Mix bag of not-so-cheap

Dinner at a private dining facility.

2004 Krug, ID 214041 - drinking very nicely, with good maturity now and also good acidity balance.

Laherte Rosé de Meunier, dégorgée Juillet 2021 - so easy to drink, so smooth. Love the vibrant red fruits.

2001 Kracher Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese No. 9 Zwischen den Seen, from half-bottle - really viscous, grapey and raisins. So rich and unctuous. Like honey and dates.

Henri Guiraud PR90-18, dégorgée 14 Janvier 2022 - decent acidity balance here.

2018 Rougeot Bourgogne Blanc Clos des Six Ouvrées - decent acidity but there is also ripeness. Lots of vanilla oak on the nose.

2018 Domaine du Bel-Air Bourgueil "Grand-Mont" - nose of animal and leather. Nice and oaky.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ganevat and Trevallon

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2004 Pax Aphrodite - yeah... as expected this was very, very oxidized and over the hill. Much too ripe and caramelized without the acidity to match. Only had a small glass.

2015 Jean-François Ganevat Cuvée Florine - more ripe and buttery than expected, but a very enjoyable wine with very fragrant nose.

2011 Trévallon Rouge - served about 2 hours after opening without decanting. Nose was very barnyard, animal, and definitely on the stinky and bretty side.

Full post on dinner is here.

Abbatucci and Chamberlin

Lunch at the Chairman, at the collaboration event with le beaujour from Taipei.

2013 Comte Abbatucci Cuvée Collection Général de la Révolution - nice acidity and lean on the palate. Lots of toasty oak on the nose.

2012 Crété Chamberlin Blanc de Blancs Quintile, dégorgée Septembre 2022 - pretty high in acidity, more than expected. Yeasty and toasty nose, like brioche.

2012 Thomas Pinot Noir Dundee Hills - dusty and chalky. Not pleasant.

Full post on lunch is here.

Miloš and Tomaz

Drinking at a friend's home.

2013 Miloš Stagnum - very woodsy nose with lots of spices, animal and leather notes. After 45 minutes this improved to show more fruit.

2019 Tomaz Barbarossa - lots of vanilla oak, tons of eucalptus and pine. This was soooo fruit forward with tons of ripe fruit, so extracted, and maybe a little too much for my taste.

2005 Blankiet

Drinking at home.

2005 Blankiet Cabernet Sauvignon Paradise Hill Vineyard - decanted and showed a very big nose of sweet fruit while decanting. Smoky nose with lots of plum. Some 40 minutes later the nose was wonderfully woodsy, really fragrant in the mouth on the finish. Ripe and juicy, there's good concentration without strong tannins. Still pretty good more than 2½ hours later but has gone off its peak by then.

Laherte Rosé

Drinking at home.

Laherte Rosé de Meunier, dégorgée en janvier 2023 - juicy red fruits with tons of depth on the palate and a long finish.

1997 Kistler

Drinking at home.

1997 Kistler Chardonnay Dutton Ranch - definitely oxidized now. Ripe and fragrant on the nose, very buttery, toasty. Honestly this wine was very alluring just on the nose and on the palate. However, the wine was also halfway between being too ripe while still retaining a hint of acidity. There was a slight bitterness mid-palate, and much later on with a couple of hours of aeration there were some coffee notes which emerged.

2021 Krajančić

Drinking at a friend's home.

2021 Krajančić Pošip Sur Lie - very aromatic on the nose with lots of tropical fruits.

Ponsot and Psi

Dinner at the Hong Kong Club.

Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut - a bit flinty on the nose. Easy drinking.

2016 Ponsot Bourgogne Cuvée du Perce-Neige, en magnum - this was pretty ripe on the palate already, and certainly very rounded. A little bitter.

2020 Psi, from magnum - served about an hour after opening. Very nice and aromatic on the nose, with lots of potpourri and spices, along with sweet vanilla. Drinking really well for a wine so young.

2000 Marcel Deiss Gewurztraminer Sélection des Grains Nobles - the nose was soooo floral, so much lychee, even though the latter was very much expected. Concentrated grapes, honey, and pollen on the nose, and surprisingly almost a little ground pepper.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 Kongsgaard Chard

Drinking at home.

2004 Kongsgaard Chardonnay - nose of pineapple and apricot, alcoholic with notes of acetone, a little bit metallic. Very ripe and sweet on the palate as expected, with a hint of acidity on the finish.

A taste of Loire Valley

Winetasting at Clarence, hosted by Winetastic.

La Taille Aux Loups Triple Zéro - a little metallic like Anjou pear, definitely kinda fruity and refreshing, clearly a pet nat with not a lot of small bubbles. Acidity was not too sharp, and almost a bit grippy on the palate.

2020 Domaine 7 La Guimardière - nose came with a little bit of heavy toast, smoky, almost like smoked meats. A little flinty. On the palate there was more depth, with acidity and some grippiness on the back end.

2020 Domaine 7 La Nouette - riper and much more metallic on the nose, with more oxidized pear. Also riper on the palate without much acidity.

2021 Simon Batardière Au Rocher des Quarts - flinty and apricot, not sure I was getting the lychees that some others were talking about. Was there a hint of honey? Ripe-ish on the palate but also a little lean on the finish.

2018 Nicolas Réau Victoire - tasted blind. Initially served very cold, but even then I could smell the toasty popcorn, along with lots of flinty minerals. Started to be like a Meursault but this was very ripe on the palate, so it must be Loire. Finally after a while, the wine got grippy on the palate and the acidity finally came out after warming up. Quelle surprise!

2019 Le Clos des Treilles La Décente Aux Amphores - really fruity and sweet on the nose, almost like mango. Really sweet like sugar or a very ripe honeydew melon. I actually like it! Wow! Good balance between the acidity and ripeness. Almost a little pungent sulfur and savory notes on the nose at the end when sniffing the empty glass.

2019 Sylvie Augereau Peaux - surprised that I didn't hate it! Very aromatic, a bit flinty. Good acidity but not too sharp, and grippy on the palate.

2021 Nicolas Réau Enlèvement Demandé - lots of spices on the nose, much more exotic than I expected. Meaty, almost like tomato juice with that savory nose, along with some herbs.

2019 Le Clos des Treilles Pompois - A little more open, meaty, fragrant, with some bacon and kinda like Châteauneuf-du-Pape. A bit toasty and more savory, and starting to show a hint of barnyard. Then surprisingly turned pretty ffragrant with some eucalyptus.

2019 Nicolas Réau Garance - decent fragrance on the nose with a hint of savory notes, a bit meaty. Pretty smooth and easy to drink.

2019 Sylvie Augereau Les Manquants - nice and smoky, a bit meaty, with a little bit of exotic spices and savory notes. Soft on the palate.

2018 Jousset Montlouis-sur-Loire Trait d'Union - initially pretty cold and didn't give too much on the nose. Not too sweet on the palate but still refreshing, with good flavor profile. There was definitely a hint of tartness and bitterness on the finish. This was OK... neither here nor there. At the end there was a bit of apricot and honey on the nose.

2011 Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux - smoky with petrol, very much like a riesling but with more sugar. Got some of that citrus peel notes, and almost came with a little bit of white flowers.