Luce - the brand, the style, the wine

Attending the Luce’s 20th anniversary dinner in Hong Kong was a privilege and the occasion was made even more memorable because it was hosted by Erika Ribaldi, its cheerful Asia Export Manager.

Luce is one of the brands of the Frescobaldi family. It is a super Tuscan wine made from Merlot and Sangiovese in Montalcino created by Robert Mondavi and Vit
torio Frescobaldi back in 1993. Although the Fescobaldi family took full control in 2005, Luce still remains a vision shared by the two families and a harmonisation of the Old and New Worlds — Sangiovese gave the finesse and structure while the Merlot filled it with opulence and fragrance. There is no doubt on the quality of Luce but I was more intrigued by its marketing effort and its brand power.

Luce is more than just a wine. It has evolved into one of the most creative brands that embraces the chic Italian design and fine quality. Its distinctive logo, a sun surrounded by tongues of flame, can be found on glassware, furniture and even cheese (yes, we were served this at dinner). It also has a couple of restaurants, one in San Francisco and one in Bangkok, under its name. The main course of the dinner was served on a Luce’s plate.

At the dinner, Erika was wearing a series of golden tattoos (albeit temporary), one of which was a necklace with the Luce’s radiant sun. I’m sure it could be developed into another successful Luce’s line of accessories.

The appeal of brand is most prominent in Japan. With 6,000 bottles per year or 50% of its Asian sales, it is Luce’s biggest Asian market. 80% of the customers are female, who are attracted by Luce’s elegant and stylish brand. Erika said the Japan market can still grow bigger but unfortunately with only around 80,000 bottles produced annually, the wine is on allocation only. To celebrate the 20th anniversary, Luce has made 10 exclusive gift box consisted of all 20 vintages, two of which are available in Japan.

I’m not saying that all wine brands have to follow Luce’s approach, and certainly not many brands have the resources to extend their names to other products. However, it demonstrates that a more consumer-oriented lifestyle strategy, backed by good quality, does take the brand closer to consumers and thereby increasing sales. Terroir and technical details are relevant and important but sometimes, a little personal touch may just differentiate a brand from the crowd.

Luce is available from Jebsen Wines

The graceful lady behind Grace Koshu

Gosh, she must be one of the most elegant lady winemakers I have met! Ayana Misawa, from the fifth generation at Grace Wine in Yamanashi Prefecture, about 100km from Tokyo and north of Mt Fuji, was in town recently to present her wine.

Trained in Japan, Bordeaux and Stellenbosch, and having worked in Argentina, Chile, Australia and France, young Ayana (I reckon she is only in her early 30s) is now the chief winemaker at Grace Wine. However, being one of the very few female winemakers in male dominated Japan, it is not easy. Ayana is determined, certainly confident yet sensitive. I was discussing with someone about the feminine side of wine lately and Ayana is definitely a representative, and probably an inspiration to a lot of like-minded Asian women.

Her spirit is reflected in the wines. They are refined and delicate, yet have character. The Cuveé Misawa Rouge, a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot sadly not available in Hong Kong (yet), is the combination of New World fruitiness and Old World restraint minus the high tannin, definitely worth the ￥6,000 per bottle (about HK$500-600 if available here).

Koshu (甲州), an indigenous grape in Japan, is as delicate as the lady herself. Ayana’s father was the pioneer in replacing the pergola trained Koshu with vertical shoot positioning (VSP), resulting in lower yield and much more concentrated fruit. I was surprised to learn that summer temperatures can be as high as 35ºC in Yamanashi, yet Koshu only has about 11-12% alcohol thanks to its naturally low sugar level. Ayana further improves it by fermenting it in stainless steel tanks or old barrels and without lees ageing to make a refreshing vibrant wine. My first impression of Koshu was that it was vaguely reminiscent of Mosel Riesling but Ayana is more right to compare it with Hunter Valley Semillon.

Koshu, with its delicate palate, certainly pairs well with Japanese sashimi. Ayana reckons it would also be a perfect match with Cantonese cuisine. I can see myself enjoying it with poached prawns, steamed bean curd and light stir-fried dishes. We tried two Koshus: Grace Gris de Koshu and Grace Koshu. The latter, with a slightly fuller body, is clearly my favourite.

Grace also has a very well-made barrel fermented Chardonnay and a fruity Kayagatake Rouge (a blend of Muscat Bailey-A, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot). And if you have a sweet tooth, don’t forget its surprisingly fresh Kerner Late Harvest!

By the way, Ayana confirmed that in Japan they do indeed have an individual umbrella over each bunch of grapes to shelter it from rain, and which is closed when the sun comes out. Jees, this can only happen in Japan!

And thanks Gonpachi for the lovely lunch.

Grace Wine is available from Northeast.

The little conspiracy

What a surprise to have tasted Chateau La Connivence, the labour of love of four friends, including two ex-footballers, an engineer and Aléxandre de Malet Roquefort, the gentleman who poured the wine for us at Wellspring's recent Hong Kong trade tasting.

I was tasting some whites with Eddie from Cru Magazine when we were urged to try La Connivence, a red from Pomerol, on the other side of the room first, as it would not be available for long. We duly did so and were thankful for it.

