Sake for flowers

Meal at Godenya.

Beau Michelle Snow Fantasy (ボー・ミッシェル スノーファンタジー うすにごり生原酒), 2021-22 - served at 9°C. Seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 60%. Sweet and fruity with some light lactic acid.

Hirotogawa Junmai Daiginjo Nama (廣戸川  純米大吟醸  生), 2021-22 - served at 12°C.  Seimaibuai of 45%. A little more dry. Some sweetness here but definitely got that long and dry finish.

Kaiun Unfiltered Junmai Nama (開運  無濾過  純米生), 2021-22 - served at 16°C. Seimaibuai of 55%. Tasted much sweeter together with the salty dried mullet roe, and much richer on the palate. Sweet on the attack but some dryness in the long finish.

Jyuji Asahi Junmai Ginjo Genshu (十旭日  純米吟醸原酒), 2009-10 - served at 23°C. Seimaibuai of 55%. Fermented flavors like Chinese salty plum thanks to the aging. Sweet and so interesting.

Takesuzume Yamahai Junmai Ginjo Unfiltered Nama (竹雀  山廃純米吟醸  無濾過生), 2016-17 - served at 45°C. Seimaibuai of 50%. Very, very fermented notes, also with some Chinese salted plum. The warmth of the high serving temperature is nice.

Fumotoi Junmai Ginjo Nama (麓井  純米吟醸  生), 2021-22 - served at 12°C. Seimaibuai of 55%.　This tasted pretty bland, like some rice water, and dry on the palate. Meh.

Hikomago Junmai Ginjo (ひこ孫  純米吟醸), 2009-10 - served at 50°C. Seimaibuai of 50%. Good balance between acidity and sweetness, with fermented notes thanks to the aging.

Eikun Daikoshu Kohaku (英君 古酒こはく), 1968 - made in S43BY and aged for 10 years. Poured onto the dessert.

Full post on the meal is here.

81s for a friend

Lunch at Clarence.

2016 Didier Dagueneau Buisson Renard - still relatively lean on the palate but much riper than expected, especially at the beginning. Lemon citrus notes.

1981 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune - very smooth and elegant, not in-your-face or powerful at all. Still lively some 1½ hours after decanting, with lemon citrus and some flint. Great acidity balance with some maturity to tone things down.

1981 Sassicaia - minty nose but a little green, still got some sweet fruit, elegant and smooth but not so lively anymore. Almost 2 hours later this opened up and was showing much better.

Full post on lunch is here.

French and Cali

Dinner at home.

Chartogne-Taillet Les Barre, dégorgement juin 2020 - very nice and smooth. Loved how rounded it was on the palate.

2000 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune - huge nose of petrol, white flowers, very fragrant. Slight hint of bitter lemon. Drinking nicely with some maturity on it. Some honey showed up 30 minutes after opening, and this just got better over the course of the evening. Sooo alluring.

2004 Ponsot Chapelle Chambertin - served 1 hour after decanting. Slightly warm at first, with a slight hint of sharpness on the nose. Some black fruits here but definitely leather and smoke, a little green and stemmy. Could it have been slightly corked? About 2 hours after decanting this showed more sweetness, but still green.

2006 Kongsgaard Syrah - pop and poured. Sooooo ripe, soooo jammy, sooo sharp and alcoholic. Like alcoholic Ribena. Lots of overripe honeydew melon. So sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sylvain Pataille Rosé

Drinking at home.

2018 Sylvain Pataille Marsannay Rosé Fleur de Pinot - flinty, mineral, nice and sweet nose with cranberries.

Lucien Le Moine and Araujo

Dinner at Saito Hong Kong.

2012 Lucien Le Moine Corton Blanc - very big and toasty nose, open and expressive, buttery with some flint, good acidity on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Drinking at home.

2009 Araujo Sauvignon Blanc Eisele Vineyard - pretty ripe but within limits. Tropical notes with honeysuckle and green apple.

