1961 Pichon Baron

Lunch at Forum Restaurant.

1961 Pichon Baron - level mid- to low shoulder. Served immediately after decanting. The nose was kinda sharp and alcoholic, like those paint thinners that smell of bananas. At 65 years' of age this wine was surprisingly ripe and jammy, and the nose was a bit oxidized and showed stewed fruits, very plummy, like Chinese sour plum soup. Still full-bodied. Still not doing too badly after 1½ hours in the decanter, but the wine was clearly no longer at its peak.

Full post on lunch is here.

61 Pichon Baron and more

Dinner at 7 Paintings at the Murray Hong Kong.

Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs - a little mineral with reasonable acidity.

2023 Michel Redde Pouilly-Fuisée La Moynerie - nose of stone fruits, a little flinty, very refreshing and lively.

2019 Reale Primitivo di Manduria Gloria - the nose was kinda corked, with that wet cardboard scent. The palate was pretty ripe, hot, and alcoholic. 

Drinks at a friend's home.

1961 Pichon-Baron - level was slightly below mid-shoulder, with the cork shrunken and fallen in. Initially the first pour was a little pungent on the nose, a little farmy, but also showed plenty of smoke, grilled meats, pencil lead, mint, with black fruits like cassis underneath. The palate was not great, very soft, and perhaps slightly cooked and over the hill. With the second pour after half an hour this was more open with more fruit, and also more smoke. After 1 hour this was really nice and fragrant now, definitely more alive, and still got the fruit and now also capsicum. Palate improved significantly and the power of the vintage is still there. Not in tip-top condition, but drinking very well for its age.

Bought from Christies for HKD 3,646.

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.

61 Ducru and 71 TBA

Dinner at a friend's home.

1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou, en demi-bouteille - level was low shoulder. Popped and poured. Nose was very fragrant, like sweet grass, with a little leather. Reasonably bretty and savory, with some animal notes. Drinking reasonably well.

1971 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese - started drinking more than 2 hours after opening. Nose was really fragrant, really rich and unctuous on the palate, with a beautiful fragrance in the mouth and good sweetness, of course. Was there also a little eucalyptus on the nose? Second pour was more than 2½ hours after opening, and the wine was now really open with notes of polyurethane, orange marmalade, and saffron. Lovely level of acidity to balance out the sweetness and richness. Around 4 hours after opening, the palate had become very soft.

1997 Pégau Cuvée Justine - started drinking 20 minutes after opening without decanting. This was pretty good already but even better another 20 minutes later with nice notes of leather and a bit of smoke. Pretty rich on the palate with lots of depth, but this turned more alcoholic about 2 hours after opening.

Bought from Farr for GBP 129.

2021 Scheuermann Chardonnay Deidesheim - the nose was definitely toasty and a little reductive. There was some ripeness here but the wine still had good overall acidity. Not bad at all.

2021 Scheuermann Pinot Noir Gelber Sandstein - this needed more than 30 minutes to open up, and the nose was still very oaky, and a little bongwater.

61s and friends

Dinner at Forum.

Ulysse Collin Les Pierrières, dégorgée en 16 Fevrier 2022 - nice acidity on the palate, as one would expect. Later on the wine showed candied pineapple, a little flint, and minerals on the nose.

2014 Keller Westhofen Kirchspiel Riesling trocken - classic petrol and polyurethane. Reasonably dry but definitely a little soft and rounded by now.

Bought from HK Wine Vault for HKD 940.

1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou - level was high shoulder. Drank 20 minutes after opening without decanting. The nose was more floral and elegant, with notes of leather, a little smoke, and a little graphite. After a little more than an hour the wine was still holding up somewhat, with more prominent nose of smoke. About 1½ hours in the wine was really, really open and showing beautifully, with loads of leather and a big, toasty nose, along with some coffee, too. Very happy with this bottle, and in the end it turned out better than my previous bottle from 3 years ago.

Bought from Vinum for SGD 410.

1961 Pichon Baron - level was high shoulder. Drank 20 minutes after opening without decanting. Definitely smoky on the nose, initially showing well and better than the 61 Ducru, bigger and more concentrated on the palate, but there was perhaps a tiny hint of wet cardboard. Love the complexity here, with lots of woodsy and cedar nose, and still got the fruity cassis.

