The Unadulterated PURO @REXKL

Once upon a blogging lifetime ago, we met a guy, in the wine distributing industry, at a famous annual wine tasting event in KL. He has over the course of time not only become a good friend but also someone whom we’ve kept in touch with, and is our go to for good wine recommendations. Juxtapose to the current 2020 KL, our buddy Tan Meng How and partners, launched PURO, early this year.

Ye ‘ole Rex Cinema .. this slumbering giant’s past, dormant energy still gives me goosebumps… 

The location REXKL. In its heyday, Rex Cinema on Petaling street was the place folks would journey to for a night out to the movies. It sat close to 1,300 people if it was a full house night, and if you ask your parents they could tell you how the build up and excitement surrounding a night out on the town, starting with movie night at Rex Cinema was a palpable thing. If they spoke about Rex cinema, they would most likely go on to talk about the nostalgic memories of lining up to buy a physical and tangible movie docket, trying not to sweat queuing to get snacks and drinks to impress their hot date for the night, before entering the main hall via heavy curtains to look for their seats, and a shared experience of watching films with the rest of movie going KL-lites. That was the old glamour of our movie community right here in KL.

“So much feels ” ,  as one would say. 

We enter your courts, once more..  you cleaned up nice.. 

This of course, is now a thing of the past no thanks to our current pandemic. But we move on. Since the original Rex burned down in the 1970s, rebuilt and went on to operate for 25 years before finally ceasing operations in 2002, it now sees a rebirth of cool –  simply known as REXKL. Eclectic pop-up retail, quirky bars and restaurants come to mind.. and a formidable event space to be reckoned with, once these tough times come to an end..  we are immediately taken with the unpolished, unapologetic vibe of the place. 

me, doing the thing that I do best 😉

This is as powerful a home as any for PURO to set up shop, and what a cool shop it is. PURO is all about bringing the experience of drinking  organic, natural, and biodynamic wines at affordable prices to wine appreciators. Natural wines by the way, are one of the oldest ways that wines are made (with no preservatives and chemicals whatsoever) Generally, natural wines contain no chemical additives, from growing the fruit all the way to the fermentation, blending, and bottling process. They taste lighter and more natural than fermented wines – something you will want to get used to for sure. 

Wines served via Coravin stay fresh longer

You would come here, for the sheer selection of non mainstream wines – Orange by the glass, wines served via Coravin.. and don’t even get us started on the Beaujolais Nouveau… 

Orange wine, also known as skin-contact white wine, skin-fermented white wine, or amber wine, is a type of wine made from white wine grapes where the grape skins are not removed, as in typical white wine production, and stay in contact with the juice for days or even months.

Ah.. the Beaujolais Nouveau – a vintage meant to be fun and drunk right away. A wine of this vintage, fresh as the memory of harvest and raw as the experience of the year, unpolished by time, a reflection of the emotion of the moment.

This style of wine is called nouveau. The best known is Beaujolais Nouveau, released on the third Thursday of November. Beaujolais nouveau is typically made by a technique called carbonic maceration, in which the grapes (the red gamay in beaujolais) are put in a tank with carbon dioxide to exclude oxygen. The intact grapes ferment on the inside, eventually bursting and producing effusively fruity aromas and flavors. The technique and the resulting wines are not subtle. Beaujolais nouveau tends to taste distinctively of banana. Subtlety is not the point — fun and celebration are. And you know, with the world going up in flames and all the shit we’ve had to deal with this year, God knows we could all do with a little bit of fun and celebration.

Alongside this, there’s also a classy and purposefully picked selection of wines by the glass – definitely something for everybody. Every wine here is almost like an individual, and every wine has its story, if you just care to sit and listen, and contemplate the chemical reaction going on in your palate, you might get to know each one a little more intimately. 

See you at PURO. There’s a chair there even, with my name on it. And you know, time is on my side. 

PURO KL

Address: 80, Jalan Sultan, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Tel :+6019-791 1919