Climens, Doisy-Daëne and Guiraud

Sauternes/Barsac dinner at the Pawn in Hong Kong.

NV Thiénot Brut Rosé - nice nose of red fruits like raspberries.

2006 Doisy-Daëne - wonderful nose of orange, honeydew melon, honey, acetone.  Pretty sweet.

1989 Guiraud - sweet, slightly nutty, a little raisiny with acetone.

2005 Climens - honey, a bit nutty with acetone.  Pretty sweet on the palate.

1964 Climens - lovely nose of honeydew melon, dates, walnut and acetone.  Sweet with some acidity to balance things out on the palate.

1942 Doisy-Daëne - nutty, raisin, toffee with good depth of flavors. According to Fabrice Dubourdieu this was bottled only in 1946 when the château was able to get their hands on enough glass bottles.

2009 Guiraud - a little plastic with some white flowers.  Very sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

2010 UGC tasting

A tasting of the 2010 vintage hosted by Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux and Watson's Wine.

2010 Lascombes - cedar, wood, a hint of smoke, prunes.

2010 Giscours - more fragrant and open, nose of saddle, smoke, earth, and almost floral. Nice.

2010 Brane-Cantenac - nose was open, more acidity here, with dried herbs and fragrant on the edges.  Henri Lurton was here again.

2010 Angludet - alcoholic, more pungent, fruity with some dried herbs.

2010 La Lagune - more smoke here, with lead pencil and a rounded palate.

2010 Pichon-Lalande - sweet nose with exotic coconut butter, vanilla and cedar.

2010 Grand-Puy-Lacoste - lots of mint, smoke, lovely, fragrant and open. A classic Pauillac. Emeline Borie poured the wine.

2010 d'Armailhac - ripe and sweet fruit, smoke,wood.

2010 Clerc-Milon - wood, smoke and mint. OK.

2010 Talbot - a little funky, leather and herbs.

2010 Léoville-Poyferré - wood, smoke and a little earth.

2010 Langoa Barton - coconut, vanilla and cedar.

2010 Léoville Barton - cedar, perfumed, sweet with vanilla. Not bad.

2010 Branaire-Ducru - smoky with dried herbs.  Disappointing.  Patrick Maroteaux was here.

2010 Gruaud-Larose - earthy, heavy and pungent, smoky.

2010 Bon Pasteur - sweet, almost orange and tangerine, and perhaps some tea leaves.

2010 Gazin - minty, smoky with some wood.

2010 Clinet - soft, fragrant with spices, sweet.

2010 Troplong Mondot - open and fragrant nose with cedar and smoke.

2010 Latour-Martillac Blanc - pipi de chat front and center, muscat, lemon. Very nice. Medium acidity.

2010 Malartic-Lagravière Blanc - more butter and less pipi here, oaky, lemon, ripe on the palate with good acidity balance.

2010 Pape Clément Blanc - tropical fruit, almost like my favorite Balinese passion fruit, star fruit, a little bit of pipi.  Ripe palate.  Beautiful wine.

2010 Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc - ripe nose with pipi de chat.  Nice.

2010 Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc - lemon and passion fruit.  Bruno Lemoine poured the wines.

2010 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc - ripe, pineapple and apricot.  Also notes of cheese, like Comté.

2010 Haut-Bailley - open nose with cedar.  Véronique Sanders was here.

2010 Guiraud - orange blossoms, honey, acetone, apricot.  Some acidity here.

2010 Doisy-Daëne - more acetone, a bit pungent, honey and apricot.

2010 de Fargues - marzipan, orange, honey and a little acetone.

2010 Coutet - orange, sweet, honey, fragrant, almost floral.

2010 Climens - orange, marmalade, really sweet and unctuous.

Lolly water for lunch

Lunch at Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market in Hong Kong.

2009 Doisy-Daëne Sec - nose of green apple, muscat grapes and minerals.

2007 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - minerals and muscat grapes.  Not drinking as well as I remembered.

2012 Mount Edward Riesling Morrison Vineyard - my Birdbrain Cousin was saying that the Sauvignon Blancs were like lolly water, but this one takes the cake!  Tons of sweet bubble gum-like notes and almond in the very aromatic nose.  Is this even Riesling, because it is not even remotely close to what German and French Rieslings are like?!

2011 Mount Edward Pinot Noir - young and still a little tannic.

Full post on lunch is here.

