Beijing Boyce

Klubb Rouge is slated to open in China View – beside the City Hotel and The Den on Gongti East – in the first half of June. I reported on the press conference held outside Beijing two weeks ago (see Surreal Saturday). Last Friday afternoon, the club’s GM, David Blais, gave me a tour of the venue.

(Note: China View has quickly filled up with more than a dozen restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries, including Red Ocean Butterflies, Pullman Steak, and Purple Haze, although I hope Bella is not serving from that half bottle of white wine it leaves outside in the sun as an inducement to enter the place.)

Klubb Rouge’s main area takes the entire fourteenth floor. Patrons leave the elevators to face a two-sided 18-meter long chrome bar and a view west toward Workers’ Stadium. This space includes high ceilings - I would peg them at seven meters - and an elevated DJ booth.

Adjoining it to the north is a sizable lounge, about the size of Q Bar, which will include a second, shorter chrome bar, fixed sofas, and free-standing furniture. A sliding door can isolate this space for functions.

The lounge has a lower ceiling, as does the VIP area above, which is essentially a second lounge with views of the bar floor below.

Overall, expect décor with deep plums, candy apple reds and gold trim along with glass and stainless steel. Blais says the six massive columns lining the club will carry images of sexy women and there will be five tons of crystal hanging above the bar.

On the south sound of Klubb Rouge, a staircase will take patrons to two private rooms – one can seat about 20 people and faces east, the other is smaller and looks down on the main club area. Above that is a large deck with yet another chrome bar and an excellent view of the city. There are two private areas on this floor.

All bathrooms are on the main floor.

The current drink plan includes 10 to 15 wines, bottled beer, and a cocktail list that includes signature drinks. There will be a strong focus on bottles of spirits.

Blais says the place aims to draw a diverse crowd of both locals and expatriates, including tourists, businesspeople, and others.

Note: To clarify from the last post. There is no business relationship between Klubb Rouge and Shanghai’s Bar Rouge, but several people who formerly worked at the latter are now involved with the former.

The Friday night tasting (RMB100) at Sequoia Café in Sanlitun two weeks ago featured Chilean wines from Terra Mater. We worked our way through a Chardonnay, Merlot, Sangiovese and Zinfandel-Shiraz and two Sauvignon Blanc. My favorites were the Terra Mater Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (dry grass and crisp fruits on the nose, and a juicy body, though some found it too acidic) and Zinfandel-Shiraz 2005 (an 85-15 percent blend with a rich fruity - plum - nose, though the body came off as weaker than expected). Both wines cost RMB143 per bottle.

Other tasters liked the Reserve Sangiovese 2006 (ample fruit and a nice mouth feel, but it smelled a bit rubbery to me). Terra Mater wines are distributed by DT Asia.

Later that night I checked into the second anniversary of Cellar Le Pinot, a tightly designed and decently stocked wine shop near the Hyatt Hotel.

Some two dozens were available for tasting (RMB50) and the shop offered a 20 percent discount on all wines.

I bought two Chinese wines I have not seen before: a bottle of “Night” by Suntime (Xinjiang) and a bottle of “Vintage” wine, which I believe is an export-only brand using grapes from Xinjiang (the back label was in French and Dutch). I’ll put these bottles into a future blind tasting.