2012 Terra Vega Sauvignon Blanc Reserva

Wine pairing for MRE #7.

2012 Terra Vega Sauvignon Blanc Reserva - flinty, a little oaky, surprisingly no pipi de chat, lemon.  Slightly ripe on the palate, and a little bitter on the finish.

Full post on dinner is here.

2010 Le Coq Rouge

Wine pairing for MRE #6.

2010 Le Coq Rouge - 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Grenache, 10% Merlot, 10% Syrah.  Minty, farmy, pungent, ever so slightly savory, black fruits.  Reasonably concentrated with some tannins, yet medium-soft on the palate.  OK for HKD 69 I guess…  The last of the trio from Sacha Lichine.

Full post on dinner is here.

2001 von Schubert Spätlese - Trocken

Lunch at Bonheur.

2001 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Spätlese Trocken - petrol, lemon, white flowers in the nose.  Crisp and dry on the palate, almost a little fizzy.  Very long finish.  A beautiful wine.

Vin Rouge

Wine pairing for MRE #5.

Vin Rouge (made by Les Caves du Pré) - kinda soft on the palate.  Ripe nose of stewed prunes, caramel, sweet, definitely oxidized, smelling like the bottle's been stoppered and left overnight after opening.  For HKD 39 a bottle I'll take the Everyday Red instead.

Full post on dinner is here.

2011 Le Poussin Rose

Wine pairing with MRE #4.

2011 Le Poussin Rose - 100% Grenache, although the back labels also said: "a new world style of blended varietals"...  Oaky, pipi de chat, some red fruits in the nose.  Dry on the attack but ripe mid-palate, with a slightly bitter finish.

Full post on dinner is here.

Gallo Family White Zinfandel

Wine pairing with MRE #3.

Gallo Family White Zinfandel in quarter-bottle - sweet nose like Manuka or orange blossom honey, jammy, strawberry, almost like cough syrup.  Pretty sweet on palate, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

Everyday Red

Wine pairing for MRE #2.

Everyday Red (made by Delicato Family Vineyards) - surprisingly soft, and definitely fruity.  This was very ripe and sweet on the palate, while the jammy nose showed notes of blueberries, oak, dried herbs, cinnamon, nutmeg and plum.  For HKD 34 a bottle, this drank surprisingly well.  But I'd drink it quickly after cracking open the screwcap, though… as the palate took a real dive after I left the wine in glass for about 20 minutes.

Full post on dinner is here.

2010 La Poule Blanche

Wine pairing with MRE meal #1:

2010 La Poule Blanche - 60% Chardonnay, 20% Sauvignon, 20% Viognier.  Initially a little pungent, showing pipi de chat from the Sauvignon Blanc.  Alcoholic. Lemon citrus, oaky, a hint of floral coming from the Viognier.  A little sweet on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Potel and Les Vins de Vienne

Lunch at La Grande Vinotheque in Taipei.

1985 Nicolas Potel Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes - initially some hint of wet cardboard and fungus, and I thought it might have been corked.  Despite her cold, sommelier said the wine wasn't corked.  This went away after a few minutes.  Toasty nose, ripe, lemon citrus.  Not bad but a little disappointing.  My contribution.

2005 Les Vins de Vienne Sotanum - nose of pine needle, potpourri, big and alcoholic, sweet on the nose.  Still pretty concentrated.  100% Syrah.

Full post is here.

Egly-Ouriet and Jaboulet

Dinner at STAY in Taipei.

Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru (dégorgée Septembre 2008) - a full-bodied Champagne.  Clearly matured with a deep, golden color.  Bubbles not so vibrant now.  Ripe and sweet on the nose, with caramelized sugar and almost sugar cane.  Later on big, toasty notes came out, along with honey and marmalade.  Ripe and sweet on the palate, too.

1970 Jaboulet Côte-Rôtie Les Jumelles - started drinking an hour after opening without decanting.  Nose of bacon fat, floral notes, lovely, plummy, sweet, a hint of green pepper and smoke.  Peak around 1 hour and started going into decline about 1½ hours.  Acidity became obvious later.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Island Tang

MNSC dinner at Island Tang, hosted by me.

1970 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese - white flowers, a little plastic, a little pear, petrol, flinty, sweet like marshmallow or marzipan.  Good acidity here to balance out the sweetness on palate.

First flight:

1988 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - decanted 2 hours prior to drinking.  Very farmy, leather, manure, also floral, sweet with plum.  Beautiful nose.  Pretty smooth on the palate but acidity slightly high.  95 points.

1998 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - decanted 2½ hours prior to drinking.  Jammy, ripe, more concentrated, more alcoholic, dried herbs.  Later on huge sweet nose with sugar cane and crème brûlée notes.  Totally different style to the '88.  96 points.

