78 + 85 Guigal and 90 Pignan

Dinner at a friend's residence.

Sotheby’s Champagne Blanc de Blancs (élaboré par R&L Legras) – very fresh, fruity, yeasty with crisp acidity. The Zalto Champagne glass seemed to have delivered a more focused nose.

Rien (梨園) – very sweet pear liqueur, and very “fragrant” thanks to the essence/extracts/flavorings added. Not sure which type of pear this was, as Hita Pear (日田梨) could be any of 8 cultivars.

1978 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde – served 10 minutes after opening without decanting. Lovely floral nose with bacon fat, sweet fruit, a little yammy. After 40 minutes the wine started going downhill. The palate was very soft, but there’s still plenty of life in this wine.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde – served 1 hour after opening without decanting. More minty, more concentration here, showing cooler fruit, riper and sweeter on the nose. For some reason this declined drastically later, turning really dusty and kinda nasty. Needs to be drunk within 1½ hours of opening.

1990 Rayas Pignan – initially seemed a little dusty because of the glass. A little alcoholic at one point, but there was a good amount of sweet fruits here. Naturally this was lighter than the Guigals.

Number One Drinks Company 1990 Hanyu (一番 羽生) – surprisingly peaty and medicinal for a Japanese whisky. Single cask at 55.5%.  Bottled in 2007.

Full post on dinner is here.