Beijing Boyce

The South China Morning Post and Reuters have reported that Beijing police arrested, and in some cases beat, between 20 and 30 blacks in Sanlitun last Friday night in what was an apparent drug crackdown. The Zhongnanhai blog quotes the SCMP report:

Dozens of black tourists and expatriates, including the son of the Grenadian ambassador, were arrested and some badly beaten during an apparently indiscriminate anti-drug operation by Beijing police….

“It was pretty brutal,” Beijing-based magazine editor Alex Reid said.

“I saw a man being beaten by six guys in camouflage. He was covered in blood. The police seemed to be targeting anyone who was black.”

Reuters carried this story, while China Expat included this post. As Zhongnanhai notes, there has been a conspicious lack of drug dealers in Sanlitun - since about May, by my own account. Expect more on this one…

I owed myself a weekend of fun for ages and cashed in Friday, Saturday and Sunday by attending five wine events. Here’s number one:

The task: to blind taste nine Chinese wines. The goal: to pick a favorite red and white. The rules: each taster received two poker chips and voted by placing them in the boxes fronting the wines they liked. Simple enough: here are the results of a tasting, held last Friday night at Sequoia Cafe, and my notes and grades (and as mentioned ad infinitum, I am not a wine expert, merely a humble consumer):

The whites

19 votes: Grace Chardonnay 2006
Granny Smith apple tartness on the nose with more apples and green plums in the light pleasant body. Someone described it as “like Chinese Semillon”. This is arguably the best value Chinese wine out there. (B+)

1 vote: Huadong Chardonnay 2002
Mild with some baked apples and honey on the nose; a creamy body. It tasted a bit too weak, too mild, too old. (B-)

1 vote: Catai Chardonnay 2004
Chemically syrupy fruitiness, almost like a cheap homemade wine smell, while the body had hints of sugar water and a slight bitterness. (D)

1 vote: Taillan 2007 (winemaker Alain Leroux brought a sample of a wine he’s only partially fermented)
The nose was medicinal with a woody varnish smell. This wine was so tart I could feel a stomachache coming on. (D)

The reds

11 votes:Catai Cabernet Sauvignon (note: one person voted six times on behalf of his table)
This had a warm nose - fresh cherries - though it smelled a bit syrupy. The body has less fruit than I expected. (C)

4 votes: Taillan Malbec 2003
This had a bit of old cut grass / straw barn smell on the nose along with some cherry (a later bottle had more fruit); easy drinking. (B-/B)

3 votes: Huadong Cabernet Sauvignon 2000
Pungent, dark red fruit on the nose and a decent mouth feel. (B-/B)

3 votes: Chateau Bolongbao Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Dusty on the nose, with a light fruity red cherry taste, and slightly rough tannins. (C)

2 votes: Grace Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Some slightly rank strawberries and other fruit and some dustiness on the nose; the body was nice enough and seemed to have a faint nuttiness. (B-/B)

While I graded the Taillan, Huadong and Grace equally, I voted for the first. Proof these wines were at least drinkable - every bottle was empty by the time the last group of a half-dozen tasters left Sequoia and that included opening two more bottles of the Malbec.

Mingle opened in the basement of Margherita, around the corner from Tongli Studio in the building formerly housing The Bund.

Joop Shen, who’s bouncing about the Beijing bar and club scene faster than a Xiali cab changes lanes - note: he’s held positions at China Doll and The Bank in the last six months - is involved, though this is a cozier fit and it will be a challenge to keep a lounge feel given the temptation to take advantage of the sound equipment no hand — we’ll see if Joop can work his magic with the staff, theme and layout.

Another bar nomad, Gleann Phealan - The Pavillion, Browns, and TRIO (Frank’s Place) - will soon be running his own gig as Irish bar Paddy O’Shea’s is projected to open next month near A-Che and Dine and Wine. Look for an interview here with Glenn later this week.

Sir Campbell T informs that a new bar called White Rabbit opened in Nurenjie on Friday night. Time enough to visit this weekend there was not, so I’ll aim to check this one out in the near future.