OK slow night so I was up for my usual youtube surfing and thinking of making a 'oak infused and spiced' vodka..and some have said it's actually pretty good (kinda like 'poorman's whisky') then I came across Batavia...reviews are a bit mixed (mostly done by amateurs), but much better than Mansion House. Anybody tried it?
Also I forgot...gotta provide this important update...been coming down on Hatten in the past, especially about their Aga Red...so recently on my Bali trip i made a point to check two places CellarDoor Bali (Hatten's tasting room) and Sababay. Let me start by saying that my tastebuds have mellowed quite a bit in the past few years (used to like very jammy Zin or oaky and bold Napa Cabs...) to now enjoying a lighter/medium body wines (Pinot Noir...Merlot..)
So the tasting at CellarDoor was called comparative testing...(which I've always wanted to do), since Hatten also owns Two Islands, the tests included three pairs of wines, Aga white vs Two Island Sauv Blanc, Hatten's Rose VS Sababay's, Hatten's Aga Red vs Two Island Cab Merlot
Aga white was nice and floral, a bit sweet vs two island Sauv Blanc which was crisp and dryer with a hint of grass like a Sauv Blanc would. Either would be good with a nice caesar salad, or light (cream) sauce pastas.
Roses: I'm kinda indifferent when it comes to Roses, but they were both drinkable in my opinion.
Last but not least....Hatten's Aga Red (new label) vs Two Island Cab-Merlot. I asked the Somm guy about the (Hatten) new label if it meant 'improved' taste too...and he answered yes...previous label used 100% Alphonse Lavalle grapes which I thought were really watery and tart. According to the guy, Hatten finally managed to grow cabernet grapes locally after a 10 year research, so the new Aga red now is 75% (local) cab and 25% Alphonse and the 'old label Aga red" is now only available as 2 liter boxed wine. Definitely an improvement in taste for sure and dare I say if I'm in the mood for a lighter bodied red, I pick Hatten (new label) over Two Island, especially if I'm drinking without food. At Bali's price of about 159rb (excl tax) it's definitely a good bargain in my opinion.
I also had bought a bottle of Two Island's Pinot Noir. The old me would've finished it in one sitting...but the new me drank maybe only 1/3rd of a glass every night until we flew back and after about two weeks i think there are still a bit left. Also drinkable in my opinion.
I've been out of practice in the past few years that I couldn't finish the wines, so wife helped finishing them off.
Next day we went to Sababay...tasting was more like a mixture of tour (of the facility, history of the company, etc) and ended with a tasting at a picnic table. We had quite a bit of selection from Saba Red BV, can't remember the second one, some kind of sparkling wine, and a dry white. The friendly guide even added a small tester of Mascetti and Mistelle (their 'premium' products) for us as a 'bonus'. All that accompanied by a warm and crispy fried cassava...gotta say i remember less about the wines there compared to Hatten not because they were bad but probably because there were a bit too many different products for me and my mind was more in a 'winery tour mode' vs tasting mode.
Wife likes pretty much all Sababay's wines (more flavor and fragrant according to her) vs Hattens just a bit more standard. I am just glad even though it took 10 years at least they have improved the taste and the selection...the security guard even said that Smirnoff across the street may do tasting too in the future (or they may have already, i probably misunderstood him). I told the guide it would be awesome if that whole entire area can have more brands so it's like you can have a Bali local winery tour...
All in all, good products, although some of the reserves/premium products are quite expensive for local standard ..but it's great to see that at least in a few grocery stores Balinese wines were about 70% in all the displays with a bit of Chileans and Australians completing the selection. Now...are the wines really that good to command prices as high as some imported wines, that's definitely debatable, but i personally wouldn't mind picking up all the local brands priced in the low 200s (sometimes 180s with certain store discounts) to help the local wine grow a bit more.
