On The Bench
I dined in esteemed company last evening, in the private room at the rear of purveyor of fine wine and bon vivant Mr. Vibol Thach’s new wine salon. Vibol is a gentleman passionate about the arts of good food, fine wine, and excellent company.
We catch up regularly, to break bread, to sup on exceptional wine and to discuss the business of vinous fermentations and the merits of an enjoyable repast.
Vibol has recently moved shop to an inviting and comfortable wine bar and boutique on street 154, situated between Norodom and Nineteen. Those who enjoy the elegance of a glass of wine seated in intimate and comfortable surroundings, and drinking it at very reasonable, bottle-shop’ prices, would do well to get themselves there.
The Korean, Hanu (Hanwoo) beef we tried was outstanding, I found it had more marbling than Australian Angus yet was less buttery and oily than most Japanese Wagyu. I can enjoy a nice Angus steak of decent size, but not too often, and I prefer my Wagyu in small cubes or slices, fresh off the teppan. Hanwoo seems destined to find a place in some of the finest dining establishments in the kingdom as a viable alternative to both of these popular choices. Hanu beef is regarded as some of the highest-quality beef in the world; to Koreans, it is a cultural icon.
The Wines
Hugel, Gentil, Alsace 2014
An Alsace blend of Pinot Gris: 23%, Pinot Blanc: 21%, Riesling: 20%, Sylvaner: 20%, Gewurztraminer: 14%, and Muscat: 2%
Hugel began making wine in 1639, and thirteen generations of the family have farmed its vineyards and crafted its wines. Famille Hugel is one of Alsace’s greatest producers and indeed, firmly fixed in the pantheon of the world’s great winemakers. The Gentil is always a dependable and supremely enjoyable Alsace white blend. Usually more of a quaffing wine than a keeper, this 2014, however, shows it can age gracefully. It is drinking beautifully, exhibiting hints of tertiary development with some wild honey and a touch of toastiness, supported by excellent freshness, white flowers, citrus, and green apple, along with some characteristic talc-like acidity. 89/100
Chateau Le Rey ‘Les Argileuses’ 2018
Vignobles K is owned by the Kwok family, headed by Peter Kwok, a Hong Kong businessman. His children, Elaine, Karen, and Howard, also share ownership and actively participate in the business. The family owns a portfolio of seven Right Bank, Bordeaux properties.
The wines are now made by the impressive Emmanuele Fulchi, (who joined after 25 years as oenologist and then technical director at Chateau Angelus). The consulting oenologist is the incredibly talented Thomas Duclos, who consults at several Grand Cru estates including Chateau Canon and Chateau Troplong Mondot.
Chateau Le Rey is a very old property in the Castillon region of Cotes de Bordeaux, east of Saint Emilion. The estate was owned by the Roque family since the reign of Louis XIII, up until 2016, when it was purchased by the Kwok family along with some friends.
Soils are predominantly asteriated limestone with some blue, purple clay running through it. Vines have a southerly aspect, and the site is one hundred meters above sea level.
2018, Chateau Le Rey ‘Les Argileuses’ (the name refers to the clay-based soils) is made up of Merlot 85%, and Cabernet Franc 15%. Fermentation was in small, conical, stainless-steel tanks, and matured for 6 months without oak.
This is all about pristine, impeccably clean, ripe, and concentrated berry fruits, with the Merlot humming in the wine. Aromas of mulberries, blackcurrants, and violets, along with subtle pepper, spice, and a hint of wild herb, all behind that thick curtain of seductive, pure fruit. The palate is juicy, inviting and eminently attractive. There is enough length, depth, and fine, silky tannins to mark this wine as precise and impressive, whilst the wonderful expression of fruit makes it a star at its exceedingly affordable price point. Drinking beautifully, hop in. 90/100
Duckhorn Decoy Zinfandel 2021
Zinfandel 90%, Petite Sirah 10%, Appellation: California the wine spent 12 months in French oak -30% new, 70% neutral.
I am an enthusiastic fan of Decoy wines, a label that started as a second label for the Duckhorn family and has blossomed into a fully-fledged winery in its own right, with its own designated vineyards and its own winemaker and winemaking facility.
I also love a good story and enjoyed the fact that the label features an artist’s rendition of an actual decoy carved in the 1930s by Richard “Fresh-Air Dick” Janson (1872–1951). Janson was a premier carver whose decoys are the most recognizable of all Pacific Coast carvings.
The benchmark of the Decoy wines is that they show pristine and true expressions of high-quality varietal fruit, they are clean, elegant, and undeniably charming wines. They are also incredibly good quality for their relatively affordable price points.
