Condolences - Didier Dagueneau (Winemaker)

News of Didier Dagueneau’s death on Wine Spectator - (17 Sep 2008) crushed me as I love his Sauvignon Blancs. His untimely death is a big loss, not only to his fans and family but even more so to those who have not tasted his wines. Perhaps, they may never know how wonderful Sauvignon Blancs can be.

I first read about Didier Dagueneau (DD) in “The New France” by Andrew Jefford. In the chapter on The Loire Valley, he wrote: “His wines smelled not of Sauvignon Blanc, nor of gooseberries or asparagus or of micturating felines, but … of spring. Sipping the Buisson Renard was like standing beneath a waterfall: the flavours were clean, limpid, eerily palpable, a soft shock. … I had not been expecting this calm and majestic retreat from the varietal. I learned something new.”

This description sparked my interest in DD and his Sauvignon Blancs. However, they were not available in Singapore. In Nov 2006, when Moomba Wines brought some in, I was ecstatic. I organized a Sauvignon Blanc (SB) varietal tasting among my wine buddies. We tasted the then current vintages of DD Buisson Renard 2004, Dog Point Vineyard Section 94 SB, and Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc. Sadly, the premium range of Robert Mondavi’s Fume Blancs were not sold in Singapore, so we had to settle for the basic Fume Blanc. Similarly, Cloudy Bay’s famed Te Koko was also not available and the Section 94 was recommended by Le Vigne (a local wine shop) as its equivalent.

While both the Fume Blanc and Section 94 are good wines in their own rights, the Buisson Renard stole the limelight effortlessly . It is simply in a class of its own. It is not so much the depth or range of flavours but that it is an expression of freshness, purity and precision. It was pure joy drinking the Buisson Renard. I can only imagine the greatness in DD’s Silex and Pur Sang, both single vineyard SB.

DD’s wines do not come cheap. The Buisson Renard retails at around USD80 while the Silex and Pur Sang around USD100, as compared to the widely available range of SGD30-40 SBs from New Zealand. Some may baulk at paying such high prices for SBs, but to me, it is worth every cent as these are wines made by a true master.

DD’s fanatic dedication to his vines and wines are well-known. He slashed yields in his vineyards, harvesting only a fraction of the tonnage that other vignerons would on similarly-sized plots. He experimented with different wine-making methods, stood by his beliefs and produced wines of exceptional quality and concentration. When not tending to his vineyards, he would be racing huskies in Finland or piloting lightweight planes.

His wines reflect his beliefs, personality and ingenuity. Many of us may not have met him personally, but we know him and feel his dedication through his wines. We can only hope that his family would continue his dreams, directions and legacy.

Spanish Wine Exhibition

The Spanish Wine Tasting Seminar and Exhibition, an annual one-day event, was held in September at the Shangri-La Hotel. Participating wineries from different regions of Spain showcased their wines to invited guests from the F&B trade and media.

35 wineries participated in this year's event. I was looking forward to tasting wines from the Priorat region, but regrettably, there were none. Last year, there was only one Priorat winery (Masia Duch) and the wine from another (Clos Mogador 2002) was presented in the Tasting Seminar. I was impressed by the Bressol Reserva 2000 from Masia Duch. A blend of 80% Garnacha and 20% Cabernet, it has won several medals in both local and international wine competitions. The Clos Magador 2002 is perfumery, with a nose of cherry and other red fruits, blueberry, toast and spice. Its intense mouthfeel could be due to the addition of Cabernet, Shiraz and Carinena (Carignan) to the main varietal Garnacha.

My favourite wine this year is again a classic Rioja - this time from Bodegas Ramirez. I tasted all the 5 wines from this Bodegas: Ramirez Crianza 2004, Ramirez Reserva 2001, Santa Maria Grand Reserva 1998, Ramirez Seleccion Crianza 2003 and Ramirez Seleccion Reserva 2002. The first 3 wines are made in the traditional style whereas the latter two in the modern (read "RP") style. While the Ramirez Seleccion wines exhibit stronger fruit flavours and have a more intense mouthfeel, I prefer the softer, more elegant traditional Riojas. The Ramirez Reserva 2001 impressed with a nose and palate consisting of vanilla, cherries and coffee. There were notes of flowers, red fruits and vanilla on the nose of the Santa Maria 1998. Both of these wines are a pleasure to drink and would match well with wagyu beef and venison.

Bodegas Ramirez is not the only winery who made wines in the modern style. In fact, quite a few other wineries proudly announced that their wines have garnered high points from the venerable RP. These wines tend to be richer, stronger and "sweeter". I can understand the commercial importance of making wines in this style. A high rating often translates to better export sales. Nevertheless, I hope that wineries will continue to make wines in the traditional Rioja style that uniquely reflects their terroir and Spanish identities.

What impressed me most during this year's event is the wine and food pairing during lunch. Each of the dishes, mostly Chinese food and local desserts, is tagged with a coloured sticker. This corresponds to a suggested Spanish wine served at the bar counter. It is a fantastic idea of promoting the wines. After all, most Spanish wines are made to enjoy with food.

