2005 Clos des Papes

Dinner at Sun Hon Kee.

2005 Clos des Papes Rouge - started drinking almost 2 hours after decanting. Minty on the nose, with plenty of woodsy notes. Very nice and sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

86 Ducru

Lunch at Petrus.

2017 Famille Bourgeois Sancerre Les Côtes aux Valets - really big nose of green apples, along with muscat grapes. So fragrant. Pretty ripe on the palate but still got acidity.

1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou - popped and poured without decanting. The nose was very open from the start, very smoky, a little bretty, earthy, woodsy. The fruit became more obvious after drinking some mushroom soup, and this was also minty. Drinking so, so well right now after almost 40 years.

Full post on lunch is here.

Dom and Sawanoi

Lunch at À Poêle.

Bernard Lonclas Blanc de Blancs, dégorgée le 23 Août 2023 - smooth and easy to drink, with acidity slightly higher from the chardonnay.

Dinner at Sushi Kumogaku.

2013 Dom Pérignon - the nose was really nice and toasty with lots of brioche, and the acidity on the palate was nice, too.

Hakuryu Shin (白龍 真) - very rich notes of fermented rice like Shanghainese 酒釀. Definitely on the sweet side.

Sawanoi Premium Daiginjo Koh (澤乃井 大吟醸 凰), R5BY - seimaibuai of 35%. Got some nice, starchy flavors, and certainly sweet on the nose. Very rich and viscous on the palate, but a bit more alcoholic than expected so it wasn't completely sweet, finishing a little dry instead.

Hanahato Kijoshu Oak Cask Aged (華鳩 貴醸酒オーク樽貯蔵) - very oaky and woodsy, and still rich although slightly diluted by the ball of ice.

Full post on dinner is here.

Krug and Huadiao

Dinner at a friend's place.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 162ème Édition, ID 414082 - started drinking after the wine has been open for more than 1 hour. Really lovely nose of Chinese salted plum. Initially this was served a little too cold, and the nose also showed a little minerality like Anjou pear. The acidity on the palate went up after the wine warmed up.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 4th generation, en demi-bouteille - the nose was much more salty with lots of minerals. Good acidity on the palate, and so very complex. Drinking very well now.

2013 Guigal Condrieu La Doriane - still got the floral notes with some flint and a bit of almond. Sipping after a taste of caviar really brought out oxidative flavors, and this became sweet but slightly bitter.

Wing Lee Wai 30 Year Huadiao (永利威三十年花雕) - very fragrant on the nose with both sweet and savory notes, nice and complex, sweeter and richer on the palate, but the finish wasn't very long.

ManSong Special Edition Light Huangjiu (慢宋•珍藏 清爽型黃酒) - the nose was more oxidized and clearly more dry and savory, and more similar to a Fino Sherry. not much sweetness on the palate, but showing umami instead.

Between Five Bells Yellow - really big and beautiful toasty nose thanks to the chardonnay, with a hint of pineapple. Really high and crisp acidity thanks to the savagnin. Really powerful and beautiful.

Lunchtime wine pairing

Lunch at Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic.

Billecart Salmon Pic - nice and floral nose. Good acidity on the palate with a little bit of ripeness.

2022 Rudolf Fürst Riesling pur mineral - initially the nose wasn't so open, with notes of flint, minerals, and muscat grapes. Good acidity on the palate and a long finish. I could see how this paired well with the Hokkaido sea urchin.

San Francisco Javier Viña Corrales Fino Pago Balbaina, bottled in 2021 - beautiful oxidized nose with green notes, savory and fragrant, and almost a little waxy at the end. Nice and dry on the palate with umami. Just wonderful with the Comté and vin jaune sauce.

2021 Badenhorst Cinsault Ringmuur - very big and open nose, very fruit forward and juicy, with a hint of smoke. Very light and simple on the palate with a short finish.

2021 Les Bruyères Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - a lighter style, more fruity, with nice notes of forest and dried herbs. Really fragrant with tons of eucalyptus.

Full post on lunch is here.

Pégau tasting

Pégau tasting at Hong Kong Wine Vault, hosted by Laurence Feraud.

2022 Château Pégau Côtes-du-Rhône Cuvée Lône - nose was showing a little paint thinner at first, along with some flinty and citrus notes. Easy to drink.

2017 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée A Tempo - a big nose of very toasty oak, very nice. Also showing lemon along with some nice green notes. This was a much more complex wine, and started to be similar to white Burgundian chardonnay with some buttery notes.

2020 Château Pégau Côtes-du-Rhône Cuvée Sétier - big nose with farmy and animal notes, as well as some violet underneath. Very nice.

2020 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée Rouge - this was more elegant, fragrant, and sweeter on the nose.

