Chateau Poupille Cotes de Castillon 2009

Date of Tasting: 3 December 2013

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc

Alcohol: 14%

Origin: Bordeaux, France

Appellation: Cotes de Castillon

Expect to Pay: ~ THB1,000 - 1,500

Web: n.a.
Chubby Score: 90/100
Value for money: 6/10
Professional Rating: CT - 91/100

Appearance: deep ruby

Aroma: black fruits, wood, and spices

Palate: sweetness from ripe fruit notes with the unmistakable characters of Merlot. fine tannins but undissolved. pleasant long finish with silky touch of medium-full body. some spices and gentle oakiness.

I personally love this wine. It may not be an extraordinary but it is sure an outstanding one to have during a family dinner, even to impress friends during a meal. This was the first time for me to taste a wine from Castillon region and it was a special one from a biodynamic farm indeed. It definitely produces top wines with elegance and yet classic. If fruit forward with a touch of wood and fresh acidity style is what you are looking forward to, this one perhaps will not be a disappointment. At this stage, it shows splendidly both texture and palate. Chateau Poupille 2009 shall be wonderful to drink with joy during the next 5 years. Definitely, the one to be enjoyable. Raise your glass!!!!

Mook Dee Seafood (มุขดี ซีฟู้ด) @ Rawai Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Cuisine: Thai / seafood

Map: Mook Dee Seafood (มุขดี ซีฟู้ด) @ Rawai Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Price: ~ THB200 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)

Visited: 18 December 2013

Food: 7/10

Atmosphere: 4/10

Value for money: 8/10

Services: 4/10

On our trip to Phuket for a short vacation, of course for relaxing and tasting local food, we stopped by Mook Dee Seafood @ Rawai Beach - มุขดี ซีฟู้ด @ หาดราไวย์ for our first meal there. Mook Dee has its own concept, uniquely different for others. You simply just have to buy your favourite ingredients from outside and they will cook for you. Cost for cooking a dish is THB100 per kg of ingredient. Really reasonable charge from our point of view.

To find Mook Dee is not that difficult at all. You will just have to drive all the way to the end of Wiset Road towards Rawai Beach and Mook Dee will be on a small street on the left hand side just a few hundred meters from Wiset Road.

Mook Dee Seafood (มุขดี ซีฟู้ด) @ Rawai Beach, Phuket

store front

bring your fresh ingredients for cooking

easy and simple surrounding

If you are not sure where to get your ingredients, there is a stall right opposite of Mook Dee Seafood. The stall sells pretty good quality seafood at acceptable price, ranging from fish to shells to crabs to prawn, and etc.

fresh seafood stall right in front of Mook Dee

fresh fish range

prawn and shrimp range

shell range

Phuket lobster

horse crab

I would not go into details of the dishes. I would just say that they were pretty nice and delicious. Most of the dishes can be rather hot and spicy. If you cannot really take spiciness, do ask in advance for minimum chilli and pepper. See below for what we had. However, personally I think that stir-fried clams with chilli and prawn in tamarind sauce were wonderful.

This is a really nice place to enjoy seafood from our perspective. Must try if you are somewhere near Rawai Beach.

steamed squid in lime sauce - ปลาหมึกนึ่งมะนาว

fish tom yum - ต้มยำปลา

poached cockle - หอยแครงลวก

fried squid with garlic and pepper - ปลาหมึกผัดกระเทียม

poached horse crab - ปูม้าต้ม

stir-fried clams with chilli - หอยลายผัดฉ่า

prawn in tamarind sauce - กุ้งมะขาม

zooming up to prawn

Mook Dee Seafood @ Rawai Beach, Phuket, Thailand
มุขดี ซีฟู้ด @ หาดราไวย์ จังหวัดภูเก็ต

Rawai Beach Port
Wiset Road
Rawai, Mueang
Phuket
Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 11:00am - 10:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 81 719 4880

Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Spatlese 2011

Date of Tasting: 6 December 2013

Wine Type: White

Grape Varieties: 100% Riesling

Alcohol: 8%

Origin: Nahe, Germany

Appellation: Spatlese

Expect to Pay: ~ THB2,000 - THB2,500

Web: http://www.schlossgut-diel.com/
Chubby Score: 93/100
Value for money: 8/10
Professional Rating: WA - 92/100, WS - 92/100, ST - 91/100, CT - 90/100

Appearance: pale yellow

Aroma: perfume of white flower, apricot/peach, and honey

Palate: semi-sweetness of honey, peach, and tropical fruits. medium on the body and yet creamy. complex, luscious as well as balance with elegant acidity and minerality. delicate, persistent, and fine touch. 

If anybody is to fall in love with this German spatlese by Schlossgut Diel would not be a surprise for me at all. The low level of alcohol combining with not overly sweetness and fine acidity make Schlossgut Diel Goldloch Riesling Spatlese 2011 so approachable but yet could be living a few decades to come. It is so delightful for good Summer days. This should go pretty incredible with food with spiciness such as Asian food, lightly creamy or fruity dessert, or even on its own. Store it up, I say.