97 cabs

Dinner at a friend's home.

1997 Antinori Solaia - decanted 45 minutes after opening, and started drinking 20 minutes after decanting. Smoky, still got tannins here. A little more fragrant and open. One hour after we started drinking this was sooo nice and elegant. Drinking very well.

1997 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 - decanted 45 minutes after opening, and started drinking 20 minutes after decanting. Also still pretty tannic. Slightly more sweet on the palate, richer with smoky and grilled meats.

1991 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain - started drinking 20 minutes after decanting. Minty and still got some sweetness. Ten minutes later this was pretty fragrant and woodsy, and also a little savory. Not bad.

2006 Providence

Drinking at home.

2006 Providence - started drinking 45 minutes after decanting. Smoky, a little earthy, some fruit here along with cedar notes. Definitely a little lean and dry on the palate. After some 1 hour and 45 minutes in the decanter this was minty with some leather.

2001 RunRig

Drinking at home.

2000 Etude Cabernet - corked.

2001 Torbreck RunRig - started drinking 1 hour after decanting. Clearly notes of rubber, also like the thick skins of Kyoho grapes. Very ripe and jammy. Some 1½ hours after decanting some coconut butter came out, along with lots of eucalyptus. Very nice.

De Toute Beauté

Drinking at home.

1970 Gaja Barbaresco - a little pungent, farmy, stinky, smoky, leather, savory black olives.

2016 Anne et Jean-François Ganevat De Toute Beauté - very big and funky nose with floral notes underneath. Kinda pungent and farmy, but still pretty nice.

Salon and Cali reds

Drinking at home.

1988 Salon - yeasty, nice and caramelized on the nose, with lots of marmalade. Soft on the palate and definitely mature.

2000 Sine Qua Non In Flagrante - 88% syrah, 10% grenache, 2% viognier. Starting drinking 1 hour after decanting. Very, very fragrant nose, with a little burnt rubber, lots of forest and pine needles, and a little smoky. Surprisingly lean on the palate, soft and smooth, but not much fruit or sweetness on the palate. After two hours in the decanter, the nose really opened up and became really fragrant. Almost 3 hours in this got even beter, with really beautiful cedar notes, almost elegant and not quite floral. Still lively even after 5 hours.

2007 Colgin Herb Lamb Vineyard - started drinking 1 hour after decanting. Nose was much more muted than expected with some minty notes. Pretty concentrated on the palate. Much more open some 2 hours and 15 minutes after decanting, with bigger nose of mint, a bit more fruit, and smooth on the palate now.

2006 Arietta Cab

Drinking at home.

2006 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon - drank 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting. Smoky with some grilled meats, ripe fruit, a little oaky. Two hours after decanting this was pretty minty, very ripe and jammy. Three hours after decanting there was a little metallic iron on the palate.

2006 Arietta Quartet

Drinking at home.

2006 Arietta Quartet - drank 30 minutes after decanting. Ripe, viscous, and rich on the palate, with good acidity. Forest and lots of minty notes. More than 3 hours after decanting this was really open with lots of eucalyptus. Pretty sweet on the palate.

2006 Dom Rosé

Dinner at home.

2006 Dom Pérignon Rosé - lots of strawberries on the nose. Still some bitterness at first, but got smoother after my palate got decimated by chillis. Nice and toasty on the nose as it opened up.

Full post on dinner is here.

2009 Araujo Sauvignon Blanc

Drinking at home.

2009 Araujo Sauvignon Blanc Eisele Vineyard - flinty and lean on the nose, with green apple and muscat grape. Def ripe on the palate, but the acidity was still kinda there.

1990 Jaboulet Thalabert

Drinking at home.

1990 Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert - drank right after decanting. Plenty of leather and meaty notes, some stewed prunes here but also more savory black olives, and almost a little dirty and bretty. After 2½ hours in the decanter this was so fragrant, with toasted walnuts and even some coffee.

2015 Boa-Vista

Lunch at Club Lusitano.

2015 Boa-Vista Reserva - very minty, sweet and ripe on the nose. Very fragrant after opening up a little, with lots of cedar and potpourri notes and some spices.

Full post on lunch is here.

2003 Fortia

Drinking at home.

2003 Château Fortia Cuvée du Baron - starting drinking 50 minutes after decanting. Leather and animal notes, quite ripe and reasonably sweet on the palate. The nose opened up to be pretty fragrant, with pine needle and woodsy notes. Smooth and a little rounded on the palate.

MNSC dinner - Woo Cheong at home

MNSC dinner at a friend's place, hosted by GL.

2009 Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - lovely toasty nose, this was soooo buttery and soooo fucking beautiful! Wow!

First flight: served 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening without decanting.

1987 Dominus - very smoky, heavy tobacco, a hint of sweetness on the palate, a little chalky and dirty, very smooth on the palate, and somehow leaner on the nose. 95 points.

1991 Dominus - also smoky but a little more ripe on the nose, definitely more sweet on the palate, but ever so slightly pungent. Really big and smoky on the nose. 96 points.

Second flight: served 2 hours and 45 minutes after opening without decanting.

1990 Pichon Baron - smoky, minty, a little dusty, with cool fruit, oaky and woodsy notes. 95 points.

1990 Vega Sicilia Unico - much more fragrant, woodsy, a hint of burnt rubber, sweet with coconut. Beautiful! 97 points.

1990 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche - more ripe and sweet on the nose, and also sweet on the palate. 95 points.

Third flight: served 3 hours and 45 minutes after opening without decanting.

2007 Armand Rousseau Chambertin - pretty nice and a little oaky. Really open and fragrant. 97 points.

2009 Armand Rousseau Chambertin - really fragrant with sweet, lovely fruit. 96 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagne and tiger wine

Lunch at Caprice.

2000 Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs - nice and smooth, yeasty with some marmalade. Lovely and mature now.

1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou - drank 1 hour after decanting. A little grassy, some smoke along with grilled meats, and perhaps a little brett. Still got tannins, which was pretty amazing consider the age. Pretty fragrant nose, with some savory black tea and tapenade when opened up. Not as much fruit as I was expecting.

1988 Yquem, en imperial - big nose of plastic, honey, and marmalade.

Full post on lunch is here.

2003 Fortia

Drinking at home.

2003 Château Fortia Cuvée du Baron - surprisingly ripe and sweet, some animal notes. Still very concentrated.

Mouton and Veiled

Dinner at home.

1984 Mouton-Rothschld - served right after decanting. First pour showing smoke, leather, and grilled meats. Pretty light on the palate. Improved a little with aeration in terms of body.

1998 Sine Qua Non Veiled - served 30 minutes after decanting. Initially muted on the nose, opened a little after 45 minutes in decanter, and after 1 hour in decanter it got better but still not great. Showed some black cherries, dried herbs, and a little sweetness on the palate. Light-bodied and somewhat elegant.

2004 Blankiet Merlot

Drinking at home.

2004 Blankiet Merlot Paradise Hill Vineyard - drank 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting. Really sweet and jammy, very minty, still a little sharp and alcoholic on the nose, but smooth on the palate now. Nice leather notes along with some forest and woodsy notes.