February was an unusually snowy one for this little Hong Kong family: one of us (not me) managed to get out on the slopes a respectable six times, another of us (again, not me) got in his first ever snow frolic and our snowman, once a respectable 5 feet tall, morphed over the course of the month into a heap only Jabba the Hutt’s mother could love. Still, the contrarian in me balks at the idea of heavy wine for heavy sweater season, so this is what we drank instead:
Bainbridge Vineyards Puget Sound Pinot Noir 2006 A deeply unexpected hit with punchy, bright red fruit and some cedary complexity that suggests Bainbridge Island in Washington really has its Pinot game down. At 12 years old, too.
Simon Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune Aux Vergelesses 2006 A much more expected but nonetheless scrumptious hit, this has just hit its stride, with strawberry fruit and mushroomy savoriness vying for top billing against a mouthfeel so torrid it should come with a warning label.
Altamont Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2012 Rounding out our February Pinot’s, this zingy, tart-fruited bottle was like a jolt of electricity to our languid, winterised palates. Did not love the label though (a less charitable friend likened it to Tang).
Icardi Barolo Parej 2007 perfectly demonstrated the pleasures of 10 year-old Barolo that is tap dancing through its drinking window: still ample flesh and juiciness and tannins that are reaching a soft, melted stage. Definitely time to drink this, and probably all but the most austere 2007s.