Loire Valley, France, $133, cork seal
Though I've a whole pile of unfinished entries waiting to be polished and posted I though this better skip the que because of the effort it's caused me. Thierry Germain Saumur Champigny 2005 is my entry for Wine Blogging Wednesday 44 hosted by Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library TV. This month's theme was French Cabernet Franc and finding a bottle in Hong Kong proved quite a challenge. Searching the five local wine shops proved unsuccessful and a trip to Hong Kong Island to battle the weekend crowds was even more frustrating until finally I found this hidden in a corner of Watson's Wine Cellar at the IFC. It's 100% Cabernet Franc and comes from the Saumur Champigny in the beautiful Loire Valley.When I poured the first glass of this dark cherry red coloured wine it was oozing a compost heap of earthy smells; mushrooms, game and manure, there was also a very distinct menthol whiff. A bit of time in the decanter made a huge difference and the barnyard blew off and a fragrance of dark forest fruits emerged along side the menthol. The decanter also helped the palate soften and cabbage, beetroot and green plum flavours emerge. Thierry Germain Saumur Champigny 2005 is dry with a hint of acidity and firm chalky tannins. It's got a nice mouth feel, good length and seems like it would age well for a few years. Big and bolder than I expected, I initially didn't find it that appealing, but it grew on me and is certainly well made, food friendly and offers something a little different.
Visit winery website (though the wine doesn't look like any listed?), Wine Blogging Wednesday 44 or the home of Wine Blogging Wednesday.
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2 comments:
Andrew,
Home grown mint? Certainly a very lovely photo.
I'm mentally trying to reconstruct your steps in your search for wine and already missing the place.
Hi Edward
Thanks for the positive comment.
Yep mint. The 'garden' is looking pretty good now, but I think it's about to get very hot over the next couple of weeks and it will be interesting to see how it handles the heat.
Reconstructing my steps is really matter of either being in a wine shops and inquiring about the Loire Valley and getting asked if it's 'left bank' or slowly walking behind a crowd of what seems like thousands of crawling shoppers :).
Andrew
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