Friday, December 15, 2017

Early Christmas Lunch with the Team at Le Pan Apicius restaurant


Early Christmas Lunch with the Team



At Le Pan Apicius (Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong), the French restaurant of the company I work for, having an early Christmas lunch with my colleagues. The chef, Edward Voon, made a special menu for us, and the Wine Director / Sommelier, Lauri Vainio, served us some interesting wines:

Today's lunch wines ©LeDomduVin 2017

Château de Fieuzal 1994 Pessac-Léognan (Bordeaux, France)
Grape Varieties: 60% Sauvignon Blanc / 40% Semillon
Very good and very much alive, slightly oxidative, sherry-like nuances, yet still fresh with great acidity, gently evolving and opening up in the glass. A very nice surprise. I had the chance to taste it many times over the last 5 years, and every time I'm taken aback by how good it still is despite its age. Pale yellow gold color with bright reflects. The nose boasts yellow fruits with nutty, oxidative notes at first but opens up nicely with time to deliver more complexity and aromas. The palate is bright, clean, still vibrant with good acidity and focus, nicely structured and ample too, and exposes the yellow fruits and nuts of the nose with mineral nuances. The finish is rather rather long and smooth. What a surprisingly lovely wine!

Château de Fieuzal 1994 Pessac-Léognan ©LeDomduVin 2017

Vodopivec "Origine" 2011 Venezia Giulia IGT (Italy)
Grape Variety: Vitovska 100%
It smells like cider and has the orange-brownish color of a cider, yet it is not a cider, but the strong appley aromas may make you think differently about it. Slightly reduced on the nose, it feels indistinct and if blind tasted you will definitely have difficulties to pinpoint the grape variety and where it is from. Once you know the grape variety name, "Vitovska", you will even have a hard time to believe that you are still in Italy, as the grape name originates from the neighbouring country of Slovenia. Very interesting overall, but lack a bit of substance in the back palate, more especially compared to the previous wine. Esoteric and definitely not your everyday wine, it still boasts the freshness and vitality of the whites in general from this region of Venezia, and ended up to pair really nicely with the food. Definitely one of those mind-scratching wines.

Vodopivec "Origine" 2011 Venezia Giulia IGT

Vodopivec "Origine" 2011 Venezia Giulia IGT

Hervé Souhaut "Les Cessieux" Saint Joseph 2013 (Northern Rhône, France)
Grape Variety: Syrah 100%
Very enticing nose of tart cherry at first, turning into ripe dark red cherries, raspberries and even ripe blueberries, with light earthy, spicy and peppery notes. After a few minutes, floral and mineral notes became more apparent and mingled with the berries aromas. The palate is rather light and bright, almost Burgundian, and expands gently and nicely till the mid-palate. Unfortunately, I personally found that it "kind of" cut short in the mid-palate and thinned out in the finish. A lovely and enjoyable wine overall, with a lot to say of up front, yet, which lack a bit of structure and texture, more especially in the back palate and finish, as it vanishes leaving a slight trace of bitterness (probably due to unripe tannins). But still, a pleasant re-discovery, as I did not try Herve Souhaut wine for a while.

Hervé Souhaut "Les Cessieux" Saint Joseph 2013

Hervé Souhaut "Les Cessieux" Saint Joseph 2013

Hervé Souhaut "Les Cessieux" Saint Joseph 2013

Château Guiraud 2014 Sauternes (Bordeaux, France)
Grape variety: 65% Semillon / 85% Sauvignon Blanc
I don't know about you, but I love Sauternes. Of Course, I love Yquem as I have the chance to taste it regularly and more often than any other Sauternes. Yet, I need to admit that Chateau Guiraud has always been one of my favorite Sauternes and this 2014 is no exception to the rule. Fresh and clean, exuberant and perfumed nose mingling white flowers, honey, beeswax and honeysuckle with candied orange and yellow fruits. The palate is clean, fresh and light on its feet, balanced, tense and focus by a bright acidity and a lovely smooth and gentle texture. It expands with ample and generous fashion toward the finish without feeling too rich or too thick, on the contrary it is like a gracious ballerina hovering on your tongue. Love this wine.

Château Guiraud 2014 Sauternes

It was a nice early christmas lunch to say goodbye to one of our colleagues for his last day and the food was exquisite thanks to Chef Edward Voon (crossing fingers for you to get 1 or 2 Michelin Stars next year).

Here are some pictures of the lunch dishes:



























Santé,

LeDomduVin



Sunday, December 3, 2017

Ruppert-Leroy "Fosse Grely" Champagne


Ruppert-Leroy "Fosse Grely" Champagne

Ruppert-Leroy "Fosse Grely" Champagne


Ruppert-Leroy "Fosse Grely" Champagne Brut Nature (dégorgé in 2016)
Market Prices 40 to 45 euros (370 to 415 HKD)

50% Pinot Noir 50% Chardonnay

Pale gold color with very fine bubbles. Beautiful enticing fruity nose with aromas of yellow fruit (peach, pear, apple) mingling with floral notes and mineral nuances. The palate is light, bright, crisp, a touch fruity but not sweet, or let's say the sweetness of the fruit rather than the sugar, beautifully balanced and structured, focus with a great acidity and a fairly long finish. A well crafted vibrant champagne. Highly recommended.
Funny capsule too with the "I love you" around the lipstick kiss mark. Lovely.

Ruppert-Leroy "Fosse Grely" Champagne




Ruppert-Leroy "Fosse Grely" Champagne Capsule





Ruppert-Leroy "Fosse Grely" Champagne Capsule


Santé, 

LeDomduVin a.k.a Dominique Noël 

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Memories of My Cigars days


Memories of My Cigars days...


