Tarlant, Trimbach, Leroy

Dinner at Xin Rong Ji.

1996 Tarlant Saga, dégorgée en novembre 2004 - good acidity but also with good ripeness, yeasty nose with some Chinese licorice, marmalade, savory minerals. After two hours the nose was sooo fragrant with Chinese salted plum.

2005 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune - opened 1 hour before serving. Lots of petrol and white flowers, really fucking fragrant, along with some polyurethane and flint. Three hours later there's almost some honey and pollen, and some vanilla, too.

2015 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Rouge - nose of leather, eucalyptus, fragrant and savory. Not sweet on the nose or on the palate. One hour later this was a little metallic and smoky.

Full post on dinner is here.

2002 P2 and Cos Blanc

Dinner at Amber.

2002 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon P2 - very toasty and nutty. Sooo elegant and beautiful.

2016 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - needed decanting to open up as this was initially very muted. Green apple, flint, good depth on palate with good acidity.

Full post on dinner is here.

Joseph Roty Rosé

Drinking at home.

2018 Joseph Roty Marsannay Rosé - nose of raspberries and some vanilla, with perhaps a little sulfur.

Bijofu Yuzu

Drinking at home.

Bijofu Yuzu Liqueur (美丈夫ゆずリキュール) 

70 La Lagune and 03 Yquem

Dinner at Man Ho.

2007 Joh.Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - classic nose of petrol and polyurethane with white flowers. The palate was much sweeter than expected.

1970 La Lagune - served undecanted. Smoky, still got some cooked fruit, and leather notes. Some 30 minutes after opening a little brett showed up. Still decent, I guess, but past its prime.

2003 Yquem, en demi-bouteille - really floral, lots of orange blossom water, with honeydew melon.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 Matriarch

Drinking at home.

2004 BOND Matriarch - served too warm. Very sweet, lots of vanilla, really fragrant, smoky, woodsy.

09 Ponsot and 95 La Conseillante

Dinner at a private dining facility.

2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne - toasty and lovely.

2009 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes, en magnum - minty with eucalyptus. Still kinda tannic.

1995 La Conseillante, en imperial - decanted for about 2 hours. Minty, smoky, tobacco, a little bretty. Savory minerals with some black fruits. Also got that barnyard, gamey and bacon fat.

Bijofu Yuzu

Drinking at home.

Bijofu Yuzu Liqueur (美丈夫ゆずリキュール) - very refreshing and citrusy, wonderful fragrance. Slight bitterness but good acidity and swetness.

2016 Cos Blanc

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2016 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - served too cold and didn't show very much at one point. Definitely oaky, toasty, really fragrant with muscat. Ripe upfront followed by acidity. Somewhat disappointing given how bland it was on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Young Bordeaux and Krug

Drinks at a friend's home.

2016 Cantenac Brown - very minty, ripe and a little jammy, with sous bois and forest pine. Definitely still pretty tannic.

2015 d'Armailhac - a little alcoholic, not so ripe and sweet.

Dinner at Yardbird.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 168ème édition, ID 319031 - lemon and toasty nose. Higher acidity on the palate than expected.

Full post on dinner is here.

Lucien Le Moine MNSC

Drinking at home.

2010 Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Rousseau-Deslandes, mis en bouteille par Lucien Le Moine pour MNSC - decanted 1 hour after opening and served. Still the same huge, toasty nose, with woodsy and cassis notes. One and a half hour after decanting the cedar in the nose was fairly prominent.

Burgs, Selosse, and Lodovico

Dinner at Castellana.

Jacques Selosse Rosé, dégorgée le 15 octobre 2009 - very savory and mineral, like Chinese salted plum, with apricot, marmalade notes. Fragrant and a little floral, the nose was very beautiful - especially after more than an hour in glass. Finish was a little short though.

2002 Coche-Dury Meursault - opened for 1 hour prior to serving. It slowly started to open up to show the classic toasty and popcorn nose, along with some lemon. Acidity was still pretty high and a little surprising, even though the palate was now more mature. Still got plenty of life left.

2004 Robert Arnoux Romanée-Saint-Vivant - opened in bottles 5 hours prior to serving without decanting. Really fragrant with lots of toast, leather, bacon, a hint of coffee, black fruits like cherries, and floral notes. Some 6 hours after opening the coffee notes became even more prominent. Pretty nice.

1986 Mommessin Clos de Tart - served 2 hours after decanting. Minty and eucalyptus, with black fruits, grilled meats, and leather. Tannins still here. Half an hour later became much more elegant, more lush and open on the nose, with floral notes. But still grippy on the palate.

2007 Biserno Lodovico - served 2½ hours after decanting. Nose was very ripe, minty, potpourri, dried herbs, a hint of Asian and exotic spices. Unfortunately this also showed some brett, and was generally lean on the palate. I had expected this to be more lush.

Full post on dinner is here.

Rihaku Tobingakoi

Dinner at Shikon.

Rihaku Daijinjo Tobingakoi (李白大吟釀斗瓶囲い) - initially a little warm. This was more dry than expected, with some fermented rice notes. Very soft and round on the palate. This remained relatively dry, and I guess it's been too long since I last had a bottle that I had forgotten how this sake tastes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Bijofu Akagizaka

Drinking at home.

Bijofu Cuvée Akagizaka Unfiltered Sparkling (美丈夫 あかぎ坂 うす濁り), Feb 2019 - more fermented than the last bottle. Somewhat bitter.

1998 Clos Erasmus

Drinking at home.

1998 Clos Erasmus - pretty ripe on the nose with stewed prunes. Acidity was on the high side but tannins were still present on the palate. Nose was very fragrant with lovely spices and woodsy notes. Still very tannic even after decanting for 1½ hours.

2009 Araujo Sauvignon Blanc

Drinking at home.

2009 Araujo Sauvignon Blanc Eisele Vineyard - still got that green apple and muscat. Ripe on the palate but the acidity was still here. Not premoxed.