現潮濕的濃霧，但太陽出了後又會乾爽起來。

受「貴族霉」侵襲的葡萄中的水份會大部分被抽乾，當把「發霉葡萄乾」進行壓榨後便會得到濃度極高的葡萄汁了。用上這些汁液而釀成的葡萄酒糖份將十分高，酒體一般極豐厚，香氣常帶葡萄乾、乾果、果仁、有些時候亦會有像橡膠及芝士的氣味，更重要的是會有「貴族霉」獨有的氣味。「貴族霉」香氣是怎樣的呢？請恕我這打工仔才疏學淺，形容不了，倒是入口後餘韻的味道中，如有點點甘苦，那就是「貴族霉」的味道了。

其實還有其他情況會得到糖份濃度高的葡萄汁，例如延後收割時間(Late harvest)，天然或人為冷凍成冰的葡萄(Ice wine)等，不過以後有機會再談了。

葡萄酒其中一樣吸引人的地方就是有些時候非筆墨可形容到，而必須要你/妳親身一嚐才會知道。想喝喝甜酒，嚐嚐「貴族霉」的味道嗎？因一大串的葡萄乾可能只有丁點的葡萄汁，成本不輕，即使只是一般質素的產品，半瓶裝也可能索價二、三百港元，想喝好一點嗎，五、六百大元大概走不了。如發現價廉物美的好酒，請記緊通知我這打工仔啊！

********************************************************************

After attending a desert meal organized by kikikuet, I would like to talk about an important factor in sweet / dessert wine: noble rot / botrytis cinerea.

Sweet wines are made with ultra-intense grape juice, which is often the result of noble rot. Noble rot appears in damp and dry alternative appearing places, like Sauternes in autumn. The rot will dry up the grape on vine, and the raisin collected will then be pressed for producing extreme sweet grape juice. After fermentation, the high level of residual sugar in the wine will make her taste sweet.

Usually, aroma of this style of sweet wine include raisin, dried fruit, nuts, sometimes with plastic and cheese, and of course the favour of botrytis. I am sorry that I am too lack of vocabularies to describe botrytis aroma, but the bitterness in the aftertaste of sweet wine are usually caused by botrytis cinerea. There are other styles of sweet wines, such as late harvest, ice wine, etc., but they will be discussed later if chances arise.

Dessert wines in Hong Kong are rather expensive, average ones cost about $200 – 300, while better ones at least take you $500 – 600. Wine is interesting because you will not know her until you try her by yourself. So, be prepared for this sweet lady, and if you catch some nice ones, do let me know.

(Botrytis riesling photo from Wikipedia.org.)