This Champagne was made from only chardonnay grapes, pale gold in colour with a steady bead of small bubbles. On the nose there were honey and citrus aromas, I found it to be balanced with a pleasant creamy finish. Paired nicely with the Chilli Rillettes.

Pale straw in colour, citrus and spice aromas. Lychee and citrus flavours, drinking well now, will get better as it ages, I hope I get the opportunity to taste this wine again in a few years!

This was a great Riesling. Mineral and kerosene on the nose, balanced sweetness and acid, lots of fruit.

Pairs well with the spices in the Makan food.

Qba = Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete or quality wine from a specific region

Penfolds Grange, formerly Grange Hermitage, is one of Australia’s iconic, if not most iconic wine.

According to some, the 1986 was one of the best vintages of Grange ever produced, even though the bottle showed the characteristics of why it is a great wine.

Even after so many years it still had a dark crimson colour, with mocha and oak aromas, a very enjoyable palate with dark berry and chocolate flavours, with smooth tannins and long finish. Great wine!

The 1986 vintage received a red star rating in the Sixth Edition of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience in 2008. Red stars are awarded to those wines that are considered to be an exceptional vintage.

The cork in the Grange was very dry, unfortunately, but the wine was fine once decanted.

Robert Rees of Wine Exchange Asia using a chopstick to push the cork back into the bottle of Grange before decanting the wine, not really the appropriate tool, but …..

Family Selection is Zema’s premium wines.

Red brick in colour, the aromas of this wine were muted as was the palate due to the age. The faint characteristics of a good Cabernet Sauvignon were still there, which, in my opinion, indicates that this would have been a great wine in its day.

1996 is considered one of the better Coonawarra vintages and this wine confirms that!

Dark deep red in colour, with red brick “edges”. Blackcurrant and berry aromas, dark fruit and oak flavours, the tannins have started to soften but it still had great mouthfeel and medium to long finish.

Great wine!

Rockford is better known for its Basket Press Shiraz, but it also makes this great Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Deep purple in colour with blackcurrant and vanilla aromas. Black cherry and vanilla flavours with silky tannins, nice medium to long finish.

A great wine, but I am biased as it was one of my contributions.

The grapes sourced for this wine are from a vineyard that was planted in 1865. This wine received a 98 rating from Robert Parker The Wine Advocate, which is why the price has rocketed up to over USD200 per bottle. I don’t always agree with Parker’s ratings but in this case he may have gotten it right.

The 1865 is only made in years when there is exceptional fruit, 2004 was definitely a year when this was the case.

The colour is deep purple, with chocolate, vanilla and spice on the nose. On the palate this was lush and rich with berries and spice flavours, silky tannins and a long finish.

An excellent wine, will have to keep an eye out for it!

The Wine is made for export to the US. Even the bottle was specially made for export with thinner glass that is coated in plastic to strengthen the bottle whilst making it a lighter and therefore cheaper for transport.

In my opinion this was not a great wine and I would not recommend it.

A surprise towards the end of the night was this great Barolo.

Deep ruby colour, aromas included spice and tobacco, with spice and fruit flavours and a medium to long finish. Great wine!

As we were still thirsty one of the back up wines was opened.

Bright red colour with aromas that included vanilla, leather, herb and spice aromas.

A medium body, but not an overly tannic wine, with cherry, plum and vanilla flavours, with an enjoyable long finish!

To pair with the dessert we had my second wine of the night.

Golden straw in colour, with apricot, honey and vanilla on the nose. Balanced acid with lemon and honey flavours and a medium to long finish.