Riesling and Barolo

Dinner at Tuscany by H.

2004 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese - smoky nose with minerals, petrol and lemon notes. It's a nice and easy wine to drink, with a slightly sweet palate like a Spätlese.

1996 E. Pira & Figli Barolo Cannubi - decanted and drank pretty well, with a fruity, strawberry nose that was a little stewed, with a bit of brett and distinctive forest notes. Still a little tannic on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

1999 horizontal

Dinner at Kimberley Chinese Restaurant.

2004 d'Auvenay Bourgogne Aligoté Sous Chatelet - very toasty nose like roasted corn, minerals, then giving way to something pungent akin to smelly armpits or BO... then it hits me...it's peepee de chat!

1966 Perrier-Jouët Blason de France - caramelized cane sugar, very much like Chinese drink of sugar cane and water chestnut (竹蔗馬蹄), honey, a bit plummy, toffee. Still some acidity left, but almost no bubbles left in this one. Delicious!

1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé - nose of vanilla, caramel and toffee.

1999 Bollinger Grande Année Rosé - very nice mousse, good acidity balance and it's not too sharp. Finish was a little bitter.

1999 Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Millésimé - I bought this in Reims on my second trip to France in May. Wonderful mousse, still very fresh and vibrant. Big, sweet nose with lemon notes. Wonderful on the palate.

1999 Comtes Lafon Meursault Perrieres 1er Cru - a bit of straw, minerals and sweet corn nose. Beautiful and ripe.

1999 Laville Haut-Brion - pretty sweet nose with flint, straw and a hint of corn. Palate was a bit ripe, and the finish was a bit acidic and spicy hot

1999 Faiveley Corton Clos des Cortons - I was disappointed in this bottle I brought. A couple of other friends had the same comment - this doesn't smell like Pinot Noir! Why are we pouring Bordeaux out from this Burgundian bottle?! Nose was very medicinal with brett, alcoholic, green peppers, eucalyptus...nothing says Pinot Noir or Burgundy. Still a bit tannic on the finish.

1999 Méo-Camuzet Corton Clos Rognet - beautiful nose, fruity, a bit minty, a bit of ripe prunes. Now THIS is a real Corton!

1999 Philippe Charlopin-Parizot Charmes-Chambertin - what a beautiful wine! Classic farmy nose and roast meats, with ripe fruit, orange, floral/violet notes.

2001 Armand Rousseau Chambertin - very elegant and light-bodied, with lots of orange and tangerine notes. Sweet and exotic. A lovely wine but completely different from what I expected.

1999 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Cerretalto - medicinal and brett nose, smoky and alcoholic with some fruit, grilled meats and eucalyptus notes. I decided to bring this so that it wasn't an all-Burg night for the reds.

1920 Cossart Gordon Malmsey - everyone raved about the last Madeira I brought, so I decided to bring another bottle tonight. Lots of orange marmalade, sweet vanilla, toffee, honeydew melon, caramel and nutty notes. Very, very sweet on the nose. Very lovely.

Full post on dinner is here.

1970 Veuve Cliquot Brut Reserve

1970 Veuve Cliquot Brut Reserve - drank over dinner at Bo Innovation.  I love old Champagne, and this bottle was no exception. Nose of caramelized sugar, brown cane sugar, orange marmalade and of course the Chinese salty plum (話梅). To be precise, it's salty plum that has been dipped into Shaoxing wine (紹興酒). Very fine bubbles and the wine was surprisingly sweet on the palate for a Champagne.

Full post on dinner is here.

2002 Kongsgaard Chardonnay

2002 Kongsgaard Chardonnay - drank over dinner at Gvsto. What a beautiful wine! This was probably the sweetest Chardonnay I can remember, with an explosive nose full of ripe honeydew melon, straw, lemon, sweet corn, butter, a bit of vanilla and some minerals. The color was a beautiful gold, and the wine was very ripe and sweet on the palate. No wonder Parker gave it 95 points...I whole-heartedly agree and probably would add a point or two on top.

Full post on dinner is here.

Mixed bag

Dinner at Sup 1.

1999 Leroy Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot - wonderful nose of minerals, toast oak...it was like toasted popcorn kernals. A beautiful wine.

1989 Charles Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux - farmy manure, grass, sweet fruit. Later sharp nose of nail polish remover and a bit smoky. A bit cloudy and very smooth on the palate. One of the last vintages before the domaine was split up between the brothers.

