Year of the Horse

First and foremost, we want to wish everyone the very best for the Year of the Horse!!!

As a bilingual person with Chinese as the native language and getting a big part of education in English, it is not difficult to note that the two languages have so many fundamental differences in terms of word construction, phonetics, syntax and grammar. One other observation is the much more enriched vocabulary in English. The Oxford English Dictionary lists about 600,000 words while the very comprehensive Zhonghua Zihai (中華字海) is showing some 100,000 words. Quite often the Chinese language makes it up with adding an adjective in front of the noun. As an example: dog, bitch, puppy in English will be male dog, female dog and young dog in Chinese. There are exceptions though, and that brings us to the zodiac animal for this year, the horse. Being ignorant of course, till your truly read somewhere and saw the pictures above to realise that there are quite a few Chinese words referring to the horse but each is distinctively different in pinpointing colour, size, agility or the endurance of the equestrian animal. You do learn something every day.

Moving to a completely different subject…towards the last few Decembers, we would list some of the restaurants and wines we enjoyed the most during the year. Some of our subscribers asked why they did not see such in Dec/2025. Great that quite a few of you guys seem to be really reading our newsletters and we would now respond as follow:

Great dining experience

Roucou in Sheung Wan – Japanese/western fusion with cheese featuring in every dish…completely disrupts one’s traditional notion of food ingredient pairing.

House of the Seung’s (常真味) in Causeway Bay – Cantonese based cuisine, striking the right balance between tradition and innovation. Lunch such great value in particular.

Wai Kee (恵記清真) in Causeway Bay – Hawker stall in Bowrington Road Cooked Food Centre, mutton curry being its signature dish.

Xishe (喜舍) in Wuhan – Exquisite food and service in a tasteful setting with a touch of Zen…and you can visit the Soong Ching Ling (宋慶齡) Residence just across the street too.

Great wine experience

2005 Le Fleur de Bouard Le Plus

2008 Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill

2005 La Fleur Morange

2009 La Fleur-Petrus

2012 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru

2009 Leoville Poyferre

2012 Domaine Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru

2023 Anhydrous Icon

2017 Domaine Roulot Meursault Meix Chavaux

2019 Petrolo Galatrona

2018 Domaine Duclaux Maison Rouge Cote-Rotie

2001 Ausone

NV Jacques Selosse La Cote Faron (2020)

Now to what we can offer as a wine merchant, with some of our latest additions which you might find interesting:

NV Jacquesson Cuvee No. 747 (JS96 at HK$580/bottle) - This good value Champagne reveals a lively, delicate bouquet of white pepper, tangerine, lemon oil, herbs and red berries mingled with lovely menthol notes. Medium to full-bodied, tense and sappy, it's layered with a vinous core of fruit and a delicately saline finish. While it may not be the most opulent iteration from this house, the wine does reflect its character by showing tension and phenolic complexity.

2023 Antinori Cervaro della Sala (WA97 at HK$580/bottle) – This excellent Italian white is a true delight, a masterpiece reminiscent of a great Burgundy. It opens with an elegantly reductive note of flint or crushed granite before sliding gracefully into silky fruit sensations, breakfast pastry and crème fraiche, offering a good balance between richness and textural complexity.   

2020 Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Monts Luisants Blanc (WA93 at HK$1,400/bottle) – Anybody trying to find a good Burgundy white at not too crazy a price must not overlook the 2020 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Monts Luisants Blanc. This excellent wine has the name and delivers scents of pear, freshly baked bread and citrus oil, followed by a medium-bodied, taut and chalky palate built around a bright spine of acidity.

2000 Pavie Decesse (RP96 at HK$1,000/bottle) – With part of the vineyard transferred to support its more expensive sibling Pavie, it not only reflects well on the terrior of Pavie Decesse but means also less wine under the latter label. This Millenium vintage is a stunner, with notes of camphor, creme de cassis, violets, black currants, cedar, and licorice jumping from the glass. It has monumental richness, sensational sweet tannin, a skyscraper-like mid-palate, and a 45+-second finish.

2016 La Gravette de Certan (WA95 at HK$600/bottle) – Made up of mostly Merlot, this Bordeaux red has a deep garnet-purple colour and features lovely redcurrants, black raspberries and black cherries notes with a beautiful floral background of lavender and rose hip tea plus suggestions of sandalwood, cinnamon stick and menthol. Medium-bodied, refreshing, elegant and beautifully seamless, it offers layers of perfumed red and black fruits with a satiny texture and very impressive length.

2012 Hosanna (RP97 at HK$1,100/bottle) – We feel fortunate to be able to re-stock this close to perfect Bordeaux red, a stablemate of the legendary Petrus, and at a better price than before. With stunning concentration, it is at the same time so silky, possessing loads of dark fruits and a multi-dimensional mouthfeel, making it a compelling wine one should never ignore.    

2022 Domaine de L'Arlot NSG 1er Cru Clos des Forets St-Georges (JS97 at HK$920/bottle) – A Burgundy red with cohesion and complexity in the nose: dark cherries and crushed stones, with a hint of rose petals in the background. The palate is medium bodied with beautifully integrated oak, lending to a velvety veneer. It is a little plush, yet with enough tension and a detailed, engaging finish.

2019 Bollinger Coteaux Champenois Ay Rouge La Cote aux Enfants (VN97 at HK$950/bottle) – Fancy trying a red wine from the Champagne region? This is as good an example as anything for a start. Rich, ample and seductive, it is captivating right from the gate. Succulent cherry, plum, leather, spice and pomegranate infuse one’s palate with tremendous depth. There is richness, intensity, complexity, all wrapped together in style.   

2019 Castello di Ama Chianti Classico Gran Selezione San Lorenzo (WA95 at HK$370/bottle) – This approachable Italian red is truly Mediterranean in spirit with its supple, mid-weight texture, amplified by elegant fruit, spice, grilled rosemary and a touch of olive. The wine's fresh acidity makes it the ideal pairing partner with your favourite pasta recipes.    

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to go to our website www.vinopolis.com.hk to browse the full wine list. Purchases can be made through the website or by sending us an e-mail or simply WhatsApp 9195-7383.