Taste Test: March 2012

Mat Ryan

Shanghai’s most committed dipsomaniacs get together to share and compare some of the wines around town. It’s a no-nonsense guide to the good, the great and the bloody ordinary of wine. Which wine will win the day this month?

Attendees:

Mat Ryan – Partner in The Shed

Alan Duffy – Partner in The Shed

Nick Hunt – Supplier of wines and meat

Luke Haggett – Beer peddler

Franck Tissot-Favre – Brand Manager for Glacio Ice Cream

Jeremy Speiser – Looking for a job. Speaks the lingo

Robert Egan – Landscape Architect

Kirribilli Sauvignon Blanc, Australia

This is one of the house whites at The Shed and one of the best value Sauvignon Blancs around, in my humble opinion. “Its good ahh” was Luke’s comment right off the bat. Alan said it reminds him of the bar he went to on Thursday: “very fruity”. Robert said it was incredibly light, and Luke added that it was indeed a session wine. “Chicken enchiladas,” said Jeremy. “It’s a B grade student,” said Luke, elaborating with, “It’s not setting the world on fire, but not upsetting the parents either.” Franck commented that it was very fresh but a little short. For what it is, which is an entry-level, straight forward white wine to “smash”, it does what it’s asked. Alan put it with Raspberry ripple ice cream. I think that was a hint to Franck for some samples for the next tasting.

Price: RMB 150

Pere Seda Crianza, Mallorca, Spain

Jeremy was already thinking about food with this wine and reckons a steak Dianne. I thought it was chalky, in a good way. There’s some alcohol in this, at 14.5 per cent. Having done the tasting the day after Valentines’ Day, Luke suggested it would be a nice at home wine with the Mrs. There were no real negative comments on this, nor was everyone screaming its praise. At this time, the chef brought us out a ‘Fred Flintstone’ steak – 850g grain fed beef from Australia. We all now knew exactly what this wine would go with. MEAT! Lots of it. Unfortunately the focus actually came off the wines a little, so it was hard to get some comments; everyone was focused on the dead cow sitting on the bar. This is a wine that is similar to the Sauvignon Blanc, in that it’s a good, easy drinking, solid wine. Franck said, as a 2006, it’s now at its peak. It needs to be finished now. We had no problems with that.

Price: RMB 200

Tianna Negre Ses Nines Binissalemn Tinto, Mallorca Spain

Not some great comments early on with this one unfortunately. It is very young, being a 2010, and will need bottle age, or at a minimum, some time in the glass (or decanter). I appreciated it for what it is, which is a developing wine, but some of us nearly came to blows on this. Jeremy and Franck didn’t like it, Luke and Alan were indifferent, I am a BIG fan. Robert agreed with me that it’s a long lasting wine with depth. I’d love to be drinking this with the same people in 10 years time. It definitely should have been decanted. After a quick lesson from me on drinking wine (suck in the air, splash around your cheeks), there were some different comments. Buy this and throw it in the cellar for a decade, or you can of course decant it now.

Price: RMB 200

Wines and steaks are available from Nick's International Food & Beverage. Discounts available by the case. Email: [email protected]

Summary

Luke, Alan and Franck rated the Sauv Blanc as best, Jeremy said the second, and myself, Robert and Nick liked the last one. Using my veto powers, I’d declare the Tinto as the winner, although the meat was appreciated by all. For the readers out there, I’d order a mixed case of the Sauv Blanc and Tinto, some ‘Fred Flintstone’ steaks and plan on a weekend feast with your partner.