Grape Wine Journey

This is the most expensive Sauternes – the renowned sweet wine region in France – and I had the honor to taste a bottle with my friends some time ago.  A half bottle costs over HK$1,000. So is it worth it?

When I was taking the Wine Assessment program in Open University three years ago, the Advanced Course was quite tough and I took a day off from work to prepare for the final exam.  I was very frustrated as I kept forgetting what I had studied already.  There is only one cure for me to ease off my pressure – I went to Pacific Place and shopped. 

After the exam, I was so relieved and only wanted to reward myself.  I walked to Citysuper in the IFC Mall and strolled down to the wine section.  It was around 9 pm so what could be better than a dessert wine – Sauternes.  We tasted Sauternes in class: other than being sweet, it had a unique aroma that I really liked.  The nose and palate showed honey and apricot; and the unique aroma was botrytis.  Botrytis is the fungus that attacks the grape berries and gives them the unique flavor in making sweet wine.

The classic food to pair with Sauternes is fois gras.  But that was not something I craved for at 9 pm.  Instead I bought cheese cake and black forest cake to pair with the half bottle Sauternes, and went home and feeling very satisfied.

So was the Chateau D’yquem worth the price tag?  It had the honey, apricot, botrytis flavor and smelled really nice. I loved it but frankly not willing to pay the price for it.