2019 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence - the nose was initially more muted and subdued, although one could see the elegance. Showing nice, woodsy notes but definitely not on the powerful side. Were there more tannins here?

2020 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Da Capo - definitely showing fragrant woodsy and cedar notes, needs time to develop fully.

2019 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée P.O.L. - HUGE nose with tons of coconut butter, and also desiccated coconut. So rich, so powerful, so amazing. Reminds me of a Sine Qua Non or a young Penfolds Grange.

Jolivet and Clos Venturi

Dinner at Leela.

Bollinger Special Cuvée - good acidity but pretty simple and flat on the palate. Later on this showed a little bit of Chinese salted plums.

2023 Pascal Jolivet Blanc Fumé - nose was very flinty with lots of tropical fruits and stone fruits. More ripeness here than expected.

Chinese yellow wine (雙鍋花雕) - this was so, soooo rich and sweet! I absolutely loved how unctuous and sweet it was on the palate. The nose was very lovely with plenty of savory and fermented notes along with a hint of smoke. I could drink this all day.

2020 Clos Venturi Le Clos Rouge - the nose was very minty with lots of fragrant and exotic spices. So interesting. But also had metallic notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Thiriet and Gros

Lunch at Racines.

Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs - very toasty nose.

2021 Camille Thiriet Bourgogne Chardonnay Cuvée Confidentielle - the nose showed lots of flint and especially tropical and stone fruits, very fragrant. Very light and refreshing.

2020 Gros CH et Fils Aloxe-Corton - a bit of smoke on the nose with ripe and sweet fruit like black cherries. Still plenty of tannins here but the acidity balance was quite nice.

Full post on lunch is here.

86 Cos and Chavost

Dinner at Bâtard.

Chavost Eurêka, dégorgée en Janvier 2024 - nose was yeasty and a little flinty. There was some toast on the nose which came out with some aeration, and eventually that floral fragrance emerged. The palate was a little bitter, and the finish is still pretty short.

1986 Cos d'Estournel - served right after decanting and showed notes of sweet grass and smoke, and this is classic claret with a mature elegance. Opened up beautifully less than 30 minutes later to show plenty of cedar and woodsy notes. Drinking very well.

Full post on dinner is here.

2001 Solaia

Dinner at Estro.

2022 Jankara Vermentino di Gallura Superiore - the nose was very much tropical stone fruits. Palate was dry to start but ripe in the middle, and slightly bitter on the finish. About an hour in the nose was showing caramelized sugar.

2001 Antinori Solaia - decanted about 40 minutes after opening and stoppering, and drank about 50 minutes after decanting. Smoky, minty, and woodsy notes on the nose. So, sooo fragrant. Nice and silky on the palate. Drinking so, sooo well right now.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 Turley

Drinking at home.

2004 Turley Zinfandel Old Vines - started drinking some 40 minutes after decanting. The nose was really fragrant and fruity, with lots of jammy fruit, but also kinda alcoholic on the nose. Very sweet on the palate. Second pour was about 1 hour and 15 minutes in, and the wine was still very sweet and oaky, woodsy notes are now more obvious on the nose, but now with more acidity on the palate. The third pour was about 2 hours and 45 minutes in, and now the acidity was even higher to balance out the wine's tannins. The nose was now so fragrant with mint and eucalyptus, forest pine, and cassis. Drinking so beautifully tonight!

Giscours and Ruinart

Drinking at a friend's home.

2003 Giscours, en magnum - preserved with Coravin. Smoky, woodsy, and earthy nose. Still got the tannins. Not bad.

Dinner at Bistro du Vin.

Ruinart Blanc de Blancs - actually sweeter on the palate than I remembered.

Bordeaux and riesling

Dinner at the Chairman.

1990 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett - nose of white flowers, lemon, and a hint of caramelized sugar. The nose was much more elegant than expected, without the usual notes of polyurethane. There was only a hint of ripeness on the palate along with lots of acidity, which gave the wine a long finish.

2014 Mouton-Rothschild - the wine was opened the night before. Very fragrant nose with lots of mint, sweet fruit, and some smoke underneath. This paired very, very well with the taro and smoked duck thanks to the smokiness in both.

1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - very big nose with honey, nutty notes, a lot more plastic and polyurethane, some acetone. Really viscous, round, and sweet on the palate. The wine showed more marmalade and orange blossom water with additional aeration. Really lovely.

2004 Vieux Château Certan - at first whiff the wine was much more smoky than expected. Started drinking more than 1½ hours after opening. Very fragrant now with a lovely woodsy nose. There was also a little bit of vanilla on the nose. Tannins were still here but very well integrated by now, with a good acidity balance on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.