Whisky might be my first love, but wine is a very close second. So, day 2 of that beautiful weekend was naturally occupied by the 2014 edition of the annual Singapore Wine Fiesta. Held at the revamped Clifford Square, next to the Fullerton Bay Hotel, the venue was as picturesque as it could get in the Singaporean urban jungle, with its gorgeous view of Marina Bay.
Naturally, I was far more interested in the wine on display than the view, however pretty it might be. To be sure, there were quite a number of wines on display: 300 from various regions around the world. I am most familiar with wines from Australia, so I was eager to get reacquainted with some choice Shiraz (known in France as Syrah) wines. The organisers, the Straits Wine Company, did not disappoint. There were no less than 10 wineries from various regions of Australia ; McLaren Vale, Barossa and Clare Valleys who were happy to provide us a tasting of some of their wines. In particular, I enjoyed the 2011 Shiraz from Woodstock and Warramate 2010, both of which are big, bold wines with rich currant flavours. I found the Warramate a little spicier than the Woodstock, but both were excellent nonetheless.
One does not go to a wine fair to just taste the familiar, however. I was determined to experiment a little bit with wine choices. I had a little of the Dombeya Chardonnay 2010 from South Africa, but I didn’t quite take to it. While crisp and refreshing in the heat of the afternoon, it just didn’t have the kind of subtlety that I was looking for. I also tried a bit of the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from the same vineyard, but that didn’t quite appeal to me either. Somehow, I thought it was too tannic.
I also tried some Spanish wines, but I don’t recall any of them being to my taste. All of them were bold, but perhaps a little too much so. I couldn’t quite taste much else other than some spicy flavours.
I did try some interesting Italian wines that one doesn’t typically get in Singapore. Most of them were from Mandrarossa, owned by Cantine Settesoli, in Sicily. The largest and southernmost island in Italy, Sicily has a Mediterranean climate overall, but as I found out, also pays host to many different microclimates suitable for different types of grapes, giving a large variety of different flavours from just one island.
On showcase were 4 different wines that seemed to embody this concept. All had a rich flavour that would have gone extremely well with a plate of Penne Arrabiata, but the flavours in the Cartagho, Bonera, Nero D’Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon ranged from oak, spice, ,to even a licorice flavour. I was rather fond of the Bonera 2013, which was an attempt to mellow the strength of a typical Nero D’Avola (which is incidentally Sicily’s most popular grape) with a (slightly less strong) Cabernet Sauvignon. The result is a 50-50 blend that still retained some of the richness of its parent grape varieties, but was not too overpowering. I also really enjoyed the Cartagho 2009, which was full bodied with plums and oak flavours. Very enjoyable.
Other than just going around and sampling wines, I also tried to attend a masterclass. Entitled “Spawn of Pinot”, I was expecting a great time exploring all the forms of the Pinot Grape- Grigio, Noir and so on. To be fair, the masterclass did just that.
That being said, I got bored pretty fast. The infomation was doled out in perhaps the least interesting way possible; for a second, I imagined that I was back at school attending a math lecture (math wasn’t my strong suit). If there was a silver lining though, it was that we got to try the Deutz Champagne Rose 2009. Delightfully refreshing like a normal champagne, but with berry flavours imparted to it by the addition of Pinot Noir, this pink bubbly makes for a nice way to enjoy a lazy afternoon.
As it was getting late by the time the class ended, my final stop was the wine shop, where I proceeded to get some truly fantastic Italian wines.
The Monte Del Fra Amarones and Valpolicella Ripassos (which are colloquially known as baby Amarones) are my favourite wines of all. Delightfully rich but dry, cherry sweetness balancing woody accents of oak and tartness of plums, Amarones are everything I like in a wine. The Monte Del Fra Amarones are not bad, and have a slight vegetable taste to them. The ones I tasted could use a bit of mellowing through age- so I’m going to save them up for a few years.
The Fanti Brunuello Di Montalcino 2009 was definitely one of my favourites in the under $100 price range. Like most Brunellos (and most Italian wines I’ve tasted, come to think of it), it has a very full flavour and body, with excellent volume and texture in the mouth. Tastes of berries and some other dark fruits. Would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys tasting wine over a long, deep conversation.
I ended up leaving the fiesta full of satisfaction (but a couple hundred bucks lighter). While the sad reality of waking up early on Monday morning to work loomed, it was softened by the excellent taste of some very nice wines still lingering on my tongue.
Definitely a weekend well spent!
