1995 Climens

Drinking at home.

1995 Climens, en demi-bouteille - how amazing! This was just like Mondavi's botrytis! Huge nose of sweet honeydew! glycerin, honey, walnut, apricot. Wow! Didn't expect Sauternes to be this big! Wow, what a great deal!

Bought from Watson's for HKD 259.

98 Caymus Conundrum

Dinner at home.

1998 Caymus Conundrum - very good considering the price. A bit sweet on the palate. Minerals, pear, citrus. Very crisp and nice. A very good buy.

Bought from Remy for HKD 239.

1976 Rousseau Clos de Beze

Dinner at La Tour d'Argent in Paris.

1976 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze

EUR 445 on the restaurant wine list.

1995 Gosset Celebris

Dinner at Les Crayères in Reims.

1995 Gosset Celebris

EUR 75 on the restaurant wine list.

1998 Jacques Arbon

Dinner at Guy Savoy in Paris.

1998 Jacques Arbon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret

EUR 230 from the restaurant wine list.

1988 Rousseau Chambertin

Dinner at Arpege in Paris.

1988 Armand Rousseau Chambertin

EUR 183 on the restaurant wine list.

94 Dujac

Dinner at Mirabelle in London.

1994 Dujac Clos Saint-Denis - not bad at all. Very good nose and smooth. Drinking very well for a poor vintage year.

Bought from the restaurant for GBP 160. Not cheap.

MNSC dinner - Nicholini's

MNSC dinner at Nicholini's. Theme was Barolos and Barbarescos.

1990 Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala - have to say that in general I was not a fan of these traditional style Barolos. Acidity was too high for me. The wines were decent but none struck me as "wow". I'll stick to Gaja in the future.

Bought from Vinum.

91 Bin 707

Dinner at One Harbour Road.

1991 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 - very powerful, sweet fruit, oak, coconut, vanilla. Very good stuff.

Bought from Farr Vintners for GBP 42.

97 Clos Apalta

Dinner at Annexx.

1997 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta - pretty nice. Nose of caramel, coconut, mocha, strawberry. Very New World and forward. Very Michel Rolland. Acidity was a bit high, still very young so full-bodied and there was a good amount of tannins. But surprisingly lots of sediment here.

Bought from Shinanoya for JPY 7,350.

La Mouline and Pride

Dinner at Cinecitta.

1983 Guigal La Mouline - nose was wonderfully explosive, with bacon fat, game meats, nutmeg, with sweet fruit. Really amazing. After a while glycerin started to show in the nose. With an open decanter, the wine started to fade after 2½ hours. Very nice, and a great wine until it fell apart.

Bought from Vinum for SGD 660.

1998 Pride Mountain Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - wow! Typical Californian, with loads of sweet, ripe fruit. Alcohol levels high thanks to the ripeness. Very concentrated, full-bodied with firm tannins, but fairly drinkable. Color is ink black. Nose also had lots of strawberry cotton candy and caramel. Pretty good stuff.