SQN Eleven Confessions Grenache

Dinner at Venedia Grancaffe.

Egly-Ouriet Les Vignes de Vrigny, dégorgée septembre 2021 - nice and floral nose. Good and mature on the palate with good balance.

2007 Sine Qua Non Stripes and Stars - 55% Syrah and 45% Grenache. flinty and metallic, with nice red currants. A little reductive on the nose. Nice on the palate, very smooth and rounded.

2004 Sine Qua Non Ode to E Grenache - 95% Grenache, 5% Syrah. Served around 2½ hours after opening without decanting. Lots of coconut butter, a little metallic, some dried herbs. Really beautiful and still going strong more than 3 hours after opening.

2007 Sine Qua Non Dangerous Birds Grenache - 88% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 2% Viognier. Decanted nearly 1½ hours after opening, and served after an hour in decanter. Nose was more muted and leaner.

2008 Sine Qua Non The Duel Grenache - 80% Grenache, 17% Syrah, 2% Viognier, 1% Roussanne. Very alcoholic. Metallic, lots of exotic spices and dried herbs, and a little sharp around the edges.

2009 Sine Qua Non This is Not an Exit Grenache - 79% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 3% Viognier and 3% Roussanne. Also pretty alcoholic. A little woodsy on the nose.

2010 Sine Qua Non Stockholm Syndrone Grenache - 75% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 2% Roussanne, and 1% Viognier. Served after about 2 hours in the decanter. Drinking very nicely now, very ripe and alcoholic, a little sharp on the nose. Full of ripe, sweet black fruits.

2011 Sine Qua Non Patine Grenache - 78% Grenache, 21% Syrah, and 1% Viognier. More herbs and spices on the nose here.

2001 Mr. K The Noble Man - 100% Chardonnay. Soooo rich and dripping in honey, with very ripe honeydew melon, followed by some marmalade later.

Full post on dinner is here.

Katsuyama and Taurus

Dinner at Restaurant Chedi in Singapore.

Katsuyama Junmai Daiginjo Sensho Masamune (勝山  純米大吟醸  戦勝政宗) - seimaibuai of 50%. Initially served a little warm, and palate was more dry as a result.

2012 Domaine de l'Ecu Taurus - got the acidity, grippy on the palate, and nose was oxidized. Not that interesting.

Full post on the evening is here.

Bongwater at Gogaden

Gogaden pop-up lunch at Ms. Maria and Mr. Singh in Singapore.

Olivier Horiot Métisse - flinty with mineral notes.

Akishika 888 Junmai Muroka Nama (秋鹿  八八八. 純米無濾過  生原酒) - seimaibuai of 80%. Very oxidized nose with lots of fermented notes, and very savory on the palate.

2019 Alexandre Bain L. d'Ange - very fresh with lots of tropical fruits, and flinty notes.

2018 La Ferme des Sept Lunes Saint-Joseph Chemin Faisant - nice and minty with good black fruits.

Daigo no Shizuku Bodaimoto Shikomi (醍醐のしずく  菩提もと仕込み) - very sweet on the nose. Good fermented richness but not savory, with good acidity balance. Pretty nice.

Full post on lunch is here.

Spanish evening

Dinner at the Hong Kong Club.

2019 Rafael Palacios Valdeorras Sorte O Soro - pretty fragrant, some flint on the nose. Good acidity on the palate but starting to show some ripeness on the nose, too.

1925 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Reserva Especial - pretty fragrant nose and still alcoholic. A bit smoky. Drinking pretty well 30 minutes after opening. Very lovely nose of plums. So, so beautiful after this opened up. Very alluring.

2013 Comando G Tumba del Rey Moro - pretty exotic and interesting. Still alcoholic and sharp, and certainly got plenty of sweet fruit.

1998 Pingus - decanted for about 1½ hours before serving. Nose with vanilla oak and a little coconut butter, minty, smoky, earthy. Very smooth on the palate and drinking very nicely. Could feel the tannins after more than 2 hours in the decanter.

1970 Vega Sicilia Unico - definitely some burnt rubber on the nose, some exotic spices, pretty sweet fruit underneath.

1964 Toro Albalá Marqués de Poley Palo Cortado Selección - very fragrant and certainly savory.

1980 Toro Albalá Don PX Selección - bottled in May 2021. Lots of exotic herbs. So rich, so viscous on the palate. Very, very sweet.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - MIAN

MNSC dinner at Mian, hosted by Dr. Poon.

First flight: served around 2 hours after opening without decanting.

1982 Mouton-Rothschild - nice, smoky nose with good fruit. Nice and cedar wood nose, also minty. Second pour showed more elegance along with more coconut butter. Really, really beautiful. 100 points.

1986 Mouton-Rothschild - initially more opulent than the '82, with sweet fruit. Good acidity. Then got heavier with more weight, more smoky, more concentration, with a little ripe fruit on the edges. 96 points.

Second flight: served around 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting.

2000 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - really, really sweet, soooo fragrant, kinda sugary on the nose. Sooo sweet and jammy, almost like muscovado. Love it. More than 2 hours in the decanter and this showed some burnt rubber.

2000 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - very savory nose, gamey, more oxidized. Got better and showed a sweeter nose, and a little exotic.

2000 Fonsalette Rouge - a little dusty and chalky, showing strong notes of American ginseng and Chinese angelica as well as leather. Nose cleared up with the second pour and was pretty clean, and was a bit ripe. Unfortunately with more aeration the Chinese medicine notes came back, and was almost bitter on the palate.

1999 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères - popped and poured. Soooo beautiful. Nice with orange marmalade, sweet notes of straw, nice and toasty. Very elegant, lovely buttery nose, and a little metallic.

Full post on dinner is here.

Kokuryu and Azumaichi

Drinks at Shuho in Fukuoka.

Ikegame Daiginjo Shizuku Shibori Nakatori Selection (池亀 大吟醸雫搾り 中取り 選抜酒), R3BY - seimaibuai of 40%. Lots of banana and melon on the nose, a little sharp in terms of alcohol, and also got fermented rice lees on the nose. Palate was much more spicy than expected, and the dry after-palate led to a return of sweetness.

Kuncho Daiginjo Zuica Shiboritate Nama (薫長 大吟醸 瑞華 しぼりたて生原酒) - seimaibuai of 35%. Definitely on the dry side.

Sawanoi Premium Daiginjo Koh (澤乃井  大吟醸  凰 袋採り雫酒), R3BY - seimaibuai of 35%. Aged in tobin (斗瓶) at temperatures below freezing for 2 years. Dry on the palate but very elegant with a long finish. Afterwards leaves a lovely fragrance in the mouth, with some melon notes.

Kokuryu Hiirazu Junmai Daiginjo Nama (黒龍  ⽕いら寿  純⽶⼤吟醸 ⽣) - seimaibuai of 35%. Very fresh, very light and elegant, and very bright. Fruity and fragrant nose. Smooth on the palate with almost some lactic acid.

Azumaichi Junmai Daiginjo 100th Anniversary (東一  純米大吟醸  百周年記念酒), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 35%. Made with yeasts from the 1960s. Initially there was almost no nose due to the use of old yeast which suppresses the aromatics. Much better when drunk from a wine glass, and now alcohol comes out. Very elegant on the palate, and more on the dry side.

Amabuki Daiginjo 333 (天吹 大吟醸 創業三三三周年記念酒), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 40%. Uses abelia flower yest. Thick and viscous when poured, definitely rich on the palate. On the sweet side. More full-figured but not quite to the stage of being voluptuous. Showing some banana on the nose.

Full post on the day is here.