Dewazakura Karesansui

Dinner at Sushi Zinc.

Dewazakura Tokubetsu Honjoso Karesansui 1990 (出羽桜 特別本醸造 枯山水 悠久の風), H2BY - seimaibuai of 55%. While there were some savory, oxidative notes that comes from aging, this was surprisingly fresh and clean. Naturally very, very smooth on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

99 Dead Arm

Drinking at home.

1999 d'Arenberg The Dead Arm - started drinking 5 minutes after decanting. First whiff showed very sharp alcohol on the nose, along with very, very ripe fruit like cassis and stewed prunes. This all melded well with fragrant woodsy notes, and was so lovely in the mouth. The acidity was slightly on the high side now. About 30 minutes in the nose was showing more vanilla, and the palate got sweeter. About 2 hours in the nose got a little minty. To be honest this wine is now a little bit past its peak, but still very enjoyable to drink.

Brochet Benoit

Dinner at Leela for the collaboration with Biryani Osawa.

Emmanuel Brochet Le Mont Benoit - very tasty with good depth on the palate. The pinot meunier flavors came through.

Full post on dinner is here.

70 Mouton

Dinner at Molino de Urdániz in Taipei.

2019 Gramona Imperial, disgorged June 2025 - this was kinda bland, to be honest. It was easy drinking but not particularly interesting.

1970 Mouton-Rothschild - decanted 10 minutes after opening, and served after 30 minutes in decanter. This was still fragrant and really woodsy, and still got cassis and black fruits. About an hour after opening we got some coffee, and after an hour and a half lots of tobacco smoke came, which was just classic Pauillac. So soft on the palate now at this age, and this bottle drank better than the last 2 or 3 I've opened.

Full post on dinner is here.

Labet and Giraud

Dinner at Caprice.

Henri Giraud Blanc de Craie - a nice blanc de blancs with good acidity, with some ripeness on the palate so that it wasn't completely lean. The nose was very toasty, flinty, mineral, and rather fragrant and almost floral. So nice.

2021 Labet Savagnin En Chalasse - there was a huge nose of toast, which also showed up on the palate so I felt like I was chewing on a piece of plywood... The nose was pretty reductive, mineral, and savory. So intense, but really nice.

Full post on dinner is here.

Big bottles for birthdays

Dinner at Kiu's Kitchen.

2008 Dom Pérignon, en magnum - this was pretty classic, and already kinda ripe and rounded given some years of aging.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 170ème Édition, ID 221034 - surprisingly the nose was not too tasty, and given I haven't tasted thie edition for a couple of years, I was surprised that acidity here was higher than that from the Dom, although thankfully not to a level that felt sharp.

2021 Catena Zapata Chardonnay White Stones Adrianna Vineyard - crisp with good acidity on the palate and a long finish. Pretty nice.

2008 Bergström Pinot Noir de Lancellotti Vineyard, from magnum - the nose was very open and fragrant, with good hit of fruit like dark blueberries, along with some sweet vanilla oak. Very enjoyable.

2005 Marqués de Riscal Gran Reserva - lots of mint and eucalyptus on the nose, almost menthol, and very sweet and ripe on the nose. There was also tons of oak as well as some smoke.

2004 Peter Michael Les Pavots, from magnum - this was very ripe with lots of nice fruit, also minty and very fragrant with cedar notes. Still got some tannins on the palate after more than 20 years. Drinking well.

1996 Silver Oak Alexander Valley, from magnum - this was more smoky than Les Pavots, and also riper with more fruit and got that coconut butter. Drinking very nicely.

2016 Pahlmeyer - still a little young and slightly punchy.

2022 Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet

1990 Climens - tons of saffron on the nose along with acetone, classic marmalade, apricot, and pretty nutty. Very sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Coulon and Lamarche

Dinner at Yong Fu for the collaboration with Ta Vie.

Roger Coulon 1er Cru Heri-Hodie, dégorgé en Juillet 2023 - as I suspected while tasting, this was mostly pinot meunier as it had the flavor profile and was more full-bodied.

2020 Comtesse de Chérisey Meursault Bois de Blagny - a bit of toast on the nose together with lemon. Just a little bit buttery.

2022 Nicole Lamarche Nuits-Saint-Georges - lots of fragrant herbs and eucalyptus on the nose, together with lovely sweet fruit... like a big nose of blueberries. Also got pretty fragrant oak on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Christie's tasting

Christie's pre-auctin dinner at the Hong Kong Club.

Jacquesson Cuvée N°748, dégorgée en Mars 2025 - this was actually very floral and elegant, with a nice little yeasty nose.

