The best wine and spirits from our Asia Summer Tasting Masters

To highlight the best of Asia’s drinks offerings – in wine and spirits – the drinks business Asia launched its Summer Tasting competition, to find the most truly outstanding expressions. Alice Liang reports on the results.

THIS SUMMER, the drinks business Asia launched its Summer Tasting competition to find the best drinks brands on the world stage. Our judges blind-tasted the best of wine and spirits, awarding Silver, Gold and, for the most outstanding expressions, the coveted Master medal.

For the wine categories, the entries we received spanned different grape varietals, style and regions. Starting with sparkling white, Chile’s Casillero del Diablo Devil’s Brut NV received a Gold medal. Judge Michael Chan, retail and events specialist at Ginsberg+Chan Wine Merchants Asia, said: “The wine imparts fine bubbles, good balance and long finish. It’s a very good bargain, given the price is under HK$200.”

Winning Silver medals, we saw entries from Italy and China, namely Andreola, 26° Primo, Rive di Col San Martino Brut NV, Andreola Dirupo Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG NV and Dynasty 5° Sparkling Wine NV.

In the Still White and Rosé – Unoaked categories, two exceptional wineries from Chile and Spain were accredited with good medals. Hailing from Rioja, Spain, Bodegas Valoria’s Vina Valoria Blanco and Rosado were both awarded Silver. Jin Chu, marketing manager at MyiCellar, said: “The white gives a pronounced aroma and the style is progressing well. It can be a good food-pairing wine. The rosé is refreshing and light; it serves as a standard go-to house wine during a hot summer.”

Vina Concha y Toro’s Marques de Casa Concha Urban Edition Chardonnay 2018 and Amelia Chardonnay 2018 received a Silver and Bronze medal respectively in the Still White – Oaked category.

Moving to the reds, Lubanzi Red Blend 2018 reigned supreme and took the highest Master accolade. Chan said: “It is balanced, smooth and very easy drinking. In fact, I’m most surprised by the price of it.” Bearing a price tag of HK$135, the wine, made from Shiraz, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Grenache, hails from Swartland in South Africa. The winery employs minimal intervention and natural fermentations to preserve the terroir.

Premium reds from Chile were well marked in the competition. Marques de Casa Concha Urban Edition Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, a Cabernet blend priced at HK$275, won Gold. Vincent Kwong, sommelier at 121BC in Hong Kong said: “The wine has good nose and palate. It is still young but shows a lot of potential – I’m looking forward to seeing how it
evolves.” Another Gold medal went to Don Melchor 2018. Despite it being priced at HK$1,200, Kwong said: “Carrying aroma such as violet and dark cherries, the wine shows good intensity, length and complexity. After five or 10 years, I think it has huge potential to unleash.”

ELEGANT STRUCTURE
Argentinean winery Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec also bagged a Gold medal. Chu reckoned: “The wine has outperformed itself as a Malbec at this price: a floral nose with robust palate, the tannin structure is elegant and the finish is nice.”

Moncaro Cantina del Conero’s Montescuro 2018 and Nerone 2018 – both 100% Montepulciano – impressed the panel and were awarded Gold medals. Of a Montepulciano costing between HK$100 and HK$100, Kwong said: “Despite having a candied character, Montescuro demonstrates a typical Montepulciano at this price point. The wine is put together well. Meanwhile, Nerone, sitting in a premium range between HK$500 and HK$600, is rather elegant and subtle for its style. It has strong tannins yet is still very smooth, with good acidity.”

Leaving wine behind, the judges turned their attention to spirits. As the NoLo trend has reached Asia, we introduced the non-alcoholic spirit category for the first time. Lyre’s is one of the biggest players in the global non-alcoholic beverage movement, offering the widest selections of booze-free bar alternatives. Lyre’s Italian Orange Non-alcoholic took Gold.
Simone Rossi, beverage manager at Darkside Bar, Rosewood Hong Kong!said: “It gives a feeling of Campari with a good, structured and balanced palate.” The brand’s Amaretti, an almondy and tangy non-alcoholic “liqueur digestive” won a Silver medal. The panel agreed that the dry movement is ready to hit the market but consumers may not have high awareness about the category yet. And as the product does not contain alcohol, both consumers and the on-trade might expect these products to be more affordable.

