Araujo and Burgs

Dinner at I Hate the Handover Club.

2012 Lucien Le Moine Corton Blanc - soooo toasty, huge nose, good minerality and flint. Nice acidity, not oxidized as feared.

2010 Arnoux-Lachaux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots - still too young, with lots of forest, pretty stemmy, a little too lean and tannic on the palate. Some black fruits here, but not really open or opulent.

2002 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard - decanted for 2 hours, and still rather closed. Tannins were pretty strong. Concentrated with woodsy notes.

Krug and Kongsgaard

Dinner at Ando.

2006 Krug, ID 418040 - really fragrant and floral, toasty, definitely savory minerals. Big on the palate and beautiful.

2011 Paul Déthune Cuvée à l'Ancienne, dégorgée en novembre 2017 - acidity was a little higher than expected. Almost a little vanilla in the nose. Pretty nice.

2005 Kongsgaard Cabernet Sauvignon - decanted 2 hours prior to serving. Opened up nicely and definitely softer and a little more lush now on the palate. Ripe and jammy but acidity still high.

Full post on dinner is here.

2014 Petit Cheval Blanc

Dinner at Sushi Saito HK.

2014 Le Petit Cheval Blanc - lots of green apple and muscat, flinty, good acidity but also some ripeness thanks to the age. A nice, long finish.

Full post on dinner is here.

70 Mouton and 76 Hugel

Dinner at Caprice.

2010 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - pretty toasty nose, pretty nice, and works well with the crab.

2008 George Noëllat Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts - really fragrant and floral, with leather notes. Elegant, with really nice sweet fruit.

1976 Hugel Gewurztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles - fucking wonderful! Sooo floral, really sweet with honey, acetone notes. Very rich on the nose, and even smells thick and viscous. But the finish was a little short.

1970 Mouton-Rothschild - served about two hours after opening, without decanting. Just beautiful, really fragrant, smoky, minty, lovely woodsy notes, along with a little green pepper. Showing so, so well.

1996 Yquem, en imperial - mineral and flinty, honeydew melon, honey, orange blossom water, and saffron.

Full post on dinner is here.

Krug and 70 La Chapelle

Dinner at Petrus.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 3rd generation, en demi-bouteille - the label was in use before 2004, and indeed I have been cellaring this baby for maybe 15 years or more. Sooooo beautiful! Tons of plum, a little Chinese licorice, Chinese salted plums with savory notes. Really loving the acidity and aftertaste. So nice and complex after all these years.

1970 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle - opened 1 hour prior to serving from the bottle. Earthy, leather, and smoky, with a little bit of savory notes on the palate. Twenty minutes later this was more fragrant with cedar notes. Another 10 minutes later and we had nice tobacco notes. Some 2 hours after opening this became more voluptuous, even floral with some roses and violet. Very happy with this bottle.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 Matriarch

Drinking at home.

2004 BOND Matriarch - lots of concentrated fruit, pretty woodsy and plenty of oak. Two hours after decanting the wine was minty, kinda rich, and very sweet on the palate.

Champagne and whites

Dinner at a private dining facility.

2004 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Luminous - nice and easy to drink, actually pretty delicious. Some toasty notes, with good depth on the palate and a reasonably long finish.

Taittinger Brut Réserve - obviously less refined, more in-your-face.

1996 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auselese Fuder 10, from magnum - lots of petrol, orange blossom, white flowers. Actually the acidity was pretty high in spite of the sweetness upfront. Thick and viscous, almost oily. Very nice.

1985 Gaja Barbaresco Costa Russi, from magnum - decanted more than 1 hour before serving. Somewhat stinky nose, smoky, with leather, prune, woodsy notes. Acidity on the high side but still a little grippy on the palate, and pretty savory.

2016 La Clarté de Haut-Brion - really weird as I thought I was drinking clarified pineapple juice from Sunnyhills! Very tropical, really oxidized and ripe on the palate, with acetone.

