SQN whites

Dinner at Neighborhood.

1997 Sine Qua Non Twisted and Bent - 60% roussanne and 40% chardonnay. From the same lot as this bottle nearly 2 years ago. Nose was very, very oxidized, with tons of sugarcane, Chinese licorice, soooo sweet on the nose, and clearly metallic notes. Reacted badly with the anchovies in the food to enhance the metallic flavors. Lots of honey and vanilla throughout, and clearly improves with more aeration.

2000 Sine Qua Non The Hussy - 100% roussanne. The nose was much bigger with lots of flint and minerals, but otherwise similar to Twisted and Bent. This was also showing some metallic notes, along with vanilla and Chinese licorice.

2000 Sine Qua Non The Filly - 100% grenache. Vinified dry with no residual sugar. Nice length and good depth on the palate. Lots of red currants with slightly savory and mineral notes.

2003 Sine Qua Non Sublime Isolation - 44% chardonnay, 37% roussanne, 19% viognier. Served around 2 hours after opening. Nose had a good amount of toast, with flinty notes, and I could smell a higher level of acidity. Definitely fresher and more lively.

Full post on dinner is here.

Marcassin and SQN

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2014 Ultramarine Heintz Vineyard Rosé, disgorged November 13, 2018 - a little salty plum on the palate. It's nice and easy to drink, but I felt it was a little too simple.

2017 Adong Cru - medium ripeness but the acidity is here. Not too toasty, and comparatively mild. Nose was a little strange, like some kind of baijiu but without the sharp alcohol. Not really a fan.

2006 Marcassin Chardonnay Three Sisters Vineyard - pretty nutty on the nose, lovely toasty notes. After being in glass for more than an hour, this opened up and turned really buttery, with lots of vanilla like crème brûlée. Still nutty around 2½ hours later. This was so, sooo good.

2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven No.5 - drank 45 minutes after decanting. Pretty ripe and almost jammy, with fragrant spices, almost like potpourri and forest. Pretty smooth on the palate now.

2013 Toymaker Cabernet Sauvignon - decanted around 1 hour after opening, and drank around 1 hour after decanting. Smoky nose. Sweet on the palate. Very Californian.

Full post on dinner is here.

05 Pax Terraces

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - drank more than 1 hour after decanting. Big nose where the alcohol was still a little sharp. Lots of plum, cassis, very meaty like grilled meats, and a little leather. After about 2 hours in the decanter, this became more sweet on the nose.

2020 Les Poëte

Dinner at Amber.

2020 Les Poëte Pouilly-Fumé - a little riper than expected but overall this still got plenty of acidity, although the front palate was a little on the soft side. Fragrant nose showing a little flint. Almost 1½ hours later this was a little grippy on the finish. Pretty decent.

1990 Guiraud, en double-magnum - with lots of marmalade, still got some acidity here. Somehow seemed a little flat.

Full post on dinner is here.

Pinots and sweets

Dinner at Forum.

2020 Domaine Takahiko Soga Nana-Tsu-Mori - really fragrant, definitely floral nose. I could smell the acidity in the wine, like Chinese preserved sour plums. Not exactly ripe and jammy but there was definitely some sweetness on the nose. After sitting in the glass for an hour the wine turned a little soapy, and there was perhaps some aged tangerine peel. More than 2 hours after opening this became more savory, with some exotic spices which was not quite Chinese five spice. Very happy with this wine.

1989 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Eiswein - really fragrant notes of aged marmalade, honey, with lots of petrol on the nose. There is enough acidity here to balance out the sugar, which was why the sommelier suggested we start with this before the others.

2008 Joseph Douhin Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts - more lean rather than voluptuous, a little meaty, and definitely toasty on the nose. Quite nice and drinking well.

2005 Weinbach Gewurztraminer Furstentum Vendages Tardives - really floral with lots of white flowers, lots of classic lychee, and later plenty of honeysuckle. Very sweet on the palate but texture was not really viscous. Very alluring right now.

1959 Reichsgraf von Plettenberg Kreuznacher Brückes Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Cabinet - served about 2 hours after opening. Very nutty, lots of medjool dates, a little bit Chinese sour plum juice. A lot more complex than the other two sweet wines.

Frederic Savart Les Pinots V15.16, dégorgée juillet 2021 - drank more than 2 hours after opening. Slight ripeness on the nose with a little bit of minerals. Dry on the palate with a little bitterness on the finish.

Full post on dinner is here.

Shafer and Joly

Dinner at Sun Hon Kee.

2020 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant - much more ripe on the palate than expected, much softer on the palate. Where is the acidity??!! What happened to this wine?! Well... only at the end was there a little bit of acidity I had expected.

2005 Shafer Hillside Select, from magnum - double-decanted and stoppered for an hour, served more than 2 hours after decanting. Such a typical Cali cab, with lots of vanilla, coconut butter, together with plenty of sweet cassis and black cherries. The extended aeration plus the aging have managed to soften up the palate considerably, and the wine was now silky smooth.

