[German] Get ready for Christmas Party!!!

                                              Long Green Hock Style Bottle

Christmas will be coming in one month. Almost all the shopping mall in HK is done with their Christmas decorations. Some people are already busy preparing Christmas gift, food and wine for Christmas party. All shops have different promotions for Christmas shopping, including wine shop of course. Watson’s Wine, the famous chain shop for wine in HK, is promoting different type of white wine, red wine and Champagne for party use and I have already tasted some of them. I would like to recommend a few wines from that promotion to everyone, so that you can have an idea for their Christmas party wine. It doesn’t need to be too luxurious because during party, we may eat different type of salty, sour and sweeten food. This will make our taste becomes weak, luxury wine will be a waste. I think Weingut Max Ferd.Richter Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett Mosel Germany, a Medium Dry (Kabinett) German white wine would be a good choose.

German wine is classified by 4 grades. Frist is Prädikatswein (Q.m.P), the finest wine level, during wine making it is not allowed to add any sugar, and it has six levels according to the ripeness of the grapes at harvest. Kabinett is basic level with light sweet, mild acid and fresh style. Besides, it has Spätlese (Late Harvest), Auslese (Late Harvest with some botrytis grape), Beerenauslese “BA” (made with higher amount of botrytis grape), Eiswein (Ice Wine made with frozen grape) and Trockenbeerenauslese (made with selected botrytis grape), all those are with higher level of sweetness and different wine style. The rest of the grades are Q.b.A (allowed adding sugar), Landwein (similar to French”vin de pays”) and Deutscher Wein (table wine). Moreover, some of the wine label is indicated with Trocken, which means Dry. Riesling is the major grape of German white wine, besides that they also have Pinot Blanc, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Pinot Noir for red wine. And, Riesling is the most famous grape in Mosel. The Mosel region has 13 wine regions and it follows the path of Mosel River. Vineyards in Mosel are located on the river bank steeps. The benefit of these slopes is the vines exposure to sun, which is easier for the grapes ripening. The soil is slate, it can absorb the heat during daytime and release it to vines at night to avoid frost. Brauneberger is one of the regions from Mosel and Juffer is one of the vineyards in Brauneberger.

My Taste Note: This wine has pale yellow color. It shows Peach, Little Citrus, spices and Flora aromas. The palate is medium dry with light to medium body and very mild acid. It finished with honey like sweet and little fruits acid. Overall this wine is balance and fruity with 8.5% low alcohol, very relaxing and each to drink. The acid is quite low, little flabby. It may feel too sweet but keep eating and drinking at the same time, it can keep refreshing the mouth cavity.

還有一個月就是聖誕節.在香港很多商場都已完成它們的聖誕裝飾.有些人開始買聖誕禮物,聖誕大餐和葡萄酒來準備他們的聖誕Party. 在市面上,有很多種類的商店都會有不同的優惠推廣給大家在聖誕選購.當然包括葡萄酒商店在內.在香港有一間葡萄酒商店Watson’s Wine正在推廣不同類型的紅酒,白酒,香檳,等等, 有幾款我之前已經品嚐過. 所以我想在這裡推薦幾款, 在哪推廣裡的酒給大家在聖誕Party享用. 開Party飲的酒不需要太名貴, 在party中我們都會食多種類食物有咸,酸和甜.這樣已讓我們的味覺變弱了,太名貴的酒都是浪費. 我建議Weingut Max Ferd.Richter Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett Mosel Germany,一枝 Medium Dry德國微甜(Kabinett)白酒會係幾好的選擇.

