Dominique Laurent Corton

Dinner at home.

1995 Hospices de Beaune Corton Cuvée Charlotte Dumay, élevé par Dominique Laurent - drank 15 minutes after decanting. Definitely showing notes of leather, grilled meats, some woodsy notes. Acidity was a tiny bit higher. OK lah.

Champagne, Valentini, Grange

Dinner at Andō.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 171ème Édition, ID 322022 - very toasty nose, and also pretty yeasty.

2002 Bollinger Grande Année, dégorgée en mars 2011 - the nose was much bigger and much more open, pretty ripe now as the wine has aged nicely. Notes of Chinese licorice, caramelized sugar, and marmalade. Drinking well.

2017 Valentini Trebbiano d'Abruzzo - drank after decanting for more than 45 minutes. The nose was so nice and open, with big toasty notes, along with some flint. In fact, we all felt that the nose could have been mistaken for a Meursault from Coche-Dury.

1998 Grange des Pères Rouge - served about 1½ hours after opening. Very nice and elegant, with plenty of leather along with a little medicinal and savory minerals on the nose. Just so smooth and drinking beautifully.

Full post on dinner is here.

2007 Boekenhoutskloof Cab

Drinking at home.

2007 Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon Franschhoek - drank 30 minutes after decanting. Smoky nose with lots of tobacco and cigar smoke. Very fragrant nose with lots of cedar. Just showing really well and drinking beautifully like a claret.

2001 Standish

Drinking at home.

2001 The Standish - drinking after 1 hour in the decanter. The nose was really sharp and alcoholic, and also really ripe with lots of stewed prunes. Maybe this was a tiny bit dusty and corked? Pretty exotic nose with woodsy notes, and there's some vanilla here, along with a tiny bit of leather.

Krug 171

Lunch at Petrus.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 171ème Édition, ID 122014 - the nose had plenty of toast, as expected. Once again the acidity was on the high side, which was the same as the last time I tasted this vintage.

Full post on lunch is here.

Isojiman and Sharaku

Dinner at UZA by Nikushou.

Isojiman Junmai Ginjo (磯自慢  純米吟醸), 2023 - seimaibuai of 55%. Very nicely balanced between a soft attack with a hint of sweetness, which then turned a tiny bit dry on the palate. Classic banana notes on the nose.

Sharaku Junmai Ginjo Origarami (寫楽  純米吟醸  おりがらみ), R5BY - very lightly cloudy, and slightly sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Gosset and Transnocho

Drinking at a relative's home.

Gosset Grande Réserve - yeasty nose, high acidity on the palate.

Dinner at CIAK - In the Kitchen.

2012 Remirez de Ganuza Transnocho - lots of sweet vanilla and coconut, oaky. Smoky, minty, and a nice nose of dried herbs. Acidity was on the high side but the tannins were still here.

2000 trio

Drinking at a friend's home.

It's always nice to taste these together, blind. Decanted for 10 minutes before pouring back to the bottle and stoppered for about 1 hour before serving.

2000 Clos Badon - more smoky with a bigger nose of toast. Also a little more earthy, followed by a bit more wood. Definitely more grippy on the palate thanks to the tannins.

2000 L'Interdit de Clos Badon - good fruit and a little ripe now, with plenty of smoke and tobacco. Showing very well now and the nose was very fragrant, with a little woodsy notes. Clearly more elegant of the pair.

2000 Figeac - served after more than an hour in decanter. This was just beautiful, with a really big toasty nose, with leather and grassy notes along with a bit of earth and a hint of minerals. The best wine of the evening.

2017 Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge Cuvée Réserve - showing some leather and smoke.

French, Italian, and Taiwanese

Dinner at Maoyuan Restaurant in Taipei.

2002 Bruno Paillard Nec Plus Ultra, dégorgée en Septembre 2014 - the nose was nice and caramelized as one would expect, and was also a little savory and mineral on the nose. Lovely complexity.

