Selosse, von Schubert and L'Interdit Valandraud

Dinner at One Harbour Road.

Jacques Selosse Exquise, dégorgée le 15 Juin 2009 - very ripe and sweet on the palate, oaky.  Later on showing sugar cane and Chinese licorice.  Wonderful.

1988 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abstberg Riesling Auslese aus halbe Flasche - very floral and elegant, a little sweet, some tropical fruit like lychees.  Acidity was higher than expected, and rounded on palate.

1988 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 153 aus halbe Flasche - more intense, with classic flinty, polyurethane notes.  Slightly more viscous and definitely sweeter on the palate.

2000 Valandraud - decanted about 1½ hours prior to serving.  Very smoky, a little ripe, closed up later and lost some of the sweetness.

L'Interdit de Badon - not as ripe, smoky, wet cardboard, green pepper.  Definitely a corked bottle.

L'Interdit de Valandraud en magnum - ripe and sweeter, very fragrant, smoky, with pencil lead and cedar notes.  More intense than Valandraud.

1970 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial from magnum - a little ripe, minty, smoky, a little exotic, acidic on palate, aromatic, with stewed cherries and some exotic coconut.

Full post on dinner is here.

Casual Burgs

Dinner at a friend's place.

2008 Amiot Guy Le Montrachet - opened a day earlier with Coravin.  Very nice and rich, with good acidity.  A little flinty, slightly pungent, dusty, oaky, with orange peel notes.  Full-bodied.

2012 Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Tête du Clos - ripe and fat, with apricot notes.  Very nice.

2005 Prieuré Roch Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes - really sweet with tons of fruit, and a little forest pine.  Very nice.

2005 Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale Rouge - obviously suffering from heat damage, not pleasant to drink.

1999 Matriarch

Dinner at L'Idiot in Taipei.

1999 BOND Matriarch - very sweet, with exotic coconut butter. Drinking very nicely.

Full post on dinner is here.

85 Guigal and Santoleri

Dinner at Orto.

2009 Nicola Santoleri Crognaleto - bland at first, but became nutty and metallic with prosciutto.  A little ripe on the palate later on.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - very smooth on the palate, but towards the end slightly denser than expected as we did not decant.  A little violet and leather on the nose.  Pretty nice but this wine is on the way down.

Full post on dinner is here.

Cignale and Happs Pinot

Dinner at Kam's Restaurant.

2011 Happs Pinot Noir - strong nose of grape skin and forest.  Sugar sweet on palate.  Lolly water.

1999 Querceto Cignale - a little smoky with grilled meats.  Rounded tannins.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagne and Cali

Drinks at La Cave at the Aberdeen Marina Club.

Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru - nice and smooth, very balanced in terms of acidity and ripeness on the palate.  Somewhat caramelized nose.

Dinner at the Horizon at the Aberdeen Marina Club.

1988 Kistler Chardonnay Kistler Estate Vineyard - the color was a beautiful amber.  Nose was very sweet, bubblegum-like, caramelized, honey, marmalade, and oaky.  Later on showed straw notes.  Ripe and mature but still alcoholic, with a finish that was kinda dry.  After 2 hours, this was totally buttery, with a little coconut.  An absolutely beautiful wine.

1998 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard - still really young and just beginning to soften up.  Really sweet and fruity, which is just what I would expect.  The slightly pungent smell of the grape skin is still evident here.

1986 Joseph Phelps Insignia - very strong notes of leather, kinda medicinal, stinky, smoky, earthy, pencil lead... and still some fruit left.  Very soft on the palate after almost 30 years.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Tom Aikens / Principal

MNSC dinner at the Principal with guest chef Tom Aikens, hosted by me.

1970 Cuvée Dom Pérignon - really mature and caramelized, Chinese licorice (甘草), sugar cane and water chestnut water (竹蔗茅根水), orange marmalade, salty plum (話梅) notes.  Slightly bitter and a little short.

This Champagne was now showing a beautiful hue... after almost 44 years in bottle.

First pair: double-decanted 2½ hours before serving

1999 Armand Rousseau Chambertin - heavy nose of toasty corn, sweet and ripe, with lots of black cherries.  95 points.

1999 Guigal La Landonne - very smoky, a little floral, some leather, with a hint of pencil lead.  Very rich.  96 points.

Second pair: double-decanted more than 3 hours prior to serving

1989 Guigal La Landonne - very farmy with leather notes.  Very lovely.  96 points.

1989 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - a little green a little smoky, a little savory.  95 points.

Third pair: double-decanted about 3½ hours prior to serving

1994 Opus One - a little green and chalky, not much fruit left, lots of brett, and black pepper.  93 points.

1994 Dominus - very chalky, smoky, minty. 93 points.

Fourth pair: double-decanted 5 hours prior to serving

1982 La Mission Haut-Brion - smoky, a little chalky, a little black pepper.

1982 Léoville-Las Cases - chalky, peppery, a little green, pencil lead.  A little pungent.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ramonet Bâtard and Insignia

Dinner at Wagyu Takumi.

2001 Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet en magnum - very toasty, lots of corn, and lemon citrus.  After 2 hours, the sweetness was really nice.  Drinking really well.

1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia from magnum - tons of smoke, minerals, grilled meats, cedar, and very fragrant.

Full post on dinner is here.