Singapore Airlines To Serve Rare Red Burgundy Variety In Suites and First Class

[feb01mel]

Singapore Airlines To Serve Rare Red Burgundy Variety In Suites and First Class

29 July 2010

From 1 August 2010, Singapore Airlines will feature six of the most acclaimed “Grand Cru” Red Burgundy labels in its wine selection available to Suites and First Class customers. With the introduction, customers on each flight will be able to look forward to a “Grand Cru” Red Burgundy label in addition to the current wine selection. SIA will be the only airline to offer these labels on board, details of which can be found in the Annex.

Red Burgundy is a red wine label originating from the French region of Bourgogne and made predominantly with the popular Pinot Noir grape variety. Possessing a reputation for being challenging to cultivate, these Pinot Noir grapes are grown around the world, but those from the region of Bourgogne produce some of the finest wines in the world. The six labels offered by the Airline are classified as “Grand Cru”, a classification that designates a vineyard known for its excellent reputation in producing wine.

Said Singapore Airlines’ Senior Vice-President Product and Services, Mr Yap Kim Wah, “We are very pleased to enhance our current wine selection on board, which also includes the popular and renowned Red Bordeaux labels, with the prestigious “Grand Cru” Red Burgundy labels. We are also delighted to be able to obtain six different labels to meet the volume required for all our flights and we hope our customers, both wine connoisseurs and non-wine connoisseurs alike, will take the opportunity to try these the next time they fly with us.”

Added Steven Spurrier, one of the Airline’s three wine consultants, “As with our second growth Bordeauxs, the reputation and quality of the Grand Cru Burgundies are pretty much as good as we can get. All six labels would be five stars, without question.”

Singapore Airlines’ Suites and First Class customers can also choose from an international selection of beer and liqueurs, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. This is in addition to the Airline’s exquisite list of champagne of Dom Pérignon 2000 and Krug Grande Cuvée, and selection of top-quality wines including pourings from France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, as well as port wine from Portugal.

Singapore Airlines’ wines are selected by three world-renowned wine experts -- Michael Hill-Smith, Australia's first Master of Wine; Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian Master of Wine; and Steven Spurrier, a leading authority and author on wine. Singapore Airlines serves approximately 2.1 million bottles of wine on board every year, across all classes.

Annex

LIST OF RED BURGUNDY LABELS TO BE INTRODUCED
IN SINGAPORE AIRLINES’ SUITES AND FIRST CLASS FROM 1 AUGUST 2010

MAZIS-CHAMBERTIN 2001 DOMAINE FAIVELEY

A beautiful wine, ripe and smooth and a very classy palate; has a good deep colour, good solid middle, very impressive ripeness on the nose that shows the purity and depth of a Grand Cru.

CLOS VOUGEOT 2004 LOUIS JADOT

A fairly substantial wine that is surprisingly open; has a lovely deep ruby colour and intense appealing aromatics of dark berries with a hint of undergrowth and spices; the fruit has good depth and density on the mid-palate with firm but velvety textured tannins.

GRIOTTE-CHAMBERTIN 2004 LOUIS JADOT

A grand and classy wine with great purity and vineyard origin; has a good deep young colour, liquorice spice and fresh red fruits on the nose, really beautiful aromas of crushed red, leafy fruits, terrific vibrancy and lift and lots of grip.

CORTON CLOS DE LA VIGNE AU SAINT 2005 LOUIS LATOUR

A wonderfully balanced and complex wine with a ripe cherry colour and a delicious aroma of red fruits along with more spicy notes that highlight the wine’s natural elegance. It contains finely crafted tannins with a beautiful structure combined with a subtle hint of vanilla oak, resulting in a long and polished finish.

CORTON CLOS DES CORTONS FAIVELEY 2006 FAIVELEY

This wine has a fine robust red berry fruit nose, good depth and is rather concentrated. It has an obvious structure, well-extracted cherry fruit and evidence of oak in the tannic structure.

LE CORTON 2006 BOUCHARD PERE ET FILS

This wine has a fresh youthful ruby red, ripe crushed berry fruit nose and is a very good expression of the Pinot Noir fruit. It is both satiny-smooth and well-structured, with a well-balanced acidity and natural tannins which back up the fruit.

http://www.singaporeair.com/mediacen...ws/NE_2310.jsp

[planemad]

Hey, this is unfair to all the white wine drinkers out there. Perhaps I am a Philistine when it comes to wines, but give me a crisp sauvignon blanc, or an oakey chardonnay or even a gewurztraminner with a hint of sweetness anytime , except of course when I am having red meat, in which case a bold and brassy red is almost mandatory. But seeing that I expressly avoid red meat these days, I mainly stick to whites or champagnes. Now that my tipple of choice are white wines, I realize how totally unsuited reds are to the warm weather in Singapore. I've also discovered rosés recently and I think they are totally underrated. In my opinion Asian food and red wines are rarely a good combination. But I guess, different strokes for different folks; there's no accounting for personal taste.

[jjpb3]

Hey, this is unfair to all the white wine drinkers out there. Perhaps I am a Philistine when it comes to wines, but give me a crisp sauvignon blanc, or an oakey chardonnay or even a gewurztraminner with a hint of sweetness anytime , except of course when I am having red meat, in which case a bold and brassy red is almost mandatory.

I think it's perhaps because the red wine drinkers complain more if the selection is mediocre.

I tend to prefer white wine as well. And I think the SQ selections on my flight have been rather unremarkable.

[Kyo]

I tend to think reds go very well with Asian curries (of the thick and red variety), actually, planemad.

I, for one, welcome this move by SQ as perhaps the second best innovation to come after TWG tea. However to keep this offering in the F realm, and excluding J is a bit disappointing. Having said that, I'm more a Bordeaux fan anyway.

Oh - and I do agree that rosés go well with the Asian climate.

A laudable effort.

[KeithMEL]

Nothing like a good rose or Tasmanian pinot noir on a hot summer day. Other than fizz of course.

[iainbhx]

Would it be terrible if I said that whilst these wines certainly aren't cheap, they don't to me represent the best for their price range in Burgundy, in addition, the best way to describe drinking at least two and probably three of them is infanticide, those Corton's should they find their way to my wine cupboard wouldn't be touched until at least 2015.

However, I am a SuperTuscan/Rhone/Rioja/Aussie Shiraz bloke.

[MSPeconomist]

I'm really looking forward to trying at least one of these next week.

I agree with some of the comments above, especially jjpb3, that SQ's FC wines are not so wonderful, except for the champagnes and IMO the red Bordeaux.

I also agree that the hot climate and SQ food in general (except for red meats, of course) generally go better with whites and dry roses, which both have the advantage of being served chilled. However, since red wines from Bourgogne typically seem less heavy than those from Bordeaux, if one wants a red for health purposes (or preference), these Burgundies might well be a better choice.

ADDED: I assume they mean that one of these will be available on every long-haul flight; all six would turn FC into a fantastic wine tasting--forget the food.
I hope they plan to have sufficient stocks on board so that one doesn't have to move to the red when one is still enjoying the champagne with the first few courses. It would be fun if different sectors offer different wines, so that one can experience some variety during a trip. I want to try all six!