2015 Clos des Papes

Drinking at the Sotheby's auction.

2015 Clos des Papes Rouge - lots of exotic spices and forest notes, ripe fruit, eucalyptus, caramelized and sweet.  Waaay too young, alcoholic and sharp.

Old Champagnes and Burgs

Drinks at Le Quinze Vins.

Anne et François Ganevat J'Y Aime - first whiff showed much more metallic notes than expected, mineral, kinda ripe fruit, almost jammy, and a little sharp.

Wine dinner at Uwe hosted by Sotheby's.

1979 Krug - beautiful.  Sweet and caramelized with some Chinese licorice, also coconut butter along with some salty plum.

1971 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - savory and mineral, initially almost not 'clean', but fresher and more lively with more acidity.  Second pour showed more nutty notes.  Two hours later more Chinese licorice and some marmalade.  So caramelized and sweet.

1982 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - much more toasty and nutty, very lovely.  Second pour showed more acidity, a little Chinese licorice, marmalade.  More than 3 hours later this was still very beautiful, and dominated by marmalade.

2007 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - nice and lean on the nose, a little plastic and pungent, but ripe and rounded on the palate, with citrus notes.  Lively and fresh but not too young, has some maturity to it.  After a few minutes toasty notes started to show, and the ripeness on the palate began to emerge after warming up a little in glass.  This was clearly the better wine of the pair tonight as it was more voluptuous.  Second pour was colder, but more ripeness on the palate along with some bitterness.

2008 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - more ripe than expected, with a little toastiness but otherwise the nose was mostly shut.  Later on the nose was almost dusty and chalky.  Second pour showed some beeswax and ripeness on the palate.

1985 DRC Echézeaux - beautiful, floral, elegant, with lovely fruit, and leather notes.  Served slightly too warm for my taste, but this made me so, so happy.

1966 Maison Leroy Echezeaux - more leather and animal notes, with a whiff of toasty oak.  A bit of nice fruit here, too.

1988 Guigal La Landonne - green pepper, a little bit animal, a light hint of medicinal notes, and certainly more tannic.

1988 Guigal La Mouline - initially the nose was very dusty and not clean at all, but got better after I changed to a different glass.  More toasty and animal than I expected, and a lot more muscular, but still more open than the Landonne.  Second pour was much more open and a lot better.

2005 Kweichow Moutai - nose a lot more refined than expected, and almost lovely.  Still tastes like paint thinner, though...

Full post on dinner is here.

Ganevat Cuvée Madelon

Drinks in a hotel room in Macau.

2016 Anne et Jean-François Ganevat Cuvée Madelon - initially nose was pungent, not as clean, a hint of chalk, lot of dried herbs and forest.

Full post on the evening is here.

B and Las Cases

Dinner at Wing Lei Palace in Macau.

2005 B de Boërl and Kroff, dégorgée en Juin 2017 - I could smell the acidity in the nose, and this was pretty ripe on the palate.

2016 Afruge Ma Chérie - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 90%.  This was apparently aged for 4-5 years and spent 6 months in oak barrels.  Very oxidized, very salty like salty plum.  Fermented notes.

1989 Léoville-Las Cases, ex-château 2017 - a bit of sweet grass, smoky, and still got a little bit of tannins.  Classic claret.

Full post on dinner is here.

Pairing with Sichuan food

Lunch at Sichuan Moon in Macau.

The Pu Er flower buds tea is apparently a rarity, with the tea trees growing at an altitude of 2,700 meters and a total production of 50 (?) kg.  Only the flower buds and shoots are picked, and we are told that leaves will never sprout in the same place again.  Whatever the story, the tea was indeed very floral, elegant, and beautiful.

Passing by Chengdu - rum-based with pickled juice and sesame oil added so that it matches well with the appetizers (涼菜) which use sesame oil.  Savory and sour, with the distinctive fragrance of star anise.

2017 Keller Riesling Kabinett Limestone goldkapsel, from magnum - I had no longer that Keller made a goldkapsel version of the humble Limestone kabinett... and that it was only bottled as magnums and only available at Sansibar on the island of Sylt, Germany.  Very clean, with a little white flowers.  The acidity is there but this is surely off-dry with some sweetness.  Full on the palate but softer finish.

Tsingdao Original 13° (青島啤酒原漿) - this is unpasteurized, unfiltered, and undiluted.  Apparently this is flown from Chengdu to Macau twice a week, as the Chengdu branch of Tsingdao Brewery was the first to develop and market this "original beer" - which has a shelf life of just seven days.  The flavors here were so clean and not at all bitter.  It tastes like witbier, but even softer and more elegant.  For a guy who dislikes beer for its bitterness, this was probably the best beer I have ever had.

2016 Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de l'Empire - great on the palate.  Floral, elegant, subtle, with a bit of that overripeness that is almost acetone, and slightly bitter mid-palate.

2007 Tattinger Comtes de Champagne - very yeasty and moussy.

2014 Damijan Ribolla Gialla - this is "yellow wine" or as I would classify it, bongwater.  This showed acetone, like a dry Sauternes.  Very aromatic, and paired well with the custard.

Fernando de Castilla Antique Palo Cortado - untiltered, very nutty, medjool dates, and not very "clean".  Very oxidized, obviously, and pretty dry on the palate.  Just love the fragrance in the mouth.

2015 Jiabeilan Baby Feet Pinot Noir - nose was interesting with leather and fruit.  Much better than the last time I tasted it.  Some sweet bubblegum later.

2015 Lanzaga El Velado - fruity and fragrant, with some dried herb potpourri.

2016 Tiansai Skyline of Gobi Chardonnay Reserve - nice and toasty with good lemon and citrus notes.

Spicy Goji - a mocktail made with gin infused with spices and herbs, which subsequently had alcohol removed, and to this wolfberry flavors were added.  This tasted fermented like pickle juice, both sour and savory.

1946 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottled in 2011, from double magnum - lots of potpourri, pine needle, sweet on the nose.

Just look at this color!  Very rich, soooo viscous.  Downright unctuous.

Riesling and Burgs

Dinner at Nhau.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Yellow Label

2006 Tattinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs - much nicer and more elegant.

2009 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett - classic kabinett, with a little petrol, flint, white flowers, and just a little sweetness to make it off-dry.

2005 Nicolas Potel Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes - eucalyptus and a little leather notes.

2008 Joseph Voillot Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens

Caol Ila 12 years - Still peaty and plenty of hospital disinfectant.

Franco-American night

Dinner at Ecriture.

1998 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs La Réserve, dégorgée en juillet 2016 - very toasty, fragrant, and nutty.

2013 Peter Michael Chardonnay Mon Plaisir - overripe and bitter on the palate.  Not happy about this.

2012 Botanica Pinot Noir - very fragrant and elegant, with ripe fruit but not jammy.  Some spices here, and almost a little bubblegum.

1986 Cos d'Estournel - served 2 hours after opening.  Classic, aged claret.  Very soft and smoky, slightly medicinal/brett, grassy, leather, stewed black fruits, and matured wood on the nose..  Pretty decent and not bad at all.

Full post on dinner is here.