Breaking news: Wine scores above 100 points in China. Plus, where to get a Goliath of Run Rig

By Jim Boyce

Call it destiny. As the speed of sound was broken, as the Berlin Wall came down, as the time for the 100-meter dash dipped below 10 seconds, seemingly insurmountable barriers are eventually overcome.

So, too, with the 100-point wine score. Long seen by some as epitomizing the acme of wine excellence, a tiny outfit called Wine Shop Asia has done that acme one point — and at times five points — better.

“If we like the label and the bottle, we give extra points,” says Patricio de la Fuente-Saez, owner of Links Concept, the company behind Wine Shop Asia, when explaining why some of his wines have over 100 points. “Parker plus three points is our unofficial rating system!” he adds.*

Beyond the point system, the website also answers that age-old question: “Where in Hong Kong can I get a goliath of Torbreck RunRig“.

We’ve all been there. Hosting a dinner party for three dozen people, running short on time, thinking, “It’d so much easier to open just one bottle of wine instead of 30 or 40”. Enter that 27-liter Run Rig. And at less than HKD500,000, there is money left over to treat your guests to taxis home.

For smaller gatherings, consider a melchior (18 liters) of RunRig, a jeroboam (three liters) of Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey Grand Cru or a simple magnum of Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay.

Wine Shop Asia also sells standard-sized bottles. At the moment, they are from the Links Concept portfolio, but de la Fuente-Saez says he plans to add products from other distributors. Hopefully, delivery is also soon available beyond Hong Kong.

* He also added that the 100-plus point is simply the company’s way of having a bit of fun with scoring systems.

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