ViNa MoRaNdE and the MaGiC of wInEs

Ooooooosshh…… MORANDE WINES - Chile

There's certainly something magical about wines. For thousands of years wine has been hailed for both its medicinal and nutritional values. For this one whole month of June (1st to 30th), purchase a bottle of the specially selected VINA MORANDE and the MAGIC of WINES and get one FREE movie ticket to watch “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” opening in July. Do drop by any of these participating outlets for this special deal and ask them for the magic spell.

CAFFE 1920 - THE CURVE
Lot 153, First Floor, Western Courtyard, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 603-7728 1920

CHAKRI PALACE - MON'T KIARA
B-OG-02, Jalan 1/7C, Off Jalan Bukit Kiara 2, Plaza Mon't Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603-6203 3770

CHAMP’S - CENTRE POINT
Lot F10, Centre Point, Lebuh Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 603-7722 5800

HEAVEN - THE CURVE
Lot G39A, Ground Floor, The Curve, No.6, Jalan PJU 7/3, Mutiara Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 603-7710 0246

SEVENATENINE - THE ASCOTT KL
The Ascott Kuala Lumpur, No.9, Jalan Pinang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603-2162 7789

SOULED-OUT - DESA SRI HARTAMAS
No.20, Jalan 30/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603-2300 1929

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NEW ARRIVAL!!

As our privileged customers, Cave & Cellar is proud to present you the latest and newest wines on our list.

FRANCE
2005 Expert Club Muscadet Sevre et Maine AOC, Loire Valley - white
2005 Expert Club Bourgogne Aligote AOC, Burgundy – white
2005 Louis Monfaissant Chablis 1er Cru AOC, Burgundy – white
2005 Expert Club Cotes de Provence AOC, Provence – rose
2005 Expert Club Corbieres AOC, Languedoc – red
2005 Expert Club Bourgogne Pinot Noir AOC, Burgundy – red
2004 Expert Club Medoc, Bordeaux – red
2005 Expert Club Lussac St. Emilion AOC, Bordeaux – red
2005 Expert Club Cotes du Rhone Villages AOC, Cotes du Rhone – red
2005 Expert Club Anjou AOC, Loire Valley – red
2005 Expert Club Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains AOC, Burgundy – red
2005 Expert Club Beaujolais Villages AOC, Beaujolais – red

ITALY
2006 Vinea Palazzo dei Signori Soave DOC, Soave & Monteforte – white
2006 Vinea Palazzo dei Signori Pinot Grigio IGT, Veneto – white
2003 Villa Azzura Chianti Riserva DOCG, Chianti – red
2006 Vinea Palazzo dei Signori Valpolicella DOC, Valpolicella – red
2005 Vinea Rosa dei Venti Trebbiano D’Abruzzo DOC, Abruzzi – red
2004 Villa Vinea Amarone Della Valpolicella DOC, Valpolicella – red
2003 Vinea Tramonto Barbera D’Asti DOCG, Piedmont – red
2003 Vinea Tramonto Barolo DOCG, Piedmont - red

Must you cellar your wine collection?

When I first started drinking wines back in the mid nineties, cellaring your collection is only for the well to do. A wine cellar then would cost about MY$15,000 and above. Back then I lived in a small single level house and the dozen or so wines that I have was stored under my bed. Every night the air-condition was at work and during the day the wines were subjected to full heat of the day. Nevertheless, I don't recall having a cooked wine; not that it mattered since at that time it was mostly mid range wines.


I moved on to be a little more serious in collecting better wines. Still didn't have a cellar but by then I have moved to a double storey house and I kept the wines in the store room. Its probably one of the few places in a house where temperature fluctuations is kept to a minimum. I eventually did get a cellar at a more affordable price of about MY$1,500 about 5 or 4 years ago. But some of the wines was stored in the store room at less 3 years prior to having a wine cellar.


Last week was mother's day and I was cooking for the family at home. Just mum, dad, wife and a friend. Five of us, perfect number to open 2 bottles of wines. The white was something I have been keeping in the fridge for a while; a Hardys Nottage Hill Chardonnay 2004. As for the red it has to be something more special since its mother's day. So I settled on a Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet Shiraz 1996.

The Hardys Nottage Hill Chardonnay 2004 went well witht the pumpkin soup. Would probably tasted better if drunk earlier but no complains all round.

The Hougton Jack Mann was then served together with the pot roast main course. Earlier on before dinner started I had opened the bottle. The cork was surprisingly still very supple and new looking. I did have a sip and was pleasantly surprised at its quality. Everyone agreed with the quality. The wine colour was still so dense and aroma still so fresh. On the palate all the fruits of plum and peppery flavour was still very upfront. Personaly one of the better wines I had from my collection. A high 19/20 on my scorecard.

In summary, don't worry too much about cellaring your wines. Yes, its important to care for it but at the end of the day its the quality in the bottle that really matters.

Introduction

Next year is our 10th year anniversary bash so I figure its way over due that the company should have a presence in the web community.

What I intend to do is to update frequently on the Malaysian wine scene and the activities Cave & Cellar do.

Cheers,
Paul