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.