Filed under: alcohol | Tags: port, review, taylor's 10 year old tawny port
In uncertain and trying times, one has a tendency to revert back to tried and true personal favourites as sources of familiar comfort. Some would call dessert wines the lighter weight and more “childish” members of the wine family, but I love port for its sweetness and, when done well, its complexity and maturity.
So I opened my Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny. A typical brownish red, although clearer and fairer then most other port I have tried, which includes the Graham’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port. It is more direct and less subtle than its equivalent. Its brighter colour belies its sharper, edgier taste in comparison to the Graham’s version I had before, which is the best port I had so far, period.
This port is a strong contender to the Graham’s. Despite being more direct and less subtle, it retains its mature character, and the aftertaste lingers in my palate. The sense of fruit and jam remains for a while after initial tasting, which combines nicely with a nuttiness that characterises mature ports. Overall, it is coherent and the real draw is in the finishing, which hints of oak and apricot. This will go down very well with dark chocolates.
The port should change subtlely over the next 3 weeks. I am quite excited and looking forward to experiencing surprises.
Filed under: alcohol
So I am back from my first ever winetasting session. It was certainly an eyeopening and tipsy experience as T and I made rounds tasting a dizzying array of wines. Some were bad, and those that were really good made the trip worth it. Here are some notes on the best wines I had:
Dona Paula Bodega de Seleccion Malbec 2005
A tight package with a strong hint of mystery, this wine exudes a careless playfulness that seems intentionally engineered. The wine seems very small when in the mouth, but is very full-bodied. It is hard to get a grasp on this wine; it invites more sips.
Elderton Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Satisfying, robust and rich with staying power. This wine has structure and made sense from start to finish, from the nose to the palate. The majesty of this is in the finishing: it lasts for a very long time, so much so that it actually affected my tasting of the Elderton Estate Merlot 2006 after that. This will go down very well with a slab of roasted beef.
Santenay Demeocq 2007
Probably the most cheeky and unexpected of the lot I have tasted. Most of the whites tasted pretty sour and bad, so I did not expect much from this wine. The starting was as expected, sour and thin, but the middle and end was thicker and reminiscent of a red. Question marks go through my head after the first sip.
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I think winetasting is as much about finding out what different varieties and blends taste like as discovering what particular tastes and qualities one subjectively prefers in wine.
After much tasting, I realised that I prefer the following types of wines and qualities in wine:
- Red wine and dessert wines
- Intensity
- Coherent structure
- A strong and lasting finish
Filed under: alcohol | Tags: graham's late bottled vintage 2003, port, review
This stands in contrast to the Graham’s 10 Year port. Raw and intense with its deep ruby colour, yet held together, with a strong taste of fruit. I prefer the 10 Year for its refinement, but this wine has its own character and perks. Even 1 week after opening, its sharpness has dulled only by a bit. It warms my mouth and body still. Yet it develops still. A port with a twist. I eagerly await sampling it at the second week of opening.
The black colour of the beer reminds me of coffee, and the tinge of roasted barley tasted like coffee too. The head is creamy and there is virtually no gas. I was worried about piling on the calories but Guinness apparently contains less calories than orange juice. Given my past experiences with non-gassy beers, I did not retain high expectations, but the experience of drinking this beer was a good one. The distinctive roasted barley taste made this beer unmistakaeable and unique, and there was sufficient depth to make this a satisfying drink.
This is by far the strongest beer I have drank so far. The first few gulps resulted in a punch to the head. 8.8% alcohol content, and hardly any head. It is clear and slight dark gold in colour. Looks can be absolutely deceiving, and given the string of sub-par beers I had prior to this brew, this is a great beer.
It’s cloudy, has virtually no head, not bitter at all, and most surprisingly, salty. It tastes like seawater. WTF. I don’t believe that a German beer can be like that. But it is. And it is crap. Maybe it is an acquired taste, because according to Wikipedia a Weissbier has phenolics that makes it “smoky” or “medicinal”, and hence some people might not like the taste. The problem is that Hoegaardenis a wheat beer too, although not done the same way, and it tastes great. ZZZZZZZ.
