Bordeaux red, Paillard and more

Dinner at On Lot 10.

2004 Bruno Paillard Assemblage Brut, degorgée en Mars 2012 - yeasty nose, with ripeness on the palate but surprisingly high acidity.

1983 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Auslese - very big nose of plastic and polyurethane, with white flowers and acetone.  A little sweet but still nicely balanced.

2011 Ram's Hill Sauvignon Blanc - mineral, flinty, green apple, muscat grapes.  Very ripe, and absolutely beautiful.  One of my favorite Sauvignon Blancs in the world.

1996 Grand-Puy-Lacoste - smoky and cedar notes.  Very fragrant and delish.

2008 Cos d'Estournel - very ripe and exotic nose, with vanilla and coconut butter.  Very sweet, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

Rosé and Bordelet Poire

Dinner at a friend's house.

Chartogne-Talliet Rosé - really nice to drink, with raspberries and a nice, ripe palate.

2009 Eric Bordelet Poiré Granit en magnum - huge nose of minerals, lots of flint, with very deep, intense pear flavors.  Higher acidity than expected.  Delicious.  Made from up to 14 varieties of pears from 300-year old trees in Normandy.

Wines at Pierre

Dinner at Pierre.

2004 Tattinger Comtes de Champagne - pretty ripe with a little minerality.

2009 Bouzereau Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes Dessus - a little flint, a little ripe and a little sweet.  Initially too muted as it was too cold.

2005 Talbot - a little minty, smoky and a little sweet.

2005 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Moelleux - a little ripe, almost smoky but not quite.  Acetone, marmalade, musty and bready?

Roses de Jeanne Inflorescence La Parcelle Blanc de Noirs Lieu-dit "Côte de Béchalin", dégorgée en Avril 2012 - I couldn't for the life of me figure out the vintage that was stamped on the table.  Oh well... Classic Cedric Bouchard... yeasty nose, very smooth on the palate, a little ripe and actually somewhat bitter on the finish.  Always happy to drink anything from this man...

Full post on dinner is here.

GPL, Solare and Grange

Dinner at Chiu Tang.

2003 Grand-Puy-Lacoste - minty, a bit smoky.  Classic Left Bank that never goes out of style.

2001 Capanelle Solare - a little smoky, some tannins here, and I could smell the acidity.

1981 Penfolds Grange - very obvious coconut butter, sweet, vanilla, a little leather, and minty.  Smooth on the palate now but still full-bodied.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wine pairing with Indian food

Dinner at the Gaggan pop-up at the Landmark Mandarin.

Frozen Bite - pineapple juice, coconut water, lime juice, coconut and lime (?) foam.  Definitely very tropical.

Paradise - coconut water, coconut milk, lime juice (?) and a sprinkle of tonka bean powder on top.  A little too rich for my taste...

2012 Pascal and Nicolas Reverdy Sancerre Blanc Terre de Maimbray - nose of flint, mineral, and slightly ripe, very aromatic.  Dry on the palate, which was a perfect match with oysters.

2012 Sebastiani Chardonnay Sonoma Coast - as New World as it gets when it comes to Chardonnay... tons of vanilla, tropical and floral notes.  Very ripe on the palate.  I first commented that this was "very Cali", but that puzzled My Favorite Cousin because to her, it tasted just like an Aussie Chard...  I guess many New World Chardonnays all taste like this...

2009 Nevis Bluff Pinot Noir - interestingly this seemed to be mostly cool fruit, with lots of forest and dried herb notes, perhaps tasting a little bit of stem.  There was also some ripeness in the fruit.

2011 Couly-Dutheil Chinon 'Domaine Rene Couly' - a little smokiness, almost like Chinese medicine along with exotic spices.  Kinda tannic still... Paired well with the pork.

2010 Fattoria di Petroio Lenzi Chianti Classico - slightly higher acidity here.  This was OK, but in reality my taste buds weren't exactly operating at full capacity after the lamb chop...

2007 Schlumberger Pinot Gris Spiegel - a little ripe and slightly tropical.

Full post on dinner is here.

1940 Cheval Blanc

Dinner at STAY in Taipei.

1940 Cheval Blanc - very light in color... almost fading to a rosé... with LOTS of sediment here.  There was still some fruit here, a little prune, leather, animal, and smoked meats.  The nose improved with aeration in the bottle, and after one hour I even detected some savory minerals.  The wine drank very nicely, and even after almost 3 hours the wine had not faded.  Fantastic stuff!

