1995 Corton

Drinking at home.

1995 Hospices de Beaune Corton Cuvée Charlotte Dumay, élevé par Dominique Laurent - started drinking 10 minutes after decanting. The nose was very fragrant, with some leather, a bit meaty, plum, and a little animal notes. The acidity was definitely on the high side. After half an hour in the decanter, the nose got a little floral. The acidity got a little too high for my liking.

SQN and friends

Dinner at Caprice.

2015 Vincent Dancer Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - started drinking some 3 hours after opening. This was sooo beautiful! There was a nice balanced level of toast on the nose, which wasn't too big and heavy but just right. Nice and buttery with a dose of lemon citrus and minerals. There was acidity on the palate, but once again it was nicely balanced with ripeness. What a wine!

2001 Sine Qua Non Albino - the nose was nice and floral, with lots of honey, marmalade, and some straw. Very ripe both on the nose and on the palate, but a little hot and alcoholic on the palate. A really lovely wine.

2006 Hundred Acre Ark Vineyard - decanted some 30 minutes after opening, and started drinking a little more than 1 hour after opening. Minty, a bit earthy, and actually a little savory on the nose. Definitely showing cool fruit, and surprisingly not as jammy as expected. Really opened up after 2 hours, and showing smoky notes, too. Delicious.

2005 Sine Qua Non Atlantis Fe₂O₃ Syrah 1c - decanted around 1½ hours after opening, and started drinking more than an hour after decanting. A bit smoky on the nose, and there was almost a hint of brett. Savory and a bit stinky on the nose. Pretty smooth and drinking well, but this was one of the least SQN reds I remember drinking. Totally lacking the typical punchy character and jammy fruit, and leaning more towards a French syrah.

1955 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottle 004, from imperial - this was so complex with lots of spices and herbs on the nose. Viscous texture and sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wines with UNO

Drinking at a friend's home.

2015 Maison Leroy Bourgogne - tasted a couple of hours after aerating. Nice and fruity, jammy, and a little plummy.

2005 Kongsgaard Syrah - drank almost 2½ hours after opening. Very ripe, sweet, and jammy on the nose. Lovely nose of leather and mint. Sooooo fragrant. Fantastic!

Bought from the winery for USD 150 plus tax.

1999 Avignonesi Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice - this was really thick and viscous, like pouring syrup into a glass. Nose showing smoky, nutty, honey, and medjool dates. Lovely.

2019 Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes - a little pungent on the nose, with some exotic spices.

Champagne and more

Dinner at Yuet Tung Hin.

1975 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - pretty amber in color now that it's 50 years' old. Initially there was plenty of Chinese licorice on the nose, but of course there were also savory minerals and marmalade. I love old Champagne and this was drinking nicely for its age.

Bought from Farr Vintners for GBP 140.

Ubusuna Yamada Nishiki (産土 山田錦), 2024 - slightly fizzy on the palate. Lots of banana and plenty of starchy rice notes on the nose. Really fragrant. Lightly sweet on the palate. A lovely sake.

1996 Bruno Paillard Assemblage, dégorgée en Janvier 2006, en magnum - lovely nose with flint and minerals on top of the marmalade. Nice acidity on the palate.

Bought from Sotheby's for USD 396.

2022 Bendito Destino Amphora - the nose was kinda bretty, with animal and leather notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

93 Abtsberg

Dinner at Grand Majestic Sichuan.

1993 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Kabinett - good level of acidity on the palate, which was actually quite high and even a little sharp at times. Lovely nose of truffle and petrol.

Bought from Mayfair as part of a mixed lot for HKD 316.

Full account of the dinner is here.

Champagne magnums and DRC Assortment

Champagne in the Island Shangri-La Presidential Suite.

2003 B de Boërl et Kroff, dégorgé en Avril 2016 - drank 1 hour after opening. Nice and ripe on the nose along with lovely marmalade notes. Good depth on the palate with a nice dose of acidity. Turned reasonally metallic on the palate together with some caviar. Always a pleasure to drink.