德國葡萄酒是分為4個級別. 第一是Prädikatswein (Q.m.P),這是最高的等級, 釀酒過程中是不允許加糖和有6個按照葡萄採摘時的成熟度. Kabinett是最基本的一級,帶有微甜,溫和的酸和清爽型白酒.除了Kabinett, 還有 Spätlese (遲摘型), Auslese (遲摘型再加一些有貴腐葡萄釀製), Beerenauslese “BA” (用比較多有貴腐葡萄釀製), Eiswein (冰酒,用結冰的葡萄釀製)和Trockenbeerenauslese (用精選的貴腐葡萄來釀製),以上都是比較高甜度和有不同風格.剩下的等級是Q.b.A (允許加糖來釀製), Landwein (好像法國的”vin de pays”) and Deutscher Wein (餐酒). 另外,有些酒標上印有Trocken, 意思就是乾型酒(Dry). Riesling(雷司令) 是德國釀製白酒的主要葡萄品種之一, 除了Riesling之外, 他們會用Pinot Blanc, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Pinot Noir (釀製紅酒),等等. Riesling在Mosel(摩塞爾葡萄酒產區)是很出名的葡萄品種之一. Mosel產酒區內有13不同的產油區, 它們都是跟隨摩塞爾河的路線走.在這裡的葡萄園都是在河岸陡坡上. 這樣的陡坡可得益到, 葡萄樹可以在陽光之下曝晒, 可以令葡萄比較容易成熟.泥土是石板,它可以吸收白天的熱能, 到晚上可以釋放出來給葡萄樹,防止葡萄結霜. Brauneberger 是Mosel內的其中一個產酒區和 Juffer是Brauneberger內的其中一個葡萄園.

 

我的品酒筆記: 這款酒有淺黃色帶有桃,少少柑橘,香料和花香．口感是半甜 (medium dry),輕到中等酒體和有溫和的酸.到最後After Taste帶有一種好像蜂蜜的甜和少少水果酸．這款酒整體來說是Balance和Fruity帶有8.5%低酒精度,可以很輕鬆和容易飲用,不過酸度比較低有少少鬆弛.飲得多可能會感覺有點甜,但是一路食一路飲可以保持口腔內清新.

[France] Clos Du Marquis 2004 & 2006

Before I have mentioned that some Bordeaux Grand Vin 2^nd wine is worth to try. This time, I want to talk about Clos du Marquis, it may be treated as 2^nd wine of Château Léoville-Las Cases, 2ème Crus Classés. But I think it is an another product of Ch. Léoville-Las Cases because it is made from the grapes of independent vineyards, which is near the Grand Vin vineyards. From 2007, Ch. Léoville-Las Cases made a real 2^nd label wine called “Le Petit Lion”. In recent years, few vineyards of Grand Vin uprooted and replanted new vines. These vines are for Le petit Lion production. In this case, Clos du Marquis is almost a separate cuvée made by Ch. Léoville-Las Cases.    

The vineyards for Clos du Marquis called” Le Petit Clos”. In French, Clos means a vineyard enclosed by wall. In the old time, these walls were used to protect the grapes inside vineyards. The location of Le Petit Clos is surrounded by different Grand Cru Classés from Saint-Julien and Pauillac. For example, Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Ch. Léoville Poyferré and Ch. Léoville Barton. The soil is nearly similar to the Grand Cru Classés, mainly gravel and well-drained. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, a typical Bordeaux blend. The Cabernet Sauvignon of Saint-Julien has more fruity character, unlike the powerful style of its neighbor Pauillac. From some wine reviews, this wine can challenge certain Grand Cru Classés and it can be classified as 3^rd to 5^th Cru Classés.      

My taste note: I have tasted 2 vintages of Clos du Marquis, 2004 and 2006. I tasted 2004 at around September 2011. The color is dark red, it shows with cherry, ripe blackberries and cedar aromas, tasted dry and full body with fine tannins and acidity. For 2006, I tasted at October 2014. The color is dark purple. It has more fruity and little earthy aromas, medium body with smooth tannins. Both wine have mellow fruit character, a good structure and balance. Overall I think, Clos du Marquis provides typical Saint-Juilien style, Grand Cru Classés quality wine and the price is quite bargain.     

