Great wines for pan-Asian food
Pretty Orchid restaurant, Nottingham
The
theory and plan was to try a range of wines with a menu prepared by
chef-proprietor of the Pretty Orchid restaurant in Nottingham.
All the wines were served blind (i.e. we didn't know what they
were), and unfortunately that led to an order that was at times a
little random, and I think we probably missed some good matches.
Still, it was an interesting evening, with very enjoyable food,
and very enjoyable wines.
NV Reserve de Sours Sparkling Rosé Brut,
12%
Salmon
pink with a lively mousse. Crisp red fruit nose. Very, very yeasty
palate. Some quite powerful, concentrated flavours, but it has quite a
hard edge with a slightly bitter finish. 84/100
2001 Nyetimber Classic Blend Brut, 12%
Elegant,
bready, peachy nose with a slight hint of caramelisation.
Full-flavoured on the palate, apparently with some age. This has nice
balance and very good length. Lovely acidity. Really nice and elegant.
I think most people, including me, thought this was champagne. 91/100
NV Petraea XCVII - XCIX , Champagne Raymond Boulard
A very elegant nose initially, but it degenerates slightly into bready,
yeasty, alcoholic blackberry fuit aromas.
Open
palate, with the same blackberry, sour cherry, overripe fruit. There
was almost a hint of rotting pears, which knocked the pleasure off
drinking it. Probably getting a bit too old, and I'll be drinking up my
few bottles soonish. If I remember. 85/100
1996 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru, Réserve de
l'Obédience, 13%
Quite
a powerful, concentrated chardonnay nose with nicely integrated oak. It
has a lightish feel on the palate with a concentrated finish and high
acidity. Interesting, but not boat-rocking. A stonkingly dreadful match
with the sushi. 86/100
1998 Hermitage Blanc Le Chevalier de Sterimberg, Paul Jaboulet
Aîné, 13.9%
Caramelly,
lightly oxidative nose that's gently raisined and has hints of oiliness
and of nuttiness. Powerful, impressive wine with good concentration,
but also a nice finesse.
The most striking thing, however, and for
me the most surprising thing is just how totally unsuited this was to
the Chinese/Thai style food throughout. 90/100
2005 Gewürztraminer Saralee's Vineyard, Joseph Swan
Vineyards, Russian River Valley, 14%
Aha,
here it is a last - the gewurz. This has a really lovely gewurztraminer
nose with lightish rose water and lychee fruit. Nice fresh palate:
fairly forward and clean with some depth and good length. A bit obvious
feeling. I assumed this was an entry level Alsace gewurz. 89/100
1997 Gewurztraminer Tradition, Hugel, 14%
Clearly
gewurz again, but this is much, much classier than the previous wine.
It has a fairly rich, oily nose that's also very restrained - nicely
floral, but without much of the rosewater aromas you get from lower
grade wines from more heavily crushed grapes. This is super, restrained
gewurz on the palate. Very subtle, and clearly made by someone who
understands gewurz. There's a bit of sweetness to it, but without going
to late harvest levels, which really helps in combination with the
food. On being revealed, I was surprised it was "only" Hugel's
Tradition level. 93/100
2006 Black Tie, issu des meilleurs pinot gris riesling de nos
vignobles, C.V. de Pfaffenheim
An
interesting nose - very cabbagey, but not unpleasantly so. Bit of a
smoky, dusty feel. Fairly direct, very attractive palate. My initial
impression, on just the nose was that this might have been Alsace Pinot
Blanc, but it became clear it can't have been just pinot blanc, and I
started wondering about Pinot Gris. This is a fairly unusual wine for
Alsace, isn't it? Not a classic edelzwicker blend by any means. 88/100
2002 Riesling Kottabe, Josmeyer
A
lightish, crisp riesling nose. Quite floral and delicate. Very
reminiscent of a healthy example of the badly oxidised case of Josmeyer
Kottabe that I bought from Strakers a couple of years ago, every single
bottle of which has ended up down the sink. This bottle is healthy
though and works pretty well. But there's something about the style
that doesn't 100% appeal to me. Though it can't be Josmeyer, as I love
the PG Fromenteau. 87/100
1998 Riesling, Pipers Brook Vineyard, Tasmania, 12%
A
nice riesling nose - quite precise and almost steely. Attractive, light
and fresh palate with some lime character. Just lacks a touch of weight
and depth. 88/100
2002 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spätlese, Weingut
Paulinshof, 8.5%
AP Nr. 2 586 061 007 03
A very slight nose: subtle riesling. More Germanic than previous
rieslings? Lovely palate. Rich, yet fairly elegant. 88/100
1991 Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Auslese,
Karthäuserhof, 8.5%, en magnum
This
bottle had what auctioneers would call "signs of recent slight seepage"
and the cork was hardly tight! So all the more strange than the nose
was surprisingly nice and fresh, and very precise. Lovely, fresh
palate. So, so balanced. Gorgeous. I quite liked the Paulinshof
Spätlese, but this wine really shows just how clumsy that was.
Clean,
refreshing and classy.
