vino yes no

Most of you might have heard of Les Gouttes de Dieu, a Japanese manga about wine. Inspired by one of the episodes where two protégés of a famous wine critic search for the fifth apostle (part of a wine puzzle) up in a snowy mountain, we decided to bring a bottle of white burgundy to our 2-week trip up in the Himalayas.

Hoping to experience the same epiphany as in the manga, we toiled our way from 2800m to 4880m above sea level, passing yaks, crushing stones, step by step under our mountain boots. We sweated, swore, and admired the spectacular scenery whenever we had residual energy.  Reaching the highest point on our trip to Gokyo, it was time to claim our trophy.

In the famed manga, the plot reveals that the mineral quality in a Montrachet is akin to the brutal winds one faces atop the summit.   Witnessing the splendor of Gokyo and its dreamlike moonscape, we celebrated with our Chassagne Montrachet brought from Hong Kong (the sale was tempting and we couldn’t afford a grand cru Montrachet). The wine was light yellow hue, chilled au naturel ,from the cold sting of the biting Himalayan winds.  Once we pulled our noses towards the rim of the glass, we had a blow of defeat. We could not smell anything.  Our senses and noses had been frozen stiff and we just could not smell a thing.  What despair!

After some time of warming our faces indoors and clearing our noses, the wine at once greeted us with loads of citrus, floral and peaches.  I don’t know if it was from the fire glowing in the dining area, but the wine was sweet and smoky like a charring marshmallow.  So acidic was the wine that one winces on the first sip, but the oily length of pineapple and mineral coated my mouth with warm succulence. Being deprived from sensory pleasures for so long, the taste of wine was luxuriating and forgiving.  We longed to polish off the bottle in one sitting by the crackling flames, but alas, nothing is quite perfect.  We found out first hand, that one must not consume alcohol in high places.  After 2 sips, I felt that my head was expanding near explosion, and I was in a drunken fervor.  Torn between finishing the wine and getting up early for our journey the next morning, we plugged the cork back in the bottle.  We had experienced the brutal winds of the summit without the aid of our wine, and this memory will linger for years to come.

Olivier Leflaive Chassagne Montrachet

2006 1er Cru, Clos Saint Marc $776 Mayfair Fine Wines

Let’s go back to about 2 weeks ago, where we had one of our good ol’ vino session.  Yes, we had been slack, and with all the craziness with our workload, last minute wines were sourced during lunch hour.  Rushing to the nearest wine shop, we were astounded to find a small selection of Chateau Musar - a ‘99 and a ‘00.  For some reason, we thought that it was a rare find in Hong Kong, and distinctly remember being informed that this was a very exclusive selection by a “connoisseur”.  Bill and I had tasted this wine before at Tastings Wine Bar, and we were at once impressed by the richness of the wine.  Thinking that this would be a nice surprise for our colleagues, we bought a bottle of this legendary Lebanese wine back to the office.

Chateau Musar is in the Bekaa Valley, an ancient Greek city in Lebanon famous for its wines.  One of the most celebrated wines of the region, it is famous for the production of French influenced wines, the red a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan had been praised by many wine critics.  From the memory of our first taste of Musar, the dense taste of dark fruit and gaminess was unforgettable and quite strange.  Unfortunately, the bottle of ‘99 we had this time was probably off peak/ stored improperly.  The colour was tilting towards a brown hue, and the fading smell off dried dates could no longer mask the residual pungency of alcohol.  Like many older wines, the smell of canned chinese bamboo shoots embraced us, while the dying sweetness of the once rich wine tinted our palettes with a taste of cheap chocolate, like a moldy Hershey’s Kisses.  No aftertaste, just icky fake sweetness, like a diet coke.

We quickly moved on to a Zinfandel from Kelvin’s private cellar (in his office pedestal).  One of the last american bottles from his bin end collection, the 2006 Chronicle was deep in purple.  A total 180 degrees from the Musar, this wine was alive with the taste of cake, vanilla and cotton candy.  No joke. Upon a whiff of the cotton candy nose, I actually had a “wine epiphany” moment where I was transported to the image of a whirling carousel, very dramatic.  Too bad that the wine had no real character, bland with a faulty egg salad finish.  Thank goodness for my imagination.

Like hair, sometimes you get good wine days or bad wine days.  We just need to stay positive and drink more!

Vino 1 : 

Chateau Musar 1999 Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

$380 (?) Relax Wine Shop (ps. this is totally overpriced. We found a 2002 in BBR for $250)

Vino 2:

Chronicle Zinfandel 2006 Russian River Valley USA

$200 (sale price) Altruistic Boutique Wines