Kurt, a Vancouver friend of mine and member of our tasting group, is quite a renowned wine collector. Recently, I was in town when he had planned a dinner party at Dynasty, a high-end Chinese restaurant and he invited my friend and I to join them. We met him at the Broadway location and he opened a bag to show me the wines he had selected for the evening. I was very impressed. It was quite a treasure trove. Two vintage Piper Heidsieck vintage Champagnes, a California Chardonnay, a rather unique Italian white and an intriguing Riesling Auslese.
We opened the two bottles of Champagne and had a preliminary taste of each as Kurt scanned the menu and placed our order.
2012 Piper Heidsieck – a blend of 48% Chardonnay, 52% Pinot Noir. It had an intense nose showing autolytic notes, brioche, ripe apple, citrus, and stone fruit along with hints of Honeysuckle and ginger root. Well balanced with a creamy texture. Refreshing on the palate followed by a lingering finish. Harmonious from beginning to end.
2014 Piper Heidsieck – there was a little less Chardonnay in this cuvee of 45% Chardonnay, 55% Pinot Noir. Again, a wine with elegance. Less oxidative notes here, and more citrus notes including mandarin peel, lime, orange blossom, biscuit, and toasted almonds. Delicious!
Others at the table preferred the 2014 while the 2012 nudged top spot for me, though they really were two sides of a coin.
Our dinner began with Crab Meat and Fish Maw Soup. Fish Maw is traditionally eaten as an anti-aging health food due as to its high collagen content. This was followed by Blanched Pea Tip with Wolfberry cooked with Garlic and then the Braised Bean Curd and Eggplant with Diced Vegetables.
Then it was time to open the next two wines – a rather unique Italian Elat Isola Dei Nuraghi from Sardus Pater and 2020 Frog’s Leap an unoaked Chardonnay from the Carnros region in Napa California.
I was very intrigued by this Italian wine and so I did some research when I got home. The wine is made on the island of Sardinia from the red grape Carignano (Carignan). Typically, Carignan is used as a blending grape but here, they have treated it as a white grape, not allowing any time on the skins after crushing. It was fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel followed by aging for 6 months sur lees. It was straw coloured with medium intensity. White flowers and herbs on the nose and palate. It serves well both as an aperitif wine or as a match for seafood, shellfish, and sushi.
Frog’s Leap 2020 Shale and Stone Chardonnay so named as it comes from old vines grown in the decomposed shale and sandstone of the steeply-sloped hillsides of Carneros. After just a couple of days fermenting in French oak barrels, it is transferred into concrete vats and left to rest sur lie for up to a year.
It was straw coloured with medium-minus intensity. Well balanced. Crisp and refreshing. No butter bomb here. Apple, citrus, white flowers, and minerality on the nose and palate followed by a medium-plus finish.
Next, the impressive looking Smoked Tea Shredded Chicken with Sugar Cane Fence arrived along with the Steamed Bean Curd with Scallops and Black Bean Sauce (I really liked this one.) as well as the Dynasty House Special Chow Mein with Seafood and Assorted Meats. Both wines performed nicely with these dishes.
Finally, it was time to open our last wine for the evening, the 2019 a delightful 2019 Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese. At only 7% ABV it was a delightful and refreshing way to finish a rather remarkable dinner and a perfect pairing to our dessert pastries. It was classic Riesling with just enough residual sugar to compliment the mouth-watering juicy fruit and give subtle body to this elegant low alcohol wine
(All photos – Sam Hauck)