First flight:

2010 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal Blanc - the nose was waxy, very ripe and definitely on the bitter side. This was more expressive and open on the nose, more opulent, but the palate was kinda boring.

2016 Chave Hermitage Blanc - there was also some bitterness on the palate, but the nose was much more fresh, with flinty and citrus notes, but leaner on the nose. More than 2½ hours after opening, the nose was becoming buttery.

Second flight:

1989 La Mission Haut-Brion - this was so, soooo beautiful! Big nose of tobacco, smoke, nice fruit but so elegant, so fragrant. Plummy on the nose but without the cooked fruit or the acidity on the palate. This was still so lively at its age, showing the beauty of the vintage. What a stunning wine, and certainly my favorite tonight.

1982 Léoville-Las Cases - this was clearly more mature, more ripe on the nose with sweeter fruit. This was so interesting, and we've got green capsicum... which wasn't a surprise. The wine was silky smooth on the palate, but the finish wasn't very long. The nose also showed some smoke and grilled meats, and 2½ hours after opening, the nose got even more smoky.

2001 Dominus - pretty minty, and very much sweeter on the palate.

Third flight:

2015 Chave Hermitage Rouge - this was still very young, and still showing lots of metallic and iron notes on the nose, and also very sweet. Then it became a bit grassy on the nose, and of course it was still kinda tannic on the palate.

1995 Chave Hermitage Rouge - this was sooooo nice, so beautiful. with classic notes of bacon and game meat. On the palate this was so fragrant and complex, with potpourri and herbs. Surprisingly, more than 3 hours after opening this kinda fell off a cliff.

2015 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque - this was much riper compared to the Chave, very sweet, with big nose of potpourri and herbs. Kinda hot and alcoholic on the palate. This became so, so nice after more than 2 hours as coffee and caramel notes developed.

Fourth flight:

2001 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - this was really nice and open, especially as it was sweeter on the nose than expected, and there was that bacon... So fragrant but still had the signature barnyard notes, although not strong and offensive, and definitely got a little brett. Still so nice, though.

2003 Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de Mon Aïeul - this was definitely overripe, and started to remind me of cough syrup with its alcoholic profile, and stewed prunes on the palate. Really, really sweet and jammy.

1990 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - this was such a big wine with that signature barnyard nose, soooo bretty, and pretty savory. Not my thing.

Fifth flight:

2007 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - kinda fragrant and woodsy, pretty fragrant, minty, with lots of dried herbs.

2004 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato Cà d'Morissio Riserva - there was still a little hint of sharpness on the nose. Weakest of the trio in this lineup.

2003 Gaja Barbaresco - nice and fragrant. OK lah...

Full post on dinner is here.

1989 La Lagune

Drinking at home.

1989 La Lagune - started drinking right after decanting. This wine was mature, showing slightly stewed fruit on the nose, smoky and also bretty, with lots of tertiary notes. Savory, almost soy sauce-like. With the second pour about an hour in, the fragrant cedar notes were released and the wine became more pleasurable.

Years of the Horse

Dinner at Andō. Wine theme was Years of the Horses.

Drappier Quattuor - the nose was very moussy, also nice and toasty. Overall pretty nice and easy to drink.

A year ago I ordered and received the Riedel Clos Sainte Hune decanter, which is limited to 100 pieces and has the iconic label sketch etched on the glass. As a big fan of the wine, I just had to get one for myself. What I should have done was the get two...

1990 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune - the nose was definitely flinty, with classic petrol notes, and tonight there was plenty of white truffle as Jean Trimbach would insist, along with dried fruits like apricot. Rich and rounded on the palate. The finish was a little on the bitter side when the wine got a little too warm. Drinking beautifully as one would hope.

Purchased from Sotheby's for HKD 5,682.

2002 Coche-Dury Meursault - at the beginning this turned out much more elegant than expected, as the nose showed some of the expected toasty notes but they were milder and more muted. After about an hour the lemon citrus was still delivering nice acidity on the palate. The nose got more flinty, and almost lean like Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, although there was some ripeness here. About another 15 minutes later the palate started to get a little bitter, but the nose was also getting more open and alluring.

Purchased from Acker for HKD 1,627.

2002 François Lamarche La Grande Rue - opened for an hour before stoppering, started drinking after another of aeration. Nice and fragrant nose with lovely fruit, with a hint of stewed or dehydrated fruit. Also nice and toasty.

1978 Trotanoy - started drinking about 1½ hours after opening. Smoke nose with savory notes like black olives, minty, capsicum, so fragrant. Almost 2 hours after opening the coffee notes showed up, so that was really nice and toasty, to. Naturally this was very light and smooth on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.