89 Trimbach FE VT

Drinking at home, with electronic candles.

1989 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile Vendages Tardives - floral with white flowers, lychee, a little honey and marmalade. Nice and fragrant nose. Off-dry with a light sweetness upfront, and acidity comes out mid-palate. Mild level of bitterness on the finish. So elegant and beautiful.

2020 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2020 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - lots of flint and muscat grape, green apple. Very big on the palate. Later on plenty of vanilla oak on the nose.

2010 Arioso

Dinner at Rosita.

2010 Rotem and Mounir Saouma Châteauneuf-du-Pape Arioso Rouge - smoky with notes of leather and some vanilla, lovely fragrance of cedar. Definitely sweet, black fruits here.

Full post on dinner is here.

03 Pax Terraces

Dinner at Nikushou.

2003 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - showed lots of jammy fruit when decanting. Good acidity on the palate, and first sips showed more plum and some leather. Cassis showed up some 20 minutes later, with a little woodsy notes. This remained the case for the rest of the evening, where the wine showed its maturity without being the fruit bomb that it was in its youth.

Full post on dinner is here.

03 Pax Castelli-Knight

Drinking at home while suffering from Covid.

2003 Pax Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch - nose of sweet, ripe fruit, and lovely woodsy notes.

69 Clos des Papes

Dinner at Tutto Bello in Taipei.

2020 Trimbach Riesling - nose of stone fruit with some flint. Relatively dry on the palate.

1969 Clos des Papes Rouge - started serving around 20 minutes after opening, without decanting. Very cloudy. Pretty fragrant with red fruits like red cherries and some leather. Fifteen minutes later showed some toasty notes, and developed a lovely nose with rose petals. Second pour about 1 hour after opening and the wine was already more muted, showing some mint and eucalyptus. Pretty happy with this.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagne and SQN

Dinner at Forum Restaurant.

Ulysse Collin Les Pierrières, dégorgée en mars 2021 - nice and open, with some dessicated coconut, a little mineral and flint. Nice acidity on the palate, then some savory notes showed after about 30 minutes.

2007 Taittinger Comte de Champagne Blanc de Blancs - big on the palate. Really lovely nose with a good amount of toast.

2008 Sine Qua Non B 20 - 91% syrah, 6% grenache, 3% viognier. Served 2 hour after opening without decanting. Really big wine, very woodsy, a little metallic, minty. More than 3 hours after opening the nose was even more open and showed more cedar notes. Drinking very well.

2015 Keller Westhofener Kirchspiel Riesling Großes Gewächs - flinty, polyurethane, a bit more ripe on the palate than expected.

Full post on dinner is here.

Hugel and Henri Bonneau

Dinner at Moon Bay.

2003 Henri Bonneau Cuvée Marie Beurrier, en magnum - double decanted 1½ hours prior to serving. Nose showed tons of ripe fruit like blackcurrants. Once served the nose showed more leather and a slight stinkiness. A little savory on the palate. Half an hour after serving the wine showed lovely woodsy notes. About 3 hours after decanting the wine definitely had peaked and the fruity notes were no longer prominent or noticeable.

2011 Hugel Gewurztraminer Grossi Laüe - pretty floral, definitely lots of lychee. Palate was kinda off-dry and lightly sweet.

Full post on dinner is here.

DRC Monty and Champagnes

Dinner at Ta Vie.

2015 Mumm RSRV Blanc de Blancs, dégorgée septembre 2021 - so easy to drink. Nice nose with a little toast, a little savory minerals on the nose, and pretty fragrant.

1999 DRC Montrachet - some oxidation noted around 30 minutes after opening. Got some marmalade on the nose and very, very buttery, with some vanilla oak. Second pour 1 hour after opening and this got better. Another half hour later and this warmed up and got a little bitter on the palate. More than 2 hours after opening there was a little more toast on the nose. A very beautiful wine.

