1943 Mouton

Dinner at logy in Taipei.

1943 Mouton-Rothschild, rebouchée au château en 2003, purchased from the Sotheby's Mouton-Rothschild ex-château auction January 30, 2015 - around half the bottle was served in the first round, and around 10 minutes in the nose opened up to reveal smoke and stewed fruits. Understandably acidity on the palate was on the high side, but the wine was still very fresh considering its age. About 20 minutes after open the nose developed further with woodsy fragrance. Almost 1½ hours in, there was a hint of sweet grass on the nose.

Since the wine was recorked in 2003 at the grand old age of 60 years, the cork looks pretty new.

Full post on dinner is here.

Rasteau and Côte-Rôtie

Dinner at Chouchou.

2008 Gourt de Mautens Rasteau - popped and poured. Pretty nice and floral on the palate, and a little soapy. There was also a hint of funkiness, but pretty enjoyable.

2006 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie Côteaux de Tupin - started drinking more than 1½ hours after opening. This was definitely showing very well, with plenty of fragrant, woodsy notes. Drinking beautifully, and exactly how I was hoping it would be.

Full post on dinner is here.

Hundred mountains and Glaciers

Dinner at Yong Fu.

DEVO MV04 Brut Nature - the nose was flinty and mineral. The palate was fairly well-balanced, although it was rather flat mid-palate, with some orange marmalade notes.

2023 JiangYu Grechetto - this was very oxidized. Ripe and sweet.

Bai Yue Cheng Qu Long Jian Fu Xi (百越承曲 龙见伏兮) - made with a solera system, with wines up to 30 years being used. Long finish here. Nice.

2023 Domaine des Glaciers Cabernet Sauvignon - started serving almost 3½ hours after opening. Initially the nose was rather muted and only so-so, with a hint of spices and some green capsicum. Then it got more open and fragrant, with smoky notes and some graphite. Some 4½ hours after opening this got to be pretty nice.

2017 Franco-Chinois Petit Manseng - very sweet on the nose, with lots of intense honeydew melon.

Full post on dinner is here.

La Rioja Alta and Bouchard

Gaggan Tirreti Bazaar at Red Sugar in Kerry Hotel.

Henriot Brut Souverain - this was rounded on the palate with good acidity balance.

2023 Chapoutier Condrieu Invitare - sooo floral as expected, and as with Condrieu these days, incredibly ripe and sweet on the nose as well as the palate.

2017 Bouchard Beaune 1er Cru Clos de la Mousse - lots of ripe fruit and plenty of sweetness on the nose, but this was a little like old school bubble gum...

2016 La Rioja Alta Viña Arana Gran Reserva - the nose was so fragrant and so woodsy. Sweet with a little coconut butter underneath the woodsy notes. A bit smoky, too. Very nice.

2021 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese - classic nose of petrol and white flowers. Just enough sweetness to make me happy.

Full post on dinner is here.

Five Shooters and more

Dinner at Man Ho.

2006 Jean-François Ganevat Les Vignes de Mon Père, en magnum - drank about 40 minutes after decanting. What a beautiful nose, with lots of toast and floral notes. The acidity was still crisp. Such an amazing wine!

1978 Antinori Solaia - drank about 40 minutes after decanting. Very big nose with lots of smoke, grilled meats, leather, and maybe a hint of green capsicum. Showed some sweetness on the nose after 1½ hours.

2010 Sine Qua Non Five Shooter Grenache, from magnum - decanted 50 minutes after opening, and started drinking more than 1½ hours after decanting. Initially the nose was a bit muted, but still got some sugary ripeness. This opened up and was soooo sweet and ripe on the palate.

2010 Sine Qua Non Five Shooter Syrah, from magnum - decanted 50 minutes after opening, and started drinking more than 1½ hours after decanting. Of course this was ripe and sweet as we would expect it to be. Some of the tannins have been shed after 15 years, so this was tasting fairly smooth on the palate, but clearly showing the concentration of the syrah and obviously a bigger wine compared to the grenache. Beautiful.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sommelier wine pairing

Dinner at Caprice Bar.

2019 Les Poëte Argos - the nose showed mineral and waxy notes, and was a little more oxidized with smokiness. Overall this was really nice and fragrant. This was rounder and riper on the palate, but still had good acidity without being sharp on the long finish.

2018 François Rousset-Martin Perle du Village - showing a very fermented and savory nose, maybe almost at the Chinese fermented beancurd 腐乳 level. Surprisingly this was very clean on the palate. Getting a taste after some lobster made this a little sweet on the palate.

2015 Contrà Soarda Breganze Torcolato - for a sweet wine this was certainly on the light side and not too sweet on the palate. Showing some citrus orange, a bit of acetone, manuka honey, orange blossom water. After opening up a little more this showed more complexity on the nose. And after warming up a little this got bigger on the palate, giving a little more sweetness as well as some bitterness on the finish. With a little more time the nose got pretty intensely sweet, with really ripe honeydew melon.

Full post on dinner is here.

Luminance and Matriarch

Dinner at Roucou.

2023 Jonathan Didier Pabiot Pouilly-Fumé Luminance - nice notes of minerals and flint, but the nose was still very fruity and tropical. Good acidity level on the palate, which was what I wanted.

2007 BOND Matriarch - started drinking 30 minutes after opening without decanting. Very ripe and intense fruit on the nose, very concentrated on the palate. After another 20 minutes we started getting coconut butter and vanilla oak on the nose. Drinking so well.

Full post on dinner is here.

Egon Múller dinner

Dinner at Palco with wines from Egon Müller, organized by ORD Fine Wines.

2021 Château Belá Štúrovo Riesling - nice, classic nose of petrol and white truffle. A little sweetish on the palate but still got the acidity.

2023 Le Gallais Wiltinger Braune Kupp Kabinett - classic nose with polyurethane and white flowers, a hint of honey, and more elegant. Good acidity on the palate making it more crisp, but also a little more grippy.

2022 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett - this was bigger on the nose, with more flint and petrol. So fragrant and lovely.

2023 Le Gallais Wiltinger Braune Kupp Spätlese - very nice, sweeter on the palate than the kabinett, of course... with some acidity for balance.

2022 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese - this was sooo floral, soooo alluring. Pretty sweet on the palate now. These days auslese are made with 100% botrytis grapes thanks to climate change.

2019 Château Belá Rulanské Modré - the nose was sooooo sugary, and actually a bit sharp and definitely a bit overripe and oxidized. Not great.

2017 Château Belá Cabernet Sauvignon - minty and fragrant nose, with a little bit of pepper and nice fruit that was kinda ripe.

1989 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Beerenauslese - honey and marmalade notes on the nose. Nice and viscous on the palate, but this was kinda weak mid-palate. The finish was long and nice.

Full post on the evening is here.