1993 La Mouline

Dinner at Les Amis in Singapore.

1993 Guigal La Mouline - decanted for some time before drinking.  It was very aromatic, and reminiscent of Guigal's Côtes-du-Rhône!  Very interesting.  The wine was smooth on the palate with nice, medium body, and soft tannins.  The nose had a distinct vanilla note.  Very nice and good for drinking now.

Bought from Oaks for SGD 204.

Seppelt wine tasting

Tasting of Seppelt wines at Indochine in Singapore.

Sat next to Ian Mackenzie, Chief Winemaker of Seppelt.

Seppelt Great Western Brut - this was OK.

Seppelt Chardonnay

1998 (?) Seppelt Pinot Noir - not bad, but still waaay too young.

1992 Seppelt Cabernet Sauvignon Dorrien Vineyard - this was sooooo good!  Amazing amount of fruit flavors, and smooth, chewy tannins.  Good amount of sweet fruit on the palate, with a long, nice finish.  A truly outstanding effort.  I had 3 glasses of this and was in heaven.

Seppelt Muscat - very good.

Phelps Mistral and Rosemount GSM

Dinner at Oaks in Singapore.

1997 Phelps Vin du Mistral Viognier - a bit disappointing, since it wasn't as floral and fresh as I expected it to be.  This tastes a lot like the Guigal Côtes-du-Rhône.

Bought at Oaks for SGD 68.

1996 Rosemount GSM - mmm... Pretty good indeed.  Definitely Rhône style, but much sweeter palate as is typical of New World wines.  Still a bit young so tannins were still a bit much, but a very good effort.

Bought at Oaks.

1994 Penfolds Koonunga Hill

Drinking at home.

1994 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

1994 Beaucastel and 1990 Lynch-Bages

Dinner at Plume.

1994 Beaucastel Rouge - wow!  Talk about explosions in your mouth... This was really forward, really sweet, wonderfully fruity nose.  Wow!  Yummy.

Bought from Manly for HKD 330.

1990 Lynch-Bages - decanted for an hour.  What a wine!  Super concentration of fruit.  Good levels of tannin without being too harsh.  Delicious to drink now.  I can't wait to drink the rest of my case over time.  No one wanted to drink Beaucastel after this one!

Bought from Remy for HKD 1,048.

Housewarming party

Housewarming party.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut - it was very good.

1995 Wolf Blass Cabernet Sauvignon Presidents Selection - didn't get to drink this...

1996 De Loach Zinfandel Platinum - blegh!  It had a synthetic cork, and it tasted awful!

Bought from Watson's for HKD 119.

1991 Jaboulet La Chapelle - decanted at the start of the party.  It was very good and consistent with the last tasting a few months ago, although less tannic.

Bought from Remy for HKD 308.

1992 Guigal La Landonne - I was very excited about opening the 92 La Landonne.  This was my first bottle of single vineyard Guigal.  I have lots in my collection but haven't drunk any.  I decanted this.  Pretty unique nose.  I suppose it's the "Asian spices" Parker was talking about.  Very nice.  Actually the tannins were OK, not that dense.  This was pretty yummy.

Bought from Tatung Atherton for TWD 6,430.

Alkoomi, Torreon de Paredes and Reignac

Dinner at brown.

1997 Alkoomi Cabernet Sauvignon - good body and structure.  Nice nose.  Berries, slightly sweet.  Fairly tannic since it's so young, but nice.  Sweet after taste.

Brought by wine merchant.

1995 Torreon de Paredes Reserve - this was opened along with the first bottle, and by now it had an awesome nose.  I took one whiff and it was "wow"!  Incredible how it opened up.  Very smooth and velvety tannins.  Good concentration with lots of sweet fruit.  Yum!

Brought by wine merchant.

1996 Reignac en demi-bouteille - the nose showed obvious signs of earthiness and vegetal character, something I usually don't like.  But overall it was OK, with good concentration.  Funny how you can always tell a Bordeaux Cab...

1992 Clerc Milon and 1993 Ridge

Dinner at Morton's in Hong Kong.

1992 Clerc Milon - smooth with good balance of tannin and acidity, but still no fruit left.  A bit of smoke.

Bought from Sinolink for HKD 308.

1993 Ridge Cabernet Santa Cruz Mountains - still very good, with enough fruity sweetness and concentration, and tannins are shedding as evidenced by sediment on the cork!

Bought from BBR for HKD 368.

1993 Pavillon Rouge

Dinner at Hunan Garden in Hong Kong.

1993 Pavillon Rouge de Chateau Margaux - this was alright.  OK.  Decent amount of fruit and concentration.

94 Louis Latour Vosne-Romanée

Drinking at home.

94 Louis Latour Vosne-Romanée - very diluted even for Pinot Noir.  High acidity level.  Nose of glycerin.  Kind of disappointing.

Bought from Remy for HKD 219.