1969 DRC Marey-Monge RSV

Dinner at STAY in Taipei.

1969 DRC Marey-Monge Romanée-Saint-Vivant - popped and served without decanting.  Very light color, initially acidic on the palate.  Plenty of preserved salty plum (話梅) with savory notes, along with a little leather and certainly something fermented.  Later started gathering body in the glass with aeration.  Nose was nice and fruity, with plums, black fruits, and a little animal.  Less powerful than expected, but a lovely wine nonetheless.

Full post on dinner is here.

05 Petaluma Tiers

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2005 Petaluma Chardonnay Tiers - very ripe on the palate, with heavy toasty nose and some buttery corn.

Full post on dinner is here.

Dufour, Dethune, and Ponsot

Dinner at Lung King Heen.

Charles Dufour Avalon, dégorgée à 14 octobre 2014 - zero dosage.  Nose was very fragrant and toasty.  Beautiful.

Paul Dethune Cuvée a l'Ancienne, dégorgée janvier 2012 - nose was very caramelized and toasty.  Creamy and smooth, full on the palate.  Delicious.

2005 Ponsot Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes - decanted for about an hour prior to serving.  Nice fruit, with animal and leather notes.  Nice acidity here but obviously still tannins here.  Not bad but a little young.

Full post on dinner is here.

1990 Dr. Loosen Goldkapsel

Lunch at The Eight in Macau.

1990 Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - nose of mineral and flint, a little white flower, some orange marmalade.  Not too sweet on the palate.  Nose started to really open up after half an hour in the decanter.  Pretty good, but a little disappointing.

Full post on lunch is here.

No Aussie for dinner

Dinner at Jade Dragon in Macau.

2005 Kistler Chardonnay Stone Flat Vineyard - the toasty nose was very overpowering, to the point it smelled like burnt charcoal, so we had the wine decanted.  Things got a little bit better afterwards, but remained heavily toasted.  Ripe on the palate.

2007 Lucien Le Moine Clos Saint Denis - double-decanted.  A little lighter on the palate than I expected.  After 1½ hours the nose really opened up to reveal lots of sweet fruit.  This drank reasonably well.

2002 Bertagna Vougeot 1er Cru Clos de la Perrière - this had been shaken around earlier in the day, so it wasn't a surprise that it didn't show very well.  This was also a little more tannic after shaking, and frankly pretty one-dimensional.

1988 Suduiraut - the nose was surprisingly a little smoky at first, with some burnt rubber notes alongside some plastic and acetone.  Palate was not as sweet as expected.  After more aeration I found honey and a little nutty notes in the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

2012 Stag's Leap

Lunch at The Tasting Room in Macau.

Ruinart Blanc de Blancs - this went down very smoothly, with a nice degree of ripeness and less acidity than I remembered.

2012 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Artemis - very fruity with blueberries and lots of vanilla oak, very minty, very fragrant... almost like cedar.  Really sweet on the nose.  A little bit of sweetness on the palate.

Full post on lunch is here.

2005 Vincent Girardin

Dinner at Amber.

2005 Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatieres - pretty ripe on the palate, but still somewhat dry with good acidity.  Toasty nose with buttery and sweet corn notes.  A very delicious bottle from a great vintage.

Full post on dinner is here.

Bijofu, Dagueneau, and Guigal

Dinner at a friend's house.

2006 Dagueneau Blanc de Pouilly - fresh and tropical, with plenty of green apples.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - decanted 30 minutes after opening.  A little stinky, much too farmy.    Got a little better with aeration, and showed the floral and fruity notes underneath.  Very smooth on the palate.

Bijofu Yuzu Liqueur (美丈夫ゆずリキュール), from isshobin - drank this over crushed ice, as usual.  Loooove the citrus fragrance of yuzu, with a good balance between acidity and sweetness on the palate and a slightly bitter finish.  Yum!

Frenchie and Aussie

Lunch at the André pop-up at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

2003 Penfolds Yattarna - pretty ripe nose with notes of straw.  Surprisingly good acidity despite the ripeness, and kinda fat on the palate instead of being lean.  Still very sweet on the nose after 1½ hours.

Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru - sweet and caramelized nose.  Ripe on the palate but still retains nice acidity.

2000 Bernard Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Vide Bourse - buttery and very toasty nose.  Ripe and sweet on the palate.

2007 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape - sooooo fragrant and beautiful.  Minty with ripe fruit and a bit of leather.  Such a pleasure to drink now.

Full post on lunch is here.

2011 Fourier VV

Drinks at Sotheby's Spring Auctions.

2011 Fourier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes - nice nose of dried herbs, minty, a little smoked meat, slightly sharp and alcoholic.  Almost a little savory and meaty.  A little strong on the palate.