I've been a fan of James Suckling since I started getting into wine over the past couple of years. He has a fantastic website and YouTube series that I've enjoyed watching and reading. After I finished my last meeting of the day, I headed up the Mid-Level Escalators in Hong Kong to the SOHO area.
Since I had to head to the airport for my flight at 11p, I wanted to be at the restaurant/wine bar right as it opened at 6p. To kill the bit of time I had before, I stopped by the neighboring Big Sur cafe and worked from their patio.
A nice healthy green juice before indulging in great wines.
Soon enough it was 6p and I headed upstairs at The Staunton Suites.
Walking in, I was greeted by none other than Marie-Kim Suckling, James' wife and partner for the restaurant/wine bar. She was incredibly friendly and welcoming, a great conversationalist and got us seated at the bar since we had a time limit for the airport. The restaurant and bar itself look fantastic and classy with modern and elegant architecture.
The restaurant part is adjacent and features these awesome wine bottle walls with some truly fantastic bottles.
Since I'd be on my SQ F flight in the not too distant future, I didn't want to drink or eat too much, but figured I'd give things a try. The wine list is great and everything could be had by the glass or even partial 50mL pours.
There was also an additional special menu from James' Great Wines of the World event held not too long before. This offered a fantastic opportunity to try a whole bunch of wines, I wish I could've spent the whole evening trying them. To the right of the special wines is the menu with Korean inspired fare.
While I waited for two friends to arrive, the friendly and helpful bartender had me start with the 2010 Chateau Giscours from Margaux. I absolutely loved this wine and it was drinking really well despite its relatively young age. The nose to me had dark fruits and cedar with a slight menthol finish. The body was rich and luscious with blackberries, cassis, blueberries, tobacco and smooth tannins. Loved this!
That was followed by the 2006 Rauzan-Segla also from Margaux. The nose was of dark fruits, cedar and a bit of floral to. The body was full with dark fruits, cassis, blackberries, cedar, smooth tannins, but also a bit closed since it was just from the Coravin. Was excited to continue to let it open up and see how it evolves since there's a lot in there.
My friends arrived from checking out Disneyland Hong Kong and we jumped straight into a few appetizers to share. We started off with the amazing fried chicken, simply put it was perfect with a Gochujang sauce.
We let the bartender pick several wines for us to sample from the list and next up was the 2013 Iscay from Argentina. It was full bodied, with a spice, dark and red fruits with powerful, yet smooth tannins. This was very tasty and will only get better with time.
The next appetizer was the amazing salmon rillettes. So fresh, tasty and with some gochujang paste, really nice play of savory and spicy.
The next wine was recommended for us to try by James personally as he walked by, the 2016 Sober Bash Krasnostop from Russia. This was a very powerful wine that is still an infant. A huge rich berry nose. Full bodied with dark fruit, blueberries, cassis and very powerful tannins. Personally a bit too powerful for me, but I'm sure in 10-20 years, it'd be amazing and in my drinking style.
Next up was the 2012 Sauska Cuvee 5 from Hungary. As a HUGE Hungarian wine fan (beyond the Tokaji's), this was super exciting to try. It was a deep and dark fruit drinking wine, but with a nice balance of oak and overall really nice to drink now.
The final appetizer we got were the clams. Simply put they were stunning and one of the best we've ever had.
For the final sample of the evening, we tried the 2012 Muga from Rioja. Classic Rioja with a spicy nose and palate, combo of dark and red fruits and solid oak to back it up with acidity rounding it out. A great way to cap off this brief stop.
Normally I don't ask for autographs or pictures, but my friends insisted we get a picture with James who was happy to oblige. I'm sure he's sick of it, but he was a good sport.
We had a great time and were super impressed with the wines and food. Can't wait to come back and spend more time and try more dishes. Even though they are technically only soft-opened, the food and wine were absolutely on point!
Trip links:
- Seoul
- Shantou
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