George pinots

Dinner at FoFo by el Willy, with wines from George Wine Company.

Anna Spinato Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Extra Dry - elegant and subtle, with nose of green apple, flint and minerals.

2009 George Pinot Noir Sonoma Coma - metallic minerals, minty, sweet fruit, leather, grape stems and forest notes.  The fruit was ripe but not overdone, rather cool.

2009 George Pinot Noir Ceremonial Vineyard - Dijon clone grapes are sourced from the Martinelli family, from a vineyard near an apple orchard.  A little bit higher in alcohol.  A little sweet on the nose, with tangerine, a little mint and forest.  An elegant wine showing finesse.

2009 George Pinot Noir Martaella Vineyard + King Family Vineyard - an all-Pommard clone blend of 60% Martaella and 40% King Family, due to the small yield of the vintage.  Nose of tangerine, ripe fruit, metallic minerals, a little sharp, a little forest and some leather here.  Light-bodied.

2009 George Pinot Noir Leras Family Vineyard - a little more minty and forest notes here.  Sweet and pretty ripe on the nose.

2009 George Pinot Noir Hansen Vineyards - definitely very farmy, typical nose of cow manure, metallic, salty blue cheese.  No question that the nose is influenced by the 300 cows grazing near the vineyard.

Full post on dinner is here.

The Judge and Chave Hermitage

Dinner at View 62 by Paco Roncero.

2003 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge - this was decanted 1½ hours before dinner, and was still pretty closed as we poured it from the bottle during dinner.  Eventually I asked for it to be decanted again, and the wine finally opened up.  Nose of flint, honey, toasty oak, vanilla… a little more restrained and elegant compared to last night.  Very well balanced.  Curiously the wine has mellowed out since I was blown away by it almost 2 years ago.

1985 Chave Hermitage Rouge - opened and poured immediately at the table, showing a huge farm nose, with minerals, leather, minty and plummy nose that was lovely.  Later on the savory notes from minerals emerged, along with olive tapenade.  The one with the best palate among us, though, thought it was green olives…  The palate of the wine faded quickly, turning acidic after a short while.

Drinks at a friend's house.

2008 La Sangre de Jonata - opened but stoppered for about 3½ hours before pouring.  A very floral nose, but very sharp and alcoholic.  Also earthy, metallic, mineral and very sweet.  Seriously too young.

Full post on the evening is here.

2003 x 4

Dinner at a friend's home.

2003 Dom Pérignon - very well balanced on the palate, with a light, toasty nose.

2003 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge - opened 1½ hours before dinner and decanted upon arrival.  Still  tight 2 hours after opening.  Very sweet with lots of vanilla notes, toasty, pretty ripe on the palate but not over-ripe.  Citrus, lemon notes along with a hint of apricot.  Nose still going strong some 4 hours later.  Color was a light golden hue, showing signs of age.

2003 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St.-Jacques - lots of forest notes, smells like stems, sweet and ripe berries.  Reasonably good concentration here.  Very enjoyable.

2003 Ducru-Beaucaillou - green pepper and vegetal, potpourri, brett and smoke.  Nose was still a little sharp from the alcohol.

1989 Montrose

Dinner at Miso.

1989 Montrose - lovely and open nose, ripe fruits, earthy notes, minerals, a little smoky.

2009 Méo-Camuzet white

Cheese at Caprice in Hong Kong.

2009 Méo-Camuzet Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Clos Saint-Philibert - buttery, ripe and sweet. Very easy to drink, and worked well with the charcuterie.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - Golden Leaf

MNSC annual dinner at Golden Leaf.

1971 Henriot Réserve Baron Philippe de Rothschild - what a beautiful, aged Champagne!  Lots of coconut and nutty notes, with light fragrance of salty plum (話梅).  Sweet nose with marmalade, honey that was just like nectar.  Awesome.

Flight 1:  1991 La La La horizontal

1991 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque - beautiful nose, with gamey, animal, plummy and floral notes.  Palate was pretty ready, but a little short.

1991 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - nose was pretty closed… a bit chalky.  Animal notes with a little potpourri.  Still tannic on the palate.

1991 Guigal Côtie-Rôtie La Mouline - a little smoky, and the nose was still kinda closed.  After 1½ hours this was finally a little more open.  Nice and floral, but slightly dusty.  A hint of coffee here.

Flight 2:  La Mouline vertical

1998 Guigal Côtie-Rôtie La Mouline - a little vegetal, green pepper, leather and animal.

1995 Guigal Côtie-Rôtie La Mouline - metallic at first.  Finally open after 3 hours, showing a very floral nose that was still sharp.  Also notes of Sichuan peppercorns and lavender.

2000 Guigal Côtie-Rôtie La Mouline - ripe and sweet on the nose.  Alcoholic.  Minty and a little plastic.  Pretty tannic.

Full post on dinner is here.

85 Guigal Brune et Blonde

Lunch at Bonheur.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - lovely light, floral nose, with meaty notes.  Acidity slightly high.

2000 Talbot

Dinner at Shanghai Min in Hong Kong.

2000 Talbot - very classic Bordeaux, with some fruit, smoke, earth, coffee and chocolate in the nose.  Drinking very nicely.

Graff and Ygay

Dinner at Fook Lam Moon in Hong Kong.

2009 Delaire Graff Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - very young and tannic.  Nose of dried herbs and black fruits.  Infanticide.

1970 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial from magnum - opened an hour before dinner and decanted for 30 mins before serving.  Nose was already open and fragrant, minty, sweet, a little savory, a little wood.  Slightly acidic on palate, as expected.  Not much tannin left.

2007 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series - ripe on the nose, with plenty of toasty oak.  Buttery.