Second flight: (decanted 2½ hours prior to drinking)

1983 Guigal La Landonne - stinky, farmy, acidity evident on the nose, plum, cherry, some sweetness in the nose.  Beefy, grilled meats.  Second pour was much better, with more sweet fruit in the nose.  94 points.

1983 Penfolds Grange - exotic with tons of coconut butter and sweetness, along with coffee.  3 hours after decanting the nose dived and turned rubbery.  95 points.

Third flight: (decanted 1½ hours prior to drinking)

1996 Armand Rousseau Chambertin - sweet and exotic, cough syrup, bubble gum, Asian spices, Chinese licorice.  Also a little toasty.  93 points.

1996 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin - muted nose, green like it was fermented with stems.  88 points.

Fourth flight: (decanted 2½ hours prior to drinking)

1996 Harlan Estate - minty, smoky, a little brett, savory, black tea, earthy, mineral, a little sharp.  Tannins are still here.  94 points.

1996 Bryant Family - exotic, tropical, coconut butter, sweet fruit, dried herbs and pine needle.  95 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

2011 Balthasar Ress Kabinett

Dinner at Spices.

2011 Balthasar Ress Riesling Kabinett - a little petrol, flint, white flowers.  Slightly sweet on the palate.

JJ Prum and Guigal

Dinner at On Lot 10.

2007 Jos. Joh. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - nose of petrol and minerals.  Pretty sweet on the palate, and showed some carbonation.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - sweet and ripe fruit, leather, floral and lovely, violet, smoked meats, plum and black olives.  Medium-light body now, with noticeable acidity.

Full post on dinner is here.

Big guns from the Specialist

Dinner at a friend's home.

1999 Cristal - smooth on the palate but a little light.  Toasty nose.  Full-bodied but the finish was a little short.

1990 Cristal - salty plum, savory, with nice acidity on the palate.  A lovely wine.

1992 Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet - nose of marmalade and sweet grass.

1997 DRC Richebourg - sharp and alcoholic on the nose at first.  A little smoky, and slightly green and vegetal.

1998 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze - smoky with leather notes.  Unfortunately no longer lively and fruity.

1986 Lafleur - smoky, sweet grass, mineral, earthy.  A little sweet fruit came out, with slight hint of exotic coconut.  After this faded there was some burnt rubber…  Smooth on the palate but a little muted.

1988 Lafite-Rothschild - smoke, pencil lead, a little mineral, black tea and a little soy sauce.  Classic Pauillac and beautiful.  Definitely the wine of the evening.

Jacques Selosse Exquise - really big toasty nose, lots of citrus, a little marmalade.  Certainly sweeter on the palate than most other Champagnes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wines for Hello Kitty

Dinner at Chiu Tang.

1969 Dom Pérignon Œnothèque (disgorged 2006) - really heavy toast in the nose, with grilled corn.  My first sips were surprising in that the wine had almost no palate to me, but later I was able to taste the acidity, although I found the finish a little short.

1997 Leflaive Montrachet - nose of lemon, a little straw, lean and not fatty, mineral, full-bodied, a little sweet on the edges with some white flowers.  An elegant wine.

1982 Biondi-Santi Riserva - sweet, grassy, star anise, black olive.  Acidity slightly high on the palate.  After some time both the nose and the palate fell off the cliff.

1982 Castell'in Villa Chianti Classico Riserva - earthy nose, slightly ripe on the palate with soft tannins.  Lovely.

1990 Méo-Camuzet Corton Clos Rognet - cloudy.  Sweet grass and nice, lovely fruit, with floral notes like osmanthus.

1990 Rouget Échezeaux - corked bottle, and even a little cellophane couldn't save it.  Nose of wet cardboard covered up an otherwise straight and clean wine underneath.  Nice body.

1991 DRC Richebourg - sweet grass nose.  Lovely.

1991 Le Pin - very ripe and sweet, jammy nose.  A little chalky and green pepper, along with some coffee later.

1991 Chave Cuvée Cathelin - an awesome wine from start to finish.  Floral notes hit first, along with sweet fruit.  Later on the animal and leather notes came out.

1997 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel from half-bottle - huge nose of petrol, grapey, muscat.  Not too sweet on the palate and there was enough acidity to balance it all.

Finally, there was a bottle of blended whisky which was bottled by Berry Brothers and Rudd in the 1920s.  Showed medicinal and peaty notes, but was sweetish on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Kamoshibito Kuheiji Eau du Desire

Dinner at Tenku RyuGin.

2011 Kamoshibito Kuheiji Betsuatsurae 35% Eau du Desire (醸人 九平次 別誂 35% Eau du Desire) - this is something I've had before in Tokyo.  Soft and smooth on the front palate but dry later.  Sweet and dry at the same time, with a long finish.  Nose of rich fermented rice.

Full post on dinner is here.