When wine friends meet (part 2)
The day after the UGCB, we decided to meet again for dinner at Nissa la Bella (@nissalabellahk).
A French bistro in Sheung Wan, where Olivier Bollenbach (@olivierboll) and the team took really good care of us. Really lovely food and wines!
Left to right: François, Jerry, Minnie, Dom, Benoît, Olivier, Kim, Ophelia, and Martin.
We had an excellent time, having fun, sharing, and cheering. A great occasion to meet old friends, new people, discover a new place, and drink great wines, too.
Everyone brought some great bottles, and these are the wines we drank for dinner.
Left to right:
Yann Durieux - Love and Pif - Bourgogne Aligoté (2023 ?)
Even though we were all working in the wine industry, directly or indirectly, at that dinner, I was surprised that some of us did not know Yann Durieux.
Yann Durieux is a respected figure in the traditional and natural wine worlds, known for his biodynamic and natural winemaking practices, with a focus on minimal intervention, which allows his wines to express greater purity and terroir.
Yann has been the vineyard manager at Domaine Prieuré Roch since 2008. Prieuré Roch, which has a "cult-like following" among fine wine collectors and connoisseurs, is considered a significant producer in Burgundy.
Then, in 2010, he founded his own domain, "Recrue des Sens," and vinified his first three vintages in the cellars at Prieuré Roch, which attracted the press and critics and brought significant attention to his name, reputation, and wines.
He now owns a few vineyards and makes white wines from Aligoté, Chardonnay, and Pinot Blanc, as well as various red wines from Pinot Noir, all aged in old or new barrels. He also makes an ‘orange’ wine from Aligoté (also from Pinot Gris, available on request)
Unfortunately, since he produces only 3,000-5,000 bottles per vintage, his wines are rare and highly sought after. They often do not receive formal notes or scores from the press or critics because, with such low production, it’s understandable that he cannot send samples to all international critics.
Although more popular now and even trendy in some parts of the world (France, USA, etc.), some people still remain skeptical of natural wines because they often have funky, even faulty, aromas and flavors, along with flaws like a cloudy appearance, effervescence, "funky" or "barnyard" aromas, an unbalanced or unharmonious palate, and possible inconsistency between bottles.
Even at that dinner, two winemakers attended and shared their concerns about the wine. But that was before tasting it; in the end, even they were pleasantly surprised, as Yann Durieux's wines are not like other Natural wines — they are clean, precise, and focused, with a lot to offer and to like.
This wine is crafted with a focus on natural winemaking, including spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts and aging in steel and wooden barrels. It is typically bottled without fining or filtration, and with minimal or no added sulfites.
The resulting wine is a vibrant Bourgogne Aligoté—fresh, clean, zesty, yet generous and complex, with lots of minerality, bright fruit notes, and a long finish. One of the best Bourgogne Aligotés I have tasted in a long time.
Thank you, Martin, for bringing this bottle to dinner. First, because I am a big fan of Yann Durieux wines, and it was nice to refresh my memory since I hadn't tasted his Bourgogne Aligoté in a long time. Second, because it allowed some people to discover it for the first time. Good choice!
Louis-Benjamin - Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang 2019 (Magnum)
This is one of the bottles I brought to dinner. The night before, I had dinner with Martin, Ophelia, and Minnie, and Martin and Ophelia treated us to some nice Pouilly Fumé, which inspired me to bring a magnum of this legendary wine, or should I say "this mythic cuvée" from Pouilly Fumé in the Loire (France).
Didier Dagueneau, a pioneering winegrower in the Loire, was a renowned expert in the Sauvignon Blanc variety and one of the first to apply biodynamic farming on his 11 hectares in the AOC Pouilly Fumé.
I had the chance to meet Didier Dagueneau twice in the mid-90s, and even then, his wines were seen as revolutionary and unusual for the appellation because of their richness, concentration, and complexity, providing a sharp contrast to the typically light, grassy Sauvignon Blancs of that time.
Didier Dagueneau challenged convention by adopting meticulous viticulture—including biodynamic practices starting in 1993—and barrel fermentation, which was uncommon for the region at the time. This led to wines with a distinct, fuller-bodied profile—much richer, more complex, and dense—along with higher aging potential than their peers within the appellation.
Starting in the 1990s, Dagueneau wines gained a cult following, commanding prices similar to those of top Burgundy wines and becoming harder to find due to high demand and limited production.
After Didier passed away in 2008, his son, Louis Benjamin Dagueneau, took over and continued his father's philosophy by crafting complex, layered Pouilly Fumé wines in a very Burgundian style (see this video interview of Didier Dagueneau, courtesy of "Le Média Vin").