之前我提過有一些波爾多列級酒莊的副牌酒,是很值得去嘗試.這次我想跟大家說的就是Clos du Marquis, 它可以當是Château Léoville-Las Cases, 2ème Crus Classés的副牌酒.但是我覺得它是Ch. Léoville-Las Cases的第二款產品,因為釀製這款酒的葡萄是來自正牌酒葡萄園鄰近的一個獨立葡萄園.從2007年Ch. Léoville-Las Cases生產了一款真正的副牌酒叫做“Le Petit Lion”(小獅子). 最近有些正牌酒葡萄園進行拔根和重新種植新的葡萄樹.這些葡萄樹就是用來釀製 ”Le Petit Lion”. 這樣看, Close du Marquis 好像是由Ch. Léoville-Las Cases釀製出來的獨立佳釀.

Clos du Marquis 的葡萄園叫做 ”Le Petit Clos”. 在法文Clos是指包圍著葡萄園的墙壁, 以前這些墙壁是用來保護葡萄園內的葡萄. Le Petit Clos 的所在位置是由Saint-Julien和Pauillac的不同的列級酒莊環繞着. 例如Ch. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Ch. Léoville Poyferré 和 Ch. Léoville Barton. 它的風土可以說是跟列級酒莊差不多,土壤主要都是礫石為主和排水良好.葡萄酒的調配都是典型的波爾多品種Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot 和 Cabernet Franc. Saint-Julien的Cabernet Sauvignon是比較多果香和味道, 不像鄰近Pauillac的強勁風格.有一些品酒評語形容這款酒可以挑戰某些列級酒莊和可以分類為3級到5級的列級酒莊.

我的品酒筆記 : 我飲過Clos du Marquis的兩個年份包括2004和2006. 大約在2011年9月,我飲過2004年. 當時酒色是深紅色,它有車厘子,黑莓子和雪松的香氣.口感是乾紅酒型, 厚身和帶有細緻的單寧和酸.2006年大約在2014年10月,酒色是深紫色,這個年份果香比較多和有一點泥土香氣, 酒身是中等帶有平滑的單寧.兩個新年份都有醇美的果香和味道, 有好的結構和Balance.整體我覺得Clos du Marquis可提供到典當的Saint-Julien風格和有列級酒莊的質素,而價錢是比較宜人.

[France] Vin Doux Naturel - Domaine Les Tailhades Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois

Last week, I bought a bottle of sweet wine from Southern France, the price is quite affordable. The label wrote Vin Doux Naturel Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois. In Southern France the Languedoc wine region, there is a type of sweet wine call Vin Doux Naturel (Natural Sweet Wine). But, it is not naturally sweet as the name implies. It is a fortified wine made by the process of mutage. It is a French word to describe a winemaking method of artificially halt the alcoholic fermentation by adding Brandy or Spirits to keep the residual sugar. This technique is also used for making Port wine. This stops fermentation and will leave a high percent of residual sugar and makes the wine sweet and powerful. Some are bottled early and others are aged in large oak barrels to obtain more flavor and aromas. Major grapes varieties are Muscat and Grenache for red wine.    

Appellation Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois is located northeast of Minervois, with high altitude and limestone soil. The wine is made with White Muscat, but here Muscat is called “Petits Grains”, means small berries. I only find the basic information on Domaine Les Tailhades. The grapes are harvested by hand, the wine is vinified at a low temperature and then fortified and matured in vat.

My Taste Note: The wine shows Yellow Golden color. It has strong fresh white grapes, fruit (Mango and Fig), flower and spice aromas. The palate is sweet, rich, full body and after taste has little bitter. This bitter may come from the spirits alcohol. Overall, this wine may not be too famous or depth as botrytis sweet wine. But it can provide attractive aromas and fresh fruits flavors.         

葡萄酒上星期我買了一枝來自南法國的甜酒,價錢相當相宜.在酒標上寫上Vin Doux Naturel Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois.在南法國的Languedoc葡萄酒

區有一種甜酒叫做Vin Doux Naturel(天然甜酒).但是它不是顧名思義完全天然.它是一款加烈酒經過Mutage這個過程. Mutage是一個法文詞語來描述一個釀酒方法,這是加入白蘭地(Brandy)或烈酒來阻止酒精發酵,保持殘糖. 這個方法都是用來釀造砵酒(Port). 這樣停止發酵會留下許多殘糖和令釀造的酒都帶甜和濃厚. 有一些酒會在比較年輕時裝瓶，另一些會在大木桶內成熟,可以增加香氣和味道.主要的葡萄品種是Muscat和紅酒的Grenache.

