Oxidised wines in HK

After the severe battering HK has received the last couple of days, the rain finally let up this afternoon, and by evening, even the skies were clearing enough to give us some purple moonlight under which to have a selection of deliberately oxidised wines.


Tonight's lineup, from L to R: 2002 Damijan Collio Kaplja, 1997 Rolet Pere et Fils Vin Jaune, 1999 Jean Leon Chardonnay, 1997 Chateau Musar Blanc, and 2000 Chateau Musar Rouge.

1999 Jean Leon Chardonnay, Penedes, Torrontes, Spain, 100% Chardonnay, 13.5% abv: Not intentionally oxidised, but other bottles in this lot were found to be, so it was included. Golden yellow in appearance, toasted oak nose, cheesy/leesy notes, with some honeyed / flowery tinges. Decidedly mushroomy, with a weird rancid coconut oil flavour. Overall, it was insipid and flat, with no acidity to speak of. Undrinkable, really.

2002 Damijan Podversic Collio Kaplja Bianco, Friuli-Venezia, Italy, Chardonnay/Malvasia blend, 13.5% abv: This is fermented on the skins. Amber/honey coloured, hazy, with a noticeable hard apple cider nose, with a touch of orange. On the palate, this is a wine of contradictions. Smoky, roasted notes, this is tannic, and very drying, but not dry. It was actually rather juicy, but with non-specific fruit - more of a feeling than something identifiable. Medium to full bodied, with an interesting bitter streak down the midline, and a pleasantly buttery and caramel finish, but still with a bitter of bite at the end. R. took the last quarter of this home with him, so will have to hear how this develops.

1997 Chateau Musar Blanc, Bekaa valley, Lebanon, Obaideh/Merweh blend, 12% abv: Decanted for only 5 hours. Deep golden colour, with a subtle nose of smoke, plums, candied fruit, bakery spices, and sweet caramel apples. On the palate, dry, balanced acidity, medium bodied, with minerality dominating. Subdued citrus notes, with a bit of raw egg protein, and no volatile acidity present. A light and refreshing finish. A lovely Musar. Will revisit this later in the week.

1997 Rolet Pere et Fils Vin Jaune Arbois, Jura
100% Savagnin, 14% abv: Pale gold colour, with a delectable nose of walnuts, grassy, mossy, flower meadow, followed by a sweet sherry profile, with obvious caramel, toffee, and stewed red fruit. On the palate, bracing acidity, schist, more walnuts and a lovely aged sherry finish, plenty of toffee notes. The acidity was very bright indeed, probably overpowering any fruit. Definitely tight tonight, even after being opened for several hours. Will follow this over the next couple of days as well, will be interesting to see how it unfolds. The nose was tremendous though, and there clearly is plenty of taming to be done by time here.


The Whites, from L to R: Jean Leon, Damijan, Musar, Vin Jaune...

2000 Chateau Musar Rouge, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, 13.5% abv: This is from a U.K. importer. Not decanted. A completely different wine from the one I had a few months back. More brett, no VA to speak of. Not cloudy this time. Stewed fruit and tomatoes again on both the nose and the palate, leather, barnyard, macerated strawberries, a bit of herbaceousness. Nice balance between the acidity and tannins. Overall, this was a very, very nice wine tonight.

These were all drunk over the course of the evening, along with the following cheeses: epoisses de bourgogne, saint maure, bouchons, and comte. The comte and vin jaune easily made for the best pairing.