For anyone who has read a few posts here on this blog, it is not news that my wife is Korean-American. Both of her parents were born in Korea, and they met after they both came to the U.S. to escape the Korean War. It should also be no surprise that I am currently in Korea, our first trip as a family to the country that means so much to my wife and her family.

In the days, weeks, months (and years) leading up to this maiden voyage to Korea for me and the two boys, I repeatedly was served up caveats by my mother-in-law, her brother, my wife’s sister, my wife, and the guy on the street corner who looked like he might be Belgian, that wine in Korea is 1) hard to come by, 2) very expensive, and 3) not very good at all.

What I found was pretty much contrary to those above assessments. Wine is relatively easy to find (they have some solid bottles in most convenience stores, although not much depth), the upper end wines are about the same price (or cheaper, thanks to a weak Korean Wan) as the U.S., and we found some really stellar wines while we were there.

So the moral of the story? Don’t listen to your in-laws! (I am not really serious there, as I have really lucked out when it comes to in-laws; they are all fantastic. But how could they have been so wrong?)

NV Devaux Champagne Cuvée D Brut, Champagne, France: Retail $65. 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay. Aged for at least 5 years on the lees. Founded by another widow, Claude-Joseph Devaux in 1843, Devaux is now one of the more respected cooperatives in Champagne, located in the Côte des Bar region. We were strolling around the Meyongdong neighborhood in Seoul, and I saw a couple of bottles of wine in a 7-11 window and went in to explore. After minimal searching, I found this in the back for ₩54,000 (about thirty-eight bucks). Yellow, almost golden in the glass, with oodles of yeastiness at the fore and plenty of golden apple to go along with it. The palate is tart, even quite tart, on the verge of too tart, but the yeastiness soon comes roaring in, firmly asserts itself, and dominates the proceedings through the finish. And that’s fine by me (and also suggests that this bottle had been on the shelf for a while). In a country where I had been told repeatedly that wine was really scarce and near-prohibitively expensive, this champagne would like a word. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Devaux Champagne Blanc de Blancs, Champagne, France: Retail $70. 100% Chardonnay. ₩69,000 in a 7-11. I was in Korea with the family and everyone in my wife’s family (everyone) had been telling me how expensive and rare “good wine” was in the country. Well, at a random 7-11 in the capital, I found a Deveaux Brut for just under forty bucks (₩56,000–see above). And it was fabulous. So I went back for another bottle, and I found this BdB for about ten bucks more. So I went for it. Tons of lemon rind and yeastiness on the nose and quite tart, even extremely tart, on the palate right from the jump. With tons of that lemon zinginess and equal amounts of baked croissant. It is fairly austere, which isn’t a bad thing in any way, but it could use some food, for sure. Still, it’s pretty darned fantastic. Excellent. 92 Points.

2008 Duval-Leroy Champagne Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Brut, Champagne, France: Restaurant $125. Retail $110. Korean wine shop: ￦168,000 (US$110). 100% Chardonnay. Well, here we go again. I was told repeatedly by my wife, her sister, and my mother-in-law that I should not expect to drink any wine in Korea since a) it was really hard to come by and b) it was really, really expensive. Well, in Busan, in our hotel lobby, this beauty, from one of the greatest vintages in recent memor was at its suggested US retail, sooooo, how do I tell the three prominent Korean women in my life that they, um, were, um, wrong? Never mind. I’ll just do it the Korean way and never mention it again. As for the wine? Yeah, gangbusters. I had this in Houston on my birthday about a year ago and we loved it then (94 Points), but now, in Busan, South Korea, on the beach with the city skyline looming out of our beachfront hotel window? Yeah. Giddy-up. The nose is loaded with yeastiness, lemon rind, and green apple, with verve oozing out from every pore. The palate is tart, even quite tart, with all that citrus and tart apple at the fore. The yeasty goodness come in just before the mid-palate and hits as if you were suddenly thrust into a Parisian bakery. Whoa. And then there is the finish. While I have had longer finishes with bottles of champagne, few have been as intense as this beauty from Duval-Leroy. I am sure context is playing a huge role here, but I am bumping this up a couple of notches. Outstanding. 96 Points.

NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Brut, Champagne, France: Retail $50-75. Extremely Heavy Bottle (830g; 29.2oz). Chardonnay +50%, Pinot Noir 30-35%, Meunier 10-15%. Dosage: 8-9 g/l. 4 years on lees. This was also in our little hotel wineshop in Busan for ￦68,000 (about $45), so I just had to get it. Brilliant straw to yellow in the glass with plenty of a lemon-lime fruit mélange at the fore and a fine, fervent, and festive sparkle. Behind that citrus magic is a healthy dose of vanilla meringue and fresh-baked brioche. There is also a decided salty aspect, not quite ocean air, but more of a salted caramel. The floor side is represented as well, with a subtle dose of white hyacinth and a touch of golden marigold. Close to a Whoa. The palate is tart, even quite tart, but also lithe, both thanks to the predominance of Chardonnay, no doubt. That salinity comes through on the mid-palate, along with a healthy shot of citrus. The finish remains tart, but the autolytic component also makes an appearance, balancing out the healthy acidity. In my opinion? Even though this wine is meant to be consumed upon release, it could benefit from 2-5 years of cellar time as I feel Chardonnay-dominant champagnes need a bit of time to settle down. Still? This is a solid NV Brut, from one of Champagne’s Grandes Maisons, Excellent. 91 Points.