Appellation Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois是位於Minervois的東北邊, 這裡是高海拔，土壤是石灰石.這裡的酒都是用Muscat來釀製,不過他們會叫Muscat做“Petits Grains”, 意思是小的果實. 關於Domaine Les Tailhades,我只找到一些基本資料. 他們採用人手採摘, 酒會在低溫釀造和會方進大桶內加烈和成熟.

我的品酒筆記: 這款酒是金黃色,有強烈的新鮮白葡萄香,水果香(芒果花和無花果),花香和香料的香氣.口感有濃郁的甜,厚身After Taste有少少苦.這種苦可能是來自烈酒的酒精.整體這枝酒可能不是很出名或沒有貴腐甜酒的深度.不過它可提供很吸引的香氣和新鮮的水果味道.

[Belgium] Fruit Beer

 

Icy cold beverage would be the best choice during summer. Champagne or Sparkling wine would be nice, but there isn’t always an occasion to drink Champagne or Sparkling wine. At this time, a bottle of cold fruit beer would suit summer drinking; it can quench thirst at summer time. Fruit beer has many different types, like Belgium has the famous Fruit Lambic.

Lambic is a Traditional Belgian beer from Southwest of Brussels, located in Pajottenland region. It is brewed with 70% wheat / 30% malt and uses old dry hop. Then, it will be put on cool ship to cool down for one night. During the night time, the wild yeast in the air will work on spontaneous fermentation. This kind of wild yeast can only be found in the air of Pajottenland. Next day morning, when the wort is ready, it will be placed in oak barrels for maturation of around 4 to 5 months or 1 to 2 years. Fall and winter are the best time to brew Lambic because the wild yeast is hard to control in the summer.       

Different kind of fruit has been used to brew Fruit Lambic, such as cherry, raspberry, apple, peach, strawberry etc. Cherry beer named as Kriek Lambic. The name is come from the Flemish word “Schaarbeekse Krieken”, a type of Belgian cherry. Traditional Kriek is made with Schaarbeek cherry but this type of cherries is getting hard to find. Some brewers use other varieties of sour cherries. Kriek used young and old Lambic beer and add cherries for 2^nd fermentations. The cherry sugar will bring new yeast. When the yeast swallowed the pulp, leaving the stone only, the fermentation completed. Then, it will be filtered and bottled. In bottle, the residual sugar can be fermented one more time. So the total, it has 3 times of fermentation. That’s why I say, besides Champagne, we can choose Fruit Lambic. It can provide the similar feeling of complexity of champagne. The traditional Kriek tasted sourer and less fruity. 

This time, I tasted different Fruit Lambic from brewery of Lindemans. I tried Kriek, Framboise (Raspberry), Apple and Peachersse (Peach). Currently, there is limited availability of Schaarbeek cherries. Lindemans brewery made Kriek with natural fresh cherry juice, which is made directly from unfrozen cherries. Then, the juice will be blended into Lambic of different age. Compare to traditional Kriek, Lindemans brew less sour and fruitier Kriek Lambic. For the other flavors, Lindemans also used fresh juice to brew.

My Taste Note: 

I like Kriek the most, it has strong fruity cherry flavor, light acid and mild sweet, color is clear pink-red. The 2^nd one I like is Framboise (Raspberry) Lambic. Same as Kriek, it has strong raspberry flavor, fresh acid and light sweet, color is hazy wine red. After drinking, both have precipitate left in the glass. 

Apple Lambic has strong and obvious apple flavor, acid and after taste, the color is hazy golden. The last one, Pecheresse has light peach aroma and flavor, light acid. 

