Red, white and pink

Dinner at a friend's house

2000 Philipponnat Rosé Cuvée "1522" - pretty disappointing.  Nose was virtually non-existent, with just some red fruits on the palate.

2009 Donnafugata Vigna di Gabri - very ripe and alcoholic.  Pretty nice and aromatic, with metallic notes and lots of toast and minerals.

1989 Lafite-Rothschild - decanted for 2½ hours prior to drinking.  Mineral, salty, soy sauce, smoky.  Very open and beautiful.  Opened up more with time, showing lovely black fruits and eventually lead pencil.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wines for cheese

Cheese dinner at Caprice.

2006 Willi Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben - a little mineral, ripe, muscat grape on the nose.  Sweet with saucisson, but not so good with jamón ibérico.

2009 Michel Bouzereau Meursault Les Tessons - rich and round on the palate, very smooth.  Somehow lacking that heavy toast and mineral nose I associate with Meursault.

2010 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage - more of that lovely, familiar nose of mint, minerals, violet and pine forest.  Still a little sharp on the nose, and definitely needed a lot of aeration time.  Infanticide.

Full post on dinner is here.

A couple of young ones

Drinks at Watson's Wine Cellar.

Vouette & Sorbée Blanc d'Argile Extra Brut (vintage unknown) - very high acidity.  Not my type.

2007 Troplong Mondot - not bad for what it is, but a little young.  Lots of dried herbs and forest notes.

4 French regions + Cali monster

Dinner at The Coterie.

1990 Pol Roger - nose was oxidized and "my kind of shit".  Salty plum (話梅), mineral, honey, preserved orange peel (陳皮), sugar cane, a little toasty and marmalade on the nose.  Acidity still fairly high.

1998 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune - classic nose of petrol, a little pungent at first, and a little plasticky.  Opened up nicely to reveal sweetness and white flowers, and then polyurethane.  Still some acidity on the edges in terms of the nose.

1996 Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet - HUGE toasty nose, gradually fading a little to reveal sweet, buttery corn.  Oily and fat.  What an amazingly beautiful wine!

1998 La Fleur-Pétrus - smoky, sweet, a bit grassy.  A little sharp on the nose.

1999 Palmer - classic nose of smoke, brett and dried herbs.  Sweet and lovely.

1997 Harlan The Maiden - very alcoholic and sharp nose, practically singeing my nose hairs off... and stayed sharp till the end of the evening.  Core of ripe and sweet fruits, showing a little honeydew melon.  Needs another few years.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wines for Christmas

Lunch at a friend's house for Christmas.

Cédric Bouchard Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs Val Vilaine (vintage unknown) - lovely honey and apricot notes.  Very vibrant and lively on the palate.

2004 Batailley - classic nose, smooth on the palate but still got that concentration right at the finish.

1994 Chapoutier Ermitage L'Orée en magnum - first whiff showed slight dusty notes, leading me to suspect a corked bottle.  Sipping the wine confirmed that the wine was completely flat with no length.  Poured the entire magnum down the drain.  Disappointed with my so-called contribution.

1995 Vieux Château Certan en magnum - opened and decanted just prior to serving.  Smoke, brett, dried herbs and potpourri, cedar and sweet on the nose.  Not bad.  My contribution.

2006 Dolce - honey, tangerine and polyurethane.  A little sharp and pungent still.

Full post on lunch is here.

A pair of 98s

Christmas Eve dinner at Aberdeen Marina Club's Dining Room.

1998 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune - I brought this along since the Tiggers seem to enjoy Riesling.  Classic nose of petrol, mineral, flint along with some acetone.  Ripe on the nose but still reasonably dry on palate.

1998 Segla - Tigger's favorite wine.  Light smoke and slightly floral.  Very decent drinking wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - the Principal

MNSC dinner at The Principal, hosted by Pineapple.

Theme: 100-point First Growths and their second wines from the same vintage.

1992 Moët and Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - drinking very nicely.  Nose of caramelized sugar, a little straw, mineral and custard.

First pair:

2000 Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion - opened for 3 hours and decanted just prior to serving.  Sweet, smoky, a bit metallic, pine, wood, a hint of coconut, minty.  93 points.

2000 La Mission Haut-Brion - opened and decanted for 3 hours.  Sweeter than the Chapelle, with mineral and dried herbs.  94 points.

Second pair:

1996 Carruades de Lafite - opened for 4 hours and decanted just prior to serving.  Smoky, grassy, toasty, chalky and black pepper.  94 points.

1996 Lafite-Rothschild - opened and decanted for 3 hours.  Pimento, bell peppers, a bit ripe on the nose, a little dusty later, with savory minerals.  96 points.

Third pair:

1990 Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux - opened for 3½ hours and decanted just prior to serving.  Savory minerals, a little gamey, really grassy, smoky, vegetal, green pepper.  98 points.

1990 Margaux - opened and decanted for 3½ hours.  Really salty, soy sauce, black olives, served really cold and warmed up in glass.  A bit of leather, and a little sweet.  96 points.

