20 years of Altaya

20th anniversary dinner for Altaya Wines, at M+ Museum.

2012 Salon - fragrant, slight hint of toast, a hint of caramelized sugar. Good acidity on the palate but not too sharp, good depth on the palate with a long finish.

2011 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux, en magnum - lovely toasty nose, flinty, a little pipi de chat. Drinking beautifully.

2011 Cheval Blanc - wow! Much riper and sweet and jammy than expected. Smoky, and still kinda tannic.

2011 Margaux - pretty smoky, more lean, but so fragrant and alluring after opening up. Lots of woodsy notes.

2001 Lafite-Rothschild - smoke, pencil lead, and woodsy notes, so elegant. Surprised by the presence of some tannins here still.

2001 Mouton-Rothschild, en magnum - much more open compared to the Lafite, with a lovely and fragrant nose.

2001 Dominus - smoky with a little green pepper.

Pairing for Chinese banquet

Dinner at a friend's home.

2004 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises, bottle No. 0960 - very rich, very deep flavors.

2010 L'Extravagance de Doisy-Daëne, en demi-bouteille - orange blossom water, honey, later some apricot. Really rich and viscous.

1983 Trimbach Clos Sainte Hune - first pour 15 minutes after opening. Soft on the palate and slightly bitter. An hour after opening this was much more flinty and steely, with polyurethane... and starting to cross over to German riesling territory.

1983 Guigal La Mouline - decanted 2½ hours after opening. No more fruit left, only animal and leather, savory and almost bretty. Double-decanted 30 minutes after the first decanting, but there still wasn't much fruit on the nose, only some fruit on the palate. Also showed some smoky Chinese preserved pork. Very disappointing.

1946 Massandra Sherry - served 1 hour after opening. Very oxidized and savory as expected, with lots of salty plum, but still has some sweetness on the palate.

1989 Guiraud - opened a few hours earlier. Nice and sweet with honey, a little marmalade.

1914 Croizet Grande Réserve - with vanilla sweetness. Much softer and more elegant than expected. Apparently this was due to the fact that this vintage was made by ladies when the men went off to war, hence the softer style.

60-year-old Taidiao wine (太雕酒) - really savory, showing lots of salty plum. Sooo rich and so much depth in flavors.

2016 Guiberteau Saumur Brézé - HUGE nose of toast, with plenty of acidity as expected. Was this wine trying to pretend to be a Meursault?

Full post on dinner is here.

2003 x4

Dinner at Caprice.

2009 Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet - very fragrant, not too toasty. Good balance between ripeness and acidity, kinda soft on palate, good ripeness and kinda alluring.

2003 Pascal Lachaux Richebourg - served 3½ hours after opening. Very fragrant nose with a little leather, some smoke, a hint of savory notes. Opened up nicely with time and showed more toasty notes.

2003 Marcassin Pinot Noir Marcassin Vineyard - served 3½ hours after opening. Definitely showing more fruit, very fragrant, sweet and alluring. More eucalyptus and mint. Sweet on the palate when tasted with blue cheese. Showing very nicely 5 hours after opening.

2003 Latour - decanted 2 hours after opening, and served 2½ hours after decanting. Very open and fragrant, smoky with cedar notes, very minty, and still showing nice fruit. Amazed that the tannins were still here. Such a classic claret, and just fucking beautiful.

2003 Harlan Estate - decanted 2 hours after opening, and served 2½ hours after decanting. Smoky, but definitely sweeter both on the nose and the palate. Ripe fruit on the palate with more plummy notes. Showed some coconut notes 6½ hours after opening.

Full post on dinner is here.

Dugat and SQN

Dinner at Howard's Gourmet.

1997 Sine Qua Non Twisted and Bent - 60% roussanne and 40% chardonnay. Decanted and served immediately. Wonderfully fragrant nose, initially lots of sugar cane, very floral with lots of orange blossom. Unfortunately this wine was much too oxidized, and the color was already orange. Finish was very short with metallic notes. The metallic flavors got more prominent with the pomfret. With more aeration the nose became toasty, and showed lots of coffee and mocha. Loved the wine for its nose all the way till the end, more than 3 hours later.

