Sine Qua Non massiiive

Dinner at the Butcher's Club featuring wines from Sine Qua Non.

2010 Sine Qua Non The Monkey - 52% Roussanne, 23% Viognier, 19% Chardonnay and 5% Marsanne.  Full-bodied, very ripe.  Very sweet on the palate when taken with the clams, and the finish was a little bitter.

2002 Sine Qua Non Whisperin' E - 50% Roussanne, 31% Viognier and 19% Chardonnay.  More lemon and citrus, grassy and sweeter nose, almost candied.  Nice on the palate.

2005 Sine Qua Non The Petition - 37% Viognier, 33% Roussanne, 30% Chardonnay.  Pretty ripe and sweet, and not too bitter on the palate.

2007 Sine Qua Non Body & Soul - 71% Roussanne and 29% Viognier.  A little floral, white flowers, sweet with a little peach.

2002 Sine Qua Non Hollerin' M - 100% Pinot Noir. Nice and smooth on the palate, with a bit of forest in the nose.

2001 Sine Qua Non Ventriloquist - 82% Grenache and 18% Syrah.  Ripe and jammy, a little metallic.  Very nice and sweet on the palate.

1999 Sine Qua Non The Marauder - 100% Syrah.  Jammy, metallic, sweet with forest pine.

2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil - 95.5% Syrah, 3% Grenache and 1.5% Viognier.  Nice with very fragrant nose of cedar.  Not bad at all.

2002 Sine Qua Non Just for the Love of It - 96% Syrah, 2% Grenache and 2% Viognier.  Metallic, smoky and meaty.  Very concentrated.

1997 Sine Qua Non Imposter McCoy - 100% Syrah.  Minty, metallic and mineral.  Pretty ripe and sweet on the palate.

1996 Sine Qua Non Against the Wall - 100% Syrah.  Really jammy, a little grassy, smoky with tangerine notes.  Was this corked?

1995 Sine Qua Non The Other Hand - 100% Syrah.  Farmy, smoky with black olives.

1998 Sine Qua Non Mr. K TBA - 100% Viognier. Nose of acetone, botrytis, grapes and honey.  Soooo sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

1995 VCC

Dinner at Fook Lam Moon.

1995 Vieux Château Certan en magnum - nose of coffee, tobacco, some dried herbs.  A little musty, perhaps?  Acidity was high at first, and a little alcoholic at first.

Full post on dinner is here.

Kikuhime Gin

Dinner at Mikawa Zezankyo in Tokyo.

Kikuhime Gin (菊姫 吟), 10BY - this had a long finish. At first it was a little warm, so it was a little dry and bitter on the finish. Definitely full-bodied, or as the Japanese would say, コクがある.

Full post on dinner is here.

Isojiman Nakatori vertical

Drinks at Sake Tamanegiya in Tokyo.

Azumaichi Junmai Daiginjo Shizuku Shibori (東一 純米大吟醸 雫搾り), 24BY - this isn't something that is made every year, and the bottles are marked with the BY and even the tobin (斗瓶) number.  Master says they only produced 10 isshobins (一升瓶) of this sake, and since 1 tobin holds exactly 10 isshobins worth, I wonder if all 10 isshobins all came from the same tobin...  Anyway, this was smooth and sweet on the palate at first, with a long and dry finish.  On the palate it was noticeably thick and viscous.

Matsu no Tsukasa Junmai Daiginjo Shizuku (松の司 純米大吟醸 雫搾り), 21BY - more prominent banana in the nose.  Lighter on the palate, cleaner.

Hatsukame Show Special (初亀 鑑評会出品酒), 24BY - I had this on my last visit, but from 21BY.  This was just too special to pass up, since Master bought all the bottles released (34 in this instance), as he does every year... and one simply can't have this anywhere else.  A daiginjo nama sake (大吟醸生酒).  What a beautiful and elegant wine!  Smooth, builds on the palate slowly, with a long finish.  Rich rice flavors.  More full-bodied and slightly sharp and alcoholic later.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35), 22BY - pretty smooth first sip, fragrant with banana notes.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35), 23BY - could it be a little smoother than 22BY?!  Softer on the palate, quite sweet.  Later on as it warmed up, got a little stronger and full-bodied on the palate, and a bitter finish.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35), 24BY - full-bodied and round on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 24BY - the rarest of the offerings from the Isojiman stable.  Really soft and elegant.  Fragrant with banana and tropical fruit notes.

Bijofu Yuzu Liqueur (美丈夫ゆずリキュール) - tonight Master poured it from an isshobin and used a Champagne flute to serve it.  The citrusy flavors of this liqueur are always so incredible.

Full post on the evening is here.

1985 and 1990 La Turque

Dinner at L'eau à la bouche in Tokyo.

Henri Giraud Hommage A François Hemart - a little caramelized, still lively, slightly bitter on palate.

1985 Guigal La Turque - opened without decanting.  Minty, gamey, a little exotic, spices, coconut butter, leather, sweet on the nose.  Higher acidity on palate as well as slightly sweet on palate.  The wine had gone downhill 3 hours after opening.

1990 Guigal La Turque - opened without decanting.  Nose of exotic spices, cedar, coconut butter, smoky, leather, coffee, farmy.  Still kinda concentrated on the palate.  No doubt still suffering bottle shock from being in check-in luggage yesterday.

Full post on dinner is here.

83 Prüm Auslese Goldkapsel

Lunch at Guincho a Galera in Macau.

1983 S.A. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - nose of mandarin peel, a little flinty, marmalade. Slight hint of bitter mid-palate, with very noticeable alcohol level. Rounded and a little viscous on the palate. Yum.

Full post on lunch is here.

Old Rieslings, Burgs and Trilogie

Dinner at The Eight in Macau.

1976 von Hövel Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese - a little floral, white flowers, a little flinty, granite and marmalade.  Medium acidity.  Seemed a little diluted at first, but in reality this was just an elegant wine, and went down very smoothly.

1999 Prieuré Roch Vosne-Romanée Clos Goillotte - very cloudy, a little dirty, lovely sweet and ripe fruit, plummy.  Paired perfectly with salty fish.

Trilogie - this is a curiosity... a non-vintage wine made from a blend of multiple vintages of declassified wines from Le Pin.  This particular bottling was a blend of 2007 and 2008.  Pretty sweet, a little sharp on the nose, very minty, some tree park and pine resin perhaps.  Also cedar.  Sweet on the palate, and concentrated.

1985 Louis Remy Chambertin - made the mistake of not tasting this wine before the salty fish arrived... so all I could smell from my glass was the stinky salty fish and preserved leafy mustard (梅菜)... Nice and aged so it drank very smoothly.

1992 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Beerenauslese in half bottle - tangerine peel, lovely minerality and white flowers.  Round on the palate with a very long finish.  Almost a little fizzy.  Wonderful acidity balance.

Full post on dinner is here.