I hope that most, if not all, of the participating wineries this year managed to achieve their objectives, be it for networking, to promote awareness of or to find distributors for their wines. It can only be a good thing to see more Spanish wines in our local market.

- M (Wine Educator)

Yunnan - Lijiang China Travel Blog Part 1 云南丽江自助游(一)

SuHe Old Town (10km from LiJiang)

crescentra+gmail.com Sep 2008

We had the idea of visiting Lijiang for almost a year (since early 2007) with frequent newspaper articles and tv travel shows featuring the place. With some research on the internet and browsing through guide books we decided to make the trip and the difficult part is to make a sensible itinerary with sufficient activities to keep us interested. And part of the reason is after spending a fair bit in Turkey, we have to tone down a little and also get a more different experience. So China was the choice and we started making more concrete plans in Nov 2007 for the trip in March 2008.

Ctrip Chinese forum was a excellent source of information and you get good contacts for drivers/accomodations etc. 游记攻略_旅游社区_携程旅行网 Spent a considerable amount of time to sift through the reviews and adapt others experiences.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山）

The final itinerary (we changes bits & pieces along the way - which is the best part of self organized tours and also weather can change drastically)

Singapore - Kunming (Silkair) 6th Mar 2008
- flight was delayed for 5hours which caused us to miss our connecting flight, we called to
- the amazing part was the Sinagpore Airlines staff (parent of Silkair) did not even tell us when we checked in, we only realized after immigration looking at the departure schedule! It was an earlier morning flight, they could have called most people to come later to airport. S$8 vouncher at food court was miserable compensation!

Kunming - Lijiang (Domestic Flight) 6th Mar 2008
- we called the China travel agent (http://www.9588.com English website) to cancel the domestic flight and try to book another later flight, 5% penalty and exchange rate costs (S$-US$-Yuan$)
- also not able to get another flight!! PANIC!! Really did not expect from Silkair at home port!!
- MM made a fuss at the customer serivce counter which initially did not bother, they should really have done more to help passengers!
- They got us a booking on China Eastern Airline (guess they have some relationship) which upon arrival at Kunming, a Silkair staff told us the flights were full and we had to take the last flight at 10pm! We left home at 6am and was suppose to reach Lijiang by 5pm latest! We reached Lijiang at 11pm and hotel almost midnight! It's worrying to get to more remote regions of China in such hours, we decided earlier to call the inn/hotel to send a car which cost more after 11pm (100 Yuan). Travel safe! We never got billed for the domestic flight though, however the Silkair staff at Kunming missed another passenger in the same situation as us (she was carrying such a small signage!)
- we claimed some travel insurance for the miss connection later (1st time we got $ this way back)
- Mr Rui (driver) Chinese speaking only 13508889296

Not a good start so far :(

Lijiang 2400m (3 nights) - acclimatized, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (JDSM)
- Hired the same driver (Naxi tribe)+car(4WD) that picked us up from Lijiang Airport (200Yuan) and he brought his playful son along :)
- He highly recommened visiting the show by Zhang Yimou - Impression Lijiang which we thought was made for tourists and a tad overrated! We missed it anyway after catching the cable car up to JDSM
- we stayed at MoonInn 新月阁 about 300Yuan if remembered correctly - a little on the high side in China context but not a lot if converted S$/US$, you get PC+Internet in your room although we did not use much, could be valuable as you don't find internet cafes all around (except the ones I noticed near the big waterwheels entrance), with free flow bottled water and breakfast + hair dryer, ran by 3 young friendly girls I guess one was the owner's daughter and the other friends of sort

Pajero Driver - Mr Li and wife

- we spent time more idyllically on 8th Mar, shopping and deciding on the rest of the trip
- on 8th morning, the driver we contacted while in Singapore airport for the big part of the trip took another customer and was not able to take us anymore as we did not confirm (it was the low season anyway, there are no problem getting a driver but the better known ones on the internet are booked more frequently). Anyway I have a few names so just go down the list - Mr Li: 13988798517 (Chinese speaking only). He was available and suggested to meet us on the 8th morning to discuss itinerary. We met him and his wife (both Naxi tribe and sort of modernized) . he was amicable with a Mitsubishi 4WD which looked quite new and we were comfortable with him. It was 350Yuan per day(off-peak) for the trip to Kawa Karpo (Meili Xue Shan 梅里雪山）, include driver+petrol+toll and he takes care of his own meals and accommodations - usually he brings you to an inn and he gets a bed free. He is not pushy on this but he is rather seasoned on the route and really know the people and the good deals.
- he sent us to Black Dragon Pool Park free (just 3 minutes away) - it was 8th Mar International Women Day and there were celebrations there (actually he would have pick us from the airport free too if we had confirm the trip with him earlier)

- will update again for the rest of the trip

- W