Bought from Christies for HKD 3,646.

Full post on dinner is here.

61 Pichon and Burgs

Dinner at Ta Vie.

2009 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Vergennes Cuvée Paul Chanson, mis en bouteille par Lucien Le Moine pour El Bulli - big nose of toast, with beautiful grilled corn, very flinty. Rounded on the attack but still with good acidity. Getting grippy on the palate starting mid-palate to finish. About 2 hours after opening this was so, so buttery and beautiful.

1961 Pichon Baron - served 15 minutes after opening. Tons of smoke and grilled meats, minty with a little bit of stewed prunes underneath. Still lively and going strong. After 5-10 minutes in glass started to show tea leaves and soy sauce on the nose, farmy and savory on the palate around 30 minutes after opening. Palate got softer about an hour after opening, and actually grippy tannins on the palate another 15 minutes later. Drinking very well.

2001 DRC Richebourg - served about 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. Soooo fragrant and floral, sweet fruit on the nose but not much sweetness on the palate, with a bit of acidity. A little stemmy after 15 minutes in glass, and almost a hint of burnt rubber perhaps. With a new pour more than 2 hours after opening, more sweet fruit emerged. Beautiful wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

Years of the Ox

Dinner at Forum Restaurant.

1997 Salon, degorgée en 2020 - very fragrant and absolutely floral and really perfumed. Already beautiful right from the start even though it was served a little too cold. A little toasty. Nicely balanced on the palate, even though it was a little more ripe than expected. After an hour there was some coconut, also sugar cane and water chestnuts. Very lovely.

1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou - WOW! Soooo beautiful, soooo fragrant and open just 15 minutes after decanting. Plenty of bacon fat lots of toast, smoke, and lots of sweet fruit. After an hour this seemed to have faded, becoming leaner and showing more brett, more like a classic claret. Good acidity still. After two hours this seemed to improve and fruity notes like cherries were still around. Very, very happy with how this bottle drank tonight.

Bought from Vinum for SGD 410.

1985 Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze - lovely and fragrant nose, with bacon, leather, and toasty notes. Soooo floral and elegant. So clean and perfect.

Bought from Sotheby's for HKD 3,267.

2009 Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche - decanted about 3 hours prior to serving. Nice with just the right amount of caramelized ripeness, with a nice amount of flint, a little sugar cane, vanilla, and coconut candy. Plenty of legs left in this wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Kaiseki Den by Saotome

MNSC dinner at Kaiseki Den by Saotome.  Juliano played host.

1990 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - a little savory minerals on the nose, with toast, a little marmalade, note quite grassy sweetness.  Still ripe and sweet on the palate, and quite soft.  Lovely wine.

First pair: decanted for 1 hour and 50 minutes prior to serving.

1982 Figeac - beautiful nose, ripe and sweet, a little smoky, a little grassy.  95 points.

1982 Canon - green pepper, almost pencil lead.  Cooler and greener than the Figeac, more herbaceous.  Herbaceous notes disappeared with second pour.  94 points.

Second pair: opened without decanting 2½ hours prior to serving.

1961 La Mission Haut-Brion - sweet, lovely grassy notes, smoky, beautiful.  Some spices, lovely wood notes.  A little funk but dissipated, and some shoe polish notes.  98 points.

1975 La Mission Haut-Brion - medicinal, more muted, a little ripe, almost dirty and cloudy, a little more tannic.  92 points.

Third pair: opened without decanting 3 hours prior to serving.

1996 Domaine Leroy Romanée-Saint-Vivant - really sweet, floral, lovely, with plenty of acidity.  95 points.

1996 Domaine Leroy Chambertin - intially a little more dirty and cloudy.  Second pour was better with much more sweet fruit.  95 points.

Fourth pair: decanted 4 hours prior to serving.

1989 Haut-Brion - smoky, a little pencil lead.  Showed some nice fruit later.  93 points.

1989 Guigal La Landonne - not very open at first.  A little funky and rubbery.  Second pour a little alcoholic.  93 points.