Wines for Michelin Gala 2017

Michelin Gala Dinner at the Grand Hyatt Macau.

Mumm Grand Cordon Brut

2012 Château des Quarts Pouilly-Fuissé Clos des Quarts - nice and toasty on the nose.  Very ripe and soft on the palate, almost limp, and no finish other than the feeling of alcohol burning the back of my throat.

2013 Pernot-Belicard Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Gain - nose fairly aromatic, with surprisingly good ripeness.  Minerality came out when paired with the homard bleu, with some acidity at the back.

2012 La Tour Figeac - pretty ripe and sweet, but not quite jammy.  A little smoke in the fragrant and floral nose.  Still rather tannic.  Surprise on the upside.

2012 François Feuillet Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Sentiers - pretty heavy, toasty nose, nice and floral, with sweet fruit notes.  Seemed a little cloudy and dirty...

2011 Ogier Côte-Rôtie - lovely floral and lavender notes, with some leather and eucalyptus.  A little sharp from the alcohol.

Jean-Marc Roulot l'Abricot du Roulot

Full post on dinner is here.

Sine Qua Non big guns

Dinner at Beefbar.

2009 Sine Qua Non Packin' Rosy - 70% grenache, 16% syrah, 14% roussanne.  15.5% alcohol. A little pungent at first, with lots of toast and plenty of cool fruit.  10 minutes later showing more sweet fruit, with tons of strawberries like a young Rayas, or a young pinot.  Really ripe and hot on the palate.

1997 Sine Qua Non Twisted and Bent - 60% roussanne and 40% chardonnay.  14% alcohol. Rich and mature now, with sweet grass, a little acetone, and a hint of polyurethane.  Beautiful and fragrant.  Totally awesome with straw notes.  45 minutes later the nose was full of sugarcane and vanilla.  1 hour 15 minutes after opening it smelled like cotton candy.  2 hours 15 minutes after opening the wine was just sooo buttery.  Fantastic!

2012 Sine Qua Non Pearl Clutcher - 100% chardonnay.  15.3% alcohol.  Showing beautifully 15 minutes after pouring... toasty and stunning.  40 minutes after it showed a little American ginseng.  1 hour 25 minutes after there was this huge, amazing, toasty nose.  Fucking awesome!  2 hours after it showed like a Kistler chardonnay, with lots of popcorn.

2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil - 96% syrah, 2.5% grenache, 1.5% viognier.   14.9% alcohol.  Served 1 hour 20 minutes after opening, and already beautiful, sweet, with nice oak.  Almost metallic, with vanilla, a little dried herbs, and forest pine.

1999 Sine Qua Non The Marauder - 100% syrah.  14.9% alcohol.  Served 2 hours 50 minutes after opening.  Lovely but still needed a little more time.  Pretty smooth on the palate now.  3 hours 20 minutes after minty notes came out, but one could still smell the alcohol.  3 hours 30 minutes after, more cedar and woodsy notes showed up, and at 4 hours 10 minutes a hint of burnt rubber came out.

1998 Sine Qua Non E-raised - "predominantly syrah, with a spritz of viognier and a dash of grenache".  14% alcohol.  1 hour after opening there was still plenty of iron, with eucalyptus, really sweet fruit, a hint of leather, and some smoke.  1½ hours later the wine was beautiful.

2003 Sine Qua Non The Inaugural Syrah - 97% syrah, 3% viognier.  15.8% alcohol.  2 hour after opening the nose was soooo big and fragrant, woodsy, so alcoholic it was singeing my nose hairs... So ripe, but sooo fucking good!  2 hour 40 minutes after opening the wine was beautiful, a little smoky, so concentrated, and the alcohol was still burning my nose hairs.  3 hours 40 minutes after some coffee notes showed up.

2004 Sine Qua Non Poker Face - 96% syrah, 2.5% mourvedre, 1.5% viognier.  15.5% alcohol.  2 hours after opening it was showing a hint of grass, but still ripe and sweet.  I briefly wondered whether it was lightly corked, but perhaps not.  Very smooth on the palate, but the tannins were still there.  A little smoky, too.

2006 Sine Qua Non To The Rescue Roussanne - 100% roussanne.  10.5% alcohol.  Honey, grapey, honeydew melon, acetone, and polyurethane. 

2001 Mr. K The Noble Man - 100% chardonnay.  11.3% alcohol.  Richer on the palate, nutty, more honeydew melon, more marmalade.  Sweeter with more depth.  Beautiful.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Kaiseki Den by Saotome

MNSC dinner at Kaiseki Den by Saotome.  Juliano played host.

1990 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - a little savory minerals on the nose, with toast, a little marmalade, note quite grassy sweetness.  Still ripe and sweet on the palate, and quite soft.  Lovely wine.

First pair: decanted for 1 hour and 50 minutes prior to serving.

