2003 Fonsalette and more

Drinks at Que Pasa in Singapore.

2014 Réserve de la Comtesse - ripe fruit, lots of dried herbs in the first whiff, then turned smoky and minty.

Dinner at Les Amis in Singapore.

Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée, dégorgée Mars 2018 - initially a little yeasty, a little light, but later developed more on the palate.

2011 Markus Huber Riesling Reserve Berg - big petrol nose.

2003 Château de Fonsalette Rouge - opened 1 hour prior to serving.  Nice and fragrant, with a hint of metallic notes, some leather, and almost minty.  Dry and lean on the palate.

Neisson X.O. Full Proof - in a way, this was like a sweet whisky in terms of nose.

Neisson Bio - very exotic, and I definitely smelled sugar cane.

Full post on dinner is here.

Peyre Rose Oro and more

Dinner at Odette in Singapore.

Henri Giraud Fût de Chêne MV13 - nice and ripe, good depth on the palate, and almost a little bitter.

1999 Peyre Rose Oro - really huge and powerful nose, very toasty, almost coffee.  There was sweetness underneath it all.

2018 Gerovassiliou Malagousia Single Vineyard - highly aromatic, almost citrus zest, with tropical stone fruits.

2014 Château de la Négly L'Ancely - very ripe.

2012 Marcel Deiss Gruenspiel - sweet on the palate, flinty on the nose.  Taken with the Époisses, the flavors of mushrooms are magnified.

Full post on dinner is here.

Italians for Italian

Dinner at Otto e Mezzo Bombana.

Vilmart Grande Réserve, dégorgée le Janvier 2019 - very toasty.

2017 Cantina Mesa Opale - very floral and fragrant, light-ish on the palate and balanced, nose turned sweet later, very tropical and fruity.  Actually really nice.

2018 Costaripa Valtènesi Rosamara - flinty, pungent, lots of red fruits.  Later some honey.

2017 Girolamo Russo Etna 'a Rina - very minty and fragrant, pretty sweet on the nose, potpourri, oaky.  Really nice once it opened up.

2014 Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia - nice and sweet, almost like bubblegum.  Also oaky notes, and later a little smoky.  Still kinda tannic but balanced with acidity.

2014 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino - minty and metallic, nice and toasty, ripe fruit... almost orange marmalade.

2016 Tasca d'Almerita Capofaro Malvasia di Salina - pear, mineral, botrytis, acetone notes.  Kinda sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Mascarello Barolo dinner

Dinner at Giando.

Pierre Peters Champagne, unknown cuvée, en magnum - very light on the palate initially but gained some depth with time. Some minerals, but the finish was short.

1973 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – very old now. Plenty of salty plum (話梅) and savory notes, soy sauce, with some sweetness underneath. Sipping the wine delivers a light and delicated palate, while bigger gulps revealed that tannins were still around.

1975 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – more savory notes, with a tighter nose. A hint of sweetness on the palate. After 10 minutes the nose really showed, and became slightly minty later.

1964 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – a little stinky, but underneath there was nice, sweet fruit with a little bit of smoke. Alcoholic nose, but this turned more elegant later.

1967 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – definitely savory notes here in the really big nose. Ripe and ripe, with cooked fruit underneath.

1968 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – Asian spices, savory soy sauce, with Chinese licorice (甘草). Flat and dead on the palate.

1974 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – a little weird… not much on the nose and came with high acidity.

1978 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – pretty nice with more intense nose. Actually closer to a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with more animal and savory notes. My wine of the night.

1990 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – nice and elegant.

2007 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – opened and served 5 hours later. Wow! Really big nose of cooked fruit, mint, potpourri, rubber, tropical fruit, and kinda alcoholic. Maybe some orange here? Would love to drink it again in a few years.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - Arbor

MNSC dinner at Arbor, hosted by Dr. Poon.

1995 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé – nice nose of strawberries.

First flight: served from bottle 1 hour after opening.

1975 Sassicaia – vanilla and a hint of coconut, definitely sweet, a little smoky. Flabby with finish that was a little short. 94 points.

1975 La Mission Haut-Brion – more green and vegetal nose, slightly leaner, cigar smoke, minty. More classic claret with savory notes. Became pretty bretty later and really smoky. 93 points.

Second flight:

1985 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques – served from bottle 1 hour and 50 minutes after opening. Beautiful nose with leather and really toasty notes. Also some nutty notes later. 97 points.

1985 Sassicaia – served 1½ hours after decanting. Really intense nose with smoky, savory, and really minty notes, along with a little brett. Still tannic. 99 points.

Third flight:

1985 Henschke Hill of Grace – served from bottle 3 hours after opening. Really green and vegetal nose, with a hint of exotic coconut butter underneath. Funky with some orange notes. 94 points.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque – served 2 hours and 45 minutes after decanting. Really lovely with a little leathery notes, along with a little potpourri. Sweet on the palate. 95 points.

1981 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques – served from bottle 4 hours after opening. Toasty and beautiful nose, nice and kinda elegant, but slightly bitter on palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sake for hotpot

Dinner at a friend's home.

Isojiman Daiginjo Itteki Nyokon (磯自慢  大吟醸  一滴入魂), from isshobin - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 45%.  Very banana, a little fermented notes, sweet on the attack, smooth and rounded, but a little dry later on.

Born Chogin Junmai Daiginjo (梵 超吟 純米大吟醸), 30BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 20%.  More viscous.  Sweeter on the attack but actually drier mid-palate, with more depth.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo M Supremacy Marunouchi 1-1-1 (磯自慢  純米大吟醸M  丸の内1-1-1) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%.  Kinda disappointing with my first bottle, as I didn't think it was anything special.

2012 Billiot

Dinner at Ta Vie.

2012 Billiot Brut, dégorgée le 14 Mai 2018 - good depth of flavors.

Full post on dinner is here.

Etude and Tattinger

Dinner at Madera in Menlo Park.

2010 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - smoky, graphite, minty, almost green peppers but with sweet fruit underneath.  A little alcoholic on the nose, but pretty nice.  Showed better after opening up for more than half an hour.

Drinking onboard the flight home.

2007 Tattinger Comtes de Champagne - wonderfully toasty nose, very fine mousse, soft and rounded on the palate, then lots of depth with a long finish.

Full post on the evening is here.