Ausone and Cos

Dinner at Mian.

Pol Roger Brut Réserve, dégorgée en September 2023 - the nose was surprisingly fragrant and floral, with some classic yeasty notes.

1982 Cos d'Estournel - what a classic claret from a fantastic vintage! Smoky, a little earthy, and still got the sweet fruit. Smooth and silky on the palate now, and still going strong after more than 4 decades.

2005 Ausone - decanted 1½ hours after opening, and tasted 30 minutes after decanting. Very fragrant nose with lots of coconut butter and vanilla, and also lots of oak. Very ripe and sweet on the palate.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Puligny-Montrachet - the nose was metallic and reminds one of Anjour pear. Pretty nice on the palate, more towards the lean and acidic side but well-balanced.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 Pax

Drinking at home.

2004 Pax Syrah Walker Vine Hill Vineyard - double-decanted and stoppered for almost 4 hours before serving. The wine was too warm when initially served, resulting in it being hot and alcoholic on the palate. Still very sweet and fruity, with really nice notes of a blueberry jam along with dried herbs. Drinking nicely.

Krug and friends

Dinner at Deng G.

Elise Bougy Chetillon de Haut, dégorgée en Decembre 2023 - the nose was pretty fragrant at first, then got more toasty with time. Crisp on the palate with pretty high acidity thanks to being blanc de blancs. Drinking nicely.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 170ème Édition, ID 221035 - the acidity on the palate was higher than expected. The nose still got those toasty notes, but not the brioche profile I love so much. The palate was on the lean side, and not as rich as I normally love. After about 20 minutes, the palate had softened up a little.

2021 Camille Thiriet Bourgogne-Aligoté du Jardin - this was a little mild on the palate at first, and in fact bland and boring. Nose showed a little toast but not much more interesting than that.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 172ème Édition, ID 123003 - toast nose, and the palate wasn't so acidic.

1994 Maximin Grünhaüser Abtsberg Riesling Auslese - lots of vanilla and marzipan on the nose at first, which was a surprise. Got the marmalade, too, after 30 years. This was ripe and rounded on the palate, but the acidity was high enough to balance it. The sweetness was nice enough to temper the heat in Sichuan cuisine.

2018 Wine Spots Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville - really ripe and sweet on the nose, with mint and spices, very fragrant.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Rafling

Drinking at home.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Rafling - pungent nose with notes of sulfur, muscat grapes, almost yeasty. Some bubbles initially, with sharp acidity on the palate. There were some white flowers underneath the bongwater sulfur, and later on lots of toasty notes came out. The acidity got so high late in the game that it almost bordered on being astringent.

2014 Burgs and friends

Dinner at Hop Sze in Club Batard.

Chartogne-Taillet Hors Série, dégorgée Juin 2022 - a nice nose with a little bit of yeast. The acidity on the palate was higher than expected, more lean and certainly crisp.

2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets - started with a huge nose of toast but also a little pungent, smells a little plasticky and waxy, which was not so pleasant. After warming up for about an hour, the plastic notes were mostly gone. The wine remained lean on the palate with high acidity.

2014 Méo-Camuzet Clos de Vougeot - lovely fruit with a little leather on the nose. A little dry on the palate considering the fruity nose.

2017 Comte Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre - the nose was buttery and toasty. There was good acidity on the palate.

2014 Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St-Jacques - really sweet and fruity nose, with a lovely fragrance.

2012 Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva - apparently the wine was opened the night before to breath. Nose was minty with spices and a little bit of smoke. The acidity was high on the palate, but the wine was very clean. Later on here was more stewed fruit on the nose, and then suddenly the wine was more Burgundian...

2006 La Mission Haut-Brion - served more than 3 hours after opening. Nose showed a little soy sauce and savory notes, along with pencil lead.

2010 La Conseillante - popped and poured. Nose was very earthy and smoky, with some ripe fruit. Really minty, too.

1967 Glenugie, bottled in 1995 by Gordon and MacPhail - showing notes of orange zest, smoke, and light amount of peat.

Full post on dinner is here.

Pax Emerald Pool

Drinking at home.

2004 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Emerald Pool - started drinking right after decanting. Ripe and jammy on the nose, this was really fragrant, with eucalyptus notes. Definitely leathery on the palate. After 30 minutes the wine was more metallic on the nose, with more bacon fat. This was much drier on the palate than expected. Still going strong after an hour in the decanter, with metallic nose and jammy fruit like blueberries and figs, then still got the leather saddle. It's amazing how concentrated this wine was after 20 years. After 1½ hours the wine was still as nice as 30 minutes ago, and the classic Rhône profile started coming out, with plenty of dried herbs now.

Laherte and Matriarch

Dinner at a friend's home.

Laherte Rosé de Meunier, dégorgée en mars 2023 - really fragrant, more perfurmed than usual, with plenty of red fruits as always.

2003 BOND Matriarch - started drinking 40 minutes after decanting. Initially a little sharp on the nose, with vanilla and spices on the nose. The wine has softened a lot but still has plenty of concentration. Smoky and minty notes on the nose that was so fragrant, and so exotic with all the spices.

From Collin to Sassicaia

Dinner at Wing.

Ulysse Collin Rosé de Saignée Les Maillons, dégorgée en Mars 2021 - lovely notes of red fruits. This was so elegant, really nice and rounded on the palate.

1988 Maximin Grünhaüser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett - this was really nice and fresh despite the age, and a good amount of acidity made it very lively on the palate. There was a bit of sweetness, of course, and the prominent notes of white flowers were very nice, too.

2016 Guiberteau Saumur Brézé - there was a huge, toasty nose, and also very fragrant. Pretty lean on the palate with grippy tannins and good acidity. Later on, though, the nose started to develop a buttery profile.

2005 Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis - a really fragrant nose of spices and also somewhat smoky. It's still got the concentration but now the wine is ready, and drinking very nicely.

2007 Sassicaia - smoky, minty nose with wonderful fruit, where it's jammy but not sugary sweet on the nose, and a little fermented. Really good concentration on the palate. Beautiful wine from a great vintage.

1988 Maximin Grünhaüser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese - slightly more sweetness on the palate than the kabinett, but still got lots of acidity, and not surprisingly this was more rounded on the palate. Lots of white flowers on the nose, making it very nice and fragrant.

Full post on dinner is here.

Pinot for mushroom

Dinner at Man Ho Chinese Restaurant.

2013 Dom Pérignon - really lovely and toasty nose, so fragrant, and this was so nice on the palate with such a wonderful balance. Quelle surprise!

Devo MV02, disgorged April 7, 2021 - the nose was much more yeasty. This was very fresh and lively, with slightly higher acidity, and not as fat and rounded on the palate. Also showed some pineapple on the nose after some 45 minutes.

2010 Domaine de la Pousse d'Or Clos de la Roche, en magnum - decanted about 15 minutes after opening and served another 15 minutes later. I brought this to pair with mushrooms and we weren't disappointed. This was really fucking awesome with the ganbajun, as the flavors of the fungus just exploded in the mouth after a sip of this wine. The nose showed nice notes of leather and, not surprisingly, mushrooms. More than 1½ hours after opening this was beginning to show some toasty oak on the nose, and the acidity was now getting higher.

2005 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Evenstad Reserve, from magnum - this was showing much sweeter fruit on the nose along with some eucalyptus. Definitely fresher and more vibrant compared to the Clos de la Roche, despite being 5 years older.

Full post on dinner is here.