James Suckling announced 2015 Siro Pacenti Brunello Vecchie Vigne as the best wine, which shows the vintage 2015 is the most perfect model of Brunello wine.

Suckling rated it full score and mentioned it’s one of the best Brunello wine he’d ever tasted. It’s full bodied, strong, with ripe fruit aroma and firm tannins.

The first 10 top wines are as below.

Rank and score:

1. 2015 Siro Pacenti Brunello Vecchie Vigne, 100
2. 2015 Brunello Montalcino Renieri, 100
3. 2011 Prado Enea Gran Reserva Muga, 99
4. 2017 Antinori (Castello della Sala), Cervaro Sala Bianco, 99
5. 2018 Schafer Frohlich, Felseneck Riesling Grosses Gewachs, 99
6. 2010 Rippon, Mature Pinot Noir , 100
7. 2016 Larcis Ducasse, 99
8. 2015 Fuligni, Brunello Montalcino, 100
9. 2018 Errazuriz, Las Pizzaras Pinot Noir, 99
10. 2016 Cheval Andes, 99

Luckily we have some Brunello wines that are very good to have a try, e.g. 2007 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino and 2008 Sesta di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino.

(Montalcino, the City of Brunello Wine)

Many people would choose Port wine to celebrate Christmas! How many types of Port do you know?

Aging Port in Oak

• It’s the cheapest among port wines and normally kept in cement pit or stainless steel tank for no longer than 3 years.
• Ruby Port. We once carry this, Barros Porto Imperial Ruby Port NV, which was inexpensive. It tastes better than Ruby and aroma is stronger and more complex. It’s kept in oak barrel around 5 years, so it’s softer.
• Late Bottled Vintage, similar as Reserve Ruby Port. No need decant. If label marks as Traditional Style LBV, then it would need to decant.
• Vintage Port (including Single Quinta Vintage Port). It can be kept for a long time. The grapes are from best vineyards and only good vintage year could make Vintage Port. Different from Ruby and LBV, it includes more tannins, stronger aroma, higher sugar and alcohol at the beginning. Even though it can be drunk when it’s young, it’s better to store it for a long time. We once carried 2011 Dows Port, sold out now. You may check out for the details.
• Tawny Port. It’s produced by red wine through oak and cut wine by Solera system. During the process, part would be evaporated and get yellowish-brown color, with nutty smell. Please try Barros Tawny Port NV. You will be amazed.

Normally people can’t feel tannins by smelling, but by tasting.

• Where’s it from? It’s from grape skin, grape seeds, grape stems and oak barrel.
• What does it taste? According to French Agricultural Scientific Research professor, Genevieve Conejero, tannins make you feel like “a cat is licking your hand”. If tannins are not full and ripe, it would taste acerbic, like gravel, which takes time to become smoother and dedicate.
• What does it impact? Tannins not only increase acerbity but also enrich wine complexity by reacting with other substances.
• What is it like? It’s like a natural aseptic, anti-oxidative, which prevents wine to become sour by oxidation. It plays an important role in red wine of many years’ standing. A red wine in good vintage will be amazing after 10 years’ storage.

For example, our very good red dining wine, 2011 Chateau Le Pey Magnum, you won’t be disappointed.   

This Rheingau estate has 33 hectares planted to riesling and pinot noir. The vineyards are exclusively VDP classified Erste Lagen (Premier Crus) and Grosse Lagen (Grands Crus). August Kesseler is managing director in charge of sales. The Premier Cru Lorcher Schlossberg is on very steep slopes and rated a Premier Cru. All August Kesseler wines are vinified in a 1792 cellar beaten into the slate in Assmannshauser Hollenberg. This 12-year young Auslese is bright gold in shimmer. Intense pineapple/mango/orange marmalade fruit. Long and rich palate. Very good acidity.

Delicious on its own, it was also outstanding with this Singapore-style lobster dish in Lei Garden, Wanchai, Hong Kong. The sweet/sour/chilli sauce is a lighter, less spicy version of the sauce in Singapore’s Chilli Crab.

Lei garden Wanchai is a 100 Top Chinese Restaurants of the World 2019.

God gave Malbec as a gift to Argentina, where planted over 20,000 hectares of it. It is the main and largest grape variety in good quality.

The special climate makes the grape aroma complicated, typically garnet berry, black berry, blue berry, plum, cedar and smoked tastes, which could produce very nice full-bodied and strong red wine without mixture of any other varieties.

Young Malbec could match best with below food:

E.g. 2015 Luigi Bosca Finca La Linda Malbec

• Smoked beef
• Spaghetti
• Spaghetti Bolognese (English or American Style)
• Fajitas
• Beef taco
• Beef Steak Hamburger
• Fried beef with curry

If you haven’t ever tried the above, please feel free to take a look at our Argentine Malbec wine.