J is for Japan

The omens did not bode well for the trip to Kyoto and Tokyo last week - for although the drinks menu on the plane promised my much beloved Frescobaldi Nippozano 2000, they did not carry it and I had to make do with a glass of Charles Heidseck 1995 (or was it three?). The steward was rather embarrassed and gave us a bottle of some forgettable St. Estephe Cru Bourgeois to take off the plane (could have been the Chateau Segur de Cabanac 2002 but I forget) - as it turned out, it was the last alcohol I was to have for the next five days.

I was so parched by the time I got to Tokyo I was accepting beer, unknown Chilean white wine as well as 10 year old Macallan single malt in the course of the evening - don't ask.

That was Thursday and by Friday, things had taken a turn for the better. The evening began at the swish new faux Wall Street business district in Marunouchi and as chance would have it, the first two bars we walked into were full and we were compelled to take refuge at the newly opened Les Caves Taillevent. I chose a bottle of Jean Pabiot Pouilly Fume 2002 to start with while my new friend Mark G (not to be confused with my old friend Mark H) chose to start with a Jean Durup Chablis 2002.

I have long been a fan of Jean P's daughter Dominique who produces a very classic Loire Pouilly Fume from her own 20 hectares but the father certainly does not come off worse in comparison with a complex, fairly acidic, well-structured white (and I don't drink much white which is not sparkling) which manages to coax a sweetness from the lingering finish. Think mango, papaya and sweet pineapple floating on a mouthful of lemon and lime. Sublime, even. And yes - to the ladies who enquired, it was a Sauvignon Blanc. I think we succeeded in clearing the entire stock of JP's Pouilly Fume in Taillevent by the time we left that night.

Saturday night and I was persuaded to cook in Cara and Mark H's kitchen (see other blog) - but first a trip to Mark H's favourite Yamaya Wine Store in Akasaka where we left with among other things, a bottle each of Chateau Phelan Segur 1999 and Chateau Lefaurie Peyraguey 1996.

The Phelan Segur turned out not to be quite ready to drink and is unlikely to be for at least another two years by which time it should be an interesting proposition. Like a feisty young woman, it was a little too thin, a little too wild and a little unripe but should calm down and mellow if left pretty much alone for some time. So think not about what it is but rather what it could become. Well worth waiting for.

On the other hand, the Chateau Lefaurie Peyraguey 1996 was at the height of its powers - golden, honeyed with a touch of slight bitter woodiness which I think is the mark of a great Sauternes. It is such a shame that it is not considered to be in the same league as the Y'quem, Suideraut or the Rieussec but I have had the 1996 of the last two and I honestly do not think it any less than either of those. So at roughly 20 per cent. cheaper, this is excellent value.

And so the week ended pretty much as it had begun - with a couple of glasses of Charles Heidseck 1995 on the plane and still no sign of of the Frescobaldi Nippozano.

I is for Interlude(2)

Chinese New Year is not normally associated with drinking in the same way as perhaps Christmas might be - although that never stopped the local law enforcement agencies from turning out in the hope of snaring a drink driver or two. Well, quotas to upkeep and miles to patrol before the boys in blue can sleep.

So, the first bottle to be consumed in the new Chinese year was a 2002 Planeta Burdese. I am a big fan of this family-run winery from Sicily - their whites are extremely good and their basic red, the La Segreta Rosso, is probably one of the best wines you could buy for less than £8 in London. The Burdese is one of their higher-end wines based on a Bordeaux blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc.

Frankly, it doesn't work. Too much leather and spice masking the fruit. Tannins a little too rough. Perhaps it needs a little more cellaring - after all, this has emerged from the oak less than two years ago. Perhaps the new French oak barrels were a little too raw or perhaps, the Sicilian summers were a little too hot for two cooler climate varietals. It might even be, perhaps, that I served it at a higher than optimum temperature.

The question which remains is why we should pay between two to three times more than their very good La Segreta Rosso for what is, let's admit this, yet another failed IGT experiment. Now there is hope for the Burdese as the plantings acclimatise to the hot summers and in the best case scenario could end up like the Mas de Daumas Gassac in the Languedoc which produces great wine probably two out of ten years from their Bordeaux blends although I suspect the summers in the South of France are still a touch cooler than the Sicilian ones.

Bottom line? I would stick with the local grape, in this case the Nero d'Avola, which is probably more resiliant and therefore more reliable. Not to mention better value for money.

Now for the good news. Which comes from a rather unexpected source. I don't drink white wine very often and I write about it even more infrequently. I don't like Cloudy Bay - I think it overpriced and oversold. However, when one stumbles across a Sauvignon Blanc from up the road in Marlborough which espouses all of the cardinal virtues (cheap cheap, good good, plenty plenty), it's worth a couple of paragraphs in a blog.

For years, my sole comment on Cloudy Bay has been - buy the Villa Maria Reserve Sauvignon Blanc at about a quarter of the price. It's from just up the road and more than half as good. Now I have something else to say - the Gravitas Sauvignon Blanc (not to be confused with the Australian Veritas) is probably even better than the Villa Maria and in Singapore at least even cheaper.

On the nose, it has more of a floral bouquet - the Villa Maria can be a little flat. It combines more citrus tones on the palate against, a little improbably, lower acidity and expresses a little more in the minerals department. Pricewise - in London, it costs about £15 against £10 for the Villa Maria Reserve but in Singapore, at case prices - it's $20 against $28.

Moral of the story this Chinese New Year? I fully agree with the sentiment that if you are going to destroy your liver, do it with good wine rather than cheap beer or nasty spirits. The only thing I would add is that price is not always a reliable indicator of quality. Chin chin!