French and Spanish

Dinner at Roganic.

Jacques Lassaignes Les Vignes de Montgueux - there was good level of acidity, pretty lean on the palate but still got a little ripeness. However, this is just not the type of Champagne I prefer.

2022 Hiedler Grüner Veltliner Thal - a little green on the nose, and you know it's not a riesling, and in fact smells more like muscat.

2021 Robert-Denogent Pouilly-Fuissé Climat Vieilles Vignes - good acidity on the palate, and more on the lean side, with some lemon citrus on the nose.

2020 Rafael Palacios Val do Bibei As Sortes - this has a nice and toasty nose, with good acidity on the palate.

2012 López de Heredia Reserva Viña Tondonia - this was very fragrant on the nose, with some blueberries that almost started to border on rubber. Nice and ripe on the palate, still got the tannins but there was enough acidity to balance it out. The nose also showed a little bit of savory minerals in the midst of potpourri fragrance.

Domaine des Marnes Blanches Macvin du Jura - this was a little tea-like with notes of jasmine flowers, and also pretty fruity. Very nice and alluring. So happy with this.

Full post on dinner is here.

1995 Corton

Drinking at home.

1995 Hospices de Beaune Corton Cuvée Charlotte Dumay, élevé par Dominique Laurent - decanted 45 minutes after opening, and served more than an hour after opening. This wine is definitely over the peak. Acidity is high as expected, and palate is thin. Some cooked fruit here.

Trimbach, Brochet, and Matriarch

Dinner at The Chairman.

Emmanuel Brochet Rosé de Saignée - opened 2 hours earlier. The nose was VERY toasty, with red fruits. Very punchy nose. Underneath the toast there was perhaps a hint of bubblegum.

2013 Trimbach Pinot Gris Réserve Personnelle, en magnum - a little hint of plastic on the nose, also a little floral. Good acidity mid-palate and on the finish, but also slightly sweet. There was a hint of marmalade, and a little bitter, too.

2007 BOND Matriarch - started drinking 1 hour and 45 minutes after decanting. Really sweet fruit on the nose, with tons of vanilla and coconut butter. Nice, woodsy notes, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

1940 Pichon and Kistler

Lunch at Rong Rong Yuan in Taipei.

2021 Kistler Chardonnay Sonoma Mountains - profile of the classic Cali chard... got the ripeness but still got acidity on the palate, and that buttery profile.

Dinner at YMS by onefifteen in Taipei.

1940 Pichon-Lalande, rebouché au château en 1991 - started drinking without decanting 10 minutes after opening. Nose was a little stinky and funky at first, showing smoky and woodsy notes. Naturally the acidity was on the high side after 85 years. With a fresh pour ater 50 minutes, this was lighter on the palate now, but the nose was still OK. Almost 2 hours in the nose was showing metallic notes, and the palate got flatter - which was not a surprise. This would be due to both the extended aeration plus the fact that sediment had been stirred up into the wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

2001 Arietta H-Block

Dinner at Izmir Turk Kitchen in Taipei.

2001 Arietta Hudson Vineyard H-Block - served undecanted. Nice sweet fruit like cassis on the nose, a little black plums, with light, woodsy notes. Drinking fine but not amazing.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Angelus and Ygrec

Dinner at Caprice.

2020 Ygrec de Yquem - nose of lemon citrus, honey, with very good acidity to balance the small amount of ripeness on the palate. I could definitely smell the sauvignon blanc in the blend.

2020 Angelus - drank about 2 hours after decanting. Definitely still a very young and vibrant wine. Very ripe and a little jammy, with prominent notes of forest and potpourri, along with vanilla and mint on the nose. Still needs time to develop, but enjoyable now.

2014 Yauem, en imperial - lots of polyurethane and saffron, as well as orange and acetone. Soooo lovely and viscous on the palate.

2020 DRC Corton-Charlemagne - good acidity as well as good ripeness, with a little honey on the nose and a bit of polyurethane. This did not smell like a white Burg at all, with none of the buttery and oaky profile. After a little more time, the toasty notes finally came out, along with some flint. When the wine got warmer in the glass, the ripeness became more obvious.

1989 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl Sélection de Grains Nobles - nose of saffron, honey, marmalade, and lovely nutty notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Legras and BV

Dinner at Locanda.

Legras et Haas Intuition, dégorgée en Octobre 2023 - the nose had a nice and lovely fragrance. The dosage of 6g/l makes this a Brut, but I kinda felt the palate veered towards the sweet side.

