Magnums and doubles

Dinner at a private dining facility.

Jacques Selosse Initial, dégorgée a 21 Octobre 2014 - toast nose, nice and yeasty, a little mineral and savory.  Nose was really fragrant.  Good acidity here, too, with a full body.

1996 Tarlant Saga Extra Brut, dégorgée en Novembre 2004 - very caramelized and sweet on the palate, with a little salty plum.  Beautiful wine, and right up my alley.

2006 Kistler Chardonnay Dutton Ranch - buttery, a bit toasty later.  Medium-bodied but later on turned full-bodied with orange marmalade on the palate and a long finish.

2009 Rieussec - lots of honey, nutty notes, orange blossom, and polyurethane.  Nice and viscous.

2000 Bernard Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Vide Bourse - nice and toasty nose, very open.  Slightly sweet on the palate.  Yum.

2000 La Chapelle de la Mission, en magnum - decanted 2½ hours and poured back into the bottom 2 hours before drinking.  Definitely notes of leather, with a little smoke, and pencil lead.  Nice fruit showed up once it opened up more.  Later on the nose was much more smoky with a little black pepper.  Very smooth on the palate and definitely drinking as it should.

2003 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne, from magnum - more alcoholic and sharper on the nose, with black fruits and ripeness on the nose.  Still tannic on the palate, which wasn't surprising.

2005 Weinbach Pinot Gris Altenbourg Quintessence de Grains Nobles Cuvée d'Or - so much honey here, floral, orange blossoms.  Nice acidity in the nose, too.  Just so beautiful and rich and unctuous.

Full post on dinner is here.

2010 Dagueneau

Dinner at Jade Dragon in Macau.

2010 Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly - nose of green apples, muscat grapes, then a hint of pipi de chat, a little toast.  Later on a little pungent, almost medicinal... but perhaps that was from the air in the room itself.  On the palate the wine was a little acidic at first, because the temperature was on the warm side.  As it opened it became more medium-bodied.

Full post on dinner is here.

Fleury Blanc de Noirs

Lunch at The Tasting Room in Macau.

Fleury Blanc de Noirs Brut - a little yeasty at first, medium-bodied with nice acidity, seemingly nicely balanced.  After some food, palate changed and acidity became more prominent.

Full post on lunch is here.

Cali evening

Dinner at Fu Tung.

2002 Kongsgaard Chardonnay - ripe and sweet on the nose, with a little honey, lemon citrus.  Very lovely and buttery notes, with a little flint.  Much more ripe and mature nose.  Ripeness on the palate, too... if a touch too much on the mid-palate and finish.

2006 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard - lighter and more elegant and delicate on the nose.  Nice and sweet, with caramelized candy which developed into a full-on, incredibly sweet cotton candy nose.  A little toasty but not as powerful and in-your-face as expected.  Later on the buttery notes came out.  Palate was initially more delicate, but later developed into something incredible.  Amazing length.

1985 Dominus - drinking surprisingly well and was much younger than expected.  A little pencil lead in the nose, slightly smoky, with some dried herbs, a hint of earthiness but in a nice way.  So smooth and silky on the palate.  Wow!

1983 Grace Family Vineyard - apparently needed a little time to throw off the funk in the nose.  Not bad at all.  A little medicinal nose, a little smoky with a bit of soy sauce.  Definitely a mature wine, but not yet over the hill.  Pretty smooth on the palate, too.

1997 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 - double-decanted for about 2 hours, then put into a decanter.  Absolutely not ready... as nose was very closed and would barely start to open after about an hour in the decanter.  Very tannic on the palate.  A little animal notes, a little minty, with some black fruits, and a hint of burnt rubber around the edges.

Full post on dinner is here.

Kukurihime

Dinner at Toritama in Hong Kong.

Kikuhime Kukurihime from isshobin (菊姫 菊理姫 一升瓶), BY26 - very nice on the palate, much rounder and smoother than some of the other bottles I have had, and definitely less dry.  A little floral nose with a hint of bananas.

Full post on dinner is here.

96 Dom Pérignon

Drinks at a friend's house.

1996 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - this has always been a vintage that drank well, even at a young age.  Now almost 20 years old, this tasted a lot more mature than I remembered.  Very well-balanced between the ripeness and the acidity on the palate.  Wonderful.

Full post on the afternoon is here.

Inflorescence Côte de Béchalin

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2004 Inflorescence La Parcelle Côte de Béchalin, dégorgée en avril 2011 - 100% pinot noir.  Yeasty, caramelized, ripe on the palate, with a little bit of acidity to balance it out.

Full post on dinner is here.

66 Palmer and 01 Kistler Elizabeth

Dinner at Ta Vie 旅.

2001 Kistler Occidental Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth - lots of nice, sweet fruit right off the bat, plenty of cherries, a little bit of wood and a bit of leather.  Just about what I wanted out of a top Kistler pinot.

1966 Palmer - opened for an hour but not decanted prior to serving. A little ripe both on the nose and the palate, and still has some fruit here.  Rounded and mature on the palate.  A little medicinal, slightly minty and earthy.  Pretty decent condition.

Full post on dinner is here.

2003 Françoise Bedel

Dinner at Épure.

2003 Françoise Bedel L'Âme de la Terre Extra Brut - nice and caramelized on the nose, a little toasty.  Ripe on the palate.  Such a delicious wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

German rieslings and white Burg

Dinner at Guo Fu Lou.

1959 Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach Hochheimer Domdechaney Riesling Spätlese Cabinet Naturrein - a little petrol, polyurethane, a little white flowers, and some orange blossom in the nose.  Ripe but fairly dry on the palate.  More soft and elegant after 55 years.

2012 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese - much bigger nose here, with plastic, white pepper notes.  Sweeter on the palate but also with nice acidity on the finish.  More complex and bigger palate.  Lovely.

2000 Coche-Dury Meursault - nose was pretty muted and disappointing - with none of that classic huge toasty nose of a Coche-Dury.  I've had a number of bottles from the same case, and this must have been just bottle variation.  Nice on the palate, though, with a long finish, good ripeness as well as crisp acidity.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 Ponsot

Dinner at On Dining Kitchen and Lounge.

2004 Ponsot Morey Saint Denis Cuvée des Grives - a little leather, fruits like cherries and plums.  Nice acidity here, and drinking well now.

Full post on dinner is here.