1995 Dom Pérignon Œnothèque - a very beautiful wine. Toasy and a bit yeasty, with notes of straw and sweetness. Very good acidity balance and very fine bubbles. I've never disliked a bottle of this wine. I got a big pour of this, and kinda got me buzzed early on.

1969 Perrier-Jouët Rose Extra Brut Reserve Cuvée - there's only one word to describe the nose - 話梅 - or Chinese salty plums. OK so maybe it also smells a bit like Fino Sherry, but it's salty plum all the way. There are no bubbles left by now.

2005 Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru - Wow! The nose was sooo sweet and sugary, like cane sugar or even Japanese black sugar (黒飴). It was a bit flat on the palate, though...

1993 Thomas Moillard Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de Thorey - alcoholic nose with sweet fruit notes and a bit minty.

1996 Sassicaia - I knew there'd be a lot of Burgs tonight so I brought something a bit different. Nose was sweet and a bit smoky. Smooth on the palate with a slightly acidic finish.

2000 Anne Gros Richebourg - nose was sweet with a bit of forest and kinda alcoholic. Still pretty full-bodied.

2003 La Feuilleraie - an unknown Pomerol, this was classic modern day Right Bank with smoke, toasty oak and sweet vanilla notes.

1979 Charles Heidsieck Brut - yeasty with sweet corn, a little salty with notes of salty plum (話梅).

1990 Henriot Cuvée des Enchanteleurs - toasty and yeasty.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Drawing Room

MNSC dinner at the Drawing Room, hosted by the Ox. Theme was 1975 horizontal.

Krug Grande Cuvée - trademark toasty oak and lemon citrus notes.

1975 Latour - nose of sweet fruit but also a little bit stewed at the same time. A little smoky and medium-full body. Not quite open. 93 points.

1975 Haut-Brion - tangerine and fruity, a bit smoky and slightly farmy. High alcohol. A beautiful wine. The nose completely changed with the second pour, as it was more muted and grassy, and a little chalky towards the end. 94 points.

1975 Cheval Blanc - sweet grass nose, green peppers and a bit of brett makes this a classic Left Bank claret - or so I thought... Sweet on the palate and even a bit "hot". 92 points.

1975 Vieux Chateau Certan - sweet and a bit grassy with a hint of orange. Finish was slightly tart but very long. 94 points.

1975 L'Evangile - nose was very sweet and a bit smoky. 95 points.

1975 La Fleur Petrus - very ripe, sweet and stewed fruits, with orange and smoky notes. Very gorgeous and my wine of the evening. 97 points.

As usual, we were way off on our guesses. We got the idea that the wines would be from the 1989 or 1990 vintage...and ended up being around 15 years off. The MNSC tradition continues!

1973 Yquem - a gorgeous wine with melon, orange marmalade, honey, acetone and plastic notes. Sweet but with a good acidity balance so it isn't just all sticky. From the birthday boy's birth vintage.

1985 Léoville-Las Cases - a classic claret with smoke and brett.

Full post on dinner is here.

2001 Antinori Pian delle Vigne

2001 Antinori Pian delle Vigne - drank over dinner at Yung Kee's VIP 4th floor.  Drank very well.

Full post on dinner is here.

Chard and Pinot

Dinner at Cepage.

1993 Marcassin Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard - initially the wine was on the warm side, but was already showing a beautiful nose of toasty oak, lemon citrus, flint, minerals, butter and sweet corn. The wine was ripe and mature on the palate, with a finish that was sweet and turned slightly bitter right at the end. After a bit of cooling down the wine was even better, showing very sweet nose like cotton candy, marshmellow and caramel. How I love old Chardonnays!

2004 Leroy Vosne-Romanée - as I mentioned before, 2004 was the extraordinary vintage when all Leroy wines were declassified, so what is being labeled as a village wine actually contained grapes from 1er cru as well as the grand cru vineyards of Richebourg and Romanée St. Vivant. The wine was just absolutely gorgeous! Loads of tangerine, sweet black cherries, grilled bacon and smoked meats in the nose. It was just so explosive and sweet...such a pleasure to drink. Despite being a very young wine, it's definitely accessible now. What else can I say other than "Wow"?

Full post on dinner is here.