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.