Jacquesson and 83 La Chapelle

Dinner at Gaddi's.

Jacquesson Cuvée n° 738 - surprisingly ripe on the palate, with prominent yeasty notes.  Very vibrant yet elegant bubbles.

1983 Jaboulet La Chapelle, ex-domaine - for the second time in a row, our waiter was overly aggressive when it comes to decanting my wine, which meant that some sediment ended up at the bottom of the decanter... and subsequently poured into my glass.

The wine was filtered while decanting due to a broken cork, then the decanter was stoppered.  Pretty sweet fruit in the nose, with plenty of leather and toasty notes.  Showing beautifully after 40 minutes, with stewed prunes and cedar, but acidity on the palate was a little high.  Almost 2 hours on, the wine turned pretty sweet on the nose, and acidity was more prominent, while some tannins and a hint of sharp alcohol showed up at the end.

Full post on dinner is here.

Brown and Rich

Dinner at Felix.

2012 Château Brown Blanc - initially served too cold.  A little ripe, and kinda round on the palate, with some sweetness here.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Rich - VCP created Rich to be made into cocktails, and this was classified as Doux with a whoping 60g/L of sugar... That's even higher than Moët's Ice Imperial, which has 45g/L...

I chose the cocktail made with grapefruit twist, and it was nice with lots of citrus notes.  We were surprised to find that after adding ice and the grapefruit, the drink wasn't as sweet as we thought it would be.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagne and Burgs

Dinner at Zetland Hall.

2005 Tattinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé - nice and fruity with plenty of red fruits.

2009 d'Eugenie Vosne-Romanée - very flat, seemingly diluted and one-dimensional.  Second pour better, with a little more forest notes and a little more body.  Disappointing.

2002 Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds - opened 2 bottles.  More concentration here, with a little more fruit.  Very smooth on the palate.

Roses de Jeanne and Dugat-Py

Dinner at Kin's Kitchen.

Roses de Jeanne Côte de Val Vilaine Blanc de Noirs, vintage unknown - very smooth and slightly sweet on the palate.

1996 Dugat-Py Charmes-Chambertin - opened 1 hour prior to serving, not decanted.  Very smooth on the palate.  Fragrant with cedar notes, a little sweet fruit, almost a little vanilla.  Pretty good but was kinda expecting a little more.

Full post on dinner is here.

2003 Tarlant La Matinale

Lunch at Lung King Heen.

2003 Tarlant La Matinale - a brut nature with zero dosage. Very obvious given the noticeable acidity on the palate. The nose was nice and toasty, and a little yeasty. Full-bodied with a nice and long finish. A lovely wine.

Full post on lunch is here.

1998 Musar

Drinks at Le Salon de The de Joël Robuchon.

1998 Musar Red - this was the last pour from a bottle opened a day ago.  Definitely over-oxidized, showing a little stewed prunes, sweet fruit, and acidity on the nose.  Some sweetness on the palate.

1997 Montrose

Drinks at a wedding banquet.

1997 Montrose, en double-magnum - smoky, earthy, a little grilled meats and leather.

A pair of Super Tuscans

Dinner at Beef and Liberty in Lan Kwai Fong.

1997 Ornellaia - double-decanted 30 minutes prior to serving.  Very ripe but not jammy, more like a little stewed prunes.  Minty and a little eucalyptus, sweet fruit, a little smoky and woody.  Still plenty of concentration on the palate.  Drinking beautifully right now.

2000 Sassicaia - decanted immediately prior to serving.  Ripe but not at the same level as the Ornellaia.  Smoky notes.  A little more tannic (probably a decanting error), but acidity on the palate was significantly higher.

Full post on dinner is here.

82 Grand-Puy-Lacoste

Dinner at Gaddi's.

1982 Grand-Puy-Lacoste - decanted upon opening, served immediately.  It took a couple of minutes for the hint of musty nose to dissipate, but once it did the wine just got better and better.  A classic claret, with earthy, smoky notes.  Very silky smooth on the palate, with acidity in the middle.  Not a whole lotta fruit here, with more grilled meats instead.  Later on showing more cedar and a little more sweetness.  A beautiful bottle of wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

Bubbly and white

Dinner at home.

