Dethune and Petit Cheval

Dinner at Uwe.

Paul Déthune Blanc de Noirs - yeasty nose.

1989 Le Petit Cheval - served without decanting.  Nice and smoky nose, with pencil lead.

Full post on dinner is here.

85 and 90 Solaia

Dinner at Caprice.

Armand de Brignac Brut Gold - yeasty, quite nice on the palate.  Interestingly there was acidity on the nose, and later on also became slightly more acidic on the palate.

1990 Antinori Solaia - decanted for an hour prior to serving. Smoky, lovely fruit, a bit of maturity here, plummy, cool fruit, with a hint of grass.  Acidity started to come out later, but still a powerful wine.  Especially beautiful and open when first served.

1985 Antinori Solaia - decanted for an hour prior to serving. Initially a little more dried out and grippy on the palate, but opened up nicely.  So fragrant with nice smoked meat notes.  Became softer on the palate after an hour in glass.  Absolutely beautiful 2½ hours after the first pour.  A stunning wine!

1952 Clos de Nouys Moelleux - really honeyed nose.  Rich with acetone.  Still kinda dry and very nutty on the palate.  Marmalade and pear notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

2003 and friends

Dinner at Neighborhood.

Jacques Selosse Exquise, dégorgée le 2 Octobre 2017 - lovely nose with some oxidation.  Lots of salty lemon.

2008 Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux - riper than expected, but still showing some leanness and green.  Full-bodied with good acidity.

2003 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne, en magnum - mature now, with sweet vanilla notes, ripe and buttery.  So sweet on the palate.

2000 Grange des Pères Blanc - ripe on the palate but not too sweet.  Flinty with a hint of acetone.  A beautiful wine that is very big on the palate with a long finish.

2003 Henri Bonneau Cuvée Marie Beurrier, en magnum - unfortunately we forgot to remind our guy to decant this... and he didn't think about all the sediment that would be splashed around... So for me the wine was ruined by all the tannins coming from the sediment.

1995 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon - initially not quite open, showing minty, smoky, and very cool fruit.  After a while it showed very nicely with a little violet.

2003 Ausone - opened 3½ hours prior to serving.  Ripe fruit, smoky, sweet vanilla.  Pretty smooth on the palate with silky tannins, but still got the concentration.

Full post on dinner is here.

Araujo, Bonneau, and Penfolds

Lunch at Jade Dragon in Macau.

2013 Araujo Sauvignon Blanc Eisele Vineyard - prominent notes of green apple.  Still kinda fresh, but already showing signs of ripeness with a hint of bitterness.  A little alcoholic on the palate after warming up.

2009 Penfolds Yattarna - toasty, very open, and beautiful.

2007 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape - nice fruit, animal and leather notes.  Tannins are still here.

Full post on lunch is here.

Les Pavots, Egon, and Heidsieck

Dinner at Wing Lei Palace in Macau.

2004 Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires - maybe disgorged in 2018?  Pretty nice and toasty.

2012 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett - nice sweetness but balanced by crisp acidity.  Nose of polyurethane, minerals, and white flowers.

2012 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben - riper on the palate and with more depth.  Longer finish.  Mineral notes.

2002 Lucien Le Moine Corton Bressandes - lots of banana, and specifically banana peel notes, with wonderful leather and animal nose.

1997 Peter Michael Les Pavots - decanted for almost 3 hours prior to serving.  Smoky, minty, ripe and beautiful.

Full post on dinner is here.

La Dominique and whites

Dinner at the Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant.

2015 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon - nice citrus nose, a little flint and toast.

1990 La Dominique, en double-magnum - earthy, smoky.  Pretty smooth now.

2008 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese - good acidity here with some sweetness, white flowers and flint on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Eikun Ichigin

Dinner at Ronin.

Eikun Junmai Daiginjo Ichigin (英勲 純米大吟醸 一吟), 30BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%.  The fermented flavors on the palate were a little strong.  Slightly dry but elegant, so definitely tanrei (淡麗).  Banana notes in the nose for sure.  Serving it colder meant it became more elegant and less of the fermented notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

El cheapo white Burgs

Lunch at Roganic.

2015 Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc - good, crisp acidity, but also with nice ripeness on the palate as well as on the nose.

2012 Dujac Morey Saint-Denis Blanc - surprisingly very ripe on the palate, almost over-ripe.  Big and toasty nose with flint.

1973 Batailley - decanted just prior to serving.  Smoky and grilled meat notes, with a little sweet grass.  This was meh.

Full post on lunch is here.