I think someone must have liked this, as despite it being a magnum, it
was empty when it had done the rounds. 94/100
1996 Macon Clessé Quintaine Cuvée
Tradition, Domaine de la Bongran, 13.5%
A very rich, ripe chardonnay nose - very attractive. A very nice white
Burgundy. 90/100
2001 Gewurztraminer Reserve, Trimbach, 13.5%
Very
sweet, candied gewurztraminer nose. Very obvious gewurz palate. This is
a good, straightforward, if a bit dull, basic Alsace gewurz. 85/100
(The hazards of completely blind offlines - this wine was a bit out of
a "proper" running order.)
2001 Pinot Gris Les Princes Abbés, Domaines
Schlumberger
This
has nice tropical fruits on the nose and I'm immediately led towards
pinot gris. Slightly obvious palate. Good balance. Nice and clean.
88/100
Time to move onto the reds now. Starting with the light ones...
2005 Afrós Tinto, Casal do Paço Padreiro
Vinho Verde
Well,
it doesn't look in the slightest like a light red: it has a massive,
inky, very deep black-purple colour. The immediate thing you notice on
the palate is the freshness, with lots of acidity. That's backed up
with some fairly simple juicy fruit. Somewhat reminiscent of some of
the reds produced either side of the Italy/Slovenia border. It's not
going to have Chateau Latour worrying, but it's a nice enough wine and
I thought it worked reasonably well in the context. Interesting that
it's held up well in bottle - you wouldn't think particularly of ageing
vinho verde, and certainly not red vinho verde: in fact there's been
very little development in bottle since I first tasted this. 86/100
2000 Keyneton Estate Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot, Henschke,
13.5%
This
has a very herby blackcurrant and blackberry nose. Lovely palate. Very
elegant indeed. Lovely depth and superb balance. A very classy wine
indeed. My WOTN. 95/100
2001 Rioja Alba de Breton Reserva, Bodegas Bretón,
13.5%
A
very fresh, light nose with raspberry jam fruit. The palate is very
young, with ripe fruit and tannins, and not a lot else. Tannic fruit
juice. No depth. Simple, modern, dull, rubbish. 76/100
1999 Mitchell Shiraz, McNicol, Clare Valley, 14.5%
The
nose has spicy, fragrant black fruit with menthol overtones. There's
ripe black fruit on the palate, followed up by alcoholic fire. Doesn't
do it for me. Maybe needs more time, or maybe it's just clashing with
the food? Just seems a bit too simple. 81/100
2004 La Réserve Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz, Grover
Vineyards, Nandi Hills, Bangalore, India, 12.5%
This
has sweet, round, fresh blackcurrant and blackberry fruit on the nose
with quite a sweet feel. Good, even palate. Very international.
Absolutely fine, but it could be from anywhere. It's a nice wine for
drinking/knocking back without worrying too much about what you think
about it. Its unchallenging nature meant it went reasonably well with
the food. 87/100
I see I tasted the 2002 back in 2005: this 2004 was superior, I thought.
1996 Riserva Vigneti in Rabaja, DOCG Barbaresco, Produttori
del Barbaresco, 13.5%
An
oldish cherry and black fruit nose with a real lift. Green, chewy,
tannic palate. Nebbiolo, surely. But I don't like, so it must be
Barbaresco? Best to follow others' notes on this, not mine! 82/100
1998 Domaine de la Courtade, AC Côtes de Provence,
12.5%
This
has ripe, forward black fruits on the nose. Nothing particularly
remarkable on the palate: fruit driven, fairly simple stuff, yet fairly
enjoyable too. Very short on the finish. A pleasant enough, fruity wine
to appeal to a mass market. 87/100
I don't think you'd guess this was 10 years old - it felt much more
youthful than that.
2002 Domaine de Bellivière, Hommage à
Louis Derré, AC Côteaux du Loire, 13.5%
A
very strange nose: peppery, cheessy, almost ammoniacal, yet also with a
scent of ladies' talcum powder and cheap perfume. There are sweet red
fruits on the palate: almost fruit juice like. Light, lifted and
perfumed. Tannins evident on the finish. Very interesting indeed, but a
wine for wine geeks only. I just do not know whether I like it or not.
Very strange. 85??/100
2006 Ada Karasi, Büyülübaĝ, Avsa
Island, Sea of Marmaris, Turkey
Deep,
boiled sweet nose with quite a charming fragrance. Interesting, with a
character all of its own, though there were some vaguely pinot-like
hints in there. Got a bit lost at the end of the evening, for me at
least. 86/100
1995 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe,
Châteauneuf du Pape
Meaty
and fleshy nose with bretty overtones and a hint of alcohol; then along
comes some smoky touches and a hint of bacon fat, all followed up by
some dry woody spice. Probably southern Rhône, probably
Chateauneuf,
though perhaps not Beaucastel. Seems a bit closed and young on the
palate, and/or just a bit lacking somehow. But it has a lovely, elegant
feminine feel. 89/100
I think this was struggling to show its best at the end of the evening.
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Last updated: 25 September 2008