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When Hairy Crab meets White Mouton
November 7th, 2008 Friday
 

Tasting Wines

Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne, NV
In the dim light, the wine appears pale gold with consistent fine beads.  Lively aromas greet the nose, with a toasty character mingling with fresh pears and clean minerals.  Youthful and refreshing with a long, clean finish.  This wine is a perfect partner for many Asian dishes!

Charles Heidsieck Réserve NV
Pale lemon in color, though a deeper shade than the Piper Heidsieck Brut.  More gentle on the nose, with well-rounded elements of fruits, breads, and soothing spices.  Friendlier attack on the palate, with refreshing beads.  Fuller bodied than the Piper.  A very enjoyable Champagne. 

Ch. Ste Michelle-Dr. Loosen Eroica 2006
A beautiful aromatic composition of flowers, apple, and citrus notes.  Tropical sweetness emerges in the palate, with notes of melons and mandarin orange dancing on the tongue.  Surprisingly, the wine finishes dry.  Named after Beethoven’s symphony, this wine is a true reflection of a dynamic concert with many pieces harmoniously integrated!
 

Aile d’Argent, Mouton Rothshild 2005
A beautiful bright lemon wine.  Intense on the nose, behind the layer of vanilla and toasts is a strong backbone of apples, pears, and stone fruits.  Intriguing on the palate with additional characters of honeysuckle, graphite, and nuts.  Good acidity, very well balanced, and a powerful finish for a Bordeaux white!  
5-yr Old Shaoxing Yellow Wine vs. a 10-yr old Tawny Port 
Both sweet wines were served in small Chinese tea cups, thus hard to observe color and difficult to pick up all the aromas.  Both wines have strong dried fruits and prune on the nose.  The Port is much smoother (less burning) on the throat and less cloggy on the tongue.


Summary:
Beside the individual wine tasting, we have two interesting parallel comparisons tonight – the Piper Heidsieck with its “older cousin” Charles Heidsieck; and the Western Tawny Port with its oriental Shaoxing Yellow Wine mate.  

 

Among the 24 tasters, the preference for Charles and Piper are quite evenly split.  We found that our more seasoned Champagne drinkers prefer the steely Piper and its dry finish; whereas the more sociable members prefer the friendlier Charles Hiedsieck. 

 

As for the Port, even-though they share similar aromas on the nose, they are quite differently made.  Beside differences in the fortification and maturation process, the port is made from grape while the Yellow wine is made from grains (which explain why it is less crispy on the palate).  Many of us have added a preserved prune to the Chinese Yellow Wine.  This gives it a sweet coating, making it smoother and more approachable. 
 
For a fair assessment of the aromas, we will need to switch the tea-cups for stemware in future tasting. 

 

 

 
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