1999 RWT

Drinking at home.

1999 Penfolds RWT - drank 1 hour and 45 minutes after decanting. Lots of oak, spices, and mint in the nose. Pretty smoky, tobacco, and plenty of black fruits like plums. No longer got the same punchiness like your typical young Aussie shiraz, this had good acidity balance while retaining the good concentration and some tannins. Very nice.

2007 On the White Keys

Drinking at home.

2007 Arietta On the White Keys - very ripe on the palate but still got some acidity to balance things out. Pretty damn sweet with vanilla and stone fruits, a very big and fragrant nose.

My first online tasting

Drinking at home, with friends online.

Clandestin Les Semblables - this was OK, with some peaches, a little flinty and mineral on the palate. Easy to drink.

2019 Albert Joly Puligny-Montrachet Les Charmes - toasty nose, ripe and buttery on the palate. Nice depth on the palate with some bitterness later.

2019 Albert Joly Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblots - much more steely and mineral compared to the Charmes, but also pretty ripe on the palate.

2013 François Berteau Chambolle-Musigny - not too much fruit, kinda old style with more leather, a hint of floral notes. Leaner on the palate.

2019 Benoit Chevallier Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots - preserved with Coravin starting Feb 27. Very ripe and sweet, some coconut, black cherries, young and punchy fruit, more oak.

Sake and umeshu

Lunch at Hidden.

Dewazakura AWA Sake (出羽桜 AWA Sake), H31BY - sweet nose of fermented rice, lots of banana.

Juyondai Tokubetsu Honjozo Honmaru Kakushin (十四代 特別本醸造 角新 本丸), R3BY, from isshobin - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 55%. very sweet but clean and fresh. Melon and banana notes.

Juyondai Nakatori Sekibanomachi Junmai Ginjo (十四代 中取り 赤磐雄町 純米吟醸), R2BY, from isshobin - made with 80% Omachi (雄町) rice from Sekiban (赤磐) and a seimaibuai of 50%. Lots of glutinous rice notes, and while still very sweet, this was much richer with more depth on the palate.

Yamanokotobuki Furufuru (山の寿 フルフル), from isshobin - made with Alphonso and Irwin mangoes.

Milk Tappuri Ichigo No Umeshu (ミルクたっぷりいちごの梅酒) - WOW! Even though this was meant to resemble strawberry milk, the flavors of strawberries were actually much more intense than I expected. Super like!

Mellow Mellow Melon Umeshu, from isshobin

Full post on lunch is here.

2019 Chassonery Saint-Romain

Drinking at home.

2019 Domaine de Chassonery Saint-Romain "Combe Bazin" - nice and crisp acidity at first, very ripe and sweet on the palate later. Very flinty with tropical stone fruit, then kinda oily gasoline on the nose.

2004 Remirez de Ganuza

Drinking at home.

2004 Remírez de Ganuza Reserva - drank half an hour after decanting. Very fragrant nose with vanilla and oak, loving the exotic spices and coconut butter. Really lovely. Got the tannins but also the acidity to match. An hour after decanting there was some cassis in the nose, too.

2019 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2019 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - more ripe fruit than expected. Sweet nose with honeysuckle. A little acidity here which grew more prominent with time. Flinty and opened up very nicely to show big amount of toast.

2019 Le Petit Marand

Drinking at home.

2019 Le Petit Marand eXtra Ordinaire Chardonnay - very oaky, sweet and ripe on the palate.

Cos Blanc and friends

Lunch at Amber.

Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut - good depth on the palate, good amount of acidity due to zero dosage but not too sharp. Nice and toasty nose, with some green apple about 2 hours later.

2016 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - served about 40 minutes after decanting. Good ripeness on the palate but still got the acidity. Perhaps mellowed out a little since the last time I had it.

2013 Trapet Chambertin - by the glass. Very fragrant nose with black cherries and lots of eucalyptus, forest, leather, and animal notes. Relatively dry on the palate.

Full post on lunch is here.