Mascarello Barolo dinner

Dinner at Giando.

Pierre Peters Champagne, unknown cuvée, en magnum - very light on the palate initially but gained some depth with time. Some minerals, but the finish was short.

1973 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – very old now. Plenty of salty plum (話梅) and savory notes, soy sauce, with some sweetness underneath. Sipping the wine delivers a light and delicated palate, while bigger gulps revealed that tannins were still around.

1975 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – more savory notes, with a tighter nose. A hint of sweetness on the palate. After 10 minutes the nose really showed, and became slightly minty later.

1964 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – a little stinky, but underneath there was nice, sweet fruit with a little bit of smoke. Alcoholic nose, but this turned more elegant later.

1967 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – definitely savory notes here in the really big nose. Ripe and ripe, with cooked fruit underneath.

1968 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – Asian spices, savory soy sauce, with Chinese licorice (甘草). Flat and dead on the palate.

1974 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – a little weird… not much on the nose and came with high acidity.

1978 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – pretty nice with more intense nose. Actually closer to a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with more animal and savory notes. My wine of the night.

1990 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – nice and elegant.

2007 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo – opened and served 5 hours later. Wow! Really big nose of cooked fruit, mint, potpourri, rubber, tropical fruit, and kinda alcoholic. Maybe some orange here? Would love to drink it again in a few years.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - Arbor

MNSC dinner at Arbor, hosted by Dr. Poon.

1995 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé – nice nose of strawberries.

First flight: served from bottle 1 hour after opening.

1975 Sassicaia – vanilla and a hint of coconut, definitely sweet, a little smoky. Flabby with finish that was a little short. 94 points.

1975 La Mission Haut-Brion – more green and vegetal nose, slightly leaner, cigar smoke, minty. More classic claret with savory notes. Became pretty bretty later and really smoky. 93 points.

Second flight:

1985 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques – served from bottle 1 hour and 50 minutes after opening. Beautiful nose with leather and really toasty notes. Also some nutty notes later. 97 points.

1985 Sassicaia – served 1½ hours after decanting. Really intense nose with smoky, savory, and really minty notes, along with a little brett. Still tannic. 99 points.

Third flight:

1985 Henschke Hill of Grace – served from bottle 3 hours after opening. Really green and vegetal nose, with a hint of exotic coconut butter underneath. Funky with some orange notes. 94 points.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque – served 2 hours and 45 minutes after decanting. Really lovely with a little leathery notes, along with a little potpourri. Sweet on the palate. 95 points.

1981 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques – served from bottle 4 hours after opening. Toasty and beautiful nose, nice and kinda elegant, but slightly bitter on palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

2012 Billiot

Dinner at Ta Vie.

2012 Billiot Brut, dégorgée le 14 Mai 2018 - good depth of flavors.

Full post on dinner is here.

Etude and Tattinger

Dinner at Madera in Menlo Park.

2010 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - smoky, graphite, minty, almost green peppers but with sweet fruit underneath.  A little alcoholic on the nose, but pretty nice.  Showed better after opening up for more than half an hour.

Drinking onboard the flight home.

2007 Tattinger Comtes de Champagne - wonderfully toasty nose, very fine mousse, soft and rounded on the palate, then lots of depth with a long finish.

Full post on the evening is here.

2010 Calera

Dinner at Madera in Menlo Park.

2010 Calera Pinot Noir de Villiers Vineyard, from half-bottle - very jammy, some metallic notes.  Unfortunately very one-dimensional.

Full post on dinner is here.

Katsuyama Ken

Dinner at Sumika in Los Altos.

Katsuyama Junmai Ginjo Ken (勝山  純米吟醸  献) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 50%.  Sweet on the attack but dry in the middle.

Wines at Smyth

Dinner at Smyth in Chicago.

Charles Heidsieck Rosé Réserve

2009 Añada de Baladiña - thanks to 10 years' of aging, this was not at all fruity on the nose, but it was ripe on the palate.

Ichinokura Junmai Daiginjo Kuranohana (一ノ蔵  純米大吟醸  蔵の華) - lots of banana in the nose, which was also a little sharp and showing slight fermented.  Palate was middle of the road, neither too sweet nor too dry.

2005 Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont - very toasty, a bit of green apple.  Good acidity.

2014 Dublère Chablis Bougros - the nose was really weird, not like a chard at all... but rather more like pear cidre.

2012 Bruno Clair Vosne Romanée Les Champs Perdrix - WOW!  This was really sweet on the nose, with vanilla and coconut butter.

Billecart-Salmon Demi-Sec - flinty with a hint of anise.  Sweet-ish on the palate.

1979 l'Archiviste Rivesaltes, mis en bouteille le Decembre 2018 - pretty savory.

Full post on dinner is here.

2010 Fourrier Clos St Jacques

Dinner at Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare in New York.

Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve, dégorgée Mai 2019 - a little over-ripe, some acidity here.  Somehow this just wasn't great.

2010 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St-Jacques - really fragrant with leather and eucalyptus notes.  One hour later the nose was pretty metallic, and two hours after opening it showed toasty notes.

Full post on dinner is here.