Most wines nowadays (especially in the RM 0 - RM 300 retail range) are made for young drinking. I don't usually buy white wines above 3 years of age, and reds above 5 years.

Not all red wines taste better when they are older.

My preferences would be full bodied Italian wine from the southern region (nero d'avola, cannonau) from the 2008 vintage for red, and 2010/2011 white (vermentino, orvieto classico, soave).

I quite fancy a crisp, cold sauvignon blanc from villa maria in new zealand as well.

I've had the two Tignanello, both '07 and '08.

I like '08 better. I don't know why.

No idea on French wines, I don't buy them unless someone gives them to me. Only encounter was Chateau Lafite, which was really expensive but honestly I thought it was overated. I had better bottles of brunello di montalcino at less than 1/2 the prices.

I'm more familiar with Italian wines though.

In my opinion, the palates of the general public aren't that fine tuned to discern the subtle nuances of fine vintages. Additionally, vineyards are making wines that are easier to drink young, rather than the handful that focus on vintages that drink well in 10-15 years. Obviously a case of business decisions... Some young drinking ones are actually quite good! I'm not a wine snob though...

In terms of regions I don't know but I can definitely tell the difference of a Sauvignon Blanc from let's say, New Zealand, Chile, and France apart from each other. I won't be able to identify where they come from, but I would be able to say with some confidence that they originate from different locations.

Sometimes it's also the style / methods / techniques used to manufacture the wine that make the difference.

I feel that the comparison to durians does not apply as durians are eaten as is without further manipulation by humans/machines (i.e. maceration, fermentation, bottling, etc).

My humble two cents...

This post has been edited by leo-chan: Jul 19 2012, 11:04 AM

Ya this has been established a few posts ago. Losing the caps also makes your post a little less offensive.

Curious on the '62 chateau pinchon, did u need to decant it for a long time? I've never had wines older than 20 yrs old... Was it corked by the time you opened it?

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Added on August 22, 2012, 12:30 amI had a couple of bottles of fantastic sauvignon blanc from marlborough over the weekend, from villa maria. They were fantastic! Dont know about reds from nz though...


This post has been edited by leo-chan: Aug 22 2012, 12:30 AM