Dominique Noël - Sommelier at CHE Restaurant, Cocktail Bar & Lounge
back in the late 1990s - London, UK (Courtesy of Cigar World Magazine)



I retrieved an old copy of Cigar World Magazine from 2001, with an article about London's Sommeliers and "what to drink with your cigar?" back from our London years at CHE Restaurant, Cocktail Bar & Cigar Lounge on St. James street (used to be on the ground floor and first floor of the Economist Building)




Cigar World Magazine cover 2001



A time when I remember smoking quite a few cigars every week... with the team: John Davey, Fossard Eric, Tim McLaughlin-Green, Ludovic Peyrard, Stephane Gilet, and even Mark Pratt during the break in the afternoon at the bar of the small hotel/club next door.. (St. James ?)..


CHE Restaurant, Cocktail Bar & Cigar Lounge Team (small part of it in fact)
Mike West, Stephane Gilet, Dominique Noël, John Davey and more...



And of course I also remember smoking with Georges Dos SantosYves SaubouaChristophe Brunet, during memorable dinners and parties... even with Christophe VuilleminStephane BuliardJorge Calisto, and a few others (and some already mentioned above) during our time at Monte's Club.. 😁 ... 






Dominique Noël featured in Cigar World Magazine 2001 - London Sommelier's Article




Dominique Noël featured in Cigar World Magazine 2001 - London Sommelier's Article




Thierry Tomasin and Rachel Pacquelet featured in Cigar World Magazine 2001 - London Sommelier's Article





What a great time we had and what a dream team. 



#CHE #ourlondonyears #greatmemories #greatpeople #cigars #wine #sommelier #sommelierlife #londonsommeliers #winepeople #winepersonalities #ledomduvin @ledomduvin #cigarworldmagazine 



Santé, Cheers, and stay tuned for more posts coming soon....




LeDomduVin a.k.a Dominique Noël




Monday, November 27, 2017

Thank you to all my readers...


A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS....




Fairly recently, I was already astonished to reach the milestone of 1,200 page views within 7 days, which was huge for a small blogger like me and I thanked you for it. 

Today, I was just checking something on my blog and was stopped immediately by looking at the number of page views.... at first, I refreshed the page to see if it was not a mistake... no, it was not.... 
I was speechless.... I could not believe the amount of page views within the last 7 days: 

17,517 (and climbing...)

WOW!?! It may appear rather small for the renown bloggers out there, yet for a small blogger like me only writing sporadically... THAT'S AMAZING!?!  And the only thing I can say is

 A HUGE THANK YOU to ALL MY READERS... 

You are the inspiration and motivation behind my writings.  

Santé, Cheers, Thank you again and stay tuned for more posts in the near future. 

LeDomduVin a.k.a Dominique Noël

Monday, October 23, 2017

"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947


"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947


"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017


I just received today this amazing book I bought online titled "Le Vignoble Girondin" by Germain Lafforgue, 1st edition from 1947, numbered 295 out of the 910 exemplaries published then. In superb condition I must say for a 1st edition of 1947.

I discovered this book while doing a few researches online for my post titled "Bordeaux is not only two banks and not all Bordeaux wines taste the same...."  (read it here) where I mentioned the unvaluable "Geologic Map of the Gironde Soils" contained in that book.

I cannot express or hide my joy and pleasure to now possess such a treasure, more especially for someone passionate about vineyard's soils, subsoils, topography and geology like me.

Here are a few pictures of this book (that all Bordeaux and other wine lovers should have on the shelve of their wine library) and more especially the Geologic Map just to give you "le vin a la bouche" (meaning to make your mouth watering with wine...  wine and vineyard knowledge that is 😉😊)

"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Introduction




"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Table des Matières



"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Table des Illustrations and Héliogravures


There is even the original letter from the editor.... amazing



"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Original Editor's Letter



And of course, the treasure inside, the cherry on the cake, there is the unfoldable map divided in 2 parts: The Gironde vineyards Map and Gironde Soils Geologic Map..... Love it.



"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Vineyards Map of the Gironde Region



"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Geologic Map of the Gironde Region

It is a great book of invaluable facts and data known at that time back in 1946-1947 about the wines, vineyards, soils, subsoils, geology and topography of the Gironde Region (Bordeaux), facts and data that are still relevant to this day for the most part. That's what makes that book invaluable in my opinion. I may be wrong but reading the knowledge of the old and wise is always a source of enlightenment to me. The old and wise were not always right, but if so why are we always going to the ancient methods and traditions (i.e. Organic and Biodynamic)?

A big Thank you to Denis, the person who sold it to me, the bookseller of a library called
"La Belle Page", located at Prades-Le-Lez (34730), a village situated north of Montpellier (Hérault), in the Languedoc-Roussillon in France. He packed the book the old way, in newspaper, which i appreciated very much as it reminds me of my grandfather and how he used to pack all sort of things back when I was a kid growing up surrounded by vineyards in the Côtes de Bourg


"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Packed like the old days with newspaper



"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Packed like the old days with newspaper



"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Packed like the old days with newspaper


"Le Vignoble Girondin" de Germain Lafforgue 1947 - ©LeDomduVin 2017
Just unpacked - Nearly pristine condition


Voilà, hope you like it as much as I do and you know what's left for you to do if you are curious enough, go buy the book, it is definitely worth it if you can find it.


Santé,

LeDomduVin a.k.a Dominique Noël