MNSC Dinner - Megan's Kitchen

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

1995 Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires - pretty fresh, slightly ripe on the palate but with a short finish.

First flight: decanted 1½ hours prior to serving.

1996 Latour - very young and alcoholic, a little sharp.  Nose was a little exotic, with vanilla notes and sweet, ripe fruit, along with earthy, smoky, and lead pencil notes.  96 points.

1996 Dujac Clos Saint-Denis - really sweet fruit, with strawberries, a little forest.  A little bitter on the palate, but otherwise just a a really beautiful and stunning wine.  97 points.

1996 Comte de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - pretty fruity, a little muted at first, and kinda like cherry-flavored cough syrup.  A little chalky, and a little bubble gum.  92 points.

Second flight: opened 45 minutes prior to serving without decanting.

1993 DRC La Tâche - showing cool fruit, a little minty, slowly opened up, with nice sweet fruit.  93 points.

1993 Mugnier Musigny - nose was a little weird and a little dirty.  92 points.

Third flight: opened three hours prior to serving without decanting.

1991 Mugnier Musigny - rich, ripe, a little sweet, and some minty notes.  95 points.

1991 Comte de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - a little sharp on the nose, pretty ripe, a little sweet, and a little toasty.  93 points.

1991 Dujac Echezeaux - really open and absolutely beautiful.  Very clean with floral notes.  97 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

From Alsace to Rhône

Dinner at Upper Modern Bistro.

2005 Ostertag Pinot Gris Muenchberg A360P - a little mineral, a little fruity, with stone fruit notes.  A little ripe and sweet on the palate, but more dry than I expected.

2000 Rayas - first pour was disappointingly dirty and chalky.  Turns out it was a dirty glass.  Second pour into a new glass showed more animal notes.  After 2½ hours it finally opened up, showing good fruit and a little violet, along with a little sharp alcohol.  Pretty good, but not nearly as stunning as the bottle I drank 4 weeks ago.

2004 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée - opened for more than 2 hours without decanting.  A little leather, nice and sweet, ripe fruit, with plenty of toast in the nose.  Soooo fragrant.  A little acidity comes out at the end.  Just about as good as the bottle I had last week.

2000 Barnett Cabernet Sauvignon Rattlesnake Hill - very vanilla, oaky, minty, lots of coconut butter, along with some pencil lead.  Drinking very nicely now.

1990 Yquem, en demi-bouteille - a little wax, marzipan, a little marmalade, acetone.  Obviously very sweet. Viscous. Beautiful.

2006 Rolet Arbois Vin Jaune - a little waxy.  Nice and oxidized.

Full post on dinner is here.

Dom Œnothèque and Leroy Vosne-Romanée

Dinner at Mandarin Grill + Bar.

1995 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Œnothèque - nose was so fragrant and floral, with toasty notes initially, then nice and caramelized.  What a beautiful wine!

2004 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée - decanted for about an hour prior to serving.  Nose was soooo floral and fragrant, with violet notes.  A little toasty, and incredibly sweet with red fruits.

Full post on dinner is here.

German rieslings and Cali Pinot

Dinner at Howard's Cuisine in Hong Kong.

1988 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Auslese - unfortunately a little corked, showing some wet cardboard in the nose.  Some aeration helped and it was less noticeable.  A little petrol and white pepper on the nose, and later on some white flower notes.  Good acidity on the palate for an auslese.

1970 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese - drier and leaner on the palate.  Not quite steely, with white flower notes.  Later on the texture was quite rounded on the tongue.

1997 Etude Heirloom Pinot Noir - nose of sweet fruit, with black cherry notes.  Alcohol was a little sharp on the nose.  Fragrant and a little floral, with some hawthorne notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

French, Cali, and Aussie

Dinner at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley Racecourse.

2000 Smith-Haut-Lafitte Rouge, en magnum - smoky, minty, and mineral.  Very nice.

2003 Fisher Vineyards Syrah Hidden Terrace Vineyard, from magnum - very ripe and sweet, exotic, oaky and vanilla.

2006 Mollydooker Cabernet Sauvignon The Maitre D' - still a little sharp and rough around the edges, slightly pungent with the sulfur.  Sweet and punchy.

Full post on the evening is here.

Champagne for scallops

Dinner at Heichinrou in Central.

Chartogne-Taillet Brut Rosé - nose of strawberries, a little caramelized.  Medium to full-bodied.

2003 Françoise Bedel L'Âme de la Terre - caramelized nose.  Nice and ripe on the palate.

2004 Léoville Poyferré - nose of forest, herbs, a little oaky, sweet fruit, with a little smoke and almost a hint of shoe polish.

2003 Arietta Variation One - very sweet and ripe on the nose, almost grapey.  Very minty.  Full-bodied.

Full post on dinner is here.

Trotanoy and Rieslings

Lunch at the Christian Bau pop-up at Hong Kong Jockey Club.

1996 Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Rouge, en magnum - very fruity, with strawberries and leather notes.  Opened up very well later.

2011 Joh.Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett - petrol, polyurethane, white flowers, and a little flinty.  Actually pretty sweet on the palate for a kabinett.

1966 Trotanoy - very smoky, with lots of tea, a little savory, minerals, almost soy sauce, and earthy notes.

1982 Trotanoy - sweeter than the '66, with lots of coffee, smoke, cigar box nose.  A beautiful wine that's drinking very well at this moment.

2013 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese - white flowers, white pepper, petrol, and flint.  Acidity was actually quite high on the palate.

Full post on lunch is here.

Maximin Grünhauser and d'Ampuis

Lunch at Spring Moon in the Peninsula Hong Kong.

1996 Jacques Selosse, dégorgée à 2 Fevrier 2005 - honey, Chinese licorice (甘草), acidity a little high on the first sip.  Nose of salted plum (話梅), hay, savory and mineral.  Soooooo beautiful!  Especially after airing in glass for about an hour.  Naturally the acidity level went up as it warmed up further in glass.  What a privilege to have drunk this wine!

Lucien Albrecht Crémant d'Alsace Brut Rosé - smells like carbonated orange blossom water... Could almost taste the strawberries on the palate.

Full post on lunch is here.

Dinner at Yan Toh Heen in the InterContinental Hong Kong.

1996 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis - very floral with violet notes, along with leather and animal notes.  Acidity was a little higher than expected, which was a shame.

1994 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 45 - classic nose of white pepper and petrol, with a little polyurethane.  Somewhat on the sweet side.

Full post on dinner is here.

96 Selosse and poor cousin

Lunch at Spring Moon in the Peninsula Hong Kong.

1996 Jacques Selosse, dégorgée à 2 Fevrier 2005 - honey, Chinese licorice (甘草), acidity a little high on the first sip.  Nose of salted plum (話梅), hay, savory and mineral.  Soooooo beautiful!  Especially after airing in glass for about an hour.  Naturally the acidity level went up as it warmed up further in glass.  What a privilege to have drunk this wine!

Lucien Albrecht Crémant d'Alsace Brut Rosé - smells like carbonated orange blossom water... Could almost taste the strawberries on the palate.

Full post on lunch is here.

Wines from ex-Soviet bloc

Teliani Valley Extra Sec - this ain't no 'extra sec', given how sweet this tasted... A hint of dryness here.  A little rich and bitter on the finish.

French Boulevard Special Edition - this was noticeably smoother, but the palate was still on the sweet side.

2007 Massandra Sherry - definitely oxidized nose, nutty with a little salty plum.

2008 Massandra Surozh White Port - sweeter on the palate, with medjool dates, a little Chinese licorice, honey, and marmalade.