02 Cos and 85 Madeleine Collignon

Drinking at Sotheby's auction.

2002 Cos d'Estournel - nice and easy to drink.  Fragrant, woody nose, smoky, and almost a little chocolate.  Still a little tannic.

Drinking at home.

1985 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine-Collignon par Bouchard - very ripe nose with stewed prunes, leather, smoky, a hint of chalk.  Opened up nicely an hour in the decanter.

94 DRC Echzeaux and friends

Dinner at Xin Rong Ji.

Henri Guiraud Fût de Chêne MV10, dégorgée le 18 Novembre 2016 - yeasty, ripe, somewhat floral.  Nice.

Jacques Selosse Rosé, dégorgée le 11 Mai 2010 - very ripe and more oxidized as expected, yeasty.  Good depth on the palate and long finish.

2014 Josmeyer Fleur de Lotus - very floral and tropical nose with sweet lychee, elegant on the nose.  But a little hot on the palate, and also overripe with a slight bitter finish.

2010 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Vergennes Cuvée Paul Chanson elevé et mis en bouteille par Lucien Le Moine pour El Bulli - tons of toasty oak with mineral notes.  Drinking beautifully.

1990 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese - unfortunately the first bottle I brought was very slightly corked, but tasted OK on the palate if too oxidized.  Thankfully the second bottle was very fresh and youthful, especially considering that it had been aerated for 2 hours prior to serving.  Showed lemon and polyurethane notes.  Beautiful and smooth.

1994 DRC Echezeaux - two bottles courtesy of the restaurant owner.  Aerated more than 1 hour prior to serving.  Still some sweet fruit in the nose, with a whiff of floral notes.  Pretty dry and somewhat grippy.  OK considering the vintage.

2005 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Cannubi - exotic herbs and sharp alcohol in the nose.  A little rich, and very tannic.

2005 Paolo Scavino Barolo Cannubi - aromatic and much more elegant compared to the Marchesi di Barolo.  Also softer and less tannic.

2000 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion, en magnum - aerated for more than 2½ hours prior to serving.  Very nice with smoky notes.  Smooth on the palate.  Classic claret.

2014 Gut Oggau Joshuari - minty, peppery, pimenton, pine needle notes.  Showing cool fruit.  Reminds of Loire reds like Chinon but also a little of Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage.

Full post on dinner is here.

2014 Dagueneau

Lunch at Sushi Saito in Hong Kong.

2014 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly - served by the glass and obviously too oxidized.  Good acidity, a little green apple, and a little spicy like pimento.

Full post on lunch is here.

Delamotte and stuff

Dinner at a private kitchen in Macau.

Delamotte Blanc de Blancs, en magnum

2014 Recrue Des Sens Love and Pif - a little cloudy, almost a little fizzy with some pungency.  Not my kind of shit.

Full post on dinner is here.

2006 Roederer Brut Nature

Drinking at Wynn Palace in Macau after Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2018.

2006 Louis Roederer Brut Nature

Full post on the evening is here.

Gosset and sake

Lunch at Mizumi in Macau.

Gosset Grand Blanc de Blancs - pretty easy to drink.

Kinsen Daiginjo Kashin (金泉 大吟醸 華心), BY 30 - with a seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%.  Very fragrant, lots of fermented rice and banana notes.

Manatsuru Mana1751 Premium (真名鶴 Mana1751 Premium), BY30 - a junmai daiginjo (純米大吟醸) with seimaibuai of 50%.  Initially muted because it was served too cold, as it warmed it showed a sharper nose with some acetone notes.  Once it fully warmed up it became smoother and slightly sweet.

Full post on lunch is here.

Wines for GohGanDen

GohGanDen lunch at Mizumi in Wynn Palace, Macau.

La Closerie Extra Brut - very yeasty nose.  Lots of mousse here, and very floral.  Nice.

2012 Pithon-Paillé Coteau de Treilles - nice acidity here.  Tasted a little complex and unfiltered, with some oak.

2003 López de Heredia Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia - very oxidized nose, really sweet nose with lots of vanilla and marzipan.  Ripe on the palate with good acidity.

2014 Burn Cottage Pinot Noir Burn Cottage Vineyard - sweet and ripe fruit.  Pretty nice.

2012 Pierre Gonon Saint Joseph - very ripe and sweet on the nose, almost jammy, with nice notes of dried herbs, almost floral.  Still pretty tannic.

2015 Gut Oggau Mechthild - totally bong water!  Just look at how cloudy and orange the thing is!  Nose was definitely pungent with minerality and fizziness.  It's actually more like a French cidre and less like wine.

Full post on lunch is here.

Akabu Junmaishu

Drinks at 酒の一滴は血の一滴 涙こぼしても酒こぼすな.

Akabu Jumaishu (赤武 純米酒), BY 30 - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 60%.  Nice nose of fermented rice, with tropical banana.  Plenty of depth on the palate, with a sweet attack but slightly spicy mid-palate and finish.

2009 Rollan de By

Drinking at home.

2009 Rollan de By - fruity, dried herbs, very oaky.  Still pretty tannic.

Clinet and Maximin Grünhäuser

Dinner at a private dining facility.

1996 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese-trocken - not surprisingly the acidity was rather high, but still feels a little rounded and aged.  With flint and mineral notes.

1988 Clinet - a bit smoky, with a little fruit at the beginning.  After airing in decanter, this became nice and ripe, with a little cedar and some tropical, exotic coconut and banana.

Full post on dinner is here.

Miyakanbai Origarami

Drinks at 酒の一滴は血の一滴 涙こぼしても酒こぼすな.

Miyakanbai Junmai Ginjo 45% Origarami (宮寒梅 純米吟醸45％ おりがらみ), BY 30 - a seasonal special made with 100% Miyama Nishiki (美山錦), with a seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 45%. Nice fragrance of fermented rice, with plenty of floral notes, along with tropical stone fruit, almost ripe and sweet Musk melon.

French and Kiwi

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2016 Fromm Riesling Spätlese - kinda sweet but not quite "lolly water".  Pretty big mineral and petrol nose.

2012 Lucien Le Moine Corton Blanc - big and toasty nose.  Very ripe, with lots of marmalade and honey. 

2007 Jacques Cacheux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru La Croix Rameux - some fruit here, sweet but not too much.  Nice and elegant with floral notes.  A little light on the finish.

2003 Pavie - opened for 2 hours prior to serving.  Very fruity.  Softer now on the palate but tannins were still there.

Full post on dinner is here.

B and Méo

Lunch at Robuchon au Dôme in Macau.

2002 B de Boërl et Kroff, dégorgée en Novembre 2011 - decanted as per my friend's instructions.  Love and fragrant nose.  Soft on the palate. 

2009 Méo-Camuzet Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots - decanted for 50 minutes prior to serving.  Still too young and the tannins were still prominent, but showing lots of animal and leather notes, along with sweet fruit, in the beautiful rose and floral nose.  Probably still needs a few more years.

2005 Rieussec - lots of orange blossom and honey.  Nice and rich on the palate, but still got nice acidity for balance.

Full post on lunch is here.

Champagne and 82 Trot

Dinner at Jade Dragon.

1975 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - very mature by now, with lots of salted plum, savory minerals, tons of marmalade.  Big on the palate, good acidity but carried a slight bitterness on the long finish.

2006 Louis Roederer Cristal - kinda yeasty, much fresher, with white flowers and a little bitter.

1982 Trotanoy - decanted for 2 hours and chilled prior to serving.  Smoky and fragrant, with plenty of coffee, pencil lead, and cedar.  A beautiful wine.

Full post on dinner is here.