SQ Business Class September 2017

These are the wines served by Singapore Airlines Business Class for September 2017, tasted on board their flights between Singapore-Shanghai and Singapore-London, as well as some of its offerings at the SilverKris lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 3. Its latest refurbishment to Business Class seats in their Boeing 777-300ER and some of its Airbus A380 has been highly successful, and it is good to see SQ maintaining its top-notch in-flight service, food and entertainment.

2014 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, at the SilverKris lounge, 01 Sep 2017. Full bouquet of white floral aromas, pomelo and nutmeg, producing a most satisfying mouthfeel with attractive oily texture, creme and firm chalky minerals, complete with diesel overtones. I enjoyed it.

2013 Jean-Marc Brocade Chablis, at the SilverKris lounge, 01 Sep 2017. Aromas of white pepper, hot stones and chalk. Medium-bodied and rounded, infused with strong saline minerals with good acidity. Quite fine.

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve NV, tasted on board. Deep nutty aromas with lovely yeasty tones along with some earthy pungency, displaying very good concentration and fullness with a forward balance of lime, yellow citrus and traces of bitter lemon, replete with crisp acidity and subtle chalky minerals. Very fine.

2015 Weinhaus Ress Kabinett Riesling, tasted on board. Closed on the nose with just a hint of petroleum, though it is refreshingly cool on the palate with a broad spectrum of tropical fruits and apricot with plenty of verve, depth and acidity.

2013 Joseph Drouhin Rully Blanc, tasted on board. This wine offers a creamy bouquet with complex floral aromas, rather minerally on the palate with good concentration and depth, well-integrated, finishing with defined chalkiness throughout its length. Quite fine.

2016 Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc, tasted on board. Classic characters of dried citrus, grassy elements and nutmeg amidst a herbal trace that some folks would say “sweaty armpit”, dry with a forward balance, displaying great intensity of flavours with plenty of vigour. Good stuff.

2016 Mud House Sauvignon Blanc, tasted on board. Compared with the Wairau River above, this came across as being rather flat, more subtle in its aromas of sweet white flowers, rounded and feminine but lacking zest and character.

2014 Stonier Pinot Noir, tasted on board. Dark cherries and raspberries dominate on the nose, displaying good ripeness with a tinge of forest floor, forward in balance, turning slightly plummy over time but short.

2012 Ch Siaurac, tasted on board. Predominantly woody on the nose with some earthy pungency whilst dark currants and wild berries dominate on the full palate with a mild delicious fragrance. Quite fine and certainly serviceable. From Lalande-de-Pomerol.

2013 Marchesi di Frescobaldi Castello di Nipozzano ‘Nipozzano’ Chianti Rafina Riserva, tasted on board. The nose is marked by earthy tones along with notes of undergrowth and forest floor, medium-bodied with an abundance of red fruits and dark plums that offered good complexity and lift with subtle acidity, finishing with a ferrous trace.