1994 Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - started drinking more than 1½ hours after decanting. Nose was nice and smoky, with pencil lead and black fruits. Very smooth tannins on the palate after 30 years. There was also a hint of earthiness a little later.

Full post on dinner is here.

1982 Cave Privée

Dinner at Sushi Fujimoto.

1982 Veuve Cliquot Cave Privée - the nose was nicely oxidized with savory mineral notes, and also reminded me of Chinese salty lemon. There was good acidity on the palate.

Bouteille 2490/3500, dégorgée en mai 2014

Full post on dinner is here.

Laherte and Arietta

Dinner at Medora.

Laherte Rosé de Meunier, dégorgée en Mars 2023 - this always has a good level of acidity in addition to those juicy red fruits.

2001 Arietta Hudson Vineyard H-Block - started drinking 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting. Still pretty concentrated on the palate, although the tannins have become softer now. Still got some of the vanilla oak.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc

Drinking at home.

2020 Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc - fairly big on the nose, with some notes of muscat grapes. A little ripeness on the palate but not too sweet, and still got enough acidity. Later the nose showed some nice and toasty oak, with a little flint.

2002 Descendant

Drinking at home.

2002 Torbreck Descendant - started drinking 10 minutes after decanting. Definitely woodsy on the nose, showing very nice fruit in the air while decanting. It's amazing that the tannins were still there on the back end after more than 20 years. The nose showed blueberries and the grape skin. Very fragrant about 45 minutes in.

Kokuryu Kuzuryu

Dinner at Sugidama (杉玉).

Kokuryu Junmai Kuzuryu (黒龍 純米 九頭龍)

Águila and Cossard

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Chassagne-Montrachet - the acidity was very high, just the way we wanted. Got some toasty and flinty notes.

2010 Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Rousseau-Deslandes, mis en bouteille par Lucien Le Moine pour MNSC - served without decanting more than 1 hour after opening. Plenty of toast on the nose and also lots of coconut butter. Still pretty fragrant. The wine was decent on the palate, but it's more simple now compared to just a a year or two ago.

2018 Dominio del Águila Albillo Viña Viejas - flint nose, very fragrant, very big toasty nose, and lots of vanilla and sweet bubblegum on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

2022 Fèvre Chablis

Drinking at home.

2022 Nathalie et Gilles Fèvre Chablis Vieilles Vignes - very soft on the palate, and definitely lacking the acidity for Chablis. This was ripe on the nose and the palate. The nose did get a little more interesting later with some flint.

La Mouline and Mortet

Dinner at Caprice.

2019 Lemaire Les Terres Jaunes, dégorgée en Mars 2022 - seemed to have some age on it, pretty nice and smooth on the palate, but maybe a little less lively. Nose was a little caramelized but not too heavily. Later on the palate improved, became a little grippy and lean.

1993 Fiorano Bianco - this was pretty oxidized and the color was fairly dark. There was a little flint on the nose, and there were some notes of straw, but pretty flat and boring on the palate.

1998 Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin Combe-du-Dessus - started serving some 2½ hours after opening without decanting. Still got that toasty popcorn on the nose, very fragrant and floral. So lovely now and a pleasure to drink.

1995 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - started serving around 3 hours after opening without decanting. Got that eucalyptus and bacon on the nose, with a hint of toast, and even some pencil lead along with some cool fruit. Drinking really nicely now. About 4½ hours after opening this was really beautiful, and the violet notes really came out after dessert.

Full post on dinner is here.

Italians and makgeolli

Dinner at Estro.

2019 Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta Vintage Collection Extra Brut, discorged in 2023 - very lively, toasty and yeasty nose with a little bit of flint.

Eatanic Garden Cloudy (흐림) - the nose was a little medicinal, the palate was slightly bitter and not too sweet.

2019 Manzone Barolo Castelletto - smoky, earthy, minty, forest, with potpourri.

Full post on dinner is here.

Cali night

Dinner at a friend's home.

2008 Dashe Zinfandel Todd Brothers Ranch Old Vines - decanted for a short while before serving. Earthy nose with cooked fruit, really sweet and jammy on the palate. There was also a little savory soy sauce on the nose.

2001 Arietta H-Block Hudson Vineyards - started drinking more than 1 hour after opening without decanting. Very nice and minty, very fragrant and sooo sweet on the nose... almost jammy with vanilla notes. A little hot and alcoholic on the palate.

2003 BOND Matriarch - decanting just before serving. Very sweet on the palate but still got the acidity for balance, A little mushroom and green capsicum on the nose, which was unexpected.