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Photo: Clement Goh
From Singapore’s independence, a royal wedding to birthdays, Nicola Lee, managing director of real estate investment company Malayan International Corporation, marks these milestone events by collecting wines that boast symbolic vintages.
Prized bottles in her vast collection of over 8,000 wines include a Dom Pérignon Royal Wedding Cuvée 1961, which was specially bottled to mark the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, and a Champagne Bollinger 1945, which boasts a vintage that coincides with the year that marked the end of World War II.
She also collects vintages that mark the birthyears of her family and friends and celebrates birthdays by opening these bottles.
The 52-year-old says: “I look out for wines bottled for significant events or to mark symbolic. Even though the quality of the wine has plateaued, I am interested in tasting something made in a different time with a different climate and terroir — it is like tasting a time capsule.”
These much-cherished bottles are housed in a walk-in cellar in a separate unit of a condominium that her company built and manages. The 150 sq ft cellar is crammed with floor-to-ceiling shelves of wines and other tipples. Her “Europe- and French-centric” collection mainly revolves around Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne and also includes Italian, American, and English sparkling wines.
“I look out for wines bottled for significant events or to mark symbolic. Even though the quality of the wine has plateaued, I am interested in tasting something made in a different time with a different climate and terroir — it is like tasting a time capsule.”– Nicola Lee
Photo: Clement Goh
Lee’s wine library is organised by region and arranged according to the drinkability of wines in the cellar, which is maintained at around 13 deg C all year round. Wines ripe for drinking are placed in the middle rows at eye level, while those with more ageing potential reside on the top and bottom shelves. Stacks of wooden crates of more wine and champagne spill from the crammed shelves.
Looking somewhat relieved that her cellar is in order, she divulges that she enlisted the help of a sommelier friend to organise the space a day before this photo shoot and interview.
She reveals with a sheepish grin: “Every wine collector has the same problem — there isn’t enough space. I purchase wines when something interesting comes up. It was particularly bad during Covid when there was little to do, and everyone was busy shopping online.”
Spotted in the cellar are a wide selection of Domaine Armand Rousseau, including some of its emblematic Grand Crus, Domaine Coche-Dury wines, including the Meursault Les Perrieres 1er Cru, and Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru. Hidden in the corners are a jeroboam of Charles Heidsieck Brut 1989 and Champagne Bollinger La Grande Année 1989 magnum.
Lee, who is also the ambassador of the Singapore chapter of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, is an avid champagne lover. About half of her repository comprises bubblies, including her sentimental favourites like Champagne Bollinger, Champagne Taittinger, and Champagne Pol Roger.
She reflects: “My wine collection represents my life journey and interests. I only collect wines that resonate with me — whether it is a wine-maker I admire or a winery I have visited that symbolises something to me.”
Her wine collection also spans three wine fridges (that store single or unique bottles), a warehouse unit here and in London, where she stores her Bordeaux wines for around 20 years before shipping them here. She says: “I like aged Bordeaux. Those from a stronger vintage can be aged longer — I’ve opened a few 2005 wines, which are very approachable and am deciding if they can be brought here. I enjoy the tertiary notes of a classic Bordeaux, such as mushroom, cigar, leather and cedar wood.”
Inspired by dad
Lee’s interest in wine was sparked by her late father, a wine collector and gourmand. Growing up, she fondly remembers bonding over weekend meals with him, where “a bottle of wine was brought out”. Calling him a “catalyst” to her wine-collecting hobby, which started in 1999, Lee’s career is intertwined with Singapore’s food and hospitality scene.
Photo: Clement Goh
Inspired by travels with her family, she knew that “working in the food and beverage industry was a skill that she could travel the world with”. In the late 1980s, she opted for an unconventional route to study at Shatec, where she graduated with a national trade certificate in food and beverage service and made lifelong friends.
She says: “The course was very practical-driven — from serving dishes, washing, food preparation, menu design, to learning more about wine, which further enhanced my knowledge of it.”
Armed with a degree in hotel management, she cut her teeth working in F&B operations and training at Regent Hotel for eight years, followed by another eight-year stint as an adjunct hospitality and tourism lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic.
Last July, she had a “full circle moment” when she was appointed Academy Chair, South-East Asia (South) by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, an esteemed ranking of restaurants in the region. Lee selects a voting panel that includes chefs, restaurateurs, journalists, and foodies, who come under her purview.
Over the past year, she has been on monthly dining trips to three other countries under her purview: Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. There, she ate her way through heritage and fine-dining restaurants to better understand the region’s diverse cuisines.
Coupled with her work experiences, these trips have equipped her with a deep understanding of the F&B industry’s ecosystem and the challenges that chefs face. She says: “I see myself as an agent for the industry — listening to chefs, sharing on-the-ground feedback and observations and finding ways to uplift the industry.”
A passion for wine and food
Lee’s passion for wine has also enabled her to better appreciate and evaluate the food and dining experiences at restaurants. She elaborates: “My wine knowledge has helped me appreciate balance in flavour profiles and acidity and broadened my palate. My trips to the wine country have also opened my eyes to wine-making and pairing wines with local food in the vineyards.”
Travelling has also been a way for Lee to keep a pulse on wine developments and add bottles to her sprawling collection. In August, she travelled to vineyards in China, including Grace Vineyards in Shanxi and Silver Heights in Ningxia. Charmed by the level of enthusiasm from the wine-makers in embracing viticulture, she was also impressed by the potential for improvement in the quality of wines, such as petit manseng and pinot noir.
Lee reflects on what keeps her flame for wine-collecting alive: “It is a nice connection to the past — it reminds me of my father, and wine represents friendships. Many of my friends are wine lovers, and whenever we meet over the past 20 years, we bond through food and wine.”
She adds: “I am also fascinated by how wine-makers are like maestros with what they can produce with the terroir and how the taste of wines can evolve over time.”
Collector’s Picks
Nicola Lee selects three significant wines from her cellar.
1. Dom Pérignon Royal Wedding Cuvée 1961
Dom Perignon released this champagne to commemorate the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales. It is a 1961 vintage, which was disgorged and specially rebottled for the occasion, making it extra special.
2. Champagne Salon and Taylor’s Port 1985 Box Set
This champagne and port box set, packed by British wine merchant Corney & Barrow, was one of the earliest buys I made in 2001. This box set marks the perfect start of a meal with champagne and ending it with port.
3. Domaine Coche-Dury Collection
This famous white winemaker from Meursault in Burgundy is possibly one of the best wine-makers in the world. He is very famous for a very exclusive Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, which is very hard to find and rightfully expensive. I have been collecting Domaine Coche-Dury wines whenever I could find them, from Grand Cru, Premier Cru to Villages.
Today, I have quite a sizable collection, and Domaine Coche-Dury has continued to make stellar wines with recognition given to even his village wines. If you have the right winemaker who is talented, you don’t need to buy the Grand Crus. You can enjoy great value for your money by drinking a village wine.