Of all the current Decoy releases I have recently tried; I felt the Zinfandel had just that little bit more finesse and complexity; here is a wine that massively over-delivers for the money asked.
The aroma is beguiling and attractive with violets, dark fruits, forest berries, and plums- a touch of vanilla pod, cocoa, fruit mince, gingerbread, and a fine line of all-spice as a mere accent in the bouquet.
The wine swirls onto the palate all boysenberries and creaminess, with a lovely compote of black fruits and currants mid-palate, there are fine, ripe, persistent tannins that caress the back palate, along with some refreshing acidity, and then there is a joyous flush of plum and hoi-sin lingering on the finish.
Pure delight in the glass and a wine poking its head up just above the rest of an exceptionally good suite of wines. 91/100
VIK, Le Belle Piu, 2019
This was my second tasting of this wonderful wine in just a matter of weeks. La Piu Belle is the goddess of nature, love, fertility, beauty, and art. At Vik, they call her the mystical world’s personification of their incredible terroir. She embodies the sun, enlightening the mist that covers the Millahue Valley at dawn.
She incarnates the freshness of the Pacific coastal and Andean Mountain breezes cooling the grapes during the luminescent summer. She is the gentle rain giving life to the vines, enhancing, and liberating the fragrance of the green and luxurious native flora and fauna surrounding the vineyard. She is the complexity of the soils, the roundness of the hills and the beauty of the valleys.
The striking label for Le Belle Piu was painted by renowned Chilean artist, Gonzalo Cienfuegos. He is a previous winner of the Art Critics Circle Award at the San Paulo Brazil Biennale.
The fruit for the 2019 wine is all from the Millahue estate in the Cachapoal Valley. The soils are deep, porous decomposed granitic soil with good drainage. The wine is a blend of Carmenere 44%, Cabernet Sauvignon 41%, Syrah 14%, Merlot 1%.
Maturation was for 24 months in French oak barrels, 5% of which were in the ‘barroir’ style unique to Vik. ‘Barroir,’ is the term VIK has given to their process where staves imported from France, are seasoned and coopered on the property, fired and charred with coals of locally grown oak, to impart a regional character and unique complexity.
The wine is bold and rich in ripe berry flavours but there is also that hallmark, impeccable attention to detail, giving the wine its elegance, and incredible finesse. 2019 is still very young and there is a touch of brazen character to the black fruits and red berries.
Aromas are of violets, star anise, forest berries, dark fruits, some wood spice, milk chocolate, vanilla pod, and a touch of cedar. The wine glides onto the palate with a creamy texture, ripe berries hover on the mid-palate before some very fine tannin emerges towards the back and a hint of eucalyptus. It is an exceptional wine, complex, pristine, and yet at its core, in its heart, it is an extrovert, generous and even playful. The fruit is lush yet faultlessly managed and presented, seriously impressive, it is only getting better and was again beautiful in the glass. 96/100
Famille Perrin ‘Les Sinards’ Chateauneuf du Pape 2017
The Perrin family, owners of the world-famous Chateau de Beaucastel since 1909, are highly regarded for their experience, skill, and talent for producing Southern Rhone wines of the highest quality. The ‘Les Sinards’ is made from young vines (under 20 years old) at Beaucastel and two neighbouring vineyards, Clos de Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Le Gres.
Soils are Miocene marine deposits covered with alpine diluvium (rounded pebbles). One parcel is on Urgonian limestone. The Le Gres vineyard is planted to Grenache, the surface soil full of ‘galets’ round pebbles that absorb heat during the day and release it during the night, giving warmth and finesse to the wine. Les Sinard is composed mainly of Grenache, unlike Beaucastel. Additional varieties are small amounts of Mourvedre and Syrah
Each variety is harvested separately. After sorting, a portion of whole clusters is selected from the Syrah and the rest destemmed along with the Grenache and Mourvedre. Vinification takes place in a combination of stainless steel and wooden vats, the same way as Chateau de Beaucastel. After the final blending, the wine is matured in oak for two years.
Coming from the land of the Avignon Pope’s there is always a majesty, a grandeur to these wines, but there is also the underlying beast, the hints of something less tamed pressing against the edges and lurking in the depths, in the darkness of the wines.
2017 is drinking magnificently, a perfect balance between ripe, generous berry fruits, spices, earthier notes, and fine structure. There are also supple tannins and still vibrant acidity. Aromas are of plum, raspberry, gingerbread, and carne asada spices. The palate has impressive length that leads you to its refreshing minerality and firm but fine tannins. This is an incredibly good Chateauneuf du Pape, what strikes you about the wine is its exceptional balance and structure; it is drinking beautifully now and with plenty still in it yet. 94/100
Darren Gall
