Domaine de Chevalier 1978, Graves [Pessac-Leognan] - Tasted on 22/Apr/06

Tasting Date: 22nd Apr, 2006.

Venue: Alan's place

Name of Wine: Domaine de Chevalier Grand Cru Classe - Magnum

Vintage: 1978

Region: Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

Country: France

The wine is clear, with a medium ruby colour. It has a brick-red rim & a few long legs. A clean nose. Medium-intensity, slightly aged bouquet, with red fruit like raspberries & red cherries, some dried plums & a hint of leather. On palate it's dry, medium-acidic, medium-bodied with a light-medium intensity. Medium level of soft tannins present. Still energetic, with again red fruit, cinnamon, mainly dried fig & some oak . Medium level of alcohol, & a medium length. Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot. Oak fermentation & aged. Still youthful as a 28 yr old, there should be another 3/4 yrs to achieve peak. A good quality wine.

Remarks:

About Domaine de Chevalier... ~ "The long-lived, Sauvignon Blanc-based white wine is the star of this property, but quantities are extremely limited. The red, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, has improved in recent years and is now a classic Graves wine, complex & minerally with balance and great length. Domaine de Chevalier has been immaculately run by Olivier Bernard since 1983. New winemaking facilities have been built, the vineyard revamped, and four large wind machines introduced to counter the spring frosts." ~ by Eyewitness Companions - Wines of the World 2004

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Hi friends,

I have edited some of my previous posts. Please feel free to revisit the Oct & Dec 2005 archives by clicking the 10/2005 & 12/2005 on the right column, under Archives.

If you don't see anything like "About Me" or "Previous Posts"...etc., keep scrolling, you might find it at the very bottom of the page.

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Rebecca

Dinner at Mood@downtown in Tung Chung on 14/Apr/06

Please feel free to browse the pictures taken during the evening.....

The restaurant is in fact a nicely furbished "Tri-Village House"

View from the balcony - where we had the dinner. The estate across is "Yat Tung Estate".

Dinner at Mood@downtown in Tung Chung on 14/Apr/06 - Some of our food...

Oysters

Apperitif - Portabello & Asparagus with Cheese & Spinach Roll

Lamb Chop

Cold Crab

Dessert - Sweet Temptation - Top view

Dessert - Sweet Temptation

Tahuna Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005 - Tasted on 14/Apr/06

Tasting Date: 14th Apr, 2006.
Venue: Mood@downtown restaurant in Tung Chung
Name of Wine: Tahuna Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2005
Region: Marlborough
Country: New Zealand
Alcohol level: 12.5%
Price: $375

The wine is clear, with a very pale lemon green colour. It has a broad colorless rim & a few long legs. A clean nose. Medium-intensity, youthful & fruity, mostly guava, pear, green grapes, I would call it as a tropical one. On palate it's off-dry, crispy, light-bodied with a light-medium intensity. Very fruity, mainly citrus, gooseberries, and a tinge of harbaceousness. Medium level of alcohol, providing a medium length. Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh & fruity, stainless steel vat & cool fermentation. It is bottled for early consumption, but could be kept for another 2 to 3 yrs. A good quality wine made for ideal companion with general Chinese food.

Remarks:

About Marlborough... ~ The biggest of New Zealand's big three wine regions. Producing 42% of all New Zealand's vineyards. Located at the north eastern tip of the South Island, consisting of a large, flat, river valley with deep deposits of silt & gravel. A range of soil patterns are found with the region, or even a single vineyard, leading to variations in quality & wine styles. A long & slow ripening season; lots of sunshine, cool nights & low rainfall. Irrigation is widely used.

Sauvignon Blanc is Marlborough's best known & most planted variety. Pungent, aromatic wines that blend tropical fruit flavours, with gooseberries & capsicum harbaceousness.

About Tahuna... ~ Tahuna is the native Maori word for riverbank. The Tahuna wines are made by Sileni Estates, a producer of New Zealand wine. Below are the details of its Sauvignon Blanc 2004, which was excerpted from Tahuna's official website:

Tasting Notes – The Tahuna Sauvignon Blanc has classic gooseberry and tropical fruit characters with fresh acidity giving focus to the fruit flavours. This is an excellent food wine and is made for drinking over 2-3 years.

