97 Beringer Merlot

Drinking at home.

1997 Beringer Merlot Private Reserve Howell Mountain - still drinking very well, actually pretty ripe and sweet, with a little more vanilla than expected. 

Champagne at home

Dinner at a friend's home.

2007 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape - ripe fruit, prunes, leather, grilled meat, and almost a little coffee.

2011 Paul Déthune Cuvée à l'Ancienne, dégorgée en novembre 2017 - vanilla, caramelized nose.  Very ripe on the palate.

2009 Roses de Jeanne Les Ursules, dégorgée en juillet 2011 - floral notes here, like a light rosé wine.  Ripe and kinda sweet on the palate, very smooth, with plenty of depth on the palate.  A hint of bitterness here, but not bad.  Leaves lots of fragrance in the mouth, and almost like fermented lychees.  Beautiful.

Henri Giraud Hommage à François Hémart - nice and ripe on the nose, also ripe on the palate but plenty of acidity.  Some toasty notes.  Very long finish.

1997 Aldo Conterno Barolo - sweet fruit, bubble gum, banana, a little floral, potpourri, dried herbs.

70 BV and more

Dinner at a friend's home.

1996 Bruno Paillard Nec Plus Ultra, dégorgée en janvier 2009 - very, very ripe, very smooth with a long finish.  Slightly bitter at the end.  Delicious.

1996 Kistler Chardonnay Cuvée Cathleen - unfortunately this was long gone... much too oxidized and flat on the palate.  A shame.

1970 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve - decanted just before serving.  Still plenty of vanilla and coconut butter at first whiff, ripe and stewed prunes, later a little smoke.  Very smooth and silky on the palate.  Much later on it turned savory with black tea.

1996 Rayas - really sweet and jammy right off the bat, typical Rayas.  Then a little potpourri, forest, and some leather later.  Suddenly fell off a cliff less than an hour later.

1967 Kopke Colheita - smoky, nutty, sweet dates, and savory minerals.

Full post on dinner is here.

2010 Clos Floridene

Drinking at home.

2010 Clos Floridene Blanc - flinty, toasty, lemon.  Ripe on the palate but still got enough acidity for balance.  A little bitter on the finish.

Diel and Barton

Dinner at the Lobster Bar.

2001 Diel Cuvée Victor - an interesting blend of pinot gris and pinot blanc.  Nose was very floral, toasty, and a little honey.  Very lovely with a nice age on it, but not too oxidized.  A little flint, nice and buttery, and later on some stone fruit.  Good acidity on the palate.  Drinking beautifully.

2000 Léoville Barton - decanted one hour prior to serving.  Still tons of smoke and pencil lead.  Classic claret, with a decent amount of fruit.  Drinking very well.

Full post on dinner is here.

Tamanohikari Black Label

Dinner at Ishiyama.

Tamanohikari Black Label (玉乃光  純米大吟醸 Black Label) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%, made with 100% Bizen Omachi (備前雄町). Initially served too warm, which made it spicy on the palate. Nose was slightly on the fermented side. When properly chilled this seemed slightly sweeter on the attack, and rather balanced on the palate with a long finish. Unfortunately somewhat one-dimensional. Not my style, and needs to be served pretty cold for my liking.

Full post on dinner is here.

2005 Girardin

Drinking at home.

2005 Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles - ripe and sweet on the palate.  Buttery with a little straw notes.

French wines with Indian food

Pop up dinner by The Bombay East Indian Girl at Test Kitchen.

Frédéric Lornet Crémant du Jura Brut NV - definitely plenty of red fruits, and also a little pungent.  Very easy to drink but with a little bitterness on the finish.

2016 Bechtold Gewurztraminer Obere Hund - very floral nose with lychee and honey.  Sweet on the attack but quickly changed to bitter mid-palate, thanks to being too ripe.  Almost like mango.  Kinda viscous, which helps coat the tongue and neutralizes the heat from spicy dishes.

2007 Josmeyer Pinot Gris "1854" Fondation - more plastic and polyurethane on the nose, oxidized, almost pineapple and kinda lychee, definitely tropical notes.  Also some minerals, and ripe on the palate.

2016 Valle Dell'Acate Il Frappato - MEH. Kinda flat on the palate.

2016 Château de Bastard, en demi-bouteille - very ripe and kinda alcoholic on the palate, with beeswax, ripe pineapple, and botrytis notes on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Isojiman night

Dinner at Nikushou.

Isojiman Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo 35 (磯自慢 中取り 純米大吟醸 35), 2014 - initially nose was not very open, a little spicy, not quite green.  Very smooth on the palate, soft and almost a little viscous.  Second pour was colder, around 10°C.  More banana notes.  Sharper on the palate, and really nice.  Later on this was more like koshu (古酒).

Isojiman Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo 35 (磯自慢 中取り 純米大吟醸 35), 2015 - nose was more open and showy, with more fermented rice, more elegant.  Much bigger banana and tropical notes.  Still very smooth on the palate.  Beautiful, and my favorite of the evening.

Isojiman Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo 35 (磯自慢 中取り 純米大吟醸 35), 2016 - more closed initially, a little more spicy on the nose, almost green pepper.  More dry on the palate.

Isojiman Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo 35 (磯自慢 中取り 純米大吟醸 35), 2017 - banana and fermented rice notes. So nice.

Isojiman Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo 35 (磯自慢 中取り 純米大吟醸 35), 2018 - more depth on the palate, with fermented notes.  Sweet on the attack, dry mid-palate, then sweet and long finish.

Isojiman Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo 35 (磯自慢 中取り 純米大吟醸 35), 2019 - banana and fermented rice.  Sweet but also a little dry on the palate.

Isojiman Daiginjo 28 Nobilemente (磯自慢 大吟醸 ノビルメンテ 28), 2016 - more mature on the palate, with some koshu feel.  Very viscous and clean on the palate.  More spicy and fermented notes.

Isojiman Daiginjo 28 Nobilemente (磯自慢 大吟醸 ノビルメンテ 28), 2018 - more muted compared to the Nakadori as well as the 2016.  More elegant but clearly less complex.

Zaku Concentration H (作  凝縮H) - very fermented, salty and mineral.

Full post on the evening is here.

Landonne and oxidized white Burg

Dinner at Jardin de Jade.

2005 Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne - totally oxidized.  Decided not to drink this.

2010 Lucien Le Moine Corton Blanc - also somewhat oxidized but still drinkable.  First whiff also pretty caramelized, with mamalade notes.  Still got the acidity but definitely very sweet on the palate.

1992 Guigal La Landonne - lovely nose with leather and smoky notes, a little floral, almost soapy, certainly fragrant.  Showed graphite notes later.

Drinks at House Welley.

The Whisky Agency 34 Years - distilled at Tomatin Distillery in 1976 and bottled in 2011.  Nose was floral and fruity for sure, with sweet vanilla notes later.  Seemed stronger than the 51% alcohol indicated.

Shinanoya Iskandar 17 years - distilled at Clynelish Distillery in 1996 and bottled in 2014.  The label was illustrated by Kobayashi Tomomi for the 25th Anniversary of Saga.  Nose was kinda muted, sweetish, not so sharp and alcoholic on the nose.  Nose was certainly more elegant, but the palate was kinda sharp.

Full post on the evening is here.