04 Cristal and 85 Madeleine Collignon

Dinner at Le Port Parfumé.

2004 Louis Roederer Cristal - pretty ripe on the palate.

1985 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine-Collignon par Bouchard - did not breathe or decant.  Nose of animal, leather, a little smoky, a little stinky.  Palate went downhill after an hour.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 Leroy Bourgogne

Dinner at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Taipei.

2004 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne - nose was open and beautiful right from the first pour.  Farmy, leather, floral and violet, lots of sweet fruit here, with forest and potpourri notes later.  The wine was very cloudy.  A great wine to drink now.

Full post on dinner is here.

78 La Chapelle, Petrus, Vogüé Musigny and friends

Dinner at Kin's Kitchen.

1982 Cuvée Dom Pérignon - beautiful nose of salty plum (話梅), minerals, Chinese licorice (甘草), a little nutty.  First sip showed pretty high acidity, then marmalade and preserved mandarin peel (陳皮) on the palate.  Just a beautiful wine!

2005 Roulot Meursault Les Vireuils - flinty, very clean at first, seemingly a little mature and slightly oxidized.  A little chalky and dusty suddenly.  Ripe on the finish.

2012 Shäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Trocken Großes Gewächs - very floral and fragrant with lychees, a little citrus, ripe and sweet.  Such a wonderful Riesling.

1978 Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes - absolutely beautiful!  Farmy nose with bacon fat, leather, plenty of sweet fruit, and a little savory black olive to add to the complexity.  My favorite wine of the evening.

1978 Jaboulet La Chapelle - really open nose with leather, farmy and animal notes.  Later on the nose opened up even further to reveal floral and violet notes.  Probably the most open '78 La Chapelle I have ever tasted.

1978 Petrus - such an exotic nose, with tropical coconut butter.  Smoky, a little cedar, and pretty savory.  Unfortunately this wine declined a little towards the end.

1998 Fargues en demi-bouteille - honey, apricot, beeswax, marmalade and acetone.  Very nice.

Full post on dinner is here.

32 Nebra and 09 BenMarco

Drinks at Blue Bar.

32 Via dei birrai Nebra - very light and sweet on the palate a little floral thanks to the elderflower.  My kind of beer.

Pretty viscous with noticeable sediment.

Negroni - very well made.  Punchy bitterness, but rounded on the palate at the same time.

Dinner at the Steak Rebellion.

2009 Dominio del Plata BenMarco Malbec - smoky, forest, minty, a little jammy with blackcurrant.  Palate was a little weird and oxidized. Later on it was just undrinkable. Yuck.  Very surprising given the wine is made by Susana Balbo.

Full post on the evening is here.

Montrose and more

Wine tasting at Hong Kong Wine Vault.  Hervé Berland from Château Montrose was in attendance.

2010 Tronquoy-Lalande - oaky, lots of fruit, with plum and cedar.

2010 La Dame de Montrose - minty, fruity, still a little pungent, a little dusty.  Tannic on the palate.

2008 La Dame de Montrose - young and tannic on the palate.  Sweet fruit, smoky, a little forest, and a little pungent.

2005 La Dame de Montrose - more open and opulent, a little smoky, with leather and bacon notes.

2011 Montrose - very sweet, rich, cedar, woody and fragrant.

2010 Montrose - really sweet and ripe, dried herbs, potpourri and toffee.

2008 Montrose - very open and really fragrant, with leather notes.  A little alcoholic, and still a little tannic.

2005 Montrose - still tannic but a lovely wine.  A little alcoholic.

1998 Montrose - very open nose, farmy, smoky, cedar and savory soy sauce.

Drinks at Caprice Bar.

2010 (?) Weinbach Riesling Cuvée Sainte Catherine - flinty, ripe, floral, peachy and sweet.  A fairly big wine but lovely at the same time.

2007 Marcel Deiss Langenberg - really ripe and sweet, perfumed and floral, flinty and mineral.

Brasserie Lebbe L'Amalthée - light and floral, reminds me of a white beer like Hoegaarden, with a hint of citrus flavor.  Texture seemed slightly thicker, though.

Full post on the evening is here.

2000 Plantiers Haut-Brion

Dinner at On Lot 10.

2000 Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion en magnum - oaky, flinty.  Ripe on the palate, with a pretty long finish that seemed a little bitter.  Not bad at all.

Full post on dinner is here.

Chapoutier L'Orée and Valandraud

Dinner and Fish and Meat.

2003 Chapoutier Ermitage L'Orée - should have had this decanted, as it took a long time to open up.  Initially this was muted and just didn't show.  Oxidized, a little copper and metallic, light body and short finish.  With time it gathered more body, with a longer finish as it warmed up.  Also was a little alcoholic at the end.

1996 Valandraud - fruity, a little spicy with the diavola sauce for the chicken.  Smooth on the palate.  A little smoky, grilled meat and earthy.

Drinks at Stockton.

Kill Devil - pretty nice, lots of different flavors here, with absinthe making its mark in addition to the four types of rum.  Also tasted the distinct flavors of ginger beer.  In spite of the name - and the fact it it came with a warning that one could not order more than 2 of these - this was deceptively mild and pleasant on the palate.  No doubt it packed a big punch in a velvet glove.

Full post on the evening is here.

Antoine Moueix wines

Dinner at the Longines Hong Kong Masters.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Yellow Label

2012 Antoine Moueix Expression Sauvignon Blanc - oaky, vanilla, tropical fruits like peach, a little flinty.

2009 Château Tour de Capet - minty, a little fruity, light-bodied, pretty flat and drank poorly.  Later on the alcohol really showed, and didn't work well with the duck or the passion fruit.

Full post on dinner is here.