Winemaking Notes – Machine harvested and cool fermented in stainless steel to retain the aromatic fruit characters, this wine is bottled young to preserve the fresh, vibrant style

Technical Notes – Alcohol: 12.5%, pH:3.43, TA:7.9 g/L, Residual Sugar: 4.5g/L

Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 - Tasted on 13/Apr/06

Tasting Date: 13th Apr, 2006.
Venue: Home
Name of Wine: Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2003
Region: South Australia
Country: Australia
Alcohol level: 13.5%
Price: $99 from Park'N Shop

The wine is clear, with a deep ruby colour. It has a pink rim & a few long legs. A clean & pronounced nose, youthful & fruity, dominant blackfruit aromas like blackcherries and some menthol. In the mouth it's off-dry, medium-acidic, medium level of soft tannins. Medium-bodied, medium level of fruit intensity. Fruity on palate, blackcurrants, which is within expectation, plus some coffee & chocolate. Medium-high level of alcohol, & a medium length. Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon. It is good for immediate consumption, but still can keep for another 1 to 2 yrs. A mid-priced wine with an average quality.

Remarks:

About South Australia... ~ Many of the Australian wine big players are based here. Penfolds, Hardy's are the names. Encompassing Barossa, Riverland, Clare & Eden Valley, Adelaide Hills, Mclaren Vale, Coonawarra. Mainly flatland in the region, with free-draining limestone & sandy soils. Generally intensely hot & dry. Cooler regions are those near the coast & hillier area adjoining Adelaide Hills.

About Wolf Blass... ~ Owned by Foster's, who is the Australian-based parent of Mildara Blass. Founded by a German-born winemaker, who migrated to Australia in 1961. Renowned for producing wines, both reds & whites by blending wines from different regions of South Australia, & allowing new oak treatment. Striking Rieslings, powerful Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Semillon 2004 - Tasted on 9/Apr/06

Tasting Date: 9th Apr, 2006.
Venue: Home
Name of Wine: Peter Lehmann Barossa Semillon
Vintage: 2004
Region: Barossa, South Australia
Country: Australia
Alcohol level: 11.5%
Price: $99 from Park'N Shop

The wine is clear, with a pale lemon green colour. It has a broad colorless rim & a few legs. The nose is clean, with a medium-intensity youthful aroma, mainly citrus, honey, floral & perfumed. On palate it's medium dry, crispy, light-bodied, gives medium level of fruit intensity. Flavours are honeyed, citrus, & freshly cut flower. Medium level of alcohol, which contributed to its medium length. Grape variety: Semillon. It is at peak now, but still can keep for another 1 to 2 yrs at most. This varietal is a simple but good quality everyday drinking supermarket wine.

Remarks:

About Barossa... ~ The Barossa is the heartland of the Australian wine industry. Shiraz is the superstar of Barossa, as Shiraz can achieve levels of power & fruit intensity here. The soil are mainly brown, loamy sand & grey-brown sand. Other than Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Riesling, Chardonnay & Semillon are also planted.

About Peter Lehmann... ~ The company specializes in traditional Barossa styles. Peter Lehmann's Shiraz has full fruit flavors & oak punch. Its Semillon, which I have tasted, should be lemony & subtle. "BIG, WARM, HOSPITABLE Peter Lehmann is a Barossa wine legend........" by Eyewitness Companions - Wines of the World 2004

Gressier Grand Poujeaux Moulis Cru Bourgeois 1997 - Tasted on 8/Apr/06

Tasting Date: 8th Apr, 2006.
Venue: Home
Name of Wine: Gressier Grand Poujeaux Moulis Cru Bourgeois
Vintage: 1997
Region: Moulis, Bordeaux
Country: France
Alcohol level: 12.5%
Price: $230 from Vins Gallery

The wine is clear, with a deep garnet colour. It has a brick-red rim & a few long legs. Clean nose. Medium-intensity, a slightly aged bouquet. Still fruity, red fruit, prunes. Perfumed, smokey & chestnut. A dry wine, with sufficient crisp acidity. High level of soft tannins. Medium-bodied, medium fruit intensity. Dried fruit, prunes, sweet spice (cinnamon) & obvious oak. Quite high level of alcohol, medium length. Grape variety: Merlot. Barrique aged. It can be consumed now but could be kept for another 3 yrs. A mid-priced Bordeaux red showing good quality.

Remarks:

About Moulis... ~ The smallest of the 6 Haut-Medoc's communal appellations. traditionally offering more approachable good-value Cru Bourgeois than its neighbour Listrac. As Listrac, this is not a classed growth country. Yields are more restricted in Moulis than in Listrac. A diversity of terroir in the region. Soils include various gravels, clays & limestone.

About Gressier Grand Poujeaux... ~ Whenever the word "Poujeaux" is included, it should mean good-value. This chateau makes wine of good structure & fruit.