1997 La Strada Pinot Noir Reserve

1997 La Strada Pinot Noir Reserve - pretty bad when first opened.  Really strong, alcoholic nose (14%!) that was sharp and like gasoline.  Took a long time to open up and soften, gradually fruit emerged, but this was nevera good bottle of wine.  Won't be buying this again.

1996 Syrah vs Shiraz

Dinner at Cine Citta.

1996 Kay Brothers Amery Shiraz Block 6 - I guessed it was a Californian Syrah, since it had the leather and game meat nose of Syrah but nose was too sweet to be Rhône.  Thought it was overpriced although it was a very good wine.

1996 Tardieu-Laurent Côte-Rôtie - nose was so typical Côte-Rôtie, especially like Guigal.  Amazingly perfumed nose of lavender, rose, stewed prunes, bacon fat, leather.  Wonderful stuff.  A bit light in body compared to the Block 6.

MNSC Dinner - 1982 Super-Seconds

MNSC Dinner at Golden Leaf.  Theme was 1982 Bordeaux Super-Seconds.

1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou - this was just like the last few bottles I had - relatively flat and unexciting.  Nose of sweet grass, medium-bodied.  After a long time, it opened up and was a bit better, more fruit in the nose.

1982 Léoville-Las Cases - this was much better and my favorite of the night.  Nose of jammy plum, coconut, with a hint of straw, and smoke/tobacco.  Full-bodied.  Very nice, but none of us felt that this deserved 100 points.

1982 Cos d'Estournel - this wasn't bad and well-received.  Nose of sweet berries, moss, pepper, smoke and veggies.  Pretty good but not as good as what we had at the Cos dinner.

1982 Pichon-Lalande - this was a bit acidic at first, especially when drunk with food, producing a sour after palate.  After a bit of time, became very fruity, also a bit of mint in the nose.  Pretty good, but again, not worth of "100".

1982 Gruaud-Larose - this was OK, but bad.  Nose of Chinese medicine, leather and smoked meats dominate.

1974 Gaja Barbaresco

1974 Gaja Barbaresco - drank at Grissini's.  This was pretty good.  Nose was very sweet and fruity, and pretty youthful and powerful.  Acidity was relatively high as expected, but not distracting.  Definitely worth buying.

Dinner at Brian's

Dinner at Brian's in Tokyo.

1983 Salon - really awesome stuff!  Nose of caramel was immediately apparent, plus yeast, sugar, honey, minerals and pineapple.  Even long after the wine was gone, the perfume remaining in the glass was wonderful and lingered.

1964 Leroy Echezeaux - Wow!  What else can be said about this wine?  Quite simply the best Burgundy I ever had, on par with the '70 La Tâche.  Powerful nose of cinnamon, leather saddle.  Amazingly sweet and still vibrant at the ripe old age of 38!  Need to get my hands on more of this wine!

Bought from Eslite for TWD 12,375.

1992 Kistler Cuvée Catherine - very powerful and sharp, a little too young at age 10!  Nose of mint, leaves, cherry, lead, plus gasoline, alcohol content was a bit high.  Has great potential and will improve with another 10 years!

1993 Harlan - unfortunately this proved to be disappointing.  It showed like a Bordeaux, like the last bottle of '93.  However there really wasn't much fruit, but rather earth, minerals and lead in the nose.  Maybe the wine had been decanted too long?  Hmmm...  It was better one year ago!

Bought from Vinum for SGD 600.

1992 Dalla Valle Maya - this was also disappointing, since it was 100 points.  Fruit was fairly faded and unimpressive, except for the roasted macadamia nuts (!)

The crowd favorite of the evening was the '64 Leroy.

MNSC Dinner - 1982 non-First, non-Super Second Left Bank

1982 Pichon Baron - sweet nose, with stewed prunes, ripe fruits, smoke, cedar and grass notes.  Pretty long finish.  Very good stuff.

1982 Montrose - very sweet and fruity nose, with heavy overtones of earth and minerals.

1982 Grand-Puy-Lacoste - nose of sweet red fruits, sweet grass and green veggies.  A bit disappointing.

1982 La Lagune - opened with nose of earth and "shit", but improved dramatically when opened up.

1982 Lynch-Bages - good with a sweet nose.  Overall very good... classic Bordeaux.

My favorite wines were the La Lagune followed by the Lynch-Bages.

1995 Carbonnieux

Dinner at Plats.

1995 Carbonnieux - this put all of our other wines to shame... Pretty good stuff!

1995 Philip Togni

Dinner at Brasserie on the Eighth.

1995 Philip Togni - drank at Brasserie on the Eighth.  The nose continues to be very sweet and powerful, but not as much of a fruit bomb as I remember.  A bit more acidic, I think, than past tastings.  Pretty good effort!

Bought from Vinum for SGD 137.

1993 Guigal La Turque

Drank over dinner with family.

1993 Guigal La Turque - surprisingly good given the poor vintage, but that's a testament to Guigal's quality.  Throughout the night the perfumed nose was very powerful, with classic Côte-Rotie nose of strewed prunes, floral, lavender stemming from the Viognier.

Bought from Oaks for SGD 204.