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.

Big bottles for dinner

Dinner at Caprice.

1995 Krug, en magnum - nice and mature, still got a good amount of acidity on the palate. Kinda floral on the nose along with those familiar notes from the House of Krug. A lovely wine.

2008 Peter Michael 'Point Rouge' - HUGE nose, soooo sweet, soooo ripe with lots of vanilla. So big on the palate, really ripe and sweet, and soooo buttery. Such a beautiful wine for lovers of chardonnay.

2001 Sine Qua Non Rien Ne Va Plus, from magnum - so beautiful right off the bat after opening for 30 minutes. Notes of acetone, ripe and sweet on the nose, along with maybe a hint of straw? Just a little hint of toast here. After 3 hours the nose was definitely showing some coffee notes. Drinking very nicely now.

2016 Yann Durieux Tête de Ponts - very much bongwater, very animal and meaty, almost bretty. Does show nice and sweet fruit, though.

2002 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard - drank about 1 hour and 45 minutes after decanting. This was soooo beautiful and lovely, showing such elegance! Lovely cool fruit, a little peppery, smoky, and minty. Drinking very, very well at the moment.

2017 Yquem, en Salmanazar - so refreshing with lots of citrus notes like Japanese mikan, so fruity yet not too sweet. Fresh on the palate with some acetone notes on the nose, too.

1955 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottled September 2015, from imperial - lovely notes of citrus, fragrant nose with plenty of exotic spices. Soooo rich and unctuous on the palate, very much like pei pa koa.

Full post on dinner is here.

Toro Albalá lunch

Lunch at MONO.

Toro Albalá Fino Electrico - not fortified, with 5 years of age. Savory notes here with some green olives.

2020 Toro Albalá MIUT El Jabonero - this showed floral notes that weren't overpowering, along with some mineral notes like those found in Anjou pear. Medium fry on the palate. First vintage of this wine with 3,990 bottles produced.

1998 Toro Albalá Vinagre Balsamico Pedro Ximenez Gran Reserva - the first vintage vinegar produced by the winery. Very fruity.

1964 Toro Albalá Marqués de Poley Palo Cortado - bottled in 2017, made with fino from a vintage deemed to be poor. Definitely smoky, oxidized and savory on the nose, and slightly sharp thanks to the 22% alcohol after fortifying with brandy. Some fruitiness but leans dry, almost a little medicinal. Only produced twice in the winery's history.

1951 Toro Albalá Marqués de Poley Amontillado - coming in at 21% alcohol but not fortified. Acidity was higher here, and this was more focused.

1955 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección - really floral and fragrant, lovely and exotic spices, cinnamon, dried figs, and plum. Amazingly round and sweet on the palate.

1946 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottled in 2013 - bigger nose than the 1955. Much more fragrant, can feel how sunny and warm the vintage was, and also very nice herbs on the nose.

Full post on lunch is here.

Côte-Rôtie for game

Dinner at Caprice.

Juyondai Hizoushu (十四代 秘蔵酒), bottled July 2010 - this is a junmai daiginjo (純米大吟醸) koshu (古酒) with at least 3 years' aging, using Aiyama (愛山) rice milled down to a seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%.  I bought this bottle in 2010 and it's been aging in my cellar since then.  Nose was now much more intense, with sharper alcohol, much more fermented notes but somehow not fermented rice, with a lot less of the tropical peach I expected, but later on still some banana.

1999 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - really nice and fragrant right off the bat, with sweet fruit, a little eucalyptus, leather, and bacon fat notes.  Nice and ripe but somehow also a little cool, more mineral.

1995 Guigal La Mouline - served 2 hours and 45 minutes after decanting.  Classic La Mouline, which meant it was much more floral than the Jamet.  Very opulent with violet notes, a little black pepper, a little monkfruit.  So, so beautiful after 3½ hours, with lots of potpourri notes and bacon fat.

1955 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, from imperial - really intense on the palate, sooo raisiny, lots of minty herbs.  Very sweet as expected, like syrup.

1929 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, from imperial - not as fresh and fruity like the 1955, perhaps because it was the last pour from the bottle.  More meaty notes, a lot more complex, almost a bit spicy and a hint of smoke.  Much more viscous in terms of texture.

Full post on dinner is here.

Drunken mix

Dinner at The Chairman.

2013 Jean-François Ganevat Grusse en Billat - good acidity with a little ripeness and some flint.

2010 Roxanich Milva - very oxidized and sweet on the nose.

2009 Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia - smoky nose.  Some ripeness but dry on the palate.

Charles Dufour Avalon, dégorgée le 11 Juillet 2017 - really strong and yeasty, a little tart, like aged tangerine peel.  A little pungent.

1999 Louis Latour Bâtard-Montrachet - really ripe... possibly over-ripe.  So oxidized and caramelized with sugar cane notes.

Pagoda Brand 20-year old Huadiao (塔牌二十年陳釀花雕) - of course this was served warm and paired with the crab...

1955 Massandra Sherry - savory and very nutty.  I didn't notice the sweetness but apparently others thought it was sweeter than the Huadiao.

Buran Junmai Ginjo (不染 純米吟釀) - clearly oxidized.  Slightly sweet on the palate with fermented rice flavors.

2009 Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Croix de Bois - still kinda young and a little sharp.

2009 Poggio di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino - very fragrant, with eucalyptus and a bit of smoke.

2009 Rutini Felipe Rutini - concentrated on the palate, with ripe fruit, eucalyptus, and smoky notes.

Full post on dinner is here.