Full post on dinner is here.

2007 Henri Bonneau

Drinking at home.

2007 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape - leather, herbal notes which reminded me of turtle jelly, along with black fruits like prunes. Acidity was a little on the high side but the tannins were still here. Not drinking as well as previous bottles.

Matriarch and Kuheiji

Dinner at Nikushou.

Kamoshibito Kuheiji Junmai Daiginjo Hinokishi (醸し人九平次 純米大吟醸　彼の岸) 2017 - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 30%. Kinda soft and sweet on the palate, not too bland, with a slight taste of bitterness.

2004 BOND Matriarch - decanted for 1½ hours prior to serving. Very sweet with lots of coconut, and a little smoky. Good concentration.

Full post on dinner is here.

2008 Dom

Dinner at Pu Tien.

2008 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - nice and very toasty brioche. Good balance on the palate, good depth with a long finish.

Ganevat Seau-Trou les Corvées

Drinking at home.

Ganevat Seau-Trou les Corvées - stinky and pungent, farmy, not quite chalky but a little dirty. Dirty nose faded to reveal some floral and soapy notes.

Ozanne and Clos Ste Hune

Dinner at MONO.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 168éme édition, ID 219017 - very nice mousse. Lovely nose of toasted brioche. Acidity was a little sharper than expected, but very nice nonetheless.

Michel Fallon Ozanne - kinda floral nose, with a hint of caramelized sugar. Good depth on the palate and a little tart and grippy,.

1998 Trimbach Clos Sainte Hune - tons of petrol and polyurethane, as well as white flowers. Absolutely LOVE the nose. A little ripeness here on the palate.

2004 Ponsot Chapelle Chambertin - served 1 hour after decanting. Lovely fruit with a beautiful, floral nose along with leather and farmy notes.

2001 Yquem, en demi-bouteille - orange blossom, honey, nutty, honeydew melon, lychee honey. Fucking beautiful.

Full post on dinner is here.

02 Matriarch and Valbuena

Dinner at Mián.

Ise No Nami Junmai Daiginjo (イセノナミ  純米大吟醸) - very sweet on the nose, with pretty fermented notes of rice lees.

2007 Charles de Cazanove Tradition Père et Fils - yeasty and very nice, with caramelized nose along with marmalade. Good depth on the palate.

2002 BOND Matriarch - decanted for 1½ hours before serving. Lots of woodsy fragrance. Initially showed plenty of good fruit but a little lean. Two hours in this was really exotic with coconut butter, and pretty sweet on the palate. Drinking really well.

2015 Vega Sicilia Valbuena N° 5 - decanted for 1½ hours before serving. Eucalyptus, a little smoke, ripe fruit, and very fragrant if alcoholic nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Red Burgs and more

Dinner at Sun Hon Kee Restaurant.

2000 Duval Leroy Femme de Champagne - nice ripeness, with good savory and mineral notes.

2011 Chateau-Grillet - not floral at all despite viognier. Good acidity balance.

2004 Bass Philip Pinot Noir Premium - good acidity with nice fruit like strawberries. Color was pretty light and cloudy.

2016 Frédéric Cossard Vosne-Romanée Les Champs Perdrix - very young, very fruity, but a little pungent. It is, after all, bongwater.

2010 Felettig Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Combottes - still kinda grippy on the palate. A little lean with forest notes. Not bad lah.

2004 Giaconda Shiraz Warner Vineyard - served after 2 hours in the eto decanter. Definitely more Rhône-like than your typical Aussie shiraz. Eucalyptus and floral, soapy notes. Drinking nicely.

1994 Trimbach Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles, en demi-bouteille - a hint of savory notes on the nose, with honey, honeydew melon, and orange blossom water. Nice and sweet on the palate.

2004 Ponsot Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Cuvée des Alouettes - leather, a little farmy, pungent, and savory.

Full post on dinner is here.