Yeah, it has been quite a while….I’m back, after my everyday drinking wines are about to run out! While searching to replenish my wine chiller, I decided to try out BBR Hong Kong.
Specially made for BBR
If you have bought wines from big supermarket chain before, you could have ended up with wines that were labeled for the particular supermarket. For instance, Marks and Spencer sells wines under their own label. Some of them reveal their original producer, some don’t. The famous ones usually do. You could take a look at my old posting about the ones that I tried out from M&S.
BBR is a big name, an established entity in the industry. Naturally, the wines that bare their label should have high standard in quality. The wines producers that BBR selects to work with should also be the top ones. But again, this is just my assumption. To verify the assumption, the best way is to put it into test in action. So, I shall start by ordering BBR own label wines from BBR Hong Kong.
The first 3 that I’m trying out:
Region: Côtes du Rhône, France
Grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Carignan
Vintage: 2009
Style: Light-medium body, dry red
Alcholol: 14%
Producer: Serge Remusan
Price: HK$102
BBR’s own description of this wine says,
From the limestone slopes of the Massif d’Uchaux, now seen as the best enclave of the whole Appellation, Serge Remusan has forged a wine of real class and elegance. Made from 65% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 10% Carignan, the wine has sweet dark fruit at the core of its performance, with notes of liquorice, pepper and spice also winning accolades as the supporting acts. Perfect with game and hard cheeses.
I had it yesterday and it did taste like what they have claimed. Although this wine felt like a non-serious everyday drinking type, it surprised me with its extraordinary flesh, developed towards the end of the lengthy finish. It opened up rather quickly after the first half hour, and kept on going, not even shy away when the bottle was empty. That was a good 3-4 hours! Highly recommended.
Region: St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Vintage: 2006
Style: Medium-full body, dry red
Alcohol: 13%
Producer: Ch. Picard
Price: HK$208
The back label, click the picture to enlarge
St-Estèphe wine is known to be robust and powerful. Looking at the slightly low alcohol content, it will be interesting to taste something that would be powerful but with lower than usual alcohol content.
Will let you know once I have tried it.
[ Mar 23, 2012 tasting notes The nose was quickly revealing, plums and back currants, lots of ripe fruits in the palate, indicating Medoc taste profile. However, the signature robustness of St. Estephe was absent. It's unusually soft being an St. Estephe. The slightly law alcohol content didn't help as the tannin was persistent throughout. This wine, although was not bad to drink, I would expect more from this region, and with the price tag.]
Region: Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Grapes: Merlot
Vintage: 2008
Style: Medium body, dry red
Alcholol: 13.5%
Producer: Ch. Feytit-Clinet
Price: HK$266
Pomerol wine is usually quite sought-after as its production is relatively smaller than other Bordeaux sub-regions. Of course, people don’t seek it out just because it is rarer, but for its truly enchanting personality. I just couldn’t help grabbing one with this attractive price.
BBR’s own description of this wine says,
Specially selected for us by Jeremy Chasseuil from one of Pomerol’s rising stars, Ch. Feytit-Clinet, this delicious Merlot-dominated Claret has rich, smooth, supple plum and blackberry fruit with subtle chocolate hints. Located in the district of Pomerol known as ’Clinet’, its distinguished origins are evident, while its velvety texture supports Pomerol’s reputation as the ‘Burgundy of Bordeaux’. This would be an excellent match with beef and game dishes.
Will put up my own tasting notes once I have uncorked this wine.
[ Mar 25, 2012 tasting notes It was a pleasure to drink this wine. The taste was exactly what BBR described it. Smooth texture and firm structure make it a good wine. If there's something missing here as a Pomerol, it would the earthiness that we love about Pomeral. I guess if you treat it like a 2nd or 3rd wine of a notable producer in Pomerol, the expectation would be more practical. For me, the price tag is kind of like a border line to justify the purchase.]
BBR Hong Kong experience
My experience with BBR Hong Kong started last year with 2010 Bordeaux En Primeur. Their service has been satisfactory. But it took me years since I first stumbled upon their shop at Lee Gardens in Causeway Bay, to purchase from them. Why? Well, Lee Gardens house many branded shops, indicating a high end retailing mall. My first impression of BBR, due to its reputation and shop location, was convinced that their wine prices were higher. It was not until I did extensive research on En Primeur prices last year, when I discovered that BBR had one of the most competitive prices in town. Since then, I have been dealing with them in oversea wine purchases.
This is the first time I am buying from their local Hong Kong stock. With the satisfactory Côtes du Rhône experience, it symbolizes a good start.
Group order
I will most likely order more later. Here is the BBR HK List of their other wines that come under their own label. Please let me know if you are interested as I might get extra discount being their regular customer. Email me at maestroch@hotmail.com (Hong Kong only).
Ponti May Promotion 1: Selected wines in the list on the right
After a successful baking session in Butterworth, Jingyu ventured further with her friend Yen Jee to bake some fanciful mini cupcakes. She wanted to make the cupcakes for her baby cousin Fang Fang’s 1st year birthday. The endeavor took the whole afternoon in my mother-in-law’s kitchen. But the kids were happy with the results.
Back to the gathering. The birthday cupcakes, besides really cheering up the baby birthday girl and her mom, also offered an extra food to go with the enormous amount of wine. Both purposes served.
