Moss Wood Cabernet sauvignon 1999

Margaret River, Western Australia. Cabernet sauvignon. 14.5%. Cork. Source: Father

The image of course has nothing to do with the wine, though I suspect this is how I might see the building should I be standing at the corner, in my current state of mild inebriation. . .

The wine in question was lovely. From a warm cellar, it appears middle aged and cuddly. Cedar and blackcurrant with a hint of earth and rosewood. Notably sweet (in my mind and in relation to its European peers) and creamy before becoming more grainy and expansive. I liked the pace and warm generosity.

Very good - excellent.
93.
Now - 2019.

Image: Crossing Paterson Rd at the Orchard Boulevard intersection, Singapore December 2009

J. B Becker Spatburgunder Spatlese Trocken 2002

Wallufer Walkenberg, Rheingau, Germany. Pinot noir. 13%. Vino-lok.

Almost a year after I bought the Becker, I finally opened and supped. The other bottle pictured only lasted a few weeks, the much earlier note can be found here.

J.B smells of small goods and dirt. Two things I am particularly fond of. . . It's clean and taint free, but still with a lovely savoury note, that reminds me of the salt cured duck breasts I made some time ago. Lovely weight and acidity in the mouth, spiced, expansive and fine. This is clearly varietal, whilst marching to its own pace and rhythm.

Very good.
92.
Now - 2012.

Prager Grüner veltliner Thal 2008

Wachau, Austria. Grüner veltliner. 11.5%. Cork. Approx $A50.

A quote from the pictured article, from the December 19, 2009 edition of the Economist . . . all other things being equal, foreignness is intrinsically stimulating. Like a good game of bridge, the condition of being foreign engages the mind constantly without ever tiring it. John Lechte, an Australian professor of social theory characterises foreignness as "an escape from the boredom and banality of the everyday".

39.6 degrees Celsius in the shade and time to seek refuge in something pert and dry. GV is still new and foreign to me and after a run of very average examples a few years ago, it would appear I have finally found the promised land. Aromatic and verging on tropical, this is vibrant and slightly unexpected. Playful and focused, this deserves a slightly cooler day and a more attentive palate. . .

The smell of dirt and sex on the beach. . .

Delightfully simple and brief, I like the idea almost as much as the actual scents. Dirt is quite dusty and reminds me of an unwashed beetroot and several hours in the garden, while sex on the beach smells appropriately peachy and fit for consumption.

Mountadam Estate Chardonnay 2008

Eden Valley, South Australia. Chardonnay. 14%. Screwcap. Approx $A30.

Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me, but I can recall tasting some earlier examples of this from the late 90's. It was stylistically apart and the bottles I had were notable for their texture and oxidation. For all its history (since 1972, which is a long time for Chardonnay in Australia) and terroir, it was a label whose value and reputation was seemingly in decline. It would appear from this bottle and all the recent press that the decline has now been partly reversed.

Blond and augmented. Butterscotch, vanilla cream, cashew and grilled peach. Bright, fleshy and giving the impression of sweetness and warmth. Pleasing and slightly against the tide in terms of its style and emphasis.

Very good.
92+
Now - 2012+

Post script: An eye opening sip from the remains and it seems better, more complex, less augmented and more delicate and lingering.

Grosset Polish Hill 2009

Polish Hill, Clare, South Australia. Riesling. 13%. Approx $A40.

Distinctive and rapier like. Blossom and rose petal, the nose is slightly Germanic and one could almost expect some sweetness in the mouth from the aromatics. Instead there is cold steel, searing acidity and lime zest intensity. A thrilling wine.

Excellent.
95.
Now - 2019+

Image: The cover of the Christmas 2009 Economist

Postcard: The Greenhouse

Constructed in six and open for two weeks, this strawberry* encased cuboid of recycled materials has already attracted much hype. It is easy to see why. A speck of goodness and life has finally landed on the Terrace, hopefully it infects the whole street with vitality, though that might be asking for too much. . .

