90 Montrose and friends

Dinner at Flower Drum.

2020 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc - nose of green apple and muscat. Drinking well with a little ripeness to balance the acidity.

Bought from Altaya for EUR 112.

1981 Guigal La Landonne - all sediment poured into decanter. Started drinking around 40 minutes after decanting. Kinda meh. With the char siu the after taste was pretty metallic and a little funky. Got better after 1 hour in the decanter, and now I could smell the acidity, and the acidity also started to show on the palate. Still got sweet fruits like plum on the nose. After 1½ hours the nose was now better than the palate. Just kinda disappointing.

Bought from Sotheby's for GBP 195.

1990 Montrose - all sediment poured into decanter. A little bretty just after decanting. Started drinking about 1 hour and 45 minutes after decanting. Very lively. Around the 2-hour mark the nose was very smoky, showing lots of tobacco, leather, mineral and savory notes. Really nice and fragrant. Maybe not performing as a 100-point wine tonight but very delicious nonetheless.

Full post on dinner is here.

2009 Haut Condissas

Drinking at a friend's home.

2009 Haut Condissas Prestige, en magnum - definitely got that vanilla oak on the nose, with a bit of smoke as well as earthiness.

Bought from the château for EUR 50 plus shipping.

2004 Pax Emerald Pool

Drinking at home.

2004 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Emerald Pool - started drinking 30 minutes after decanting. Still pretty alcoholic on the nose. With the first sip this was smoother on the palate now, after 20 years. Showing sweet fruit like plums, and so sweet it was almost jammy. Still woodsy on the nose, though. The palate, though, seemed a little one-dimensional and not as lively as expected. Second pour 20 minutes later showed fragrant potpourri on the nose, with more of that sweet fruit. Now there was a little honeydew melon and banana. Another 10 minutes later and there was a little pepper. The palate improved after 1½ hours in the decanter.

Bought from the winery for USD 75 plus tax and shipping.

Zaku Primordial Galaxy

Drinking at home.

Zaku Primordial Galaxy Junmai Daiginjo (作 原始の銀河 純米大吟醸) - sweet upfront, but a bit more dry mid-palate. There was banana on the nose but also a bit of fermented notes along with umami. Surprisingly this was a little viscous on the palate.

Rodez and Guiberteau

Dinner at Amber.

Eric Rodez Blanc de Noirs, Edition 45, dégorgée en Decembre 2023 - nice and lovely on the palate, with a good balance between acidity and ripeness, good depth and a long finish. Classic marmalade on the nose.

2019 Guiberteau Saumur Les Moulins - the nose was surprisingly ripe and sweet, with plenty of toast on the nose. The acidity was still there on the palate, making it nice and lean.

L'abricot du Roulot - the nose was definitely very apricot. Sweet on the palate but not too sticky.

Full post on dinner is here.

Krug and Cossard

Dinner at Neighborhood.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 172ème Édition, ID 223024 - nice and toasty on the nose, but that acidity was pretty sharp. In fact, I initially thought this was 171ème because of how high the acidity was. Not a fan of the high acidity tasted in the recent editions.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot - kinda rounded on the palate, but with good acidity from mid-palate to finish. Not too toasty on the nose, with just a bit of flint.

1988 Domaine de la Pinte Vin Jaune - alcoholic on the nose, with a little apricot and a hint of honey. Nice and nutty, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

2015 Marqués de Riscal

Drinking at home in Sanchong.

2015 Marqués de Riscal Gran Reserva - started drinking 20 minutes after decanting. Pretty sweet on the palate, while showing a big nose of blueberries as well as woodsy notes.

Bought from Costco for TWD 1,440.

90 Latour and bongwater

Dinner at Hosu in Taipei.

Weightstone WE Frizzante No.6 - fruity, lively, kinda happiness-inducing wine. Lots of lychees here, and just seems so happy.

1990 Latour - this was really nice and smooth now. Second pour for me was about 1½ hours after opening, and now it was pretty sweet on the palate, with smoky and leather notes. Really nice after 2 hours as the wine was very open now, with fragrant woodsy notes. Started to have a little pencil lead on the nose. After about 2½ hours, finally felt some tanins on the palate, while the woodsy fragrance was really, really now nice. In fact, it was so fucking good after the wine really opened up.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sake, rum, and Matacuy

Dinner at MONO for their Unplugged XIV, a collaboration to MAZ Tokyo.

Miolo Cuvée Tradition Brut - this is always easy to drink, with light acidity on the palate.

