Leroy and Kouden

Drinking at Sotheby's auction.

2013 Domaine Leroy Aligoté - flinty, a little dusty, toasty.

Drinking at home.

Kouden 35 (香田  35磨き) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%.  Very strong fermented flavors.  コクがある.  Dry in the middle, and definitely spicy.

Dagueneau, Leflaive, Selosse

Dinner at Neighborhood.

Jacques Selosse Rosé, dégorgée le 20 Julliet 2015 - lovely and oxidized nose as expected, with marmalade and toasty notes.  Ripe and mature on the palate.

2004 Didier Dagueneau Silex, en magnum - green apple notes.  Very ripe and rounded on the palate.

2008 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon - oxidized nose, with ripe and buttery notes.

2013 Szent Tamás Szamorodni - not as sweet as what I'm used to, but good sugar levels with some acidity.  Lychee and marmalade notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Baijiu and Alsace

Dinner at Deng G.

Hong Kong Baijiu - not a fan of baijiu...

Delamotte Blanc de Blancs - served too warm and was a little bitter.

2012 Marcel Deiss Alsace - floral with lychee notes.  Oxidized but dry on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - Seventh Son

MNSC dinner at Seventh Son, hosted by Curry.

2002 Coche-Dury Meursault - served 5 hours after opening.  Nice and toasty nose, with lemon citrus but also a hint of dustiness.  Good acidity on the palate with a bit of ripeness.

First pair: decanted 30 minutes after opening, and served 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting.

1975 Trotanoy - smoky, minty, showed riper and more woody notes, with lots of sweetness and coconut notes.  96 points.

1975 L'Evangile - sweet and grassy, smoky, a little dusty, and some old wood notes.  Showing some amber along the rim.  Smooth on the palate.  93 points.

Second pair: served 2½ hours after opening without decanting.

1993 Ponsot Clos de la Roche - very dusty and cloudy with lots of sediment in glass.  After the dustiness faded it showed very nicely, with toasty notes and a hint of floral nose.  Didn't care for the second pour.  92 points.

1993 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche - cleaner nose with more fruit, but also slightly dusty.  After dustiness faded in the glass this showed ripe, sweet fruit... almost bubblegum, and a little tropical coconut.  94 points.

Third pair: decanted 1 hour after opening, and served 2½ hours after decanting.

1991 Guigal La Mouline - slightly grippy on palate, but what a beautiful wine!  Ripe fruit, a bit smoky, oaky, fragrant, with graphite notes, almost some coffee and a little orange.  Acidity on the high side.  99 points.

1991 Guigal La Landonne - much riper on the nose, cooler fruit, minty, smoky, much more concentrated than the Mouline.  Also a little more closed, with a hint of dustiness.  96 points.

Fourth pair: served 4 hours after opening without decanting.

2003 Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - a little sharp and alcoholic, a little bit of rust, some cool, black fruits, and oaky notes.  94 points.

2003 Cathiard Romanée-Saint-Vivant - really metallic and ripe, also a little dusty and a little toasty.  Some jamminess.  93 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Lelarge-Pugeot Blanc de Blancs

Drinking at home.

Lelarge-Pugeot Blanc de Blancs - nice and floral nose, toasty oak, lovely fragrance.  Some ripeness on the palate, with a slightly bitter finish.

Bubbly and Grange

Dinner at Ta Vie.

2012 Savart La Dame de Cœur, dégorgée en Mars 2016 - the nose was very distinctive if somewhat unfamiliar... almost like Chinese rice wine lees with a fermented, acidc nose.  Pretty acidic on the palate, very full-bodied, big with a long finish.

2005 Lelarge-Pugeot Quintessence - nice and smooth on the palate.  Yeasty, a bit toasty.  Good depth on the palate, and almost a little bitter.

1981 Penfolds Grange - opened 1½ hours prior to decanting and serving.  Nose of graphite, toasty oak, and coconut butter. Still got tannins but pretty smooth.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wines for spicy food

Lunch at The Bridge pop-up at Wynn Palace.

