My first two great bottles of Sauternes were with the late Barry Burton. I was a new arrival in Hong Kong in early 1994, and my wine-savvy girlfriend, Rita Lim, introduced me to her circle of wine friends and private tasting groups. This included the Hong Kong Wine Society, which was, and remains, the most active blind-tasting group in Hong Kong.
Burton was the chairman of the society from 1983 onwards as well as being inducted as a regent of the Hong Kong chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux in 1989. He knew everyone there was to know in the world of wine, and everyone knew him. In June 2000, Decanter wrote a story about 10 people who spearheaded the dramatic Asian wine boom, and he was at the top of its list.
Burton was interested in anyone (but especially women) who showed a real enthusiasm for wine. Not long after I met him, Burton invited me to a lunch with his 'wine mates'. The four of us drank three bottles over lunch: a 1984 Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne, a 1988 Rayas and a 1990 Rayas. It was a lunch of many firsts - my first Rayas with two great vintages that left me in awe, even though both were incredibly young, and my first La Landonne, which blew me away from the first sip.
By the time dessert came around, Burton was in the mood for a sweet wine, and he opened the gorgeous 1983 Chateau Rieussec. 'Pure creme caramel on the palate, sweet honey notes but not heavy,' I scribbled furiously in my notebook. 'An amazing sweet wine.'
'If you think that's good,' said Burton, 'then try this.' He opened the 1980 Yquem.
This was my very first taste of Yquem, and the bottle for me was sheer poetry. I had never tasted a sweet wine with such complexity, elegance and depth. I learned later that it was not a great year for Sauternes and not one of the best for Yquem, but I found magic in that bottle.
Burton was often testing me and would shove wines under my nose and say, 'What do you think that is? Come on, it's obvious.' As I learned to broaden my wine horizons and build a solid palate memory for wines, Burton was often around to encourage, challenge or just to share my discoveries.