I visited on the eve of Christmas, for breakfast and coffee. The food was good in parts, I loved the eggs (free range from Margaret River), they seemed slow cooked and the albumin had only just coagulated. The best part though was the space itself. There is so much to see, feel and soak in, so much thought and attention. Bravo!

Post script: April 2010 - all the strawberries on the inner facing wall have withered and the outside at least is less appealing than before. . .

12th August 2010 - the strawberries are all gone replaced with climbing ivy. I had a reasonable lunch today, Albany oysters lovely, though my silverbeet to accompany my slow cooked goat was sandy. . .

* what will they do with the swarm of bees that will arrive with the flowers?

Two more sleeps. . .

As we near Christmas, many thanks to all the kind souls who have shown an interest in Wino sapien. I hope you all have a lovely, peaceful and very merry Christmas.

Image: Inside the Christmas tree, outside the Ion Orchard shopping complex in Singapore

Hirtzberger Federspiel Steinterrassen Riesling 2008

Spitzer, Wachau, Austria. Riesling. 12%. Cork. Approx $A50.

A beautiful wine, which once again leaves me struggling for words. Off dry, succulent and wonderfully long, this is at once pert and fleshy. A perfectly weighted and smooth river stone, sensual and satisfying, the sort of specimen you think of translocating half way around the world. Evocative to nose and mouth, I sniff and find flint, beeswax, dried apples and a hint of white pepper. Rolling and mineral like, I love the weight and feel of this, it gives the impression of hardness, but this is offset by a lovely tang, the slightest suggestion of fresh ginger and tremendous persistence and line.

Excellent.
94.
Now - 2018

Image: Dinner

Postcard: Yakader Muslim food @ the Tekka centre

If you ever see a man standing over an enormous pot of steaming chicken biryani, scooping out platefuls every few seconds to the greedy masses, then stop and join the line. Ignore the fact that you have just eaten a late breakfast, or that you have other plans for lunch. Stop, pay the measly four dollars, and eat. . . I did and even now, weeks later, I'm still drooling and wishing I had eaten more.

Postcard: Din Tai Fung

Australia has one in Sydney, while the US has a solitary store in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, in tiny, food obsessed Singapore there are seven. . . I visited the branch at Wisma Atria and was immediately struck by how casual and efficient things were. We were at the end of a long line waiting for seats, but as well as a number we were handed a tick a box menu, and within minutes, our order had been placed and we were being ushered in. The food is comforting and at times superb, it is also surprisingly cheap ($60 for 4 adults and 2 children), though the portions were generally modest. The xiao long bao are particularly good, intricately constructed and indecently affordable ($9 for 10 dumplings), each is filled with broth and each dumpling forms a souptight bag when held up. Eaten whole, they are a cascade of texture, flavour and sustenance. The dumplings at the nearby Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Kitchen (level 5 Ngee Ann City) are almost as good, though the skins seem thicker and drier.

Hoddles Creek 1er Yarra Valley Pinot noir 2008

After my less than satisfying encounter with dried areca nut, I came across this small package of betel nut fragments. It was beautifully and improbably perfumed. Where the dried flakes smelt of almond and sawdust, these small pieces smelt of violets and rose petal, tobacco and expensive Margaux. . . Full of effect in the mouth, being minty and refreshing (like toothpaste), with a hint of ginger and tongue numbing anaesthetic.

This of course has very little to do with the wine, which I wanted to like more. . . I found it hard and surrounded by a metaphorical shell of varnish and resin. Earthy, fragrant and spiced, there is a hint of aftershave and musk. It seems bigger than the 13.2%, a little awkward and overcrowded and quite sappy and hard. I'll try it again tomorrow, I suspect it will be better in time.

The conventional bottle shot can be found here.

Olivier Leflaive Pommard 2004

Pommard, Burgundy, France. Pinot noir. 13%. Cork. Approx $128(Singapore). Source: restaurant wine list (Blu @ Shangri-La Hotel).

