85 Guigal and 07 JJ Prüm

Dinner at On Lot 10 in Hong Kong.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - beefy, animal, leather, dried herbs, prunes, violet and floral. Acidity slightly high on the palate.  Not bad considering the price.

2007 Jos. Joh. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - very refreshing, classic petrol and white flowers.  Sweetish and smooth on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - HK Country Club

Dinner at the Grill Room of Hong Kong Country Club.

1996 Salon - flinty, yeasty, ripe with caramel notes.

1982 Ausone - Very sweet, ripe, grassy, minty, a bit of green pepper and smoke.  94 points.

1983 Ausone - a little dusty, chalky, ripe fruit and a little smoke.  93 points.

1989 Guigal La Landonne - drank almost 3 hours after opening.  Sharp, very ripe nose, a bit farm and animal, minty, and a little violet.  Soooo good… 97 points.

1989 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - drank almost 3 hours after opening.  Pretty sharp nose, ripe, really sweet, black olives and savory nose.  A big wine.  96 points.

1990 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - decanted 4 hours prior to serving. A bit meaty, minty, forest.  96 points.

1990 Chave Cuvée Cathelin - really ripe and sweet, jammy, really open nose, bacon, forest, animal and tangerine.  Wow!  99 points, almost perfection!

Full post on dinner is here.

1991 Janus Gran Reserva Pesquera

Dinner at La Paloma in Macau.

1991 Alejandro Fernández Janus Gran Reserva Pesquera - nose of potpourri, dried herbs, savory minerals, ripe and a little cooked, minty.  Very smooth on the palate with silky, velvety tannins.

Full post on dinner is here.

76 Schönborn Auslese

Lunch at The Eight in Macau.

1976 Schloss Schönborn Hattenheimer Nußbrunnen Riesling Auslese - nose of polyurethane, honey, marmalade and acetone.  Sweet on the palate, slightly bitter mid-palate, with good acidity balance.  Flint and petrol notes showed up after about an hour in the decanter.  A very lovely wine.

Full post on lunch is here.

A pair of Portuguese

Dinner at Guincho a Galera in Macau.

2010 Bacalhôa Chardonnay Cova da Ursa - big nose of toasty oak, mineral, lemon, ripe, a little sweet with a hint of vanilla.  Not bad at all.

2008 De Pancas Touriga Nacional Reserva - sweet, ripe, plummy, forest, dried herbs, pine and cedar.  A little sharp and alcoholic.

Full post on dinner is here.

1995 Bruno Paillard NPU

Lunch at Robuchon au Dôme in Macau.

1995 Bruno Paillard Nec Plus Ultra - aged for 11 years before disgorging in October 2006.  This was an absolutely beautiful wine!  Showing caramelized, oxidized (the way I like it) nose with sugarcane, salty, mineral, preserved plum (話梅) notes, along with marmalade later.  I'd be happy to drink a bottle of this any day…

2007 de la Janasse Terre d'Argile - this Côte-du-Rhône Villages was chosen by Mathieu to go with my lièvre.   Showed nose of blueberries, mint, pine, potpourri, very ripe and almost jammy fruit.  Not bad.

Full post on lunch is here.

Courtesy of Bonham's

Wines tasted at Bonham's auction in Hong Kong.

2010 Guigal La Doriane - floral, lovely, aromatic, so typical of Viognier.  Nose was killed by the intense air freshener inside the Shangri-La Hotel.  Slightly flat on the palate, and a little bitter on the finish.

1978 Ardbeg - peaty, caramel and very floral.  Very nice.

1986 Cheval Blanc - ripe fruit, sweet, smoky, soy sauce, tea and cedar notes.  Smooth and velvety, and very lovely.

Léclapart L'Artiste and Montrachet

Dinner at On Lot 10 in Hong Kong.

David Léclapart Cuvée L'Artiste - mineral, marmalade, nose was a little sweet on the edges.  Acidity was relatively high, and a little ripe on the palate.  This was an extra-brut blanc de blancs.

1997 Baron Thénard Montrachet - decanted on arrival at the restaurant, which wasn't really enough time.  At one point the temperature got a little too warm, so the palate got too bitter.  Nose of orange marmalade, smoky, toasty, with some sweetness later on.  Got better when we cooled it down.  Disappointing compared to the last bottle.

Full post on dinner is here.

Massandra or bust

Dinner at West Villa in Hong Kong, at Bonham's invitation featuring wines from Massandra.

1955 Massandra Collection Sherry - nutty, raisins, plum, toasty and dates.  Beautiful nose.  Dry on mid-palate, with 4% residual sugar.  Made with a solera system and a blend of Sercial, Verdelho and Albariño.

1945 Massandra Collection South Coast Red Port - savory nose of preserved plums (話梅), mineral, medjool dates, apricot.  The last few drops in the glass even showed a little sweet potato notes.  Sweet on the palate and slightly tart on the finish, with 10% residual sugar.  A blend of grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Saperavi and Mourvedre.

