New Zealand is synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc. But there is a world of amazing wines from the land of long white clouds.

Tersina was invited to a blind tasting of Bordeaux and New Zealand Gimblett Gravels wines at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing. There were 16 other wine critics, educators and sommeliers. The result? Most could tell the difference between a Bordeaux and a Gimblett Gravels but they all agreed that the Gimblett Gravels were as good as the Bordeaux. Chateau Lafite 2006 was the overall favourite but three kiwi wines: Craggy Range Quarry 2007, Craggy Range Sophia 2007 and Scared Hill Helmsman 2007 were ranked 2nd, 3rd and 4th. In fact, three judges thought Chateau Lafite was the best but four insisted Craggy Range Quarry was just better.

Steve Smith MW and Director of Wine at Craggy Range, has conducted this tasting around the world to demonstrate that New Zealand has much more to offer than just Sauvignon Blanc. He says, 'New Zealand has a cool climate with maritime influence not dissimilar to that of Bordeaux, especially in Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay. Hence it should be logical to say that it has potential to produce some quality Bordeaux wine. This little exercise has proven the point.'

The AWITC is held every 3years. It is the summit of technical expertise exchanges for Australasian wine makers. It is also a landmark program in the world of wine making. The conference attendees are house hold names from international wine making families and empires. The speakers are PhDs, technicians and leaders in their unique fields. Simon was invited by the conference organizers to present a unique topic 'How to communicate with China'.

In his usual humorous but straight to the point style, Simon told the auditorium of wine industry representatives that ‘Australia has to be self critical and have a realistic understanding of where Australia truly fits in the world of wine’ He also showed a photo of the green cap wearing Australian Cricket Team to illustrate different cultural implications of the green cap.

Single malt tasting at the IWC.
Fine and rare single malt collectors as well as lovers of the grain joined Simon in a fascinating and critical blind tasting of single malts across different years, strength and cask finishes. It was delicious and decadent, it demonstrated how to appreciate these great drinks beyond the label.

Mouton Rothschild, the glorious first growth of Pauillac, made legendary wines of monumental character from just after the war in 1945 (fabulous) until 1959. As with many others classified châteaux, the vintages of the seventies and eighties were not up to that level and were sometimes frankly feeble (1973,1977, 1980 and 1984). Too many bottles of Grand Vin were sold for high standards to be maintained. Since 2000 many things have changed for the better, especially since the arrival of Philippe Dalhuin as winemaker. The latest vintages are really stunning because of their noble taste and perfect balance. We are looking forward to showing you, in Le Grand Day of Indulgence, that even in less favourable vintages, like 2004, these wines are equal in quality to some of the most highly acclaimed of the older ones. It is easy to see why. Only the best grapes are selected for the vats, grapes with excellent skin ripeness. Then a rigorous selection of the vats retains only the highest possible quality for the Grand Vin, with total production of less than 200,000 bottles recalling the volumes of 1949 or 1953. 2003 is magnificent, with a velvety texture epitomising the qualities of that year (remember the grapes were picked at the end of September, one month after the terrible heat of that August). And, in a noble and more traditional way, 2005 recalls 1959.

Click here for more Bettane & Desseauve's answers to 2009 Bordeaux questions

Last month's question: Where was the photo of Simon and the founding members of the Greater China Wine Critics Association taken? The answer is Portugal. The winner is Christopher So, who was the first one to get the correct answer. Congratulations Christopher. You have won a bottle of yummy wine from Simon's cellar.

Mike Convey was the winner of Yummy Quiz May question, and Denis Chau won the June Yummy Quiz.

This month's question: Where is Simon yum cha with Andrew Caillard MW, Fine Wine Principle of Australia’s leading wine auction house, Langton's?

Prize: A bottle of wine from Simon's cellar (with all his global wine travel, you know you'll be in for a treat!)

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