Shinsei Zenryo Iwai Junmai Daiginjo (神聖  全量祝  純米大吟醸), 2015 - it's been aged a few years so the oxidation has taken place, and it totally smells and tastes like a koshu, with fermented and savory notes. Very rounded and viscous on the palate, and actually pretty sweet, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Blanc de Suduiraut

Drinking at home.

2020 Blanc Sec de Suduiraut - very flinty, big nose of stone fruits, very oaky, lots of vanilla. At the same time a little pungent. Very soft and ripe on the palate, but acidity kicks in after, ending in a reasonably long finish.

2014 Jobard

Dinner at Wing Lei Palace in Macau.

2014 Rémi Jobard Meursault 1er Cru le Poruzot-Dessus - good acidity and ripeness balance. Some toast on the nose but it wasn't overpowering like many other Meursaults. Of course there is still the crisp, refreshing lemon.

Full post on dinner is here.

93 Beringer and Serge Dagueneau

Dinner at Ta Vie.

2019 Serge Dagueneau La Léontine - good acidity, with lemon and some flint on the nose, a little toasty. Some ripeness on the nose with fragrant, almost floral notes.

1993 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve - drank after a little over 1 hour in the decanter. Very fragrant nose with ripe fruits, lots of plum, cassis, a little smoke, and some grilled meats. After more than 1½ hours this was really fragrant and beautiful. Purchased at the winery in 2000.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sake and the Judge

Dinner at Come Into Chiuchow Restaurant.

2006 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge - although the palate was very ripe as expected, there was still good amount of acidity on the palate. Initially some pineapple on the nose, but after 1 hour this became dehydrated pineapple and we also got lots of vanilla oak. Really sweet and oxidized now.

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. Lots of banana and really sweet on the nose, with lots of starchy rice. Very rounded and smooth on the palate. Definitely sweet on the palate, but this had good depth on the palate. Really fragrant and lovely. Drinking wonderfully.

Jikon Kimoto Akaiwa Omachi (自今 きもと 赤磐雄町), 2021 - seimaibuai of 50%. Lots of starchy rice on the nose, and actually sweeter on the palate, leaner and not as rounded. With more aeration the palate got softer and more rounded, and more elegant.

Nechiotokoyama Koshitanrei Junmai Daiginjo (根知男山 越淡麗 純米大吟醸), 2016 - seimaibuai of 50%. More fermented on the nose, bigger on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

92 Beringer

Dinner at Jean May.

1992 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve - served around 30 minutes after double-decanting. Lots of sweet fruit like cassis. Ripe and sweet on the palate and kinda rounded. A little smoke with some grilled meats, and oaky. A well-made wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

2000 Ducru

Dinner at L'Envol.

2016 Benoit Dehu La Rue des Noyers - nice and big on the palate with good depth of flavors thanks to pinot meunier. Unfortunately I had trouble getting much out of the nose at first, thanks to the heavy perfume that permeates through the entire hotel. Later there was the usual lemon citrus.

2000 Ducru-Beaucaillou - served 40 minutes after decanting. A slight whiff of brett at first with some smoke. Still pretty concentrated but tannins were already very soft and silky on the palate. A bit savory on the after palate, almost like black olives. A bit more earthy after 1 hour in decanter. Still got the cassis notes but not so prominent at this age, although more fruit emerged about 1½ hours after decanting, with more minty notes, too. At the same age this was much softer than the 2000 Figeac I tasted last week, which was pretty surprising.

Full post on dinner is here.

2021 Sirugue Rosé

Drinking at home.

2021 Robert Sirugue Bourgogne Passetoutgrains Rosé - lots of red fruits like strawberries, plus some flinty notes on the nose.

2020 Y

Dinner at Sushi Shikon.

2020 Ygrec - more ripe on the nose and the palate than I had expected, but still had flinty notes on the nose in addition to lemon citrus.

Full post on dinner is here.

The Judge and Takahiko

Dinner at Andō.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 171ème Édition, ID 122003 - nice brioche nose, love the toasty notes from Krug as always.

2013 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge - definitely ripe and oxidized on the palate, soft and rounded. Some flint here but the nose was not too open. Much better after decanting and needed more than 40 minutes. Very ripe and sweet and buttery on the nose, and later on really sweet like cotton candy. At 10 years old this was already sliding down past its peak.

2017 Domaine Takahiko Soga Nana-Tsu-Mori - very fragrant and lovely nose with good savory but also floral notes that brings a smile to my face. A little jammy, too. Definitely lighter on the body. There is some aromatic eucalyptus with just a hint of green peppers, along with some plum. Good acidity on the palate. Certainly a pretty alluring wine.

Adorado de Menade, from demijohn - made using solera system where the mother dates back to 1967. Nose was fairly oxidized with savory mineral notes, nutty, and definitely more lean on the nose and closer to an amontillado. A little caramel here, too.

Full post on dinner is here.