Yattarna and Laherte

Drinking at a friend's home.

2019 Penfolds Yattarna - huge nose of toast, flinty and mineral. Opened up to reveal sweetness and lots of popcorn.

Laherte Rosé de Meunier, dégorgée en juillet 2021 - lots of strawberries and red fruits.

Volnay and Pommard

Drinking at home.

2002 Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds - drank about 30 mins after decanting. Showing some leather and animal on the nose, with some plum. Medium high acidity with a little tannins still. Kinda disappointing.

1990 Camille Giroud Pommard 1er Cru Clos Les Epeneaux, en magnum - decanted and poured. A little green pepper, probably lightly corked. Very meaty and animal, a little farmy. Disappointing and definitely over the hill.

Champagne Day

Dinner at Koji Charcoal Grill.

1996 Bollinger Grande Année - very yeasty nose, lots of minerals and marmalade. Lots of acidity, big on the palate. Drinking so nicely with a long finish. Definitely the more elegant of the two Champagnes.

1996 Tarlant Saga, dégorgée en novembre 2004 - very ripe as expected, yeasty with good amount of marmalade. More savory on the palate and definitely more punchy.

2007 Biserno - drank about 1½ hours after double-decanting. Smoky nose with ripe fruit, a little vanilla oak, and almost a little graphite. Very fragrant nose. Sweet on the palate, too. More than 2½ hours after decanting the wine also showed a little green pepper.

2013 Toymaker Tinsoldier - drank about 30 minutes after opening and decanting. Nose was still kinda closed. Some smoke on the nose, and not great on the palate at first. Got a little better with time.

Full post on dinner is here.

Egly Rosé and Monty

Lunch at Amber by Richard Ekkebus.

2002 Fleurot-Larose Montrachet - initially served too cold and the nose was kinda shut. Color was darkish orange, and obviously very ripe. Marmalade with some vanilla on the nose. Much more vanilla about one hour later, and really sweet on the nose after 1½ hours.

Egly-Ouriet Brut Rosé Grand Cru, dégorgée en juillet 2020 - very smooth on the palate, nice and toasty on the nose, with a little bit of yeast.

Full post on lunch is here.

Sake and Burg

Dinner at Sushi Mamoru.

Bijofu Junmai Daiginjo Hina (美丈夫 純米大吟醸 鄙), May 2022 - lots of banana on the nose. Very soft on the palate but after swirling it around the tongue, this ended up with a long and spicy finish.

1996 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet - decanted some 2 hours and 15 minutes after opening, and served 15 minutes after decanting. Lots of marmalade on the nose, with some salty lemon.

Bijofu Yumebakari Time (美丈夫 純米大吟醸 夢許 Time), October 2018 - very, very soft and elegant on the palate. Not as fresh and light as when it was first released, but still very lovely.

Full post on dinner is here.

Salon and friends

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2007 Salon - a little bit of yeast on the nose, not too toasty, very nicely balanced.

2013 Pierre Damoy Chambertin - really fragrant, very fruity with lots of cherries, and very floral. Some leather notes, too. Still got some tannins here on the palate.

2000 Guigal La Mouline - decanted 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. Apparently fragrant some 1 hour after decanting, but by the time I tasted 2 hours after decanting this was not showing at all. A little better after 3½ hours in the decanter. Still got the tannins, with smoky, grilled meats, and some mint on the nose. Pretty disappointing.

Full post on dinner is here.

2009 Kilikanoon Oracle

Drinking at home.

2009 Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz - drank after 1 hour in decanter. Pretty sweet on the nose with vanilla oak, exotic and tropical, very fragrant in the mouth.

White wines for Chinese

Dinner at Wing.

2002 Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill - I didn't get much from the nose, which was disappointing, but this had a beautiful palate. Still young and vibrant, not too oxidized given the age, and well-integrated on the palate.

Henri Giraud Fût de Chêne MV10, en magnum, dégorgée le 18 novembre 2016 - nose was really open, with a very nice mousse. Very fresh and lively. Drinking so well.

2011 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Aligoté - really, really big nose of toast. A bit heavy and pungent.

2019 De Montille Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - nice and toasty nose, very classic, very buttery and creamy.

2019 Penfolds Yattarna - even bigger toasty nose, much more intense. A little bit of ripeness and buttery on the palate, but the acidity was still here. Still young.

Full post on dinner is here.

1982 evening

Dinner at Embla.

1982 Taittinger Collection - nose of toasty brioche, marmalade, very nutty, and also smoky like aged tangerine peel. So rich on the palate with a lot of depth. Drinking absolutely beautifully.