1997 Salon, en magnum - drank 1½ hours after opening. What a beautiful wine! There was so much toast on the nose, and it was so open and fragrant. The acidity was still very high. There were also notes of minerals and juicy red plums. Soooo nice!

1961 Louis Roederer Cristal, en magnum - drank about 1 hour after opening. The nose was very metallic, with lots of Chinese salty plum. Very grippy on the palate. Such a lovely, mature wine.

Dinner at Petrus, with 2001 DRC Assortment case.

2013 Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche, en magnum - served around 2 hours after decanting. We've got some toasty notes, but overall the nose was not big and powerful. It's sweet and buttery, with lemon and almost a little apricot. A little bit too ripe for its age and considering the format. 93 points.

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet - served about 2½ hours after opening. The nose was so much bigger, richer, yet cleaner. This was soooo fragrant. 97 points.

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Saint-Vivant - started drinking more than 3 hours after opening. The nose was fragrant but there was a hint of earthiness, along with leather. Later on came the toasty notes, and perhaps there was a little bit of stem. Funnily enough, I also thought there were elements of Chinese traditional bone-setting oil (跌打酒)... 94 points.

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti - started drinking around 3½ hours after opening. The nose was very floral like roses, with exotic spices, as well as a little bit of cherry-flavored [cough] syrup and eucalyptus. 97 points and my favorite wine of the reds.

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg - started drinking around 4 hours after opening. The nose showed a lovely fragrance, a little floral, definitely cool fruit. Better than the Romanée-Saint-Vivant but not as good as the Romanée-Conti. 95 points.

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Échézeaux - started drinking about 4½ hours after opening. This was really fragrant and elegant, not quite floral but lovely nonetheless. A little later the toasty notes came out, and it was a little funky on the palate. Still very fragrant more than 5½ hours after opening. 95 points.

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux - started drinking the first bottle more than 4½ hours after opening. The nose was more closed compared to the others, with more stem, and was definitely corked. The second bottle was much cleaner with a fragrant nose showing eucalyptus. 95 points for the second bottle.

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche - started drinking almost 5 hours after opening. This was still a little closed, and the nose was kinda meaty. 94 points.

1965 Yquem - nose was showing tons of saffron, honey, marinated prunes, and marmalade. Such a pleasure to drink an aged Yquem!

Full post on the evening is here.

Chinese wine tasting

Tasting of Chinese wines at Christie's.

2017 Tiansai Skyline of Gobi Sparkling Wine - this was decent, with a little flint and some fruit on the nose.

DEVO MV03 Brut Nature - this was more lively, with bigger flinty nose, and good acidity on the palate.

2023 Longting Spring Rosé - big nose with lots of flint. Very sweet with stone fruit notes.

2022 Zaxee Syrah Reserve - kinda funky, reductive, a bit stinky, mineral, and minty. Once it opned up more it got better.

2012 Franco Chinois Reserve Marselan - this was really good, with a fragrant and open nose.

2022 Amber Memorable Jin Prestige Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon - this was more Bordeaux-like, showing a decent nose with smoky and earthy notes. Also very decent on the palate, soft but not too boring. Almost a bit of a floral finish.

2019 Renyiyuan Tao Cabernet Sauvignon - this was also kinda Bordeaux-like, smoky, minty, with good fruit. Nice on the palate with good concentration.

2021 Xige Estate Jade Dove Cabernet Gernischt - the nose was more smoky, but also came with more woodsy fragrance.

2021 Helan Mountain Special Reserve Chardonnay - a bit oaky on the nose with flint and tropical stone fruit. Ripe on the nose as well as bring very ripe on the palate, this was definitely on the sweet side.

2022 Chateau Hesoute White Muscat - so flinty and also very obviously lychee, and this reminds me of Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.