All of it didn’t have beer bitter, only a little bit for Apple Lambic. Maybe it was because of using the old and dry hops, it made less beer bitter. When I drinking Kriek or Framboise, I feel like drinking Champagne with cherry or raspberry flavor. Overall, they are easy drinking and fruity, very suitable for summer drinking.   

夏天時候的第一選擇,一定是冰凍的飲品. 香檳或氣酒會是首選,但是我們不是常常有機會可以喝香檳或氣酒. 除了這兩款酒,一瓶冰凍的水果啤酒會很適合夏天飲用.在炎熱的天氣下,它可以止渴和有帶來水果香氣.水果啤酒有好幾款. 比利時有一款著名的水果啤酒叫Fruit Lambic.

Lambic是一款來自布魯塞爾(Brussels)西南邊Pajottenland區域的傳統比利時啤酒. 這是用了70% 小麥/ 30% 麥芽和一些比較舊和乾的啤酒花來釀製. 釀成麥汁的時候, 會放在四方形的銅盤上, 讓它冷卻了一個晚上. 在晚間的時候, 在空氣中的野生酵母會開始為麥汁自然發酵. 只有Pajottenland的空氣中帶有這種野生酵母.第二天早上,當麥汁準備好時,將會被放木桶內,成熟約4~5個月或1~2年. 最好的季節釀Lambic是秋冬的時候,因為野生酵母在夏季會比較難控制.

Fruit Lambic會採用多種類水果來釀製,例如車厘子, 覆盆子, 蘋果, 桃, 等等. 只有車厘子會稱呼為Kriek Lambic. 這個名字的來自佛蘭芒語 (Flemish) 的 “Schaarbeekse Krieken”, 它是一款比利時車厘子的名稱.傳統的Kriek是用Schaarbeek車厘子, 不過這款車厘子都很難找到,所以某些啤酒廠都改用其他品種的車厘子.Kriek採用新和舊的Lambic啤酒再加上新鮮車厘子,然後進行第二次發酵.因為車厘子的糖份會產生新的酵母.當酵母吞噬了所有果肉只剩下果核的時候,這代表發酵已經完成.然後它會進行過濾和裝瓶.在瓶內還残留了一些糖, 可以再發酵多一次.這樣計算,總供發酵了三次.所以我覺得除了香檳和氣酒之外, 我們可以選擇Lambic,它都可以提供到一些類似的感覺和類似香檳的複雜性.傳統的Kriek味道是高酸度和比較少果味.

這次我試了來自Lindemans 不同味道的啤酒, 有Kriek (車厘子), Famboise(覆盆子),蘋果和Pecheresse (水蜜桃).目前Schaarbeek車厘子是有限供應, 所以Lindemans的Kriek是用另一款車厘子的天然新鮮果汁.這些車厘子果汁是直接取自沒有冷藏過的車厘子果實.然後果汁跟不同年份的Lambic啤酒一起合成. 比起傳統的Kriek, Lindemans釀的是低酸度,多果味的啤酒.其他的水果味道的Fruit Lambic都是用新鮮果汁來釀製.

我的品酒筆出記:  

我最喜歡就是Kriek,它有強烈的車厘子果香, 輕微的酸,和溫和的甜, 顏色是清晰粉紅加紅色. 第二喜歡是Famboise(覆盆子) Lambic, 跟Kriek 一樣有強烈的覆盆子味道, 鮮明的酸和輕輕的甜, 顏色是朦朧的紅酒紅.飲完後, 兩款都有一些沉澱物在杯底. 

苹果有強烈的新鮮蘋果味道,酸和Aftertaste, 顏色是朦朧金色. 最後一枝是水蜜桃, 有輕微的水蜜桃香氣和味道, 低酸度.  

以上所有的Fruit Lambic 都沒有啤酒苦,只是蘋果有一點苦.可能是因為他們用了乾或舊的啤酒花, 所以沒有這麼多啤酒苦. 當我在飲Kriek 和Framboise 時候, 我感覺到好像在飲加上車厘子或覆盆子的香檳.整體就是它們都是輕鬆飲用和濃郁果味的啤酒.