Wine by varietals

Drinking in the office.

2003 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - very sweet and ripe, alcohol very sharp on the nose, with potpourri and forest notes.  Easy to see why this wasn't popular with the others.

1997 Beringer Merlot Bancroft Ranch Private Reserve - smoky, minty with dried herbs.

1985 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine-Collignon par Bouchard - farmy, soy sauce, black olives, a little smoky.  Acidity higher here.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - farmy, bacon fat, floral, violet. leather.  Absolutely beautiful, and my favorite of the evening.

2005 Kistler Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard - big, ripe nose of toasty corn.  Sweet and buttery.

2005 Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatieres - slightly leaner than the Kistler but still ripe.  Nice and ready to drink, with more lemon citrus.

von Schubert Herrenberg and Cristal

Dinner at On Lot 10.

1989 von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese - my first sip surprised me with its acidity level, but I think the wine drank better as time went on.  Nice acidity balance with some residual sugar, and a classic German Riesling.

1990 von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese - definitely was a little sweeter on the palate compared to the '89.

2002 Louis Roederer Cristal - heavy nose of toast, minerals and caramel.  Not my favorite vintage, I must say...

Full post on dinner is here.

94 Colgin and 01 Castellare

Dinner at Amuse Bouche.

2001 Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di San Niccolò - initially the nose was simply not clean, a little green and vegetal with wet chalk.  We debated whether the bottle was corked, but decided it wasn't obvious enough.  A little minty with dried herbs.  Very smooth on the palate, with velvety tannins.  Surprisingly for a Sangiovese, this wasn't acidic at all.

1994 Colgin Herb Lamb - wow! Pretty much the way I expected it to be: really exotic, tons of coconut butter, tons of vanilla, very sweet, with lots of tangerine.  Alcoholic a little sharp on the nose.

Drank the leftovers after 24 hours.  The intense vanilla and sweetness on the nose was gone, but the sweetness on the palate remained.  Nose was now more tobacco, smoky, minty, slightly metallic.  Alcohol in the nose was even more sharp and piercing.

Full post on dinner is here.

Juyondai and Bijofu

Dinner at Gin Sai.

Juyondai Special (十四代 秘酒), 25BY - prominent nose of fermented rice and banana.  Very soft and elegant, round on the palate, then slowly builds up to a long and spicy finish.  Seimaibuai of 40%.

Bijofu Yumebakari (美丈夫 夢許), 26BY - nose was very fruity, tropical, melon.  Very full-bodied and more powerful right from the start.  Seimaibuai of 30%.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - 78s and Martha's

MNSC dinner at the Grill Room of Hong Kong Country Club, hosted by the Ox.

1990 Moët and Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - a little plummy, a hint of grass, mineral notes.  Young and fresher than I expected.

1998 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet - very toasty nose, with lots of grilled corn, and citrus notes.  Very clean and powerful on the palate - yet round and soft - with a long finish.  Beautiful!

First flight, decanted 30 minutes prior to serving:

1978 Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle - smoky, tobacco notes, minty and sweet.  A bit of acidity on the palate, and alcoholic.  Later on the nose turned really sweet, with vanilla notes.  94 points.

1978 Beaucastel - a little chalky, some sweet grass, and sharp alcohol.  92 points.

1978 Chave Hermitage Rouge - ripe and sweet, a very big wine.  Black olives, more meaty and minty.  Interestingly the acidity was very obvious in the nose.  Good concentration here.  94 points.

Second flight, decanted 70 minutes before serving:

1988 Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard - nose of led pencil, smoky, a little green pepper, a little earthy and mineral.  Very concentrated on the palate, clean with a long finish.  A beautiful wine.  99 points.

1989 Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard - a bit smoky, alcoholic.  A little savory, with a little plastic at the end.  Also a beautiful wine.  98 points.

1991 Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard - sharp and alcoholic on the nose at first.  A little green pepper and smoky.  96 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sine Qua Non massiiive

Dinner at the Butcher's Club featuring wines from Sine Qua Non.

2010 Sine Qua Non The Monkey - 52% Roussanne, 23% Viognier, 19% Chardonnay and 5% Marsanne.  Full-bodied, very ripe.  Very sweet on the palate when taken with the clams, and the finish was a little bitter.

2002 Sine Qua Non Whisperin' E - 50% Roussanne, 31% Viognier and 19% Chardonnay.  More lemon and citrus, grassy and sweeter nose, almost candied.  Nice on the palate.

2005 Sine Qua Non The Petition - 37% Viognier, 33% Roussanne, 30% Chardonnay.  Pretty ripe and sweet, and not too bitter on the palate.

2007 Sine Qua Non Body & Soul - 71% Roussanne and 29% Viognier.  A little floral, white flowers, sweet with a little peach.

2002 Sine Qua Non Hollerin' M - 100% Pinot Noir. Nice and smooth on the palate, with a bit of forest in the nose.

2001 Sine Qua Non Ventriloquist - 82% Grenache and 18% Syrah.  Ripe and jammy, a little metallic.  Very nice and sweet on the palate.

1999 Sine Qua Non The Marauder - 100% Syrah.  Jammy, metallic, sweet with forest pine.

2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil - 95.5% Syrah, 3% Grenache and 1.5% Viognier.  Nice with very fragrant nose of cedar.  Not bad at all.

2002 Sine Qua Non Just for the Love of It - 96% Syrah, 2% Grenache and 2% Viognier.  Metallic, smoky and meaty.  Very concentrated.

1997 Sine Qua Non Imposter McCoy - 100% Syrah.  Minty, metallic and mineral.  Pretty ripe and sweet on the palate.

1996 Sine Qua Non Against the Wall - 100% Syrah.  Really jammy, a little grassy, smoky with tangerine notes.  Was this corked?

1995 Sine Qua Non The Other Hand - 100% Syrah.  Farmy, smoky with black olives.

1998 Sine Qua Non Mr. K TBA - 100% Viognier. Nose of acetone, botrytis, grapes and honey.  Soooo sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.