2010 Pieropan Calvarino - white peach, very floral with white flowers, a hint of flint.  Very refreshing.

2008 Vietti Barolo Castiglione - a little bit of pine, forest.  Really tannic on the palate and not enjoyable.

2006 Argentiera Giorgio Bartholomäus - very ripe, a bit cooked, stewed prunes and a little smoky.  Not bad.

1989 Massandra Collection South Coast White Muscat - literally smells and tastes like honey, almost like dissolving manuka honey in water.  A little bit nutty with tangerine.  VERY sweet, with 20% residual sugar.

Full post on dinner is here.

Blin, bling and Prum

Dinner at the Chairman in Hong Kong.

Blin's Édition Limitée Blanc de Blancs - a bit mineral and mild on palate.

2000 Réserve de la Comtesse - classic and smoky.  Good acidity balance and smooth on the palate.  Surprisingly a little sharp and alcoholic, and I could feel the alcohol burn a little as the wine went down the back of my throat.

L'Or de Parigot - nose of red fruits, slightly tart on the palate.

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - classic nose of petrol, mineral and pear.  Light sweetness.  Served pretty cold but it was OK.

1998 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm - very typical Aussie, with lots of sweet vanilla and coconut, along with smoky notes.  Reasonably smooth on the palate by now.

Full post on dinner is here.

Magnums for BBQ

BBQ dinner.

Krug Grande Cuvée en magnum - smooth, more subtle and subdued than usual.  Lovely on the palate.

2005 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard from magnum - a big wine, no doubt, but surprisingly accessible after about 2 hours of aeration.  Still fruity and forward, and jammy.  A little metallic minerals.

2000 Cos Labory en magnum - very smooth, lovely, smoky, earthy.  Classic.

Full post on dinner is here.

Italian megamix

The Great Winemakers of Italy dinner organized by Bordeaux Index at Domani Ristorante.

2003 Giuseppe Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore - smoky, plum, ripe, pine forest notes.  Very sweet on the palate.  Delicious.  The wine spends 4 years in large oak barrels, then another 2 years in bottle.

2005 Salicutti Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione - smoky, fruity, oaky.

1974 Giacomo Borgogno Barolo Riserva - nose of salty plum, savory, fermented soy bean (豆豉), sweet on the edges, smoky.  Interesting and lovely.

2010 Petrolo Galatrona - minty, so sweet and ripe, with vanilla, forest.  Still a little tannic on the palate, of course.

2009 Petrolo Torrione - nose of red chili pepper, maybe espelette?  A little savory.  Really interesting…

2001 Giuseppe Quintarelli Alzero - beautiful nose with full-blown forest notes.  Very smooth on the palate.  Massimo the distributor called it a "meditation wine", and I can close my eyes and imagine myself in a forest surrounded by giant trees.

1998 Salvioni Brunello di Montalcino - smoky, a little ripe, some fruit, slightly mineral on the edges.  Tannins were noticeable but velvety, and the body gained weight with a little more time.  Shared by a kind gentleman at the next table who apparently reads my blog and somehow recognized me.

2005 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva - smooth and surprisingly accessible.  Smoky with animal notes.

2006 Feudi di San Gregorio Pàtrimo - nose was sooo vanilla, really sweet, minty, spicy.  Alcoholic and very New World, but I like this Merlot.

2008 Roberto Voerzio Barbera d'Alba Riserva vignetto Pozzo dell'Annunziatta from magnum - nose was forward, very sweet, minty, a little sharp and alcoholic.

1990 Conterno Fantino Barolo Sorì Ginestra - savory nose with soy sauce, stewed fruit, minerals.  Smooth on the palate.

1998 Sassicaia - minty, smoky, cedar and a hint of green pepper.  Very classic Cabernet nose.  My contribution.

2010 Poggio Scalette Il Carbonaione - forest, pine, potpourri, sweet, ripe, a little alcoholic.

2006 Salicutti Brunello di Montalcino Piaggione - nice.  A little more tannic than the 2005.

Full post on dinner is here.

Schlossgut Diel dinner

Wine dinner at Cuisine Cuisine at the Mira in Hong Kong.

2004 Diel Dorscheimer Goldloch Riesling Sparkling Brut - notes of orange, lemon and minerals.  A little ripe on the palate and slightly bitter.

2011 Diel Dorscheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Kabinett - white flowers, very elegant, a little ripe tangerine.  Nice level of sweetness for food.

2011 Diel Dorscheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Spätlese - white flowers, very elegant, sweeter on the palate and fatter.

2008 Diel Dorscheimer Goldloch Riesling Großes Gewächs - nose of petrol, mineral, white pepper, white flowers.  Dry but slightly ripe on the palate.

2002 Diel Dorscheimer Goldloch Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - marmalade, acetone, honey.  Lovely.

After dinner Victor Diel and I joined a few friends for more wine…

1990 d'Auvenay Meursault Les Narvaux - lots of heavy, intense toasty oak, flint, very ripe, with a hint of honey.  Nose was absolutely beautiful after about an hour.

2005 Dugat-Py Bourgogne "Cuvée Halinard" - minty, forest, exotic spices.

1971 Schloss Schönborn Hattenheimer Nußbrunnen Riesling Beerenauslese - orange marmalade, honey and acetone on the nose, pretty sweet on the palate with some acidity.  My contribution.

Full post on the dinner is here.