Fourth pair:

1982 Les Forts de Latour - opened for 3½ hours and decanted just prior to serving.  Really ripe, smoky, brett, mineral, pencil lead.  Lovely.  95 points.

1982 Latour - opened for 3½ hours and decanted just prior to serving.  A bit smoky, pencil lead.  94 points.

1966 Lafite-Rothschild - a bit ripe and oxidized, with savory nori seaweed.

Full post on dinner is here.

90 Roulot and 01 Matriarch

Lunch at Madam Sixty Ate.

1990 Roulot Meursault Les Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir - color now beautifully orange from oxidation.  Ripe orange marmalade, slight hint of acetone, a little salty plum and mineral.  After 40 minutes or so, nose started to show sweet, caramelized sugar notes.  Pretty dry on the palate, with a dry finish and with some sips, the alcohol was pretty obvious as it went down.  A lovely wine.

2001 BOND Matriarch - no surprises here as it's all in-your-face Cali.  Very ripe, sweet, jammy with tangerine, coconut, smoke and pine.  A little sharp at times.  Have started to soften a little but still kinda rough around the edges.

Full post on lunch is here.

Selosse, Mouline and more

Dinner at On Lot 10.

Jacques Selosse Rosé, disgorged Jul 27, 2010 - very smooth on palate.  Nose was sweet, with caramel, cotton candy, desiccated coconut, plum, Chinese licorice and a little marmalade.  A beautiful wine.  A Selosse.

1996 Michel Colin-Deléger Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Truffière - mineral and roast on the nose.  Reasonably balanced on the palate.

1995 Vieux Château Certan en magnum - lots of cigar box, toast, savory minerals, smoke, black fruits, a little sweet, minty and dried herbs.  Not drinking badly at all.  My contribution.  Opened 3 1/2 hours prior and decanted 1 1/2 hours prior to drinking.

1995 Guigal La Mouline - VERY sharp and alcoholic, with dried herbs, slightly floral, and later all of a sudden cocoa butter showed up 3 hours after decanting.  Also pine and toffee notes.  Not drinking well.

Full post on dinner is here.

97 Tignanello + South African pinot

Dinner at a friend's house.

1997 Antinori Tignanello - nose was fairly muted, with notes of mint and black fruits.  Nice concentration and lovely on the palate.  Slightly disappointed as I thought this would show much more.

2010 Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir Hemel-en-Aarde Valley - chocolate, leather and forest notes.  Not much complexity here, but not bad at all.

Full post on dinner is here.

Arran Sauternes finish

Drinks at b.a.r. Executive.

Arran Single Sauternes Cask Malt - bottle #220 of 313.  Bottled at 56%.  First whiff almost burned my nose hairs off, as the alcohol was that sharp.  Very sweet on the nose, with a little smoke.  After airing for a while, and sniffing softly and carefully, nose of caramel, nutmeg, chocolate and a little peat.  

5 imperials from Sotheby's

Wine auction at Sotheby's.

2004 Le Petit Cheval en imperial - leather, coffee, prunes, smoke.  Slightly bitter on the palate, like American ginseng or burdock.

2003 Gruaud Larose en imperial - smoky, dried herbs, coffee.

2004 Lynch-Bages en imperial - smoky, muted.

2004 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge en imperial - big nose of coffee, smoke and fruit.  Not bad at all.  Wine of the evening.

2002 L'Evangile en imperial - coffee, chocolate, smoke and fruit.

La Chapelle vertical

Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, hosted by Sotheby's in conjunction with Paul Jaboulet Aîné.  Jean-Luc Chapel from the domaine was in attendance.

2005 Louis Roederer Brut - nose of cotton candy, oak and flint.

2010 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle Blanc - a little floral, toasty oak, very ripe with an interesting finish.  Second pour showed sugar and nutty notes.

2006 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle Blanc - much riper than the 2010, nose more open, with acetone, pineapple and marmalade notes.

2009 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle Rouge - opened 6 hours and double-decanted 4 hours prior to dinner.  Pine forest, ripe fruit, almost jammy, with a little sulfur, and vanilla.  Very tannic.

2004 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle - slightly jammy, green peppercorn indeed, a bit of smoke.  Still slightly tannic

1990 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle - the biggest disappointment of the evening, as the pristine condition of the wine meant it was simply too young and did not show, despite having been opened more almost 7 hours and double-decanted 4 hours prior to dinner.  Nose was very muted, a little dusty and chalky.  Nice acidity balance on the palate.

1988 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle - beating the 1990 hands down tonight.  Open and beautiful nose of leather, a little smoke and forest.  Acidity slightly higher.  An opulent wine.

1978 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle - the wine that I looked forward to the most this evening.  Pristine condition meant the wine was still very young, and felt a little restrained tonight.  Big smoky nose, with lead pencil, cigar box and ever so slightly medicinal.  Definitely more concentration here on the palate.  Happy with this but wish the wine could have been more opulent tonight.

1964 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle - possibly the wine of the evening.  Nose was very open, with obvious leather notes, sweet and lovely, surprisingly a little sharp, coffee, nutty, a little savory like black olives.

Full post on dinner is here.