If you discount the bottle of Krug that I relished just moments before, this was my vinous highlight from Singapore. Sure, I fondled plenty of expensive bottles (I found a store, the Oak cellars, selling bottles of 1982 Petrus, 1945 Ch Talbot) and day dreamed about the 1949 Latour that was also on the list. . . As it was, I spent much of my time in Singapore slurping juice. I tried a fresh mango lassi and then sugar cane juice from the store above (Tekka centre, Little India), while my kids ordered milo dinosaurs.

Despite being new to me, this Pommard was reassuring and familiar. Stems and rose petal, earth and ginseng root. Beautiful and expressive. Firm and tight, this clearly could do with some cellar time. The line and acidity whilst lovely, give the impression of austerity. 93. 2011 - 2020.

Postcard: The smells of Singapore. . .

Is it possible for a place to have its own smell? I meditated on this notion for a day before leaving for Singapore. I sniffed and concentrated, but came up with nothing*. . . Perhaps I've become habituated to the scent of my city, so that it is now neutral. . . still I suspect the lack of olfactory signature has something to do with sprawl and the predominately pre-packaged nature of Australian life.

Singapore in contrast, has an extraordinary range of sights and smells. The epicentre of smell has got to be Little India. There is the obligatory scent of car fumes, cigarettes and unwashed pavements, rubbish incubating in the equatorial warmth, the sweat of your companions, the smell of fresh carcasses, coconut husks acetic and shattered on the street, the smoke from worship burning my eyes and teasing my nose, daring me to remember. . . hunger and the whiff of a large pot of Chicken Biryani brings me back and I start to water, until I catch the unmistakable sulferous olfactory signature of durian. . .

I visited Little India with a small mission. I wanted to taste and smell Betel nut (more correctly known as Areca nut). Luck and an equal measure of misunderstanding meant I was able to buy a medium sized bag of betel leaf and nut shavings for the princely sum of $2.

The beautiful wood shavings, with their reddish brown markings smell of roasted almonds and toast, they taste like pieces of bark and I had trouble seeing the point, and after a few minutes of chewing, I spat the flakes out, doubly disappointed that my spit was still unstained. . . More success with the leaves which are peppery and green (in scent), not dissimilar to fresh arugula. In the mouth it is abrasive and harsh, quite weedy with a suggestion of mint and cracked pepper.

* I'm back home now and my nose and brain are readjusting, the windows are open and the night air is cool and dry and I can smell the Queensland Box that line the street.

** Other Perth smells I've noticed since coming home. Morton Bay figs

Singapore

I've spent the last week or so reading about Singapore. The most notable impression I've acquired, is how hard it is to get a true sense of place from travel guides.

I've a short list of places to see and a long list of restaurants to try. . . I'm still to decide if I should try to locate fresh betel nuts or the various smelly manifestations of durian. . . as to wine, I've received some inside information and I'm hoping to find some interesting bottles to bring home. . .

Bernard Ott Vom Rotem Schotter Riesling 2007

Austria. Riesling. 12.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A40

The back label mentions this is halbtrocken, half dry. A quick google and I see there is about 10g per litre of residual sugar.

A flinty and sulfurous wine that blooms in the mouth and is notable for its tropical tang and ginger spice. Much is hidden behind the chemical veil of SO2, but still there is a suggestion of stones and lemon blossom. Off dry (I would have guessed 20g of sugar), fleshy and with an intense nectar like sting somewhere between dried apricots and pineapple.

Very good.
89.
Now - 2012+

Yalumba TGV 2007

Barossa, South Australia. Tempranillo, Grenache, Viognier. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A30.

I always liked high school chemistry and the periodic table, but it is only recently I have come to appreciate its beauty. My eight year old is a fan too, the idea of noble gases appeals to him, though it is the concept of metals (sodium) causing explosions when added to water that seems to interest him most. . .

I'm looking for apricots and musk, but I get earth and rose petals and possibly a boiled lolly and a small piece of chocolate. It's alluring and attractive. I think I can spot the individual elements within the seamless whole. . . A meaty, chewy mouthful follows, slightly sweet, very grainy, packed with flavour, tannins and fleshy texture.

Very very good.
91.
Now - 2014.