2001 BOND Matriarch

Dinner at Fook Lam Moon.

2001 BOND Matriarch - double-decanted 45 minutes prior to serving.   Very fragrant nose, with some coconut butter, cedar, and nice fruit.  Initially dry on the palate, but became sweeter with time.  Still full-bodied after 15 years, even after throwing off a ton of sediment.

Full post on dinner is here.

Krug in the Krug Room

Dinner at the Krug Room.

Krug Grande Cuvée - I forgot to check the ID and find out the base year.  Honestly, I would be happy to drink Grande Cuvée any day of the week... and often I prefer it to some of the other offerings from the House of Krug.  Tonight I loved the toasty nose, and the way the maturity of the wine hit my palate.

2002 Krug - perhaps my palate was a little off tonight, but I really didn't appreciate this wine tonight.  I thought it was pretty flat on the palate, with just a little bit of acidity.  A hint of toast in the nose, but otherwise totally unremarkable.

1996 Margaux - what a beautiful wine!  Smoky nose with pencil lead, savory minerals, soy sauce, some sweet fruit, eucalyptus, and a little sweet grass.  Silky tannins on the palate.  I would have given this a near-perfect score tonight.  Decanted just under two hours prior to serving.

2003 Colgin IX Estate Proprietary Red - decanted for just under 2½ hours prior to serving.  Honestly I was disappointed in the wine I brought, although the others - including Uwe - seem to have enjoyed them.  Maybe because I left the wine in my glass for much too long before taking the first sip, but I didn't get very much out of my first glass.  I got a little more from my second glass, which showed some coconut and vanilla oak that I was expecting from this wine.  Still very tannic at this young age.

1997 Philippe Delesvaux Carbonifera - as the back label states, this was harvested on October 30, 1997, with a whopping 27% potential alcohol and a ludicrous 459 g/L of residual sugar.  As a reference, Yquem usually comes in at 1/3 of the amount of residual sugar... Totally unctuous, viscous in terms of texture.  Loads of honey, nutty, and orange blossom turning into rich marmalade on the nose.  Very, very sweet... getting to the point of tasting like honey.  A real treat to have tasted this monster.

Full post on dinner is here.

05 Lachaux Clos St Denis

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2005 Pascal Lachaux Clos St Denis - lots of black fruits here.  Opened up really nicely to show forest and herb notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sake pairing

Dinner at Godenya.

Zarusouhourai Junmai Ginjo Queeen Nama (残草蓬莱 純米吟醸 クイィーン 生), 2016 - served at 12°C.  An unpasteurized cloudy sake (薄にごり) with a seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 60%.  This showed strong fermented rice flavors, almost like an overripe peach with that alcoholic flavor.

Tamagawa Ice Breaker Junmai Ginjo Nama (玉川 アイスブレーカー 純米吟醸生), 2016 - served at 13°C.  An unfiltered (無濾過) and unpasteurized sake with a seimaibuai of 60%.  Tasted like fermented rice, with a little nutty flavor or liked dry tofu.

Sogen Junmai Nama (宗玄 純米生), 2015 - served at 43°C.  Unfiltered and unpasteurized with a seimaibuai of 65%.  Sweeter on the palate, with a spicy and alcoholic back palate.

Kazenomori Yamada Nishiki 80% Junmai Shiborihana Nama (風の森 山田錦80％ 純米しぼり華 生), 2016 - served at 12°C.  With seimaibuai of 80%.  Nice and easy to drink, with medium sweetness as well as dryness.  A little banana on the nose.

Tenyurin Tokubetsu Junmaishu (天遊琳 特別純米酒), 2003 - served at 48°C.  With a seimaibuai of 55%.  Medium and slightly sweet on the attack, but dry on the finish.  Nose of salty plum along with some savory minerals.  Starting to exhibit the characteristics of a koshu (古酒).  Released in 2016.

Taenohana Kimoto Junmai Nama 90% (妙の華 きもと純米生), 2016 - served at 18°C.  With a very high seimaibuai at a whopping 90%.  A little viscous, almost a little creamy with some acidity... like drinking Calpis (カルピス).  Nice and elegant on the attack, sweet but with a spicy finish.

Yoemon Junmai (酔右衛門 純米), 2011 - served at 47°C.  Unfiltered sake with seimaibuai of 70%.  Nice acidity here and a little spicy.  Released 2016.

Kinpo Shizenshu Nigorishu (金宝 自然酒 にごり酒), 2016 - a really thick, cloudy sake with a seimaibuai of 80%.  Alcoholic, spicy, and bitter on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Egly-Ouriet and Les Cailloux

Dinner at Sup1.

Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru, dégorgée en Septembre 2008 - nice and a little caramelized, a little toasty, starting to be a little like salty plum (話梅).  Nice length on the palate.

1989 Les Cailloux Cuvée Centenaire - decanted an hour prior to serving.  Some sweet fruit left, then later opened up to show some ripe and stewed prunes.  Very smooth and silky on the palate.

Girardin and Isojiman

Dinner at Jiang Su.

2005 Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - very ripe, but good acidity here along with the sweetness.  Caramelized nose with oaky notes.  A very long finish.

Isojiman Daiginjo Junmai Emerald (磯自慢 大吟醸純米 エメラルド), 2016 - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 50%.  Very nice and smooth, and a little round on the palate.  A little on the sweet side.

Kikuhime Tokugin

Dinner at Tenkai.

Kikuhime Tokugin (菊姫 特吟), from isshobin No. 154/300, brewed in 2000 (平成十二年) and bottled in May 2013 - with a seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%.  This was sweet on the attack, and became dry mid-palate with a spicy finish.  Very viscous and rounded on the palate.  Very smooth thanks to the aging.

Full post on dinner is here.

Afternoon tasting

Drinks at a friend's.

2008 Roulot Meursault Les Meix Chavaux - good ripeness, some roundness on the palate but also some lean acidity.  After warming up the acidity became much higher.  Toasty nose also more prominent after aeration.

2003 Léoville-Las Cases - very ripe and warm fruit, some graphite, a bit chalky.  Tannins are still here with some acidity.

2005 La Grave a Pomerol Trigant de Boisset - nose still slightly pungent and more earthy, with cedar notes.  Tannic but acidity still here.

2008 Chartogne-Taillet Heurtebise - nice and caramelized, you can smell the acidity in the nose, with some flint.  Acidity comes out on the palate later.

Rosés and Burgs

Dinner at the Gert de Mangeleer pop-up at Derby Restaurant, Hong Kong Jockey Club.

1997 Salon Le Mesnil - a little toasty and a little salty plum (話梅).  Acidity was higher than expected.

2006 Bernard Van Berg La Rose Jaune Rosé - pretty sweet on the nose, with a little candy, coconut butter, a little Chinese licorice (甘草), sugarcane, and very bubble gum.

2006 Sine Qua Non Autrement Dit - the other rosé in the pair, with a much darker color.  Nose was more pungent, very sweet, and lots of strawberries.

1990 Camille Giroud Pommard 1er Cru Clos Les Epeneaux, en magnum - opened 2 hours prior and decanted 1½ hours prior to serving.  Drinking very well tonight.  Smoky, savory nose with eucalyptus, and fragrant cedar notes.

1993 Hubert de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots - nose was a little dusty.  Savory and smoky notes.

1996 Chanson Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc - nose of marmalade, sugarcane.  Fresh, rich, and a little sweet.

2007 Suduiraut - nose of acetone, marmalade, orange blossom, and honey.  Really sweet on the palate but there's enough acidity for balance.

Full post on dinner is here.