Millenium Party

Millenium Party at brown.

1996 Greg Norman Cabernet Merlot - great stuff!  This is a classic example of how the Cab blends well with Merlot, with Merlot adding sweetness and softening up the tannic Cabernet.  Wow!  No wonder critics like it.

Bought from DFS Singapore for SGD 35.

Tattinger "2000" en magnum - opened just before midnight.  It was a pretty good cuvée, and I got very drunk on it!

Bought from Ponti at the Tattinger tasting, with bottle signed by Pierre-Emmanuel Tattinger.

96 d'Arenberg The Noble

Drinking at home.

1996 d'Arenberg Riesling The Noble - wonderful stuff.

Müller-Burggraef Auslese, Chevalier and Don Maximiano

Drinks at 向日葵 in Taipei.

1996 Müller-Burggraef Reiler Mullay-Hofberg Riesling Auslese - not my favorite as it's very like the Phelps Late Harvest Riesling.  Basically it's slightly sweet and weak, a funny balance with the inherent acidity in white wine.  Also a little bit bubbly.  It's OK, but I wouldn't buy lots of Auslese any time soon.

Contribution from the restaurant owner.

1985 Domane de Chevalier Rouge - decanted for more than an hour.  It was medium-bodied.  The nose was still excellent with good fruit, but really a bit light.  A friend thought it might be over the hill, and I would agree although Chevalier normally is light.  Parker rated it 86 and noted it lacked concentration.

Bought from Eslite for TWD 2,360.

1996 Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve - this was understandably tannic since it's a young Bordeaux blend with lots of Cab, but it has a pronounced earthy nose which I tend to dislike.  Fairy fruity and concentrated.

Contribution from the restaurant owner.

Hudelot-Noellat Clos de Vougeot

Dinner at the Landmark Club in Taipei.

Hudelot-Noellat Clos de Vougeot (vintage forgotten) - very light, not a lot of body and definitely sediment floating around.  A shame it wasn't decanted.  Good acidity balance and OK fruity, but I wouldn't learn to appreciate Pinot Noir from this wine.

Bought from Tatung Atherton.

93 Ridge and 81 Margaux

Dinner at brown.

1993 Ridge Cabernet Santa Cruz Mountains - served in small glasses.  Nose was pretty nice and fruity.  Good balance between acidity and smooth tannins.  Sediment was on the bottom of the cork, and lots of it!  Nice wine, though.

Bought from BBR for HKD 368.

1981 Margaux - this was opened and decanted about an hour before we started drinking, which was OK but probably could have breathed more, as it was better after about 2 hours.  Good length.  Fairly nice, fruity nose.  Very velvety tannins which were mostly shed.  Lots of fine sediment at the bottom.  My arm was sore from carefully decanting it.  Quite a smooth, yummy wine.

Bought from Sinolink for HKD 1,790.

86 Clos Ste Hune

Drinks at brown.

1986 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste Hune en demi-bouteille - this has lots of oak, and has a deep golden color.  Very smooth unlike young whites.  Full bodied.  First experience with old white wine.  A friend says it doesn't taste like Riesling.  I tend to agree.

Bought from Bacchus for SGD 48.

Bollinger

Drinks at JJ's.

Bollinger Special Cuvée - a bit too much oak and too sharp.  Nose of nuts.  Became smoother and sweeter after dropping strawberries in it.

1989 Greysac

Drinks at home.

1989 Greysac en demi-bouteille - this is still such a great wine, especially in the Sommelier glass.  Amazing nose of cherry and vanilla.  Nice long finish.  Smooth on the palate.  What a wine for such amazing value!  Sediment was a bit funny, clumped into whole plates.  Maybe too cold in the fridge...

Bought for HKD 180 from Seibu.

1990 Opus One

Brunch at Nicholini's.

1990 Opus One - the nose of this wine was incredible.  Definitely lots of fruit and also spicy.  The Riedel Sommelier Bordeaux Grand Cru glasses did the magic of amplifying the nose.  Even though I was a bit stuffed it was still great to me.  good body with long palate.  I'm sure this would get better with age.  Sediment very evident as this was not decanted.  Very enjoyable.

Bought for USD 130 from Bertelli.

L'Eglise Clinet and Cos

Drinks at brown.

1993 L'Eglise-Clinet - this wine needs breathing!  When first opened it was weak and diluted, fitting a friend's complaint about this wine.  Bouquet was fairly good but my nose was clogged up.  As time went on there was more body and tannins began to show.  A friend smelled vanilla and cinnamon.  The high percentage of Merlot (70-80%) is evident.  Not bad!

At the wholesale price of HKD 388 from BBR it's very reasonable.

1985 Cos d'Estournel - this was opened at the same time as L'Eglise-Clinet and decanted.  We started to drink it after quite some time, maybe 45 minutes to an hour later.  The nose was kinda funny to me, a bit sour like something went moldy.  But it improved over time with breathing.  Smooth and mature on the palate.  Very nice to drink, but clearly not as good as the '86 drunk a few months ago.  Pretty fruity nose.  Good body.  Surprisingly there's 40% Merlot in the blend, which no doubt softens the wine and makes it delicious.

Bought for SGD 250 at Bacchus.

94 Gazin

Dinner at Maman.

1994 Gazin - trying out this famous Pomerol estate.  Wheweee!  Ugh!  Not ready to drink at all.  We almost fainted from the smoke and grilled nose when it was first opened.  This vintage needs some serious decanting time.  It got better after about an hour, but still too much.  Too concentrated.  Parker says it needs another 4 years.  I believe him.