2000 Dom Pérignon P2 - fresher and more lively on the palate, with certainly more toasty notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

2004 Colgin Syrah

Drinking at a friend's home.

2004 Colgin Syrah IX Estate - decanted 1 hour after opening and served. Really beautiful nose, sweet and very ripe fruit. Fragrant oak and woodsy notes. Powerful throughout and stunning.

2020 Boulay

Drinking at home.

2020 Gérard Boulay Sancerre Monts Damnés - plenty of flint and toast. Much riper on the palate than expected, almost a little sweet.

Femme and Maiden

Dinner at Nikushou.

1996 Duval-Leroy Femme de Champagne - nice and flinty, not too oxidized on the nose considering the age. Acidity on the high side. Really fragrant nose with marmalade and a little mineral. Lovely palate and much fresher than expected.

2019 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin Le Banc - very buttery but with good acidity and not too ripe on the palate. Kinda lean and a little grippy.

2004 Harlan Estate The Maiden - decanted for 1½ hours prior to serving. Lots of ripe and sweet fruit, plenty of smoke, very minty. Beautiful after 2 hours with a lovely woodsy nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ruinart Rose and du Tertre

Drinking at a friend's home.

Ruinart Rosé - lots of red fruits.

2017 du Tertre - initially a little bretty, perhaps from the glass. Also leather notes.

2017 Pievalta San Paolo

Drinking at home.

2017 Pievalta Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva San Paolo - flinty, oaky, some ripeness on the nose, some ripeness on the palate but the acidity is still there.

Sake with flowers

Dinner at Godenya.

Beau Michelle Snow Fantasy (ボー・ミッシェル スノーファンタジー うすにごり生原酒), 2022-23, served at 10°C - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 60%. Nice and fizzya dn fruity with acidity. So easy to drink and makes me so happy.

Mansakunohana Super Limited Junmai Daiginjo (まんさくの花　超限定　純米大吟醸), 2021-22, served at 12°C - seimaibuai of 45%. A little more dry, still very fragrant with some notes of fermented rice lees.

Kikuyoi Junmai Ginjo Matsushitamai 40 (喜久酔 純米吟醸 松下米40), 2019-2020, served at 13°C - seimaibuai of 40%. Thicker on the palate, a little more on the dry side.

Sogen Junmai Ginjo Muroka Namagenshu (宗玄 純米吟醸 無濾過生原酒), 2021-22, served at 18°C - seimaibuai of 50/55%. Both nose and palate showing more fermented notes. Nice and fragrant in the mouth.

Tenon Mizumoto Junmai Ginjo (天穏 そやし水酛 純米吟醸), 2022-23, served at 44°C - seimaibuai of 60%. Really nice when served at this warm temperature, very fragrant in the mouth. Really fermented notes.

Odayaka Kimoto Junmai Ginjo Nama Nigori (おだやか 生酛純米吟醸 生うすにごり), 2022-23, served at 11°C - seimaibuai of 60%. Definitely more on the dry side.

Jyuji Asahi Junmai Ginjo Genshu (十旭日 純米吟醸原酒), 2009-10, served at 47°C - seimaibuai of 55%. Very fermented and savory as always, especially when served warm.

Yoshinosugi no Taruzake (吉野杉の樽酒), 1992 - seimaibuai of 60%.

Eikun Tezukuri Umeshu (英君  手作り  梅酒) - production year unknown but from around 35 years ago. This was really nice like Chinese salted plums and Shaoxing wine. Very savory, so fragrant, a little smoky with good acidity.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Cossard Pinot Noir

Drinking at home.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Pinot Noir - very jammy, cassis, black cherries, leather. Later on some floral notes with lavender, violet, and potpourri.

Dom and Krug

Supper at Hidden.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 170ème Édition, ID 221035 - acidity seemed a little higher than usual tonight. Still a crowd-pleaser.

1996 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - nice and caramelized, a little bit of sugar cane and also marmalade. Nice and smooth now, and still very lively.

Full post on supper is here.