Dear Members,

For the month of April, we are pleased to present “Romancing the Rhone” Dinner, featuring wines drawn wholly from the Society’s cellar. We have chosen to feature multiple vintages of Northern and Southern Rhone wines virtually all from the 1990s and across various appellations to show the diversity and quality of the region. It will be a wonderful opportunity to see how these wines have evolved over the past 15-20 years.

We begin with a white wine from Hermitage in the Northern Rhone, Mark Sorrel’s Les Rocoules. His flagship white is made from 50-year-old vines and is a blend of approximately 90% Marsanne and 10% Roussanne. We are featuring the 1999 Les Rocoules, a strong vintage for the Northern Rhone. We follow this white wine with red wines from the 1997 vintage. Although the 1997 vintage year was not an outstanding one for Rhone, we have chosen two premium producers to showcase how good producers make stellar wines in average years. We start with Beaucastel’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape from magnum, a Southern Rhone wine comprising 35% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache, 10% Counoise, 5% Syrah, 5% Cinsault and the remainder from other grape varietals. We finish 1997 with Jaboulet’s Cornas from the Northern Rhone, a wine comprising entirely of Syrah.

The next two red wines are from two different regions in the Southern Rhone and also from two different but equally fine vintages. Vintage 2000 was a fantastic vintage for the Southern Rhone, and we are pleased to feature Le Vieux Donjon’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape from this vintage year. This wine’s cepage is 75% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah and 5% Cinsault. This wine is paired with Domaine Saint Gayan’s Gigondas from the much heralded 1998 vintage. Saint Gayan’s Gigondas comprises approximately 80% Grenache, 15% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre.

We end the dinner with a pair of reds from Hermitage of the Northern Rhone. The first wine is from vintage year 1995, a fabulous vintage in both the Northern and Southern Rhone. From this vintage, we feature Domaine Du Colombier’s Hermitage, made with 100% Syrah vines, many of which are more than 100 years old. The final wine of the evening is Chapoutier’s Ermitage Le Pavillon Rouge 1993 served from magnum. Although 1993 in the Northern Rhone was a difficult vintage, some have singled out Chapoutier’s Ermitage Le Pavillon Rouge as the Hermitage Wine for this vintage.

The wines will be complemented by the refined Cantonese cuisine at Kai Garden, helmed by Chef Fung Chi Keung, who is renowned for his inimitable style and interpretations of classic Cantonese cuisine. At the heart of Kai Garden’s offerings is Singapore’s finest Peking Duck, and a wide selection of exquisite Cantonese and Chinese dishes, served with a creative twist.

Hong Kong born owner and Group Executive Chef Fung Chi Keung is an established and sought after name among the discerning diners of traditional Cantonese cuisine. His 30-year culinary career has taken him through Hong Kong’s local Chinese restaurants and Singapore’s Mandarin Orchard. In 2005, as the Group Executive Chef for Paradise Group, he launched the group’s first fine dining restaurant, Taste Paradise, which won multiple awards over consecutive years. Chef Fung also won several awards for the group, including a Gold Medal at the Food and Hospitality Asia 2012 - Imperial Challenge. With Kai Garden, Chef Fung aims to realise his dream of building his own brand and eventually a chain of Chinese restaurants that celebrates the legacy of Cantonese cuisine.

We will have a private area for the society event. Please sign up early for this special evening, as usual Members will have priority for booking places in the first 48 hours. .

Regards,

Sharon Sng

President