D is for daffodils
Words don’t have meanings, people have meanings and ascribe words to them. Chomsky was probably not trying to write an early version of the Wine Buyer’s Guide but the eternal problem of describing a taste has always been with us, stays with us and will be for ever more.
Not only do different people find and taste different things in the same wine - everyone will have different words to describe even similar tastes. I said damson, dandelions and daffodils to a colleague the other day and she stared at me as if I was writing a drop intro for a wine column in Swahili for the local paper in Botswana.
Not that it really matters as long as you enjoy the wine. The wine week started off on Wednesday with a small surprise. Rory, who was in town for a brief work visit, invited me to mini college reunion and while we were waiting for Ken to arrive from the airport, we decided to polish off the best part of a bottle of (what else) champagne. We decided to take our chances and asked with some trembling for “house”. As I might have feared, a bottle of Moet NV was produced - my fears, however, were unfounded. Slightly less brut than might have been expected (even a touch honeyed, perchance), it was perfectly chilled and went down very well. Merci, Rory.
On Thursday, the “discovery” of the evening was a relatively young Chilean red - a Casa Lapostelle 1999. A good scent of violets on the nose (I got another blank stare - if you say so, they said) and hints of cassis and red cherry on the palate. Best of all, it was pleasantly under-oaked. Now there’s a surprise given the current trend in that part of South America to add oak by any means and at any cost to the integrity of the wine.
Friday was my first Christmas party in the new job and my first as Chief Entertainment Officer. With Enoch as my deputy, expectation on the wines to be served were high but more so with my harebrained scheme to put a substantial chunk of the budget into the lucky draw. Still the Maxwell Chardonnay 1999 and Mount Riley Merlot 2001 were nothing if not good value, even if I say so myself. The greater bit of fun was actually buying wines for our personal account (while we there, we might as well save ourselves another trip).
While Enoch splurged, I had to content myself with some real bargains - Pio Cesare Barbera d’Alba 2000, Pio Cesare Dolcetto d’Alba 2002 and Michele Chiarlo Barbaresco 1997 all at about S$40. That’s cheaper than London, Rome or New York. Anyway back to Friday, for the Nijikai (literally, second course in Japanese) I brought along a Chateau Prieurie Lichine 1997 which Enoch followed with a Majella Shiraz 1999 and to finish with, a Cos d’Estournel 1994.
The 97 Prieurie Lichine was always going to be a bit of a gamble given that it is the only one from 1994-2000 that Parker did not review and for good reason. Flat and frankly, listless - I’ve got a few more to get rid off. Any takers? The Cos d’Estournel 1994 was pretty much on the mark at its price - smooth and sophisticated but pricey. My personal favourite from the evening was the Majella even though I am not always partial to Shiraz in most forms. Strong fruit, round tannins and a medium finish - good value as well.
I could even have sworn there were daffodils in the nose.
Not only do different people find and taste different things in the same wine - everyone will have different words to describe even similar tastes. I said damson, dandelions and daffodils to a colleague the other day and she stared at me as if I was writing a drop intro for a wine column in Swahili for the local paper in Botswana.
Not that it really matters as long as you enjoy the wine. The wine week started off on Wednesday with a small surprise. Rory, who was in town for a brief work visit, invited me to mini college reunion and while we were waiting for Ken to arrive from the airport, we decided to polish off the best part of a bottle of (what else) champagne. We decided to take our chances and asked with some trembling for “house”. As I might have feared, a bottle of Moet NV was produced - my fears, however, were unfounded. Slightly less brut than might have been expected (even a touch honeyed, perchance), it was perfectly chilled and went down very well. Merci, Rory.
On Thursday, the “discovery” of the evening was a relatively young Chilean red - a Casa Lapostelle 1999. A good scent of violets on the nose (I got another blank stare - if you say so, they said) and hints of cassis and red cherry on the palate. Best of all, it was pleasantly under-oaked. Now there’s a surprise given the current trend in that part of South America to add oak by any means and at any cost to the integrity of the wine.
Friday was my first Christmas party in the new job and my first as Chief Entertainment Officer. With Enoch as my deputy, expectation on the wines to be served were high but more so with my harebrained scheme to put a substantial chunk of the budget into the lucky draw. Still the Maxwell Chardonnay 1999 and Mount Riley Merlot 2001 were nothing if not good value, even if I say so myself. The greater bit of fun was actually buying wines for our personal account (while we there, we might as well save ourselves another trip).
While Enoch splurged, I had to content myself with some real bargains - Pio Cesare Barbera d’Alba 2000, Pio Cesare Dolcetto d’Alba 2002 and Michele Chiarlo Barbaresco 1997 all at about S$40. That’s cheaper than London, Rome or New York. Anyway back to Friday, for the Nijikai (literally, second course in Japanese) I brought along a Chateau Prieurie Lichine 1997 which Enoch followed with a Majella Shiraz 1999 and to finish with, a Cos d’Estournel 1994.
The 97 Prieurie Lichine was always going to be a bit of a gamble given that it is the only one from 1994-2000 that Parker did not review and for good reason. Flat and frankly, listless - I’ve got a few more to get rid off. Any takers? The Cos d’Estournel 1994 was pretty much on the mark at its price - smooth and sophisticated but pricey. My personal favourite from the evening was the Majella even though I am not always partial to Shiraz in most forms. Strong fruit, round tannins and a medium finish - good value as well.
I could even have sworn there were daffodils in the nose.
posted by porcorosso at 9:29 PM
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