Didier Dagueneau's "Pur Sang" is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc from old-vine vines aged 25 to 60 years, planted in limestone, clay, and flint soils. It is considered one of the best cru in the AOC Pouilly Fumé. The vines are farmed using biodynamic practices with organic and ecological methods. The grapes are hand-harvested at peak ripeness. They are then gently pressed, and the must ferments spontaneously with native yeasts for 3 months. The wine then ages on lees for 11 months in oak barrels.
The Didier Dagueneau winery is famous for its relentless pursuit of quality, and the cuvée "Pur Sang" is the perfect example; its name, “Pure Sang”, reflects its purity and unique character.
I arrived at the restaurant about 30 minutes before everyone else and immediately opened the wine, knowing it would benefit from a little air to fully express itself. If it had been a younger vintage, I would definitely have decanted it, but for this 2019 vintage, 30-45 minutes of opening time before serving was plenty to let it open up nicely.
This "Pure Sang" 2019 in magnum is a perfect example of concentration and precision, freshness and structure, and reveals the surprising complexity and depth Dagueneau's wines develop with some age.
In the glass, it displayed a bright, pale yellow color. There is a liveliness in the nose enhanced by yellow fruits and citrus aromas blending with floral and mineral notes. The attack is stunning, clean, fresh, focused, precise, mineral, and zesty. The palate is elegant, chiseled, refined, yet complex and layered, gently coating the mouth, balanced, well-structured, and generously textured, with minerality and freshness that extend the aromatic and flavor profile. The finish is intense, prolonged, and immediately inviting for another glass. This is a magnificent, youthful wine with the potential to age gracefully for many more years (the magnum size likely helps). Gorgeous!
NB: Last, but not least, all Dagueneau wines, including "Pur Sang," have been sold under the label "Vin de France" since 2017. Louis Benjamin Dagueneau decided to move his wines out of the "Pouilly Fumé" appellation due to criticism that his wines did not meet the traditional standards of Pouilly-Fumé. Fortunately, this decision did not affect the wine's reputation or quality.
Le Guishu - French Saké Sec/Dry
Following the two previous stunning white wines, Minnie brought us something rather intriguing and unexpected: a French Saké!
I had heard and read about some of these "Sake made in France" brands, such as
- "Le Guishu": a collection of “Provence style French Sake” created in 2016, by Olivier Sublett (of Chateau Beausejour, Saint-Emilion), in parts imported in Hong Kong by "Wine to Love"
- "Wakaze": first created in Japan in 2016 by Takuma, Founder and CEO of Wakaze Sakagura, who opened a second brewery in the suburbs of Paris to share Wakaze with the world.
- "Les Larmes du Levant": the project of its founder, Gregoire Boeuf, supposedly the first French Sakagura entirely dedicated to the production of Sake, yet also created in 2016 (same years as the other Sakagura)
However, I had never heard of the brand "French Saké". Minnie (Wong) imports and distributes it to Hong Kong via her company "Wine to Love", as it is made by "Le Guishu" (it took me a minute to realize it after looking at the capsule, as I was focused on the front label, where "Le Guishu" is not mentioned).
They make different versions of it, Sec (Dry), Demi-Sec (Semi-Dry), and Semi-Sweet, using French ingredients, like rice from the Camargue region, and blend Japanese brewing traditions with French terroirs to create distinct flavor profiles.
**********work in progress**********
Jaffelin Fixin 1er Cru Hervelets 2020
Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 1990
Château La Cabanne Pomerol 2022
Château Le Bon Pasteur Pomerol 2022
Château Troplong Mondot Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 1988
Bussola Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Vigneto Alto (2019 ?)
Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1er Grand Cru Sauternes 2017
Kim, Ophelia, Martin, Francois, Minnie, Benoit, Olivier, Olivier's wife
After dinner, we went to have a few more wines and finish the night at a great wine bar, called "Think Wine" by Romain Loriot (@thinkwine.hongkong), where we drank:
Granbazan 'Etiqueta Àmbar' Albarino Rias Baixas (2021 ?)
Baptiste Pimouguet, Dominique Noël & Romain Loriot
Then Romain Loriot treated us to an interesting blind tasting of two Cabernet Sauvignons from China.
Jiang Yu Cabernet Sauvignon "6000 Li" Shangri-La Yunnan 2022
Tinnyu "Random Cabernet" Shangri-La Yunnan 2023
Francois, Jerry, Minnie, Dom, Benoit, Olivier, Kim, Ophelia & Martin
Kim, Ophelia, Martin, Francois, Minnie, Benoit, Olivier, Olivier's wife
A beautiful evening spent with some old and new friends.
It was great to see you all and spend this memorable moment with you guys! Loved it! 😁👍🍷🍷🍷
Cheers! Santé!
Dom
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