Certified Sommelier Miguel Chan, has posted tasting comments for Pjazza Regina red and white on his wine journal, after receiving unsolicited samples of the wine from a acquaintance of his. He writes “It was my initiation to Maltese wines, courtesy of Hugo Van Zyl, thank you for bringing the samples over; there is always something to learn”.

Extracts from his tasting notes for 2009 Pjazza Regina white are “Clear, bright, straw with lemon yellow rim, medium concentration” for the wine’s appearance. On the nose he describes it as “Clean, medium intensity with notes of lime, apples and hints of white peach, whilst on the palate he says “ Dry, medium acidity with new flavours of yellow apples and quince with medium length”. He goes on to recommend that the wine be drunk up until 2013 and that it should be “served chilled at about 10 degrees Celsius with grilled baby octopus, marinated in garlic, olive oil and capers”.

His tasting notes for the 2009 Pjazza Regina red mention the following comments relating to the wine’s appearance “Clear, bright, ruby cherry red with slight purple rim, medium concentration”. On the nose he describes it as “Clean with medium plus intensity of ripe plums, cherries and hints of currents”. On the palate he describes it as “Dry with low tannins and new flavours of cherry pip with a slight vegetal note with a fair length”. Again he recommends the wine be drunk between now and 2013.

Miguel Chan was born in Mauritius but has been living in South Africa since 2003. In 2007 he was South Africa’s Young Sommelier of the Year. He is now a Certified Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers and is a taster and writer for the famous Platter South African Wine Guide for both the 2010 and 2011 editions.

Note: One comment made by Mr. Chan states that no grape varieties or blends were specified on the wine, which is not the case for Pjazza Regina 75cl bottles. We can only therefore assume that these tasting notes were given for the quarter bottles of Pjazza Regina, which only carry one small front label and omit the grape varieties due to lack of space once all the legal requirements and branding have gone on.