1982 Figeac - beautiful nose, ripe and sweet, a little smoky, a little grassy.  95 points.

1982 Canon - green pepper, almost pencil lead.  Cooler and greener than the Figeac, more herbaceous.  Herbaceous notes disappeared with second pour.  94 points.

Second pair: opened without decanting 2½ hours prior to serving.

1961 La Mission Haut-Brion - sweet, lovely grassy notes, smoky, beautiful.  Some spices, lovely wood notes.  A little funk but dissipated, and some shoe polish notes.  98 points.

1975 La Mission Haut-Brion - medicinal, more muted, a little ripe, almost dirty and cloudy, a little more tannic.  92 points.

Third pair: opened without decanting 3 hours prior to serving.

1996 Domaine Leroy Romanée-Saint-Vivant - really sweet, floral, lovely, with plenty of acidity.  95 points.

1996 Domaine Leroy Chambertin - intially a little more dirty and cloudy.  Second pour was better with much more sweet fruit.  95 points.

Fourth pair: decanted 4 hours prior to serving.

1989 Haut-Brion - smoky, a little pencil lead.  Showed some nice fruit later.  93 points.

1989 Guigal La Landonne - not very open at first.  A little funky and rubbery.  Second pour a little alcoholic.  93 points.

Rieslings and Mouton

Lunch at The Eight in Macau.

2013 Keller Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs trocken - flinty on the nose, with good ripeness on the palate but still good acidity on the back.  More like a French riesling than your average German off-dry riesling.

1971 Christoffel Berres Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese - decanted just prior to serving.  Lots of Manuka honey in the nose, very fragrant, with marmalade notes, a little whiff of old, musty nose... at the same time rich and nutty.  Good depth of flavors on the palate, but a little short.

1978 Mouton-Rothschild - decanted and served right away.  Just 15 minutes later, the wine showed beautiful nose with classic smoke and pencil lead.  The palate was a little short at first, but improved with time.

Full post on lunch is here.

German-French-Italian

Dinner at Casa Don Alfonso in Macau.

2012 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Forster Kirchenstück Riesling Trocken GC - lots of petrol, plenty of polyurethane, a hint of white flowers on the nose.  A hint of ripeness on the palate, with a little bit of acidity on the finish that seemed a little bitter.  A lovely wine.

2009 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - pop-and-pour and beautiful right off the bat.  Huge, open nose with lots of toast, a little popcorn, and lemon citrus.  Beautiful, ripe, and buttery on the palate, although a little bit hot and alcoholic given the vintage.  Drinking incredibly well right now.

Frank Cornelissen Magma 6VA - a natural wine from a maker recommended by Vladimir Kojic at Gaggan, this limited production (500 bottles in this 2007 vintage) wine was made with grapes grown on Mount Etna and come from vines that are more than 100 years old.  I was surprised to see this bottle of "bongwater" on the list, and was dying to try it.

Opened and decanted for 1½ hours prior to serving.  Really sweet and jammy on the palate, very alcoholic... enough to clear one's sinuses.  Almost herbal notes, like putting one's nose near Brin d'Amour.  I didn't mind this, although I don't think there were many fans at the table.  Oh and I don't buy the 14.5% alcohol for one bit... It's gotta be at least a point or two above.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sotheby's tasting

Tasting organized by Sotheby's Wine.

2014 Prieuré-Roch Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru - floral, sweet fruit, very beautiful, with leather notes.  A little more acidity on the palate later.

2011 Dujac Vosne Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts - lovely, sweet and almost jammy, with a little grilled meats.

2008 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaumonts - more spices, a little leather, fragrant, and a bit smoky.

2010 Henri Bonneau Cuvée Marie Beurrier - lots of leather, almost barnyard, smoky, grilled meats, grippy on palate.

1996 Gruaud-Larose - earthy, some fruit here, with leather, lots of smoke, and a little pencil lead.  Almost a little farmy.

2005 Mouton-Rothschild - really coconut, really sweet on the nose, but only slightly sweet on palate.

2000 Les Forts de Latour - smoke, pencil lead, more austere but with sweet fruit underneath.

2014 Ornellaia - pretty sweet and jammy, kinda alcoholic.  Almost like a New World wine.

2010 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon - a hint of burnt rubber with some fruit.

2011 Comte Lafon Volnay 1er Cru Santenots du Milieu - leather, a little pungent sulfur, leather, sweet on the palate, with some acidity.

2012 Continuum - jammy, minty, eucalyptus notes.  Sweet on the palate.

2014 Les Champs Libres - really pungent, totally pipi de chat, flinty, nice lemon citrus notes.  Huge nose. 

Dinner at Dim Sum Library.

2014 Acte 6 - a little minty, lots of oak, rather ripe on the palate, a little tannic, hot and alcoholic.