Thursday, July 14, 2022

LeDomduVin: Joyeux 14 Juillet





Joyeux 14 Juillet 
La Fête Nationale Française,
Fêtez la avec du Vin. 

Happy 14th of July 
The French National Day, 
Celebrate it with Wine.

Original picture of France with wine labels inside courtesy of 

https://atelier-vauvenargues.com/products/affiches-carte-des-vins


#ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesmemesadom #quatorzejuillet #14juillet #july14 #fetenationale #nationalfrenchday #frenchday #wine #vin #vino #wein #france



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Thursday, July 7, 2022

LeDomduVin: Alter Ego de Château Palmer 2017



Alter Ego de Château Palmer 2017


Last night, we had a gathering with a few ex-colleagues and friends, as a remembering in the memory of our dear colleague, mentor and friend, Bernard de Laage de Meux, who passed away recently.

Ken Man brought this bottle of Alter Ego, the second wine of Château Palmer, where Bernard worked for 15 years (1999 - 2014). It was a way to have a bit of Bernard with us.





A bottle of Château Le Bon Pasteur would also have been a nice touch, as Bernard was the President of LBP until his passing. We will definitely find one for our next gathering.

As I always like to say: People who passed away only die if/when we stop thinking and talking about them like they were still there. Otherwise, they live on forever in our memories, thoughts, dreams, prayers and discussions.

So, that what we did, we revived our memories of Bernard, while eating some Chinese food and drinking a wine he was related to at some point in his life.





Despite being very young, this Alter Ego 2017 was really opened and approchable, generous, opulent and surprisingly good, for a vintage that is considered to be difficult mostly due to a severe frost in April, which considerably impacted some  producers in some areas. In short, a very  heterogeneous vintage resulting in average to good, bad and ugly wines.

That said, the growing conditions were not so bad after all. As per Jancice Robinson "rain end of June, dry summer, hot August, damp start to September, fine finish", allowing some producers to make some good wines. And, this Alter Ego is definitely a very good example of it.

Dark, inky color. Youthful nose boasting aromas of ripe dark fruits and berries, mingling with integrated oaky, toasted, smoky and earthy notes. Smooth and ample in the palate, without being heavy, generous and textured, focused and well crafted, with a good balance between the fruit, the acity and the tannins. Nicely expanding from the attack to the finish. What a very pleasant surprise! Loved it.

We did several toasts last night, yet, once again, with this post, I'd like to raise my glass to you Bernard. We miss you.

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lesphotosadom @chateaupalmer #palmer #alterego #alteregodepalmer #margaux #bordeaux #wine #vin #vino #wein #gathering #remembering 


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LeDomduVin: Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2020



Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 

2020 Sicily, Italy


Enjoying a nice glass of red with Leonardo Degli'Innocenti, Operations Director at "Tuber" and "Cannubi" (*), while eating a delicious dish prepared by talented executive chef Keith Yam Ka-lok.

It was my first time at "Tuber". Very nice and cosy place, "Art Deco" style, comfortable and relaxed atmosphere, with a great wine list boasting a very interesting selection of Italian wines mingling with some from the rest of the world, at competitive prices.





I came that day to assist with the wine service for a private lunch. Once the lunch was over and the patrons were gone, pastry chef Tommaso Gaudino, Leonardo and myself sat down and enjoyed some pasta and wine (as we did not eat prior to the service). It was a brief, yet tasty, comforting and enjoyable experience.

Terre Nere Etna Rosso is one of my favourite red wines from Sicily. I used to buy and sell a lot of this wine during my New York years.






This Etna Rosso is a blend of 95% Nerello Mascalese, and 5% Nerello cappuccio, from 5 to 50-year-old vines, planted on volcanic soil, on the northern slope of Mount Etna, at an altitude between 600  and 900 meters. It is aged in large French oak barrels (10-30 hl) for 16 months, plus one month in steel tanks, then bottled unfiltered, with an average annual production of 11,000 cases.





Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2020 Sicily, Italy

This 2020 vintage visually presents an attractive clear, bright and youthful ruby colour. The nose is very incentive, boasting fresh aromas of red cherries and berries mingling with floral, earthy and mineral notes and smokey nuances. The palate is clean, precise and sharp, medium-bodied yet generously coating, offering plenty of subtle flavours, harmoniously balanced between the fruit, the zesty acidity and the present yet integrated tannins, providing this wine with great structure and texture, opulence and charm, with a good grip on the persistent finish. Love it.

Thank you for this enjoyable moment in your company Leonardo, it was really nice. Thanks to Chef Keith too.


Sante! Cheers! 

Dom

(*) Umberto Bombana new restaurants in K11 Musea, Hong Kong.

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin @etrusco_9
@tuber_umberto_bombana @tenutadelleterre #etnarosso #wine #vin  #vino #wein




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LeDomduVin: Twins - Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques 2008




Twins:  Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques 2008


It is not every day that I can open and taste some bottles from Armand Rousseau.

This particular producer is so in demand that it is difficult to find some bottles, and when you find some, they are so expensive, nowadays, that nobody drinks them anymore.

Instead, they use them as products of speculation, by putting them in their cellars, prior to reselling them a few years later via auction houses or private sales. 

Yet, on some rare occasions, like today, some of these bottles end up being served, rather than being stored. 






The first bottle was delicate, silky and elegant, not to say light, faded and thin. The nose timidly offered aromas of red, almost slightly underriped cherry and griottes, herbs, minerals and earthy notes. The palate was light bodied, a bit thin in my opinion, delivering nice and gentle cherry fruit, backed up by a great acidity, but not really substantial, lacking of texture and structure. It was good and overall balanced and harmonious, but lacked the layers, complexity and wow factor somewhat expected at HKD 14,500 (€1800) a bottle. Good, not great. 

The 2nd bottle showed much better features and quality: more expressive on the nose and on the palate, it seemed fresher, more opulent, ample and generous, and had a more persistent finish. Ever the color seemed darker and younger than the previous bottle. Loved it . 

Which made me ponder and ask myself why? This is a great example of bottle variations which, once again, proved the importance of being aware of the provenance and storage conditions, as well as anthenticy and genuineness of the bottles. Both real? One fake? Or one that already traveled the world over many times in auctions? Who knows... All I can say is that the difference was obvious... yet, so many factors might come to play to explain this difference. Hard to say. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom 

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lesphotosadom  #armandrousseau #gevreychambertin #clossaintjacques #burgundy #wine #vin #vino #wein #sommelier #sommelierlife #sommlife #ilovemyjob


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