For the first time in Malaysia, five of Bordeaux’s top drops are being offered by the glass.
THE average Malaysian wine lover may, if he or she is lucky, manage to sample a few of the world’s top wines. Unless they have exceptionally deep pockets, however, the prohibitive prices of these internationally coveted wines will be out of the reach of most. These are the best of the best, French wines assigned the highest rank, the first growth wines.
A single bottle of the 2010 vintage of Chateau Lafite, for example, sells on the world market for around RM5,000 – that is, if any is to be had at all. Money-is-no-object Japanese and American businessmen bought up a lot of the classified first-growths of Bordeaux, and the Chinese are doing so today, placing orders even before the grapes are grown.
Yet the option of selling the finest wines of the world by the glass has never really been a sound business proposition. A few have tried and gone without reward. Elite wine snobs aside, the idea of opening an expensive bottle of wine at the risk of unsold glasses is simply too much to bear.
Technology, rising disposable incomes and increasingly sophisticated tastes are now making this an acceptable business risk. Wine storage systems enable wine-killing oxygen to be pumped out of opened bottles and an inert gas to be injected, thus keeping wine fresh for a longer time.
Enter Millesime, the high-end gastronome helmed by the redoubtable Max Chin. Partnering Lionel Lau of Millennium Associates, Chin is offering Millesime patrons, for the first time in Malaysia, all five of the first-growths of the Chateaus Haut Brion, Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Mouton-Rothschild plus the incomparable Sauternes from Chateau D’Yquem.
According to Lau, this is an effort to educate as much as it is to make the wines affordable. “This is an opportunity for the ordinary wine drinker to learn what is so unique and special about these wines. Wine is our passion and we naturally want to share our knowledge.”
Mind you, Millesime (French for “vintage”) is not the first restaurant to sell a classified first growth by the glass. That distinction apparently goes to the Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur’s Lafite Restaurant in 2001 and was thanks to the efforts of Huza Radzi (restaurant manager at the time). Millesime, however, is the first to offer all five first-growths in the country and, indeed, any wine stocked in the premises.
There are six standard glasses (125ml) in a bottle of wine. This means that even when sold by the glass, ringgit prices can be quite substantial. A glass of the world’s most sought-after wines, for example, can still be over RM1,000.
This will no doubt elicit oohs and aahs. Knowing Malaysians, snide remarks will be made about being able to buy whole bottles of great wine for the price of a glass. What such critics forget is that we are talking about the most prized wines the world has to offer. Furthermore, going by the experience of the past decade, even these prices will climb rapidly.
This rare collection of Chateaud’Yquem vintages was valued at €65,000 (RM281,450) in 2008.
The chance of a first growth tasting is never to be passed up and the offer of a sampling of the 2001 vintage courtesy of Chin and Lau was gladly accepted.
The Haut Brion has an expressive fruit nose, one that is as wide as it is deep. Black fruits and licorice are overlaid with subtle floral and spice. On the palate, it has medium-light weight and there is a very light grip of fine tannins and exceptional balance, length and purity. Of all the first growths, this wine has the most equal Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot balance.
For me, the Margaux encapsulates all the things that I love in wine. It has the rich aromas of leather and cedar, but combined with dark fruit and, again, floral characters. The taste is, to put it succinctly, elegant in every sense of the word.
The Mouton-Rothschild is less about earth and more about atmosphere. This wine is soft, with fruit laced with spice and is a little shy and laid-back. It does not attack you either on the nose or on the palate and, at least to me, suits the sensibilities of English wine drinkers very well.
A little less so, however, is the Lafite Rothschild, which is all about spice and minerality. For a decade old wine, it has plenty of fruit, which leads me to believe that it has a great deal of ageing potential, which will enhance the profile of the wine.
The Latour has attractive aromas of a ripening fruit basket, while on the palate it is stylish and graceful. It has the tell-tale blackcurrant notes of a Cabernet Sauvignon-driven wine, rounded out by Merlot and lifted by Cabernet France and a touch of Petit Verdot.
As with all the wines in this category, the integration of acidity, tannin and oak is seamless and crafted to be as close to perfection as one can get.
The highlight of the first growth tasting was the Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes, and for someone who doesn’t particularly care for sweet wines (or “stickies”) that is saying a lot. The body conveys fleshy fruit but sweetness is not cloying, built as it is on a foundation of gentle acidity and kept fresh with tinges of citrus.
In short, the tasting offered a window to the finest wines of Bordeaux – and it is a window that remains open at Millesime. True, the prices are high, but they reflect the high demand for the wines. It remains to be seen whether the Malaysian public will respond but going by its increasing sophistication, one has cause for optimism.
Millesime is at Lot G1-01-3, Menara Kencana Petroleum, Solaris Dutamas, No. 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, KL; 03-6211 0648.
