Beijing Boyce

My spirits were high when Agent Red Wolf, O-Zone, Flash and I attended the November 24 Summergate wine tasting at China Lounge (150 kuai). Not only would we sample seven wines produced by the owner of Petrus, but also O-Zone and Flash import vino and would, one might think, have something useful to say. On top of this, Summergate provides tasting notes in a handy booklet that is perfect for geeks like me who arrive pen in hand.

We started with Jean Pierre Moueix (JPM) Bordeaux AOC 2003 (167 kuai), which seemed a bit sour and had a weak finish, and Christian Moueix Merlot 2003 (191 kuai), which was tastier, with strong cherry and slightly spicy aromas. The JPM Saint-Emilion AOC 2003 (299 kuai) and Pomerol AOC 2002 (395 kuai) were fine, although I didn’t find the bodies as full as indicated by the tasting notes, but the Chateau Grand Village 2001 (227 kuai) was musty and disappointing.

I enjoyed the last two wines. The JPM Chateau Plince 2001 (743 kuai) had plenty of acid, lots of ripe cherry flavors and good aftertaste. O-Zone described it as “round,” Agent Red Wolf loved it, and I thought it got better by the minute. The Chateau La Grave 2001 (827 kuai) had a consistent nose, with candy apple and fruit scents. I wrote “mouth joy” in my notes for some reason.

I was in agreement with O-Zone, who described the first four wines as “all nicely drinkable so far, but none of them have left an impression.” It may be that my amateur palate is not up to French wines, but I can’t see myself paying these prices for these wines. The same goes for the last two: while they were delicious, at about 100 dollars a bottle I’ll next be trying them when someone else foots the bill. Luckily, in this case, we tried all seven wines for 150 kuai, which was decent value, as evidenced by the crowded room.

What could be more appropriate after sampling French wine than loading up on Mexican food on Sanlitun North? First, Flash had to make a drop off at the nearby “diplomatic apartments.” We drove there and waited in the car while he went to the trunk, hauled out a box and gave it to a man who emerged from the apartments. Then he got back in the car.

Me: “What was in the box?”
Flash: [Smiles]
Me: “Come on, what’s in it?”
Flash: [Short pause] “Wine”
Me: “So why was that guy wearing a bathrobe?”

There followed a long pause. I find in moments such as these, whistling a TV theme song, such as that for Gilligan’s Island or The Smurfs, can do wonders. Given the nationalities of those in the car, Hogan’s Heroes seemed appropriate.

We headed for Saddle, which is across from Tongli Studio and enables us to order food from the new, nearby and affiliated Cox, and soon faced a table loaded with burritos, salads, cheese sticks, wings and the like. After the Summergate tasting, our palates were finely tuned, and we matched this feast with ice-cold Qingdao. As for the food, I found that the wings were a rocky marriage of sauce and meat, while the burritos were outstanding, with a hearty nose and hints of Tabasco.

We then waddled down to Shooters, where I treated Flash and O-Zone to Pink Panties (Vodka, Peach Schnapps and something I can’t recall). The experience was so compelling that we had not left and gone 100 meters from the place when both of them had second thoughts and we returned for a few more shots, including one bearing an unprintable name.

We finished the evening by visiting Opener? (see review in issue XXVII), which is in the less than inspiring Jianwai Soho complex and run by the former owner of First Cafe, where I first met O-Zone, Flash and Agent Red Wolf. The music, lighting and ambiance were subdued. With Budweiser in hand, it was a relaxing finish to an evening that spanned Petrus, Pink Panties and Bordeaux, and showed just how cosmopolitan is our fair city.

(From Beijing Boyce XXVIII, first emailed on December 23, 2006)