Hitting the bottle - Three undiscovered gems

published on Nov 02 2007 - 20:15

We’ve come a long way in our wine choices: from a select few French Bordeaux in those heady pioneering days, to having access to quite a selection from most wine-producing countries. Nowadays, we’re no stranger to the approachable Australians and the cool Californians, while still putting away a fair amount of the fancy French stuff. But if you really want to explore new territory, here are impressive drops from countries that are climbing up our wine charts (and into your wine cellars pretty soon).

►Domäine Wachau Grüner Veltliner ‘Durnsteiner Kellerberg’ 2000 It’s a mystery to most people why, being where we are (in the tropics), we’re not drinking more whites than reds, but the French paradox is only partly to blame. Certainly, for those who find loud Chardonnays hard to swallow and Rieslings too austere (or too ‘sweet’), this Austrian wine is perfectly poised to fill that niche. Made in Austria’s largest wine-producing region, and hailing from a grape variety indigenous to the country and the most widely planted, Grüner Veltliner has stood up to some of the best Chardonnays in the world during blind tastings. This wine has a bouquet of ripe yellow stone fruit such as mango, which is followed through on the luscious palate and a mouthwatering finish.

$62/bottle at Booze.

►Dominio de Eguren Protocolo, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla 2005
Spanish wine, like Spanish chefs, has acquired a certain celebrity gloss only over the last decade. Since then, some of those wines have been fetching prices that previously only the French were enjoying. While this Spanish wine is not in that lofty league, it is nonetheless a nice little drop. This wine is made from the indigenous red grape Tempranillo in Laguardia, the gateway to Rioja (Spain’s oldest and largest winemaking appellation). It’s light-bodied with ripe plums and dark cherries on the palate. Essentially a food wine, it becomes mellow and rounded when paired with unctuous food, such as the pork belly and watermelon skewers at Wine Garage.

$12/glass or $53/bottle at Wine Garage.

►Quinta dos Quatro Ventos, Tinto 2003 Portugal has been synonymous with port, that sweet fortified wine imbibed by Old English gentlemen after dinner for more than three centuries. Many Portuguese wineries are starting to make dry wines, and Quinta dos Quatro Ventos is one of them. From the Duoro, where port has traditionally been made, and using the same native port wine grapes such as Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Francesca, this medium- to full-bodied wine has macerated autumn fruit and earth on the nose, with a concentrated palate of wild berries, silky tannins and long finish. Would be perfect with a spicy roast chicken.

$49/bottle at Wine Connection.

By Anne Loh