There were four wines, from 2008, the first vintage, to 2011. All were left over (about 1/5 of the bottle) from its launch dinner the previous evening, but despite the condition they were not disappointing at all. I liked their elegance, even though the alcohol level was up around 14%-14.5%. The 2010 was my favourite with good concentration and firm acidity. My comment to Aléxandre was that the wine was not at all Parker-like. He gleamed, obviously enjoying the comment. Although vinification of La Connivence uses all the latest gadgets, including a blower to shoo away bad berries, Aléxandre insists it is the soil that gives the wine its identity and which therefore should be respected.

Aléxandre also runs Chateau La Gaffeliere in St Emilion, a family winery with 17 generations of history. Both St Emilion and Pomerol are Merlot dominated but Pomerol is more delicate, more feminine and more sensitive, according to Aléxandre. This assertion was clearly reflected in the wine as we also tried his La Gaffeliere for comparison.

Aléxandre explained that La Connivence means ‘little secret’, and the wine is the little secret among the four friends. With only one hectare of land, a maximum of 3,000 bottles production, and an allocation of only ten 6-bottle cases plus a few large formats for Hong Kong, wine lovers will certainly want to keep it a little secret. Google translates Connivence more literally as connivance or conspiracy ... which perhaps is more true!

Both La Connivance and La Gaffeliere are available from Wellspring Wines.

Pursuing the Italian dream

What would you make of a successful American financier owning a winery in Tuscany? A rich man’s hobby? Well, that was what I expected until I talked to Tim Grace, an American from Ohio and owner of Il Molino di Grace.

Il Molino di Grace is a family vineyard located in Panzano, a village in the Chianti Classico region. There is quite a story behind it. Tim’s parents, never having travelled outside the US before, moved to the UK in the late 60s and then went for their first European holiday in Panzano. The Tuscan landscape was a complete contrast with Ohio’s;  they loved it and kept going back for holidays. Eventually, they took the plunge and moved to Chianti—but it had to be Panzano. It took them eight years of hunting until they finally discovered Il Molino di Grace in 1996.

The property was only a vineyard and the grapes were sold to other wineries. Tim’s parents, jumping through all the hoops of Italian building regulations, finally built a winery, uprooted the ‘foreign’ vines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, and began to focus on making what makes Tuscany wine famous: Sangiovese. Tim explained, "Sangiovese is a food wine so should not be overpowering. Blending with even a little Cabernet or Syrah will make the wine too dominating on the dinner table." Il Molino di Grace has five wines and all are 100% Sangiovese except the entry level Il Volano, which has 25% Merlot that Tim believes softens the Sangiovese making the wine more accessible. Even the IGT Super Tuscan Gratius, the top wine and obviously named with the American market in mind, is 100% Sangiovese.

With a production of 350,000 bottles a year, Tim assured me that he is not a hobby winemaker. The money generated by the winery is less than what he used to earn in his previous career and has to be reinvested in the winery. However, he is much happier and derives more satisfaction from the new challenges. His wife is from a family that has run a high end cooking chocolate factory for generations since 1868. Tim hopes to build a family business that will mean something to future generations. For this reason, the vineyard is 100% organic and managed in a sustainable manner.

One of the many challenges Tim faces is to persuade potential customers to try Italian wine. He compares drinking Italian wine to bungy jumping. You stand at the edge of the cliff and are scared to jump, but once you’ve done it, you want to do it again. Italian wine can be confusing because of the names and native varieties but it is great value for the quality and you’ll keep coming back for more. Hmm, I’m not sure about the analogy with bungy jumping (I haven’t tried it and definitely won’t in my life time!), but I totally agree with the price/quality point.

I admire Tim and his parents for their spirit in pursuing their dream, even more so because Il Molino di Grace is making a wine that is true to its history and place rather than chasing the market. I wish him all the best.

We tasted six Grace wines, and I was particularly impressed by the Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2006—dried leaves, leather and spices on the palate supported by a fresh acidity—and the Chianti Classico Riserva Il Margone 2005, an elegant wine with a savoury palate and well-integrated structure.

Il Molino di Grace is available from Altaya Wines.

Bordeaux Gimblett Gravels blind tasting: who’s the winner?

At a recent judgement tasting organised by New Zealand's Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association in Hong Kong, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW and Rod Easthope of Craggy Range led a blind tasting of Gimblett Gravels 2009 vintage against Bordeaux classed growths (including all five first growth) 2008 vintage. Some 30 experienced tasters including media from Asia (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Singapore), sommeliers, F&B directors and serious wine lovers were asked to rank their top eight wines out of the sixteen tasted. They were told in advance that the sixteen comprised eight Gimblett Gravels Bordeaux style wines and eight Bordeaux, and the labels were listed; so this was a blind tasting but not double-blind.

Seven Hills Winery, Washington, US

Seven Hills was the fifth winery to be established in Washington's Walla Walla Valley back in 1982. While some winemakers like to harvest grapes late to concentrate the flavours, Casey McClellan, the founder and winemaker, harvests his grapes just before full ripeness. He believes fermentation can unlock the flavours trapped in the grapes. The Seven Hills Columbia Valley Merlot 2008 is lifted with perfume, and the sweet rose aroma is well balanced by the acidity. The 13.7% alcohol level is well below the usual 14.5%+ for Merlots, making the wine very palatable. The early picking certainly contributes, as does the 14% Cabernet Franc in the blend.

Hong Kong distributor: Golden Gate Wine