87 Von Schubert Kabinett

Dinner at Farm House in Hong Kong.

1987 von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Kabinett - acidity naturally higher here, but it's not crisp acidity, but much more mature, mellow and rounded.  White flowers and white pepper in the nose…or was that the black pepper in my crab I was smelling?!

Bordeaux trio

Dinner at the Chariot Club in Hong Kong.

2001 Pontet-Canet - minty, a little sharp, sweet, cedar and a little tangerine.

2005 Bahans Haut-Brion - pretty sharp on the nose, some dried herbs, a little smoky.

2006 Vieux Château Certan - coffee and smoke on the nose.  A little tannic on the palate.

96 Von Schubert

Dinner at Golden Valley in Hong Kong.

1996 von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Auslese 55 - fuder-designated.  A little bit of pepper nose…or was that from all the Sichuan peppercorns that's being boiled in all the hot pots around the restaurant?!  Otherwise couldn't pick up much from the nose thanks to the smell around me.  Sweet but there was surprising level of acidity here.

Ponsot and Coche

After dinner drinks with friends.

2000 Coche-Dury Meursault - big nose of toast and roasted corn right off the bat.  Crisp acidity on the palate.  Notes of lemon citrus, but sweetness came out after a short while, showing a little vanilla and marzipan.

1997 Ponsot Clos de la Roche - first whiff showed cheese, possibly Comté, a little pungent.  Then black cherries, mint, and lots of dried herbs.

85 Bouchard Collignon

Dinner at Manor Seafood.

1985 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine-Collignon par Bouchard - made the mistake of double-decanting in the office, and by the time we got to it at dinner, I felt it was a little past its peak.  Still some black fruits and a little animal.

Full post on dinner is here.

2012 Leroy Beaujolais Nouveau

Drinks with a friend who brought the wine.

2012 Leroy Beaujolais-Villages "Primeur" - lots of sweet, fruity, cherry flavors… almost like cherry-flavored cough syrup… forest pine, potpourri and a little sulfur.

90 Bin 707

Dinner at home in Taipei.

1990 Penfolds Bin 707 - vanilla, lots of coconut butter, black fruits.  Acidity was high initially but there was still a good amount of body and concentration.  Later on some coffee notes and a little smoke.  Died on the palate after about 2 hours.

83 Guigal Côte-Rôtie

Dinner at home in Taipei.

1983 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - plummy, animal, leather and potpourri notes.  Body was light at first but gained weight with aeration.  Died horribly after about 2 hours.

Full post on dinner is here.

Von Schubert and Guigal

Dinner at Tim's Kitchen in Hong Kong.

1994 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese - there's that petrol and polyurethane again… with a nice amount of sweetness on the palate that I've come to love.

1990 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - sweet nose, plummy, farmy, animal, leather, smoky, minty and floral.  Lovely to drink now.  Palate has started on its downward slope.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sloan tasting

Tasting of wines from Sloan, with Jenny Pan - the owner's daughter - in attendance.

2005 Sloan Asterisk - very sweet, jammy, a fruit bomb, with tangerine, oak and lots of alcohol.

2004 Sloan Asterisk - lots of vanilla, very sweet, and cedar.

2008 Sloan - metallic, really sweet, with a hint of smoke.  Surprisingly smooth on palate.

2006 Sloan - sweet, a little wood, and vanilla.  A bigger, more expressive wine compared to the 2008.  Still tannic on the palate.

2003 Sloan - a little more pine and a hint of smoke.  Still alcoholic.

Dinner at Irori.

1993 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett - surprisingly dry and acidic, with no detectable residual sugar.  Mineral, petrol, lemon.

95 VCC and whites

Dinner at Tim's Kitchen in Hong Kong.

2009 Doisy-Daëne Sec - lots of pipi de chat now, with minerals and flint coming from the limestone vineyard, along with green apple, muscat grapes and pear.

2007 Jos. Joh. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - classic petrol.  Pretty sweet on the palate and a little fizzy actually…

2008 Denis Mortet Bourgogne Blanc - toasty, a little ripe and sweet on the nose.  Acidity on the finish.

1995 Vieux Château Certan en magnum - minty, a bit sweet, a little smoky and still a little sharp on the nose.  Smooth on the palate.  Opened about an hour before dinner but not decanted.

Full post on dinner is here.