2006 Jean-François Ganevat Les Vignes de Mon Père - tasted 1½ hours after opening. Initially a little dusty and chalky, not did not seem clean. More oxidized than expected. Decanted and served 45 minutes later, which showed ripe, flinty, and sweet nose. At the same time there was pretty biting acidity. Drinking OK but fell short of the magnum tasted a few weeks ago.

1982 Palmer - served 3 hours after opening, not decanted. Drinking beautifully now, the nose was so open. We've got smoke but there was still plenty of fruit and also earthy notes. Definitely a classic claret. Some pencil lead now, and this was just so fragrant and elegant, so balanced. Incredible!

1982 Pichon-Baron - served 3½ hours after opening, not decanted. Very fragrant and smoky nose, a bit more green pepper, and more concentrated. More muscular and lean, and not as opulent and supple like the Palmer.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Ygrec

Dinner at Ta Vie.

2020 Ygrec - nose was very fragrant from the get go, with fresh lemons, very floral. On the palate it was a little more rounded than expected, pretty ripe on the palate, a little bitter on the finish and I could feel the alcohol burning as it goes down. On the nose there was tropical fruit like candied pineapple. Delicious.

Full post on dinner is here.

2018 Remoriquet Aligoté

Dinner at Vivant.

2018 Remoriquet Bourgogne Aligoté - on the lean and skinny side, some flint and mineral on the nose. Initially softer on the palate without much acidity, but this became more prominent. After an hour some ripeness and acetone showed up on the nose.

82 Lafite

Dinner at Petrus.

Krug Grand Cuvée, 3rd generation, en demi-bouteille - very caramelized nose, with honey and Chinese salted plum on the nose. Good acidity and minerality on the palate, and very big on the palate. Later on we got marmalade, cotton candy, and Chinese licorice on the nose.

1982 Lafite-Rothschild - first taste of filtered dregs from bottle 30 minutes after decanting, showing lots of smoke, grilled meats, cigar smoke, leather, and almost a hint of brett. Acidity was slightly on the high side, but sweet fruit started to show. Double-decanted back into bottle 1 hour and 40 minutes ater first decant, and served 2 hours and 40 minutes after initial opening. Smoke was still front and center, and cedar notes started to show up. Pretty soft on the palate. Some cassis notes showed 3 hours after initial opening. About 3 hours and 40 minutes after opening the nose softened so it was no longer punchy with lots of smoke, and more fruit showed up at around 4 hours. After 4 hours and 40 minutes we had good balance between the smokiness and the fruit, and was a little peppery. Some 5½ hours the body got lighter and acidity became dominant, and it was clear the wine was going downhill.

Full post on dinner is here.

05 Pax Terraces

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - drank 45 minutes after decanting. Still kinda tannic, with leather, violet, lavender notes. Improved some 1½ hours after decanting when chilled, with lots of eucalyptus, also got ripe and jammy with blackcurrants.

MNSC dinner - Moon Bay

Breakfast at Beef and Liberty.

2020 Sea Change Rosé - strawberries and a little flint.

MNSC dinner at Moon Bay, hosted by Curry.

2011 Arnaud Ente Meursault - very, very big nose of toast, buttery and fat on the palate. Lovely wine.

First flight:

2017 Burlotto Barolo Acclivi - decanted for 6 hours, then another 1½ hours in bottle before serving. Very sharp and alcoholic nose. Second pour after 30 minutes was better, but this never really opened up for me. 91 points.

2017 Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées - opened without decanting 7½ hours before serving. Much more open and lovely, very fruity with lots of cherries, dried herbs. Still beautiful 30 minutes later with floral notes of roses. 96 points.

Second flight:

2006 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - decanted for about 6 hours, then in bottle for another 2½ hours before serving. Plenty of leather, a little rubber. Amber rim, which was surprising given the age of the wine. 94 points.

2006 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots - served 3 hours after opening without decanting. Elegant and soft, sweeter on the nose. 94 points.

Third flight: decanted half the bottle for 3 hours, then the other half was poured into the decanter another 3 hours later, before going back to the bottle immediately. Another 3 hours or so in the bottle before serving.

2005 Margaux - very minty, smoky, definitely left bank and drinking very nicely. More than 9½ hours after opening this was really showing very well, fully open. 97 points.

2005 Latour - a bit smoky, more concentrated fruit, but not overly sweet. 94 points,.

Full post on dinner is here.