Wines @ Thirsty Thursday

It has been some time since i last joined the Thirsty Thursday Gang.None the less, TT still maintains a great atmosphere after my long absence.. The wines for the recent TT has been focusing on value for money wines, with looming and painful recession in mind.

Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Saint Julien, 1999: I have always like Ducru and Las Cases from St Julien. Particularly for the elegance and pencil shaving nose. However, the Poyferre is quite a let down. Opened up with a typical Bordeaux nose of leather, cassis. Abit restrained. Dusty and earthy nose appear. On the palate, currant and powdery and sappy tannins, but abit watered down and lacking in weight.

Winespectator note:
Lots of licorice, spice and currant aromas. Medium- to full-bodied, with silky tannins and a medium finish. Slightly diluted midpalate, but attractive. Score range: 85-87


Ferraiolo, Vigneti Del Geographico, 2003: A weird over fruit/musty nose appear on the nose upon opening. Some suspect it to be an off bottle. After decanting for 2 hours, more fruits and dark berry occur. Full bodied but not impressive at all.

Winespectator Note@88pointer
Pretty aromas of plums and blackberries with hints of dark chocolate. Medium- to full-bodied, with silky tannins. Nice wine. Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best after 2005. 1,100 cases made–JS
Francis Ford Copolla Presents Director's Cut Chardonnay 2006, Russian River Valley: A wine from the famed director of Godfather series. FFC wines is a big hit in the american market but i was skeptical as it might mean fruity wines with no minerals and characters. However, i was pleasantly surprised by the Director's cut Chardonnay. Very nice in nose with toast, butter/vanilin. More fruit and oil/fat in the palate and slight overoaked but enjoyable. Short finish.

Francis Ford Copolla Presents Director's Cut Pinot Noir 2005, Russian River Valley: This was a let down. Typical new world pinot with too much fruit. Over extracted with no character. Yuck

Yalumba The Reserve 1996: A blend of shiraz/cabernet. The most amazing wine for the night. Served blind, most thought it was a Young Old World (Bordeaux). Open up with an ultra elegant nose of dust, leather, cassis and blackcurrant. Very fresh and defying the age of the wine. On the palate, clean fruits, balanced acid rounded with silky, lycra tannins. Superb. Easily rivalled a classified bordeaux. Can be kept further 10years easily. Amazing. Grab!

Robert Parker Ratings 96points.
"An awesome wine, only made in the greatest vintages, the 1996 Shiraz/Cabernet The Reserve (only 50 six-packs available for the USA), is nearly as spectacular as the 1998. A rich, full-bodied, concentrated effort revealing tremendous fruit depth, enormous power and weight as well as impeccable balance and purity, it should hit its prime in 2-3 years, and last for 15+." RP

Fatman Satay @ Lau Pa Sat: The wines for the night was enjoyed together with the good old Fat Man Satay tar-powed from Laupasat. We had some roast duck from Asian Kitchen as well, which was a let down.