2015 Domaine Ganevat Les Gryphées Vieilles Vignes - showing a really big nose of toast, like a strong punch in the face. Good acidity on the palate but with a nice level of ripeness for balance. Jean-François showing why he's got so many fans.

2021 Quintarelli Bianco Secco - very easy to drink, with sweet vanilla, some minerality like pear, and a light sweetness. As my cousin would say, this was lolly water.

2000 Antinori Solaia - drank almost 2½ hours after decanting. Nice ripe fruits, some smoke and grilled meats. Drinking well.

1998 Kinmen Distillery First Quality Kao Liang (民國87年金門特級高粱) - this bottle of 白金龍 was... interesting for me. More interesting than Maotai at least. Nice aromatics that didn't feel artificial. Such a rare treat from a friend.

Full post on dinner is here.

2016 Justification

Dinner at home in Taipei.

2016 Justin Justification - very ripe, very sweet. Heavy notes of grilled meats, and lots of pine needle.

Super Bowl Monday morning

Drinking at a friend's home while watching Super Bowl LVIII.

2007 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard - double-decanted back in bottle after 15 minutes, and drank 1 hour after opening. Nose was really fragrant, with really ripe fruit, but alcohol was a little sharp and hot on the nose. Lots of wood here, and this was so nice. About 1½ hours after opening this was even better, and the wine was just so alluring. Alcohol was really sharp on the nose now around 2 hours and 45 minutes after opening, and the wine has clearly peaked, but started to show a little coffee on the nose.

André Clouet Un jour de 1911..., dégorgée le 18 novembre 2021 - good balance, slightly sweet and ripe but the acidity comes up at the finish. Nice caramelized sugar on the nose with a little note of straw.

2005 Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes-Mares - drank around 45 minutes after opening. Showing beautifully with lovely notes of leather, dried herbs, potpourri, and some toasty oak. Still pretty nice some 2 hours after opening.

2012 Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes-Mares - drank around 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. Lots of eucalyptus on the nose, more ripe and jammy, with lots of blueberries. More concentrated compared to the 2005, and also showing leather notes. Some 4 hours after opening there was still plenty of dried herbs and sous bois on the nose.

2013 Beaucastel Roussanne Vieilles Vignes - classic nose with wax and paraffin. Very, very ripe.

2005 Domaine des Chezeaux Chambertin - nose of leather hits first. Acidity was clearly higher on the palate, and this was leaner, not so lush. About an hour after opening this opened up nicely.

2019 Arnot-Roberts Cabernet Sauvignon Clajeux Vineyard - babykilling here. Really big and ripe as this wine is very young. Tons of potpourri on the nose.

2015 Lingua Franca Pinot Noir Mimi's Mind - nice nose of leather, and pretty sweet on the nose.

2012 Lilian Ladouys

Lunar New Year's Day dinner at home in Taipei.

2012 Lilian Ladouys - nose of black fruits, cassis, definitely some oak, and a little leather. Good acidity balance.

Dewazakura Eto-Bottle Junmai Daiginjo Genshu, 2024 (出羽桜　干支ボトル  純米大吟醸 原酒 2024) - seimaibuai of 50%. Rounded on the palate but the finish was a little sharper. Nose was rather subdued but the aromatics developed whle in the mouth.

2003 Kaesler Bogan

Drinking at home.

2003 Kaesler The Bogan - decanted and served. Ripe and sweet fruit, exotic spices, almost a little coconut at first, and lots of vanilla. 30 minutes later there was a ton of oak. After 1 hour in decanter the wine showed lots of dried herbs and pine needles, and tons of coconut butter. Classic Aussie Shiraz. Still going strong more than 2 hours later.

Le Clos des Treilles Pompois -

Drinking at home.

2020 Le Clos des Treilles Pompois - drank 30 minutes after opening. Definitely farmy and barnyard nose, with leather, eucalyptus, plenty of coffee, lots of toast, and very meaty. After 1 hour this opened up and became more fragrant and woodsy.