Filed under: alcohol | Tags: review, sticks, sticks 2005 carbernet merlot petit verdot, wine
Friendly. This is the best word to describe it. It is surprisingly congruent given its frankenstenish composition of three varieties of grape. Middlish depth, somehow it makes me want to drink more. The 40% merlot helps make it smoother and much more friendlier. The finish is very mild. One of the best airplane wines I have tried so far. The one I had on the flight to Hong Kong the other time was piss. This one is up there for something that comes for free. I will watch out for this winemaker in the future.
Filed under: alcohol | Tags: review, Wolf Blass Unwooded Chardonnay 2005, Wolf Blass wine
Thin and adolescent. A zappy drink with no pretensions of being something deeper. I used it for cooking mussels too. All in all an average drink.
Ahhhhh… finally a beer with punch and depth. It is bitter, with a strong aftertaste and extra punch due to the extra hops. Black in colour, like anything that is good and deep and strong should be.
Bought this off DFS and tried it today. Carbonation is noticeably missing. However the lack of fizz is accompanied by a lack of depth and taste too. I read some reviews on the web and found out that it is supposed to be a lighter, smoother and creamier stout, but I don’t like light stuff. I prefer depth and bitterness, and I don’t mind the gas. All in all a disappointing drink. It came in a litre can too; I threw away a quarter of it. Extra calories with no return in terms of taste.
The joys of rum!
I tried rum three different ways today: rum with belgian dark chocolate Haagen Daaz ice cream, rum with port and rum with coke. All were EXCELLENT. I think it is largely because rum is primarily sweet-based, so it blended well with all the other things. I guess it is only human to like sweet-tasting things so rum is a easy hard liquer to dig. The weapon: Mount Gay Eclipse.
Rum with port was an exhilarating experience (note: not intense!). The strength of the rum came first before the tannic and nutty aftertaste of port finished the drink. It was pretty damn alcoholic so I only had quarter a wine glass of it.
The ice cream combined really well with the rum. Since the ice cream was made of dark chocolate, it was sweet with a mild bitter aftertaste. The rum accentuated the bitterness and its alcohol content made the dessert a lot richer by giving it that slight bit of class and head.
I think I will grow to love rum. MUAHAHAHAHA burp
This is my first ever bottle of port, my first love on this life’s adventure into wine. Excellent excellent excellent, and it comes in at 92/100 points, the first ever truly solid wine I have drunk.
Port’s popularity has been dimming over the years, and I just can’t see why this is so. Port has body, probably even more than some reds, and it is sweet, which makes it instantly accessible to those who don’t like the bitterness of reds and whites. The snobs who prefer wines with body and aromas will also find port appealing because the body is tremendous.
The aroma is thicker than conventional reds because of the added brandy. This port tastes of vanilla and coconut with hint of nuts when freshly opened. I served this two weeks later to my friends and the wine has obviously soured and oxidated a bit more; A commented that it tasted like plums and I concur.
My experience of 10 year old port is probably enhanced by the fact that my experience of wine has been confined largely to wines that are not aged more than 10 years. I do need to get my hands on a red that is significantly older (and pricier, sad to say) than those I have drank so far before I can say that port is generally better tasting than normal reds.
S said that cheap port exists and can be obtained at about 20 SGD. I went to Cold Storage and the cheapest I can find is 40 SGD port. I need to find a source for cheap port because I envision myself drinking a lot in the future.
An excellent resource on port: http://www.cockburns-usa.com/about_port_serving.html
Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Rose
Tasted like piss. I will never get it again, and this mars my opinion of anything from Jacob’s Creek. I am swearing off bottle-fermented wine, at least for now if not for the long term. Airplane wines taste like piss too; the one I had on Cathay Pacific was bad. Oak is best.
Filed under: alcohol
Some wine recommendations taken from The Book of Wine by Joanna Simon (more…)
Filed under: alcohol
Being a novice to wine, I asked for some advice from one of my colleagues who is into wine.
She recommended the following:
Roberts Estate (Denbeigh, Victoria) 2003 Carbernet Merlot (www.robertsestate.com)
Hugel, Alsace, 2003 Pinot Gris, Traditional Hugel (www.hugel.com)
Louis Latour, Brouilly Les Saburins 2004 (www.louislatour.com)
Some webbies:
The Wine Company (www.thewinecompany.com.sg)
Value Wine Guide: http://wine.about.com/od/winerecommendations/ss/Pocketwineguide_2.htm
I wonder if these wines are available in Singapore.