Chandon Brut - I don't normally touch the entry-level stuff from Moët et Chandon, but this one from Ningxia tasted a little more interesting than expected.

Shui Jing Fang "Forest Green" (水井坊 菁翠) - I can't stand Chinese baijiu as I always find it so aromatic but so artificial.  This was pretty sweet with lots of depth on the palate, with almost some fermented umami. 

2015 Jia Bei Lan Baby Feet Pinot Noir - very fragrant nose with lots of nice fruit.  Light and delicate on the palate.

2014 Ao Yun - I didn't get much out of this wine other than a little bit of green pepper.  Still some tannins here.

2016 Grace Vineyards Tasya's Reserve Chardonnnay - tropical stone fruit notes, which I did not expect from a chardonnay... Very fragrant and a little flinty.

Chateau Tassi Mysterious Bridge Raw Icewine - almost smelled of lychees from a can... In fact it also tasted like the liquid inside those cans of lychees, with slightly metallic flavors on the palate, with pungent and plasticky nose.

Full post on lunch is here.

AmberxMingles wine pairing

Dinner at Amber for the AmberxMingles four-hands dinner.

R et L Legras Blanc de Blancs - high acidity here, full-bodied with lots of depth.

Dassai 39 Centrifuge (獺祭 磨き三割九分 遠心分離) - a junmai daiginjo (純米大吟醸) with seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 39%.  This cuvée uses a centrifuge to separate the sake from its lees.  Nose was very fragrant and tropical, with stone fruits like apricot.  Sweet on the palate but turns dry in the middle before finishing with sweetness again.

2015 Remoissenet Bourgogne Blanc Renommée - apparently a blend of Chablis and Puligny-Montrachet, this was pretty ripe and hot on the palate.

2014 Kies Family Dedication Shiraz - not just your typical Aussie shiraz, but the nose also showed some metallic iron I often find in Cali syrah.

Quinta do Noval 20 Year Old Tawny Port - sharp and alcoholic on the nose, with raisins and a little nutty notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Daley Blanc de Noir

Lunch at Lung King Heen.

2016 Domaine du Daley Blanc de Noir Grand Réserve - lots of tropical stone fruit, fresh and vibrant, with flinty notes.  Was this really a pinot noir?!

Full post on lunch is here.

Fourrier, Ramonet, Vilmart

Dinner at Neighborhood.

1998 Vilmart Cuvée Création, en magnum - nice and mature, with big and toasty nose.  A little nutty.  Good acidity on the palate.  Beautiful.

2013 Jean-Marie Fourrier Echezeaux Vieille Vigne, en magnum - minty, eucalyptus, floral with violet notes.  Sooo fragrant and beautiful.

2001 Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet, en magnum - lovely, toasty nose, with lemon citrus notes.  Ripe and rounded on the palate, but still vibrant.

1990 Camille Giroud Pommard 1er Cru Clos les Epeneaux, en magnum - pretty smoky with a little cedar.

Full post on dinner is here.

Keller Jubilee, Montrose

Dinner at Sing Gor Private Kitchen in Macau.

Georges Vesselle Cuvée Juline - nice and rounded, pretty easy to drink.

2012 Roses de Jeanne Les Ursules, dégorgée en Avril 2016 - bigger nose and more concentration on the palate.

1994 Montrose, en magnum - smoky, minty, a bit earthy.  A little too warm, and still got tannins here.

2012 Keller Nierstein Hipping Riesling Großes Gewächs Trocken Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth - a little petrol, good acidity, flinty.  Served a little warmer than optimal temperature.

Full post on dinner is here.

1996 Lynch-Bages

Lunch at Wing Lei Palace.

1996 Lynch-Bages, en magnum - served half an hour after decanting.  One hour after decanting this was very smooth on the palate but needed to be chilled.  Showed much better after two hours. 

Full post on lunch is here.