KOT Selections

Wait till you see her
see how she looks
wait till you hear her laugh

Painters of paintings
writers of books
never could tell the half.

– Rodgers and Hart
“Wait Till You See Her”

Drink pink this month! We’re offering a 10% discount on our rosés, with a range to suit any mood. The wines (prices after 10% discount, excluding GST):

NV de Sousa Champagne Brut Rosé ($71.10)
Erick’s hand-crafted rosé evokes summer flowers and fruits, with the texture of vintage silk. Drink on the beach, barefooted.

NV de Sousa Champagne Brut Rosé Grand Cru Cuvée des Caudalies ($139.50)
From impeccably farmed Grand Cru vineyards, weaving together power and elegance. Match with uni, late at night.

NV Laherte Frères Champagne Brut Rosé ($62.10)
So good we have it for breakfast. Think carrot cake, nasi lemak and roti prata.

NV Laherte Frères Champagne Extra-Brut Rosé de Saignée «Les Beaudiers» ($89.10)
Intense fruit from ancient Pinot Meunier vines. It’s very dry and works beautifully with seafood. A client just sent us the picture of his favourite match – crabcakes.

2010 François Cazin Cheverny Rosé ($28.80)
It’s still improving, and we think this might be one of his finest rosés ever. Have it with a big bag of steamed seafood.

2010 Domaine Dupasquier Vin de Savoie Rosé ($29.70)
“This is a happy wine”, exclaimed a soon-to-be-married couple, and we couldn’t agree more. Bottled joy waiting to be uncorked.

” I hate the unplugged Layla” – Mr S. (about his record collection)

My first real musical memory of Eric Clapton was his “Unplugged” album, and especially “Layla”, which seemed the most interesting song on the album. Two decades later, as I sit listening to the original version, I’m struck by how it combines both ferocity and tenderness. The unplugged Layla, in comparison, is wan and sickly sweet.

That, unfortunately, is the case with much modern Loire Chenin Blanc, especially from the clay-chalk soils of the Touraine (e.g. Vouvray, Montlouis). There are two related factors at work here – consumer demand for wines which are approachable young, and generally warmer vintages leading to riper grapes with gentler acid profiles and sometimes more residual sugar.

So I rejoiced when Joël Gigou of Domaine de la Charrière agreed to release the enigmatic, austere and decidedly old-fashioned 2000 Jasnières «Clos St-Jacques». The «Clos St-Jacques» is Joël’s favourite parcel, with vines dating back to the 1930s and plenty of silex mixed in amongst the clay and chalk. He undertakes the pruning himself, explaining that the vines are too precious to trust anyone else, and takes the same level of care throughout the year.

The 2000 vintage seemed promising until the rains came right before harvest in September; many growers harvested bloated grapes and made diluted wines, while those who tried to wait it out were rewarded by rot racing through their vineyards. Joël waited out the rains, discarded the bad bunches, and made a wine which rose above the wretched weather. The nose is archetypal Chenin on silex – lanolin, tea leaves, almonds and flint – and the palate a rollercoaster ride of electric acidity and mineral dryness.

We are finally releasing this wine as part of our Prêt à Prendre series. It is both a compelling wine and a remarkable time travel machine, a glimpse into how Chenin Blanc used to be made. Decant several hours ahead and serve at around 14°C; it also improves for at least a week after opening.

S$321 for a half-case of six bottles (regrettably we do not have sufficient wine to offer full cases). Prices include GST; no further discounts applicable.

“The Labours of the Months: January”, National Gallery

“Real concern for the future is always more persuasive in those who have a genuine feeling for the past.” – Dr. Nicholas Penny (Director, National Gallery)

The National Gallery has long been one of my favourite places in London, its broad and deep collection offering new delights and familiar friends each visit. I usually start with the most recent galleries in the East Wing (19th century), and proceed counter-clockwise to end in the Sainsbury Wing (medieval art). By beginning with the most immediate and familiar pieces, it is easier to pick an individual strand, and trace it back along the arc of Western art history. The brilliant seam of colour from Van Gogh to Titian via Manet and Velázquez is especially poignant when one realises that genius is just as likely to be unrecognised (Van Gogh) or scorned (Manet) as it is to be rewarded by royal patronage (both Velázquez and Titian).

Jean-Claude (“J-C”) Chanudet seeks that same intense purity of flavour in his wines, as did his father-in-law Joseph Chamonard (hence the name of the domaine) and their mentor, Jules Chauvet, widely considered the spiritual father of the natural wine movement. Both J-C and the domaine remain little-known outside a small group of vignerons and wine professionals, which is startling when one tastes older wines chez Chanudet. The warm, easy vintages (such as 2009) are delicious, of course, but J-C really excels in difficult years, much as Titian and Van Gogh could tease out the inner beauty of otherwise banal subjects.

I recently drank a bottle of his 2008 Morgon with two friends at the end of a long night. It was impossible to tell that ripening was slowed by a damp summer that year, or that a freak August hailstorm had made the vines vulnerable to mildew. Instead, the wine was just starting to blossom, with floral notes of jasmine and myrtle and an exceptionally supple body. It seemed, like the very best wines, effortlessly beautiful.

J-C explaining erosion

But of course it wasn’t. Every year, throughout the year, J-C puts in an inspiring amount of careful thought and hard work, especially in the vineyard. The first time we visited, the majority of our conversation as we walked through all his holdings was about soil erosion. The granite hillocks which characterise Beaujolais are mostly convex, hence the topsoil washes away easily if it is denuded by chemicals or over-ploughed (a silent sin of many organic growers). J-C’s four hectares are beautifully kept and outstanding, remarkable considering that many of his neighbours are equally fanatical and talented farmers. He says he does it for the next generation, even though there is no clear successor, because it is the only way to honour Chauvet’s and Chamonard’s painstaking pursuit of purity.

We are proud to release the 2008 Domaine Chamonard Morgon as part of our Prêt à Prendre list for January 2014, in time for Chinese New Year festivities. It is versatile enough to match the panoply of dishes at reunion dinners, and incredibly charming on its own. Serve it slightly chilled at around 16°C, and a bit of air in a narrow decanter helps to open it up.

S$321 for a half-case of six bottles, and S$578 for a case of twelve. Prices include GST; no further discounts applicable.

The furniture is finally in, but we’re slightly more excited by our sink and pantry area, as it means we are now able to wash our glasses (by hand, gently), which in turn means that we have started holding small tasting sessions. It’s very much what we’ve learnt from our winegrowers – there is a lot of work which remains unseen and unknown, but is absolutely essential to getting the right results.

Did we mention furniture? It’s a match of pre-loved and new, running the gamut from wood (mostly hardwood, both tropical and temperate) to steel to polypropylene. The eagle-eyed amongst you might notice some empty shelves towards the back; those will be filled with something very special, with plenty of history. Even though our work area has been set up, we enjoy working under the skylight; natural light, even in the tropics, is wonderful. We urge all of you to visit us during the golden hour (dusk, not dawn) to experience it for yourselves. Have a taste of something new and special to fortify yourself before dinner. There are plenty of great restaurants within a literal stone’s throw of 64 Neil Road.

There are a few more things to be done – maps to be hung, grape genealogies to display, and all manners of surfaces to clean. But we are almost there, and we look forward to seeing all of you next weekend (30 Nov/1 Dec) at our pop-up bubbly bar.