With the UK office having claimed the blogging limelight until now, we thought it time the HK office got in on the act and showed that it is not only denizens of 220 Queenstown Road, sybarites the lot of them, who like to enjoy themselves every now and then.
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Every six weeks or so, the team in Hong Kong try to organise a tasting of an interesting selection of wines that one might not get to drink everyday. Held in the tasting room at our office and with around 25 guests attending, they are a great way to catch up with customers, meet new people, and of course to taste some fantastic wines!
So on Wednesday last week, we hosted a small tasting of some big names from the 1990 Bordeaux vintage, pouring Léoville Barton, Gruaud Larose, Cos d’Estournel, la Conseillante, Montrose and Margaux.
It was obviously an exciting selection, since when the invitation was sent out a few weeks ago, the tickets were oversubscribed within a few hours! Sadly, our tasting room is only so big, and it’s a shame we couldn’t welcome all those who were keen to come – apologies to all those who missed out.
Even before the 6:30 pm kick-off, guests had started to arrive, eager to get stuck in. With all the wines double-decanted earlier in the afternoon, and the food – cold cuts and some good cheese (including a rather fine piece of perfectly-oozing Brie) – lovingly laid out in distinctly artistic fashion, we were ready to go.
I am very happy to say that the wines didn’t disappoint. The character of the vintage was certainly in evidence – low acidity, super-ripe tannins, plenty of sweet fruit, and lots and lots of charm.
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It is perhaps a crude yardstick, but one can arguably tell which wine the group most enjoyed at any dinner or tasting simply by which bottle is empty first. On the night, the Margaux took the ribbon, with Montrose nipping at its heels, and Conseillante being polished off a close third, leaving the other three equally behind. A strangely neat result. So perhaps it was simply a function of Parker scores and prices, with people wanting to get their money’s worth, but then the group couldn’t possibly be that cynical - surely not!
We started with the Gruaud Larose, which had surprising freshness for the vintage. Lovely balance, easy-going, with a classic savoury, cedary character. “Quintessential claret” as described by one guest.
In terms of appeal, Cos d’Estournel was most akin to the Gruaud – delicious, understated, effortless wine. Recalling the eccentricities of its pagodas, it offered seductive hints of Asian spices, coupled with sweet tobacco fruit and a beautiful texture.
Leoville Barton was probably the most backward wine of the night. Taking a while to open up, in time it revealed a typical meaty character, with almost balsamic concentration to the liqueur-like fruit. Not quite as effortless as the Gruaud and the Cos, but richer than both and a lovely drink.
Easily the most accessible wine of the night was Conseillante, which voluptuously had everything on show right from the off. Fine grained and silky, with perfumed and sweet fruit, it was without doubt a real crowd-pleaser, finding especial favour with a certain female demographic. However, it was more than one guest who remarked on it being “a bit light-weight”. A thoroughly fascinating reception.
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Montrose was my personal favourite of the evening, and many others’ too given the overall reaction. Rich, almost thick in its concentration, it had fabulous texture – seamless & sumptuous. With obviously low acidity and a definite roasted character, it was a textbook expression of the vintage. Comments ranged from “barnyard” early on, to “coffee roast”, and then simply “magnificent!” towards the end. This certainly put a lot of smiles on faces.
The grand finale was the Margaux, and to be honest it was a tall order trying to hold people back right from the start. With not a rough edge in sight, it had great balance and a beautifully harmonious, elegant and refined character. However, some remarked that it seemed less concentrated and weighty than expected, with one guest describing it as “very well mannered… but Carreras rather than Domingo”. Undoubtedly a beautiful wine, the speed with which it disappeared was testament to the pleasure it provided.
With the last bottle drained, the Parma ham decimated, and sadly the Brie all but a mere memory, our guests slowly began to drift into the balmy Hong Kong evening, leaving behind nothing but empty glasses, but hopefully departing full of happy memories.