In the white spirits category, a couple of gin producers stood out. Norrbottens Destilleri,  Sweden’s northernmost gin distillery, shone out with its Mountain Dry Gin and Forest Dry Gin, which received a Master and a Gold medal respectively. The contemporary style gin
showcased a unique flavour profile. Manuel Arce, spirits director at Nimbility, speaking about the Mountain Dry Gin, said: “There’s a good connection between the nose and palate, it’s citrus- and herbal-forward, with interesting warm spices such as cinnamon. The Forest Dry Gin is also very well made, yet it displays a different style with prominent special notes of Sichuan pepper and long finish.”

Mario Calderone, salon manager at Duddell’s Hong Kong, was surprised by another Gold-winning gin – Stranger & Sons Gin from Indian producer Third Eye Distillery. “The gin shows a wonderful nose and the palate is filled with mesmerising orange blossom and herby
scents.” Brazilian Don Luchesi is another interesting find showcased in the competition. Both its O’gin and O’gin New Navy were given Gold medals. The judges were in awe of the navy strength expression, which is priced at HK$175. Luca!Andrei, brand ambassador at
Pernod Ricard Asia, said: “On the palate there is an explosion of peppery and citrus notes. Although the aroma layers are rather simple, it has done the job as a navy gin; and the price is unbeatable.”

The judges were rather thrilled by the dark spirit samples in the competition. Another Master medal was given to Port Askaig 100° Proof Whisky. Carmen!Tam, co-founder of WhiskyU, said the whisky took her on a good sensory journey: “It started with a nice and strong nose, the smokiness and peatiness cut through the palate and left a lingering long finish. Overall this Scotch single malt is mellow and pleasant. It gets the alcohol balance right especially.”

Uncle Nearest Master Blend Edition and 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey were both given Gold medals. Rossi said the whiskey “has good value for the price. Despite it not imparting much Bourbon feeling, it has long finish and I think it is perfect for making an Old Fashioned.”

COGNAC STEPS UP
The Cognac entries in the competition pleased the panel’s palates. Cognac Frapin Imperial XO was awarded a Master medal. Arce said: “This is a very interesting Cognac. The nose is attractive and there are notes of raisin and creamy caramel penetrating through. Given it is
priced under HK$1,700, it definitely shows an amazing value.”

The prestige label Frapin’s Plume received a Gold medal in the competition. Sitting in the prestige price band between HK$35,000 and HK$36,000, the Cognac “displayed an explosion of fine fruity notes of dried fruits on the nose, with layered notes of alluring cigar and woody notes”, Tam reckoned.

The Gold awardees in the Cognac category also included Exsto Elixir and Louis Royer XO Cognac. “The former showed a fantastic integration with oak with a decent finish,” said Calderone. “The palate is filled with delectable honey and dried fruits like prune and raisin;
while the latter shows great colour and it boasts a bouquet of sweet fruit aroma. The finish is long and it is a fantastic product.”

The Summer Tasting proved that, whether you prefer grape or grain, or, indeed, both, there is plenty in the market to offer you a great taste – at all different price points.

The judges, l-r: Alice Liang, managing editor of The Drinks Business Asia; Michael Chan, retail and events specialist at Ginsberg+Chan Wine Merchants Asia; Jin Chu, marketing manager at  MyiCellar; Vincent Kwong, sommelier at 121BC

Wine – White Sparkling

Wine – Still White – Unoaked

Wine – Still White – Oaked

Wine – Still Rosé – Unoaked

Wine – Still Red – Unoaked

Wine – Still Red – Oaked

Spirits – Low- and No-Alcohol

Spirits – Vodka

Spirits – Gin

Spirits – Rum

Spirits – Whiskey

Spirits – Cognac