The Sitrep: An 'affordable' cult Burgundy, Zhang Yimou, and patents in the watch world
A fortnightly dose of erstwhile cultural recommendations including articles, music, pint-sized wine 'reviews' and more...
Having managed to extricate myself from the Hadron Collider of procrastination that is Clubhouse (tl;dr — the conceit of a chatroom-based social media app is as fraught as it is exciting) I thought now would be a good time to compile the inaugural ‘Sitrep’ feature: a laundry list of ephemera I’ve enjoyed consuming over the past fortnight, be it a thoroughly engrossing read or (*Frank Ocean croon*) glass of wine I can’t pronounce.
Admittedly, Coda is still very much a work-in-progress, which means that in subsequent instalments of ‘The Sitrep’, the exact distribution of recommendations is up for change. Hopefully though, always with an eye toward a balanced menu. Bon appétit.
Editor’s Desk: Articles worth seeking out
China’s Winemakers Seek Their Own Napa Valley
Written by Jane Sasseen and published by The Times international business section in 2015, this feature gives a solid overview of many of the important players operating in the Chinese wine market — by most accounts, estimated to be the 4th biggest in the world and counting.
In the interest of conciseness, Sasseen chooses (I think, quite wisely) to limit her reportage to Ningxia — a vast, arid region in China’s northwest that has frequently been likened to Napa. Delving further into the article, it’s clear the comparison isn’t literal so much as it is thematic: a recognition of Ningxia’s vast confluence of money, talent, and vinicultural infrastructure.
Though Sasseen’s findings are now over half a decade old, she exposes us at length to personalities who remain critical for anyone trying to make sense of China’s burgeoning wine industry. We are introduced to Calon-Ségur alumni Emma Gao, whose family have been planting vines near the regional capital of Yinchuan since the late 1980s; Möet’s local estate director, Mr. Shen Yang; and a host of other characters who bring Western training and global perspective to an industry that was more or less unheard of up to a decade ago. But experts, a growing number from abroad it seems, are thirsty to know more.
Insight: Patents in Watchmaking
Social media and my brief (but all too inane) experience in the legal profession rarely converge, but that’s precisely what occurred last week when I saw this deep-dive on Instagram, as recommended by Edinburgh Timepieces. The article is the handiwork of Owen Lawton: a material sciences student at Oxford University who has put together an impressive primer on how the concept of intellectual property works within the world of watchmaking.
To begin, Lawton sets out the few basic criteria that need to be satisfied in order for technology and marketing concepts in the watch industry to be accorded legal protection. To better illustrate his point, a number of prominent real-world examples are cited: the co-axial escapement (popularised yet no longer patented by Omega); the LIGA drive wheel employed in Rolex’s calibre 4130; the U.S. trademark dispute that eventually devolved into Hamilton International Ltd. v Vortic LLC and so forth.
My personal feeling, after re-reading the article, is that Lawton is generally satisfied with the watch industry’s current regime for promulgating and protecting IPs. As he himself puts it:
“The use of patents…spurs research and typically results in better watches, albeit in subtle ways. It is often the case that patent law, applied to an invention, is an incremental innovation hardly discernible to the consumer…even if they are invisible to the average buyer – the cal. 4130 is a good example – such innovations do result in tangible, if discreet, improvements in a watch that deserve praise.”
Track attack
‘The Decade Mix’: 1972-1982
Props to Felix Scholz (of Revolution and OT: The Podcast fame) for this one. Just quickly, so you can get to putting on the proverbial cans and giving it a listen, this playlist is part of a series curated for Aussie national radio by the Sydney-based electronica duo Flight Facilities.
Beginning in 1972, the duo explore '“40 years of music, across a multitude of genres” in the format of five hour-long mixtapes. As you can imagine, the first ‘decade’ (1972-1982) is heavy on disco, funk and plastic soul — just the pick-me-up you need in this bleak, socially distanced reality we’ve grown accustomed to.
Pint-sized: Short and sweet drinks recommendations, delivered to your inbox once a fortnight
2017 Domaine Joseph Roty, Gevrey-Chambertin (Côte de Nuits, Joseph & Philippe Roty)
The subjectivity around fine wine (in my experience, perhaps none moreso than Burgundy) can make it hard to find crowd pleasers that also manage to tickle that sweet spot between price and approachability. That a HK$500 cru manages to do this is nothing short of impressive: sufficiently so that I abandoned my original idea to write about the legendary nebbiolo of Bruno Giacosa (I have notes!) in order to give Joseph Roty further air time.
Made using fruit from four parcels in Gevrey-Chambertin (the haughtiest wine-producing village of the Côte de Nuits), this 100% Pinot Noir benefits from Roty’s “exuberantly fruity” style, commonly alluded to when discussing the domaine’s cultishly followed Grand Cru releases from Charmes-Chambertin. Ageing is conducted in new oak barrels for 15 months, and bottling occurs without fining or filtration.
Drunk amidst a party of four, all in attendance agreed that the 2017 managed the difficult task of being full-bodied, supportive in tannin structure, yet at the same time fresh enough to keep the entire drinking experience lively. Personally, I really enjoyed the ebb and flow of the tannins: there was a cleanness (perhaps ‘finesse’ is the right word?) present that I usually associate with really good grower Pinot, and I’m already looking forward to tasting again.
Fluff: Cherry; blackcurrant; kirsch; on the aromatic front, a little wet soil
Drink or hold: Honestly? Either.
Pair this with: A sense of humour. Burghounds are already serious enough as it is.
“Home is where the muse is”
Coming Home (2014)
Though best known to audiences in the West (especially those my age) for turgid, splashy epics like The Great Wall and House of Flying Daggers, it’s easy to forget that throughout the 90s — along with a handful of other luminaries of the Beijing Film Academy — director Zhang Yimou was considered a nucleic force in the resurgence of Chinese cinema. His films, to me, have oscillated wildly in tone and creative merit over the years, but Coming Home (2014) — only his second collaboration with internationally acclaimed actress Gong Li in 20 years — is a powerful echo of the string of collaborations the duo worked on through the 80s and 90s.
For old hands of Chinese cinema, none of the film’s basic elements will feel particularly novel: it’s sparsely plotted, the core cast is comprised of just three characters, and most of the drama unfolds during and in the immediate aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. But to confuse this modest scope for a lack of imagination would be a disservice, as Zhang wields his quiet (often to the point of muted) examination of a family shattered by sociopolitical turmoil like a mirror — held up to the face of modern Chinese society. Critic Peter Sobcyznski put it best I think:
“What this film may lack in visual flamboyance, it more than makes up for in telling its simple and direct story with raw, emotional power that doesn’t need lavish spectacle in order to get its point across.”
Styleternity Coda is a regular newsletter principally covering horology, wine & spirits, and various other disciplines that muddy the waters of craft with artistic inspiration.
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