Kokuryu Daiginjo Ryu (黒龍 大吟醸 龍), 2024 - such a classic, with lovely, sweet and starchy rice on the nose, a little sharp with acetone and alcohol, and showing slightly fermented notes. Lovely.

2021 Jean Leon Nativa Xarel・lo - very ripe on the nose but very light on the palate.

Mater Iniciativa O Tuber - made of oxalis tuberosa or oca. This actually tasted like white wine to me. The alcohol level was not high. Slightly grippy on the palate with a short finish. Not very complex. Not particularly delicious on its own, but very interesting nevertheless.

2022 Lucien Muzard Santenay 1er Cru Beauregard - nice and oaky on the nose with plenty of coconut butter. Red currants. Rich and interesting, and a bit smoky.

2019 Zuccardi Malbec Concreto - ripe fruit and smoke on the nose. Got the concentration on the palate, but a little chalky. Not great.

Montelobos Mezcal Espadín - very classic. Got that medicinal flavor but still a little sweet on the palate and also on the finish.

Santa Teresa 1796 - so fragrant, with lovely vanilla notes and a long finish.

Distinería Andina Matacuy - really fragrant and herbal. Almost reminds of chartreuse.

Full post on dinner is here.

Cossard Rafling

Drinking at home.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Rafling - a little bubbly. Good acidity and a little grippy and tannic on the palate. Definitely a bongwater and got that pungent sulfur on the nose. Now I can smell that petrol on the nose and see that it's really a riesling.

Ponet-Canet and Matriarch

Dinner at The Chairman.

2009 Pontet-Canet - starting drinking 45 minutes after double-decanting. Pretty nice and open now, with woodsy notes and cigar smoke on the nose after 1 hour. Really fragrant and drinking very well right now.

Bought from Altaya for EUR 98.

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - big nose of petrol with white flowers. I still like the sweetness level here.

Bought from Rare and Fine Wines for HKD 368.

2003 BOND Matriarch - started drinking about 2½ hours after double-decanting. Very minty on the nose, with smoky and leather notes. Pretty sweet with black fruits on the palate. Very silky smooth now but still got that wonderful concentration. Such a pleasure to drink.

Bought from the winery for USD 85 plus tax and shipping.

2006 La Magia Brunello di Montalcino - smoky with nose of dried herbs, a little wood, and a little sweet fruit.

Full post on dinner is here.

70 Latour and Henin

Dinner at Locanda.

Pascal Henin L'Appel de la Forêt, dégorgée à 11 Octobre 2022 - the non-vintage version, which was different from the bottle of 2014 I tasted 2 months ago. Nice and toasty on the nose, and also a bit oily. There was a decent amount of depth on the palate, with good acidity.

Romain Henin Galip'ette, dégorgée à 10 Mai 2023 - the nose was pretty sugary, a little caramelized, with a hint of sugar cane. The palate did have the acidity, and was a little sharp on the attack but then softened up a little. For some reason the nose reminded me of kir royale, and there was a shade of cough syrup, too...

1970 Latour - mid-shoulder level. Tasted almost 1½ hours after opening and just after decanting. CORKED. Got that green vegetal and wet cardboard nose. Still corked an hour later. It was drinkable with smoke and a bit of grilled meats on the nose. Showed some graphite notes about 5 hours after opening. But what a disappointment!

Bought from Christies for HKD 5,000.

2007 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin - got that acidity I expected from Barolo. Interestingly the color of the wine was lighter than the Latour nearly 40 years older! Smoky nose with some nice fruits.

Full post on dinner is here.

Pinots for mushroom

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2009 Dom Pérignon Rosé - very nice nose of strawberries, nice and toasty, so refreshing.

Kamoshibito Kuheiji Inoné 5 Stars (醸し人九平次 いのね 5つ星), 2022 - this had a HUGE nose, really rich in starchy rice and very sweet. The attack was fresh and fruity but there is much more depth mid-palate and turns a bit dry on the finish. Really good shit.

2018 Gonet-Médeville Ambonnay Cuvée Athénaïs, en magnum - started drinking some 50 minutes after opening. Really nice and fruity on the nose, with eucalyptus, pine needles, and a bit of woodsy fragrance.

2005 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin - started drnking about 2 hours after opening. Nose of leather with a bit of funk, maybe a little sulfur.

Bought as part of a mixed lot from Sotheby's for HKD 827.

2004 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine - first tasted just before we got to 2 hours after opening. Surprisingly big and toasty nose. Obviously the fruit was very sweet and ripe. Still going strong after another half-hour. This was fairly different from the two previous bottles I had opened in the past, and this was much more masculine and in-your-face, without the elegance I was expecting.

Full post on dinner is here.