Chartogne-Taillet Cuvée Sainte Anne Rosé - 60/40 blend between chardonnay and pinot noir, mainly from 2010.  Sooo full of red fruits like strawberries, with some caramel notes.  Just wonderful.

Roses de Jeanne Lieu-dit Les Ursules, 2009, dégorgée à Juillet 2011 - nice and ripe, with a good mousse.  Always love this Champagne.

2009 Pazo Señorans Albariño Rías Baixas - ripe nose with lots of honey, straw, and a little muscat grape.  Sweet on the nose.

MNSC dinner: Duddell's

MNSC dinner at Duddell's.  My turn to host.

1970 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - obviously mature, with lots of Chinese licorice, very sweet, lots of caramel and sugary, but also savory and mineral notes, some salted plum.  Big on the attack.  Sooooo beautiful.

First flight: opened 1¾ hours prior to serving, not decanted.

1970 Lafleur - seemed to show wet cardboard nose on top of leather, smoky, and earthy notes.  The group voted to throw this out because it was corked.

1976 Lafleur - pretty fragrant, with a hint of floral notes.  Elegant with a little sweetness, almost a little jammy.  95 points.

Second flight: opened 2½ hours prior to serving, not decanted.

1991 DRC Richebourg - stronger animal notes, a little stinky and funky.  Later a little musty, and not very pleasant on the palate.  88 points.

1996 DRC Richebourg - very fragrant, with plenty of sweet, red fruits.  A little plummy, too.  After 20 minutes in the glass, the palate also wasn't as pleasant.  96 points.

Third flight: opened 3½ hours prior to serving, not decanted.

1990 Henri Bonneau Cuvée Speciale - ripe, a little leather, a little sharp on the nose.  A little flat on the palate and slightly green.  93 points.

1998 Henri Bonneau Cuvée Speciale - ripe, plummy, black fruits, jammy, a bit smoky.  Palate was going downhill 4 hours after opening.  97 points.

1998 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - a little minty, pretty sweet and fruity, ripe, almost jammy, with a little forest notes.  96 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Big guns for kiddie bday

Birthday party at Seasons by Olivier E.

1980 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé, en magnum - really ripe and sweet nose, with red fruits like red currants.  Just beautiful.

1992 Leroy Corton-Charlemagne - beautiful and fragrant, with a big, toasty nose.  Also pretty sweet and ripe.

2001 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - sweet and ripe, with less toasty notes.

2001 Rouget Echezeaux, en magnum - leather notes along with some fruit, not quite open.

2003 Prieuré-Roch Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Le Clos des Corvées, en magnum - soooo ripe, so sweet, with flamboyant fruit and woody notes.  Just beautiful.

1982 Trotanoy - smoky, a bit grassy, and a little leather.  Drinking beautifully.

1982 Calon-Ségur, en magnum - more tea and soy sauce notes, earthy, smoky, and cedar.

1966 Vieux-Château-Certan, en magnum - much sweeter and riper than expected, with a little coconut.

1996 DRC Richebourg - floral and beautiful.  Wow!

2010 Liger-Belair Echezeaux - toasty and nice, but needs time to mature.

2001 Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis, from magnum - decanted.  A little smoky, sweet, cool fruit, sweet spices, minty.  Still really concentrated.

Dinner at My Tai Tai.

2000 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese-trocken - good acidity here, dry without being too sharp.  Classic petrol nose.

2006 Selbach-Oster Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese* - grassy, perhaps a little corked.  A little flinty nose with orange and apricot notes.  Very sweet on the palate and very viscous.

1966 Vieux-Château-Certan, en magnum - 5 hours later, the nose had kinda faded but it was still pleasant to drink.

2001 Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis, from magnum - now triple-decanted after 5 hours.  Still got lots of concentration here, and pretty nice.