Foillard and Viader

Lunch at Derby Restaurant.

Franck Bonville Brut Prestige - both acidity and ripeness on the palate.  Not too acidic for a blanc de blancs.

2010 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée 3.14 - unfiltered and cloudy.  Nice acidity on the palate, with toasty corn, sweet fruit, animal, and leather notes.  A wine that is drinking beautifully now.

1997 Viader - decanted 1 hour prior to serving.  First whiff showed black olives and stewed prunes.  Later with vanilla, forest, and meaty notes.  Mature now and somewhat disappointing.

Full post on lunch is here

Girardin and Ponsot

Dinner at Hugo's.

2005 Vincent Girardin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret - advanced oxidation, with deeper color.  Lots of sugarcane on the nose.  Ripe on the palate with a rather short finish.

Drinks at home.

2004 Ponsot Griotte Chambertin - drank 2 hours after opening.  Nice nose of leather with some floral and forest notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

2000 Clos Badon

Dinner at Carianna Restaurant.

2000 Clos Badon - a classic claret, with smoke and some earthy notes.  A lot less sweet and fruity than expected.

1990 Clos Ste Hune and 1982 Lafite-Rothschild

Dinner at Petrus.

1990 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune - a beautiful wine!  Very open and fragrant, with flint, petrol, nice fruit, white flowers, and some lemon in the nose.  Some residual sugar here but really good acidity, especially after opening up.

1982 Lafite-Rothschild - decanted for more than a hour prior to serving.  Drinking very well, with smoky nose along with tobacco and pencil lead.  Still some fruit here.  Silky smooth.  Started going downhill after almost 2 hours in the decanter.

Full post on dinner is here.

"Not too serious" wines

Dinner at Locanda dell'Angelo.

2010 Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières - nice acidity here.  Flinty with a little lemon on the nose.

1985 Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze - served without decanting.  Very clean, with sweet fruit and a little leather.  Nice and mature, very smooth.

2015 Guigal La Doriane - really ripe, flinty, with tropical banana and stone fruits.  Very rich and sweet on the palate - almost chewable.  14.9% alcohol, supposedly...

2000 Branaire-Ducru - smoky with leather notes.  Solid with no surprises.

1975 Massandra Rose Muscat - having tasted some of Massandra's dessert wines before, I knew that this was gonna be deathly sweet.  At 24.3% sugar, this has easily 50% more sugar than something like Yquem...  Pure honey and sugarcane, with a hint of savory notes like salty plum (話梅).

In glass.

Full post on dinner is here.

Selosse and Dead Arm

Dinner at Fook Lam Moon.

Jacques Selosse Version Originale - can't read the disgorgement date on the back label... Very nice mousse, with yeasty notes.  Very mineral and savory, and much more salty than expected on the palate.

2004 d'Arenberg The Dead Arm, from magnum - served a little warm, and decanted shortly before serving.  Tons of vanilla and coconut butter in the nose.  Very sweet.  Pretty much as expected from this wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

Dewazakura Yukimanman 5 Years

Dinner at Inagiku in Royal Garden Hotel.

Dewazakura Yukimanman, Aged 5 Years Below Freezing (出羽桜 雪漫々 五年氷点下熟成酒), released Dec 2016 - first sip was drier than expected, but mid-palate was very soft and smooth, with a spicy finish in the back.  Fragrant nose with a little tropical fruits.  Nice length with good depth of flavors.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagne and sake for caviar

Dinner at a friend's house.

2002 Dom Ruinart Rosé - very fruity and a little flinty.

1999 André Beaufort, dégorgée en juillet 2010 - really smoky with heavy toasty notes.  A very mature Champagne with a long finish.

1999 Henri Giraud Fût de Chêne Collection - very mature and smooth, toasty, a little savory and mineral, with aged citrus and marmalade.  A little pungent at the end.

Juyondai Special (十四代 秘酒) - very smooth.  Deep and rich on the palate, or as the Japanese would say コクがある.

1986 Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon - pop-and-pour.  Animal, leather, cedar, smoky, red bell pepper, and a little eucalyptus.  Still medium to full-bodied, and the tannins are still there.

Full post on dinner is here.

Craggy Range

Dinner at Summer Palace.

2016 Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc Te Muna Road Vineyard - very lolly water... very tropical and peachy, a little flinty but still sweet on the nose.  Later on a little pungent sulfur.  Sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Selosse and Kongsgaard

Dinner at Mountain and Sea House in Taipei.

Jacques Selosse Blanc de Blancs, en demi-bouteille - released only weeks ago.  Vintage unknown, but suspect to be 90s.  Big nose of salty plum, marmalade, sweet grass, and straw.  Mature and soooo beautiful both on the nose and the palate.  There were almost no bubbles rising up in the glass.

2003 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge - opened for an hour prior to serving.  A little caramelised nose, showing mineral, grass, and straw notes.  After 1½ hours the nose was really sweet and sugary, with a little lemon.  Sweet on the palate and slightly sharp alcohol on the back end.

Drinks at Domaine Wine Cellar.

2002 Morey-Blanc Meursault Les Casse-Tetes - nose of toasty corn and almost a little pipi de chat... Ripe on the nose.

Full post on the evening is here.

1943 Cheval Blanc

Dinner at home in Taipei.

1943 Cheval Blanc, Eschenauer bottling - smoky nose with grilled meats, nice and fragrant cedar notes, leather, and a little stewed fruits.  A nice surprise.

Full post on dinner is here.

Chartogne-Taillet and Mollydooker

Dinner at Frantzén's Kitchen.

Chartogne-Taillet Le Rosé - nice and fruity, strawberries, yeasty nose.  Always love this Champagne.

2006 Mollydooker Carnival of Love - decanted for 1 hour before pouring back into bottle for another hour.  Lots of coconut butter upon opening.  Showed forest notes as well as sweet fruit.  Still pretty tannic but very sweet on the palate.  The alcohol was evident at 16%.

Full post on dinner is here.