"Unusual" lineup

Dinner at Sup 1.

1996 Pascal Doquet Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Sur Oger - nose of minerals, ripe, sweet like sugarcane, a little metallic and mature.  Later on a little toasty.  Slightly ripe on the palate.

1995 Spring Mountain Vineyard Miravalle-Alba-Chevalier - ripe but not overly sweet, dried herbs, smoky, oak, potpourri.  Later on a little more sweet, minty, black fruits, almost herbal medicine.

2001 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune - huge nose of petrol, minerals, acetone, polyurethane, white pepper.  Beautiful.

1994 Henschke Hill of Grace - a little smoky, some fruit, slightly ripe and stewed.  Smooth on the palate.

2004 Dom Pérignon - heavy toast, nutty.  Very nice.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagne, Cali and Loire

Dinner at On Lot 10.

Françoise Bedel Cuvée Origin'elle - pretty interesting to drink this blend made mostly of Pinot Meunier.

Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, vintage unknown - really alcoholic and ripe, tannic, sweet on the palate, sharp enough to burn the nostrils.  A hint of coffee.

2009 Domaine le Briseau Les Mortiers - very minty, with lots of herbs, pine needle and potpourri.  Not my usual shit but pretty nice.

Full post on dinner is here.

A pair of '97 Shiraz

Dinner at Mirror in Hong Kong.

1997 Penfolds RWT - ripe on the palate but not too sweet.  Fruity, plummy, vanilla, coconut, a little smoky.  Could be from the Right Bank.  After 1½ hours the nose became really sharp and alcoholic, and also acidic.  Smoothed out and drank nicely after 2 hours.  I don't think I would have guessed this "Baby Grange" was a Shiraz... Not quite tasting as it should.

1997 d'Arenberg The Dead Arm - sweeter on the nose and palate compared to the RWT.  Also some coconut here as well as coffee.  More concentrated on the palate.  This is more like it!

Full post on dinner is here.

10 Bouzeron Tessons

Drinks at Watson's Wine Cellar.

2010 Bouzeron Meursault Les Tessons - toasty, ripe on the nose, nice acidity on palate.

A pair of 86s

Dinner at Fook Lam Moon.

2002 Cristal - very toasty and yeasty nose, caramelized and sweet.  Good acidity but also ripeness on the palate, showing nice balance here.  Very enjoyable.

1986 Cos d'Estournel - sous bois, a little smoke, minty with nice fruit in the nose.  After a while smoke got heavier, with earthy and tobacco notes.  Drank well right after decanting, and plateau'ed out after a while.

1986 Palmer - minty, a little smoky, and a little bit stewed fruits.  Took a little time to open up.  Nice on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Guo Fu Lou

MNSC Dinner at Guo Fu Lou in Wanchai, with Dayliao hosting.

Flight 1:  opened one hour prior to serving

1985 Mouton-Rothschild - earthy, pretty sweet, dried herbs, a little coffee, tobacco, cigar nose.  Palate a little on the light side.  93 points.

1985 Dujac Clos St-Denis - nose much more open, oxidized a little, a little caramelized, very plummy, almost like Chinese preserved plum (話梅).  Sweet like jujube.  Very nice.  94 points.

1985 Margaux - smoky, more vegetal like green pepper.  Minty with potpourri notes.  Very nice, and more body here.  92 points.

Flight 2: opened for 2½ hours prior to serving

1991 Vogüé Bonnes-Mares - very weird nose at first.  Stewed prunes, cough syrup, really sweet and a little meaty.

1991 Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - nose a little muted at first.  Also smelled and tasted like cough syrup.  Nose still a little sharp.  Got better with more time.

1991 Mugnier Musigny - another cough syrup, this time cherry flavor… also a little potpourri.

Third flight: opened and decanted for 3½ hours prior to serving

1994 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard - metallic, mineral, herbs, sweet, alcoholic, a little chalky on the nose, and slightly off on the palate.

1994 Harlan Estate - a little ripe, minty, smoky, a little stewed.  Still fairly tannic here but acidity relatively high.

Full post on dinner is here.

90 von Schubert Auslese 96

Dinner at Tim's Kitchen in Hong Kong.

1990 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Auslese 96 - a little flinty, petrol, with orange blossoms on the nose.  Palate was actually very well-balanced with plenty of acidity there.

Full post on dinner is here.

Three magnums

Dinner at the Krug Room.

Krug Grande Cuvée - we started with two glasses of this.  Toasty, oaky, a little yeasty.  Nice and mature on the palate.

2004 Didier Dagueneau Silex, en magnum - somewhat pungent, pipi de chat, a little green apple and pretty heavy toast.  Not bad but I was kinda hoping for better.

2000 Krug - a little yeasty and bready.  The palate was kinda not ready at first, and was a little bitter.  Opened up nicely when it warmed up.

1994 Chapoutier Ermitage L'Orée, en magnum - I was very worried about this, since the last time I brought out a magnum from the same case, the nose was fine but the wine was declared dead by my host.  So I asked my friend to come over and check out the wine before we went to dinner.  Once again the nose was fine, but the palate was barely there.  We decided the wine wasn't corked, and brought it to dinner to see how it would drink.  Well, after a couple of hours of aeration, the nose had prominent acetone and botrytis notes, which was surprising.  Still not much of a palate, though…

2007 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine Collignon, elevé par Faiveley, en magnum - arguably the best wine from the Hospices de Beaune.  Really sweet nose, fruity, a little exotic coconut butter, floral like frangipani.  Dried herbs.  A lovely wine.

1995 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Heimbourg Sélection de Grains Nobles - very nutty, like pecans, honey, orange blossom.  Very sweet on the palate.  Absolutely delicious.

Full post on dinner is here.

Pinots for Canto

Dinner at Seventh Son.

Krug Grande Cuvée - riper on palate than expected.  Should have used white wine glasses for this…

2002 Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds - drank about an hour after opening.  Pretty sweet on the nose, with some forest notes.  After 2 hours, the nose opened up further and sweetness was even more prominent.  Palate-wise I had expected a little more, especially on the finish, although there's nothing wrong with it.

2003 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - drank without too much aeration.  Pretty sweet nose, with lots of strawberries and black fruits.  Later showed a little toffee and potpourri.  Still plenty of tannins here after 10 years.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sherry and Pomerol

Lunch at ILoveLubutin's new pad.

Península Palo Cortado Solera Reserva, from Lustau - walnut, toasty, a little yeasty, perhaps.  Long finish.  While I'm happy to drink Sherry at "room temperature", like wine I am mindful that "room temperature" in Asia isn't the same as what it is in Europe…

Valdespino Tio Diego Amontillado - sharper nose with stronger alcohol, also more intense nose and more grapey.

2002 L'Evangile en magnum - aired for 1 hour prior to drinking.  Smoky, pretty sweet and ripe prunes, dried herbs, cedar and potpourri.  After 2 hours the sweetness really came out and dominated.

Full post on lunch is here.