1988 Bernard Dugat Charmes-Chambertin - served undecanted 1½ hours after opening. Big and very savory nose, with soy sauce and tapenade notes. Also stewed prunes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ponsot and more

Lunch at the Genuine Lamma Hilton Fishing Village Restaurant.

2012 Laurent Bannwarth Pinot Gris Qvevri - definitely alcoholic, plenty of mineral and metallic notes, and drank like liquid pear that's been oxidized.

2006 Malartic Lagraviere Blanc - muscat grapes, flinty. Later on the buttery notes came out after aeration.

2017 Laurent Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin Cuvée du Saule - opened about 1 hour before serving. This was chilled and showeing lots of cool fruit, strawberries, and eucalyptus.

Full post on lunch is here.

97 Beringer Bancroft

Drinking at home.

1997 Beringer Merlot Private Reserve Howell Mountain - ripe, a little pruny, slightly dirty and chalky nose. Smoky with some leather.

Mixed bag in the hood

Dinner at Neighborhood.

Oigame Gentei Fukurotori Daiginjo (老亀 限定袋取り　大吟醸) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Pretty sweet on the nose with tons of banana and fermented notes.

2011 Cedric Inflorescence Côte de Val Vilaine, dégorgée en avril 2013 - really toasty, almost coffee notes, rich nose with lots of depth.

2016 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - decanted for about 45 minutes before serving. Green apple, a little pipi de chat, nice and lean on the palate with good acidity.

2010 Castello di Verrazzano Chianti Classico Riserva - opened for 2 hours and decanted prior to serving. Smoky and minty.

2009 Sigalas Vinsanto - raisins, honey, honeydew melon, and some tangerine on the nose.  Soooo viscous and soooo sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagne and Burg

Dinner at Wing.

Pierre Baillette Le Village Premier Cru, dégorgée en novembre 2020 - very moussy, toasty, and a little caramelized. Compliments of the chef.

2002 Egly-Ouriet, dégorgée en mai 2013 - toasty, caramelized with a little sugar cane on the nose. Good acidity and lovely on the palate.

2014 William Fevre Chablis Les Clos, en magnum - definitely on the lean side as expected, and worked well with the dishes.

2017 J. Cacheux Vosne-Romanée Les Genaivrières - lovely and floral nose with leather, animal notes. Beautiful with plenty of toast, and some eucalyptus. I was surprised that such a young wine was drinking so well. Compliments of the chef.

2001 Kracher Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese No. 9 Zwischen den Seen, from half-bottle - classic honey, raisins, marmalade, and medjool dates. Rich and unctuous.

Full post on dinner is here.

Mags and friends

Dinner at Derby Restaurant.

2002 Billecart-Salmon Cuvêe Nicolas François, dégorgée en avril 2019 - refreshing and lively with good acidity.

Hassenblage - seimaibuai of 40%. Very smooth, fruity and sweet on the palate. Lots of banana and fermented rice lees on the nose.

Gikyo Junmai Ginjo Genshu 50% (義侠　純米吟醸原酒50%) - seimaibuai of 50%. Very fermented notes on the nose, a little plastic. Sweetish on the attack but turns to show a hint of savoriness, Very fragrant nose. Got softer and more elegant on the palate with time.

1996 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard, from magnum - decanted for 2 hours prior to serving. This was beautiful, if still a little alcoholic on the nose. Smooth on the palate with medium body. Plenty of coconut butter on the nose, and drinking absolutely wonderfully now.

2007 Trévallon Rouge, en magnum - very minty with a hint of smoke. More concentrated. Drinking pretty well.

1997 Philippe Delesvaux Anthologie - crazy wine with 535g/L of residual sugar... that's more than 50% sugar! Really big nose of honey, medjool dates, raisins, honeydew melon. Soooo sweet on the palate but still got acidity to balance.

Drinks at The Eighth.

Eric Rodez Blanc de Noirs, dégorgée en mai 2018 - very yeasty and toasty nose.