Dear Wine Geometry Lovers,
Here's another place in Singapore that is definitely worth your time.
Welcome onboard the Praelum Wine Bar, where chef sommelier Gerald Lu will personally take care of you and your palate!
From the outside, it looks like a standard bar on Duxton Hill. You would never tell they hide some real gems inside..!
With some friends, we came and were seduced by the "flight of 5", a 5-drink entertainment, where the sommelier personally chooses wines for you, according to your wishes. Tell him you want "a red wine", "a non-French wine", "a non-classic wine", and he'll bring you a Malbec from Argentina, a Brunetto from Italy, a Shiraz from Australia... he'll make you travel around the world, helping you feel "romorantin", "cut white flowers", or other "white strawberry skin" flavours.
Perfectly professional, while keeping his own dynamism and fun, Gerald offers this course for 50$++, although most of the bottles he's making you try or worth triple that price!
He wanders around tables all evening, remembering perfectly who is drinking what, and therefore knows how to consult you from A to Z. To be honest, it felt a bit strange at first, having a Singaporean teach me about the history of some French villages, with the specific types of grapes they are using... but all in all, he truly masters his job, so I must say Chapeau bas!
You can see at the end of this article the full list of what we tried out. But my personal favorite of the night was this Moss Wood, Margaret River, West Australia Cabernet Sauvignon, which literally reminded me of a Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux. Gerald highlighted that the soils here and there are quite similar, so planting the same grapes provides similar results. However, the Australian ones tend to have 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (no mix with Cabernet Franc and Merlot), which means they can be more tannic, more powerful, holding darker colors, and a slightly higher "alcoholic" taste when swallowing.
We loved the experience, found the quality was more than worth the price, and will go back.
Do hurry to go to Praelum with your friends!
Address: 4 Duxton Hill, Singapore 089590
Opening hours: 6PM-1AM everyday except Sundays
List of wines tried:
1) Whites
- Pouilly Fume "Les Cris" 2010
- Riesling 2010
2) Reds
- Newton Johnson Pinot Noir, South Africa, 2014. Personal rate: 12/20 as the smell is too strong, no harmony, and the taste is too short. It is said to be one of the top 10 Pinot Noir wines outside of Burgundy... I didn't buy it, and found it unbalanced. All the other ones here, however, are perfectly balanced, with a harmonious smell, a wide range of aromas, and they stay in your mouth for quite a long time... everything we love!
- Poggio di Sotto, Rosso di Montalcino (Tuscany, Italy), 2011. Grape: Brunello. Personal rating: 15/20 as the grape is unusual, with excellent notes of red berries.
- Murray Street, Barossa Shiraz, Australia. Personal rating: 16/20. The Shiraz, stronger in alcohol than a classic Cabernet Sauvignon, releases here wonderful notes of grenache, cassis and vanilla.
- Moss Wood, Margaret River, Western Australia, 2014. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, this full-bodied red is a classic, combining the tanins of a Haut-Medoc (Bordeaux) and an additional range of spices. Personal rating: 18/20!