1940 Sisqueille Rivesaltes - I brought the leftover from last night and finished it off, offering some to the chefs at the end of the meal.  Nose has softened up a little, but the alcohol was still a little sharp.  Still got the marmalade, nutty, and apricot notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

1940 Sisqueille

Drinking at home.

1940 Sisqueille Rivesaltes, mis en bouteille 2010 - nutty, fragrant, apricot, marmalade, medjool dates.  A little alcoholic.

Ginsberg + Chan party

Drinking at Ginsberg + Chan opening party.

Krug Grande Cuvée - can never go wrong with this.

2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Puligny-Montrachet Le Trezin en jeroboam - initially a little dusty, then it faded and revealed toasty oak, toasted corn notes.  Kinda ripe on the palate.

1999 Ceretto Barolo Brunate from magnum - savory with a little cedar.

2010 La Dame de Montrose - very fragrant nose, with cedar, woody notes.  A little alcoholic.

2004 Clos du Caillou Reserve Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - very ripe fruit and a little alcoholic.

2009 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Rouge - nice fruit, lovely forest, mushroom, and dried herbs notes.

2010 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly - classic green apple and muscat grape, with some mineral and flint.

1982 Duhart-Milon en imperial - a little smoky, brett, very classic Left Bank.  Very smooth on the palate.

Dinner at Sushi Kuu.

Dassai Junmai Daiginjo 39% (獺祭「純米大吟醸」磨き三割九分) - pretty decent.

Five regions from four countries

Dinner at Penthouse by Harlan Goldstein.

2009 Pazo Señorans Albariño - full-bodied and oaky.

1975 Pontet-Canet - brett, a little fruit left, cedar on the nose.  Naturally the tannins are still here since it's a '75.

1970 Gaja Barbaresco - over the hill and gone, no more fruit left, just acidity, smoky and savory, soy sauce.

1999 Araujo Syrah Eisele Vineyard - exotic, tropical coconut and vanilla, along with some coffee.  Pretty nice.

2001 Frescobaldi CastelGiocondo Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ripe al Convento - kinda ripe, still big tannins but they are softening, full-bodied and alcoholic.  A little coffee and smoky nose, with almost a hint of mung beans.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Megan's Kitchen

MNSC dinner at Megan's Kitchen, hosted by Curry.

First pair: opened 3½ hours and decanted an hour prior to serving

1991 Dominus from magnum - nice and smooth on the palate, with a little cedar, a little grassy, bigger and more smoky than the Harlan, a little spicy.  Later on pretty savory.

1991 Harlan Estate from magnum - nice, sweet fruit, with a hint of grass, mint and a tad savory mineral.

Second pair: opened and immediately recorked 2 hours prior, and decanted 15 minutes prior to serving

1975 La Mission Haut-Brion from magnum - nose seemed very oxidized at first, kinda dusty but cleared up later.  Nose of grilled meats, coffee, and mocha.  Later on turned pretty savory.

1975 Petrus from magnum - some fruit here and a little minty.

Third pair: opened and decanted 15 minutes prior to serving

1966 Petrus from magnum, ex-château - more concentrated than the '78.  Minty, metallic, a little sweet, a little smoky, and almost coffee notes.  Definitely a better wine than the '78.  97 points.

1978 Petrus from magnum - cool fruit, lovely and elegant.  Slightly ripe and sweet.  96 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Mid-range hodgepodge

Dinner at a private kitchen.

Isojiman Daiginjo Junmai (磯自慢 大吟醸純米), BY25 - very fragrant nose of banana, honeydew melon, starchy rice.  Medium palate between sweet and dry, with a dry and spicy finish.

Henri Giraud Fût de Chêne MV Rosé - pretty fruity and yeasty on the nose.  Kinda ripe on the palate with some bitterness on the finish.

Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru, dégorgée Septembre 2008 - ripe and caramelized on the nose, with savory minerals and salty plum (話梅).  Also ripe on the palate.  It's been 6 years since disgorgement so this is showing a little age.

2011 Egon Müller Riesling Scharzhofberger Kabinett - lovely, floral nose with flinty notes.  Palate was surprisingly sweet for a kabinett.

1988 Clinet - a little green and probably un petit bouchonée...  with brett.  A little bit of stewed fruit here.  Still reasonably drinkable.

1980 de Fargues - obvious botrytis and acetone on the nose with apricot notes.  Good acidity here.

This 15-year old single malt distilled at Laphroiag was exactly what you'd expect it to be... pretty strong at 50%, with the alcohol starting to singe the hair in your nostrils.  Plenty of hospital disinfectant here...

Full post on dinner is here.