Chavost, Clape, and friends

Dinner at Petrus.

Chavost Eurêka!, dégorgée décembre 2021 - very fragrant and lovely floral notes... or was that the hotel perfume? Some minerality on the nose. Pretty elegant.

2010 Roulot Meursault Meix Chavaux - aired for just under 2 hours prior to serving. Big nose of toast, really flinty. Good acidity here. Nice and buttery after about 2 hours, and after 3½ hours there was some vanilla oak on the nose.

1972 Daniel Rion Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes - popped and served. Nose of leather, a little barnyard, brett, eucalyptus, a little prunes. Very nice on the palate, and while it was elegant the wine was not too light. After 30 minutes some black olives emerged.

1970 Lafleur - unfortunately kinda over-aerated. Bretty, a little medicinal, leather, smoke, prunes. I could smell the acidity.

1983 August Clape Cornas, en magnum - opened and not decanted just 1 hour before serving. This was sooooo beautiful, sooooo fragrant, with lots of bacon fat, smoke, grilled meats, some leather, and plums. Suddenly there was a whiff of dusty chalk but thankfully this faded. Plateaued about 1½ hours after opening, but remained lovely with lots of eucalyptus. Some 3 hours after opening there were some black olives, with less sweet fruit and more smoke.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Megan's Kitchen

MNSC dinner at Megan's Kitchen in Hong Kong, hosted by Gayliao.

1980 Dom Pérignon en magnum - nutty, caramel, really sweet on the nose, with marzipan, desiccated coconut that got stronger like coconut butter.  Really delicious and beautiful.  Possibly not kept in perfect condition, but the accelerated aging actually made it into something that's right up my alley.

First flight:

1972 Comte de Vogüé Bonnes Mares - fragrant, almost floral, animal, leather, grassy and almost a little corked, sweet like Chinese licorice, and osmanthus notes. 91 points.

1972 Comte de Vogüé Musigny - animal notes, denser, minty with black cherries. 92 points

Second flight:

1989 Joseph Drouhin Musigny - muted nose with some black fruits.

1990 Joseph Drouhin Musigny - forest notes, more concentrated.  Definitely tasting younger than the 1989.

Third flight:

1989 Lafite-Rothschild - bretty, minty, forest, cedar, and a little sharp on the nose after a while.  Sweet on the palate.

1989 Margaux - more medicinal and a little sharper on the nose.  Not drinking as well as the bottle I had last week.

Fourth flight:

1989 Mouton-Rothschild - exotic and sweet, smoky, leather, bacon fat and a big coffee nose.  Very nice. 95 points.

1989 Cheval Blanc - smoky, fragment, cigar smoke, toasty corn. 94 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 4: '61 Sorrel and '72 La Mouline

Dinner at Ma Cuisine in Beaune, a restuarant with an impressive wine list.

1996 Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - sweet, honey and buttery...so rich and creamy, with a bit of minerals, a hint of acetone.  Color was golden yellow.  Acidity was quite high on the palate, even though it was hot and burned a little on the finish.  Later on the nose showed a bit of grass, oak, more minerals, flint and toast.  An incredibly lovely wine.

1961 Henri Sorrel Hermitage - none of us had ever had the privilege to taste this wine before, although the name Sorrel is a distinguished one in Hermitage and one can't exactly go wrong with a '61 Hermitage!  Really nice and amazing.  Lots of herbs and spices, a little turpentine, sous bois, black olives, soy sauce, smoke and mushrooms.  The wine still had reasonable body for its age, but slightly high in acidity and burned the back of my throat on the way down thanks to the alcohol.  A real treat to be able to drink this!

1972 Guigal La Mouline - the second bottle of red just had to be this one, with so many fans of La Mouline present and also being Dayliao's birth vintage.  I'm sure I am biased when I say that I found this more enjoyable than the '61 Sorrel.  Lovely, huge nose with floral, bacon fat, grilled meats, violet, sweet and ripe fruit, prunes.  Soooo explosively sweet it was amazing.  After more than an hour the floral and sweet nose started to fade.

Full post on dinner is here.

Le Palais de Grands Crus 2010

2003 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses en Jeroboam - nice fruit and minerals.

1966 Bouchard Le Corton - very nice nose, with ripe, sweet fruit and candy notes. A little light on the palate.

2005 Denis Mortet Clos de Vougeot - smoky, farmy nose with bacon. Good concentration. A very nice and elegant wine.

2005 Méo-Camuzet Clos de Vougeot - more upfront and powerful than the Mortet, with lots of sweet fruit and smoke.

2005 Faiveley Clos de Vougeot - by far the poorest of the three. Tart on the palate and still tannic. Not ready to drink at all.

1998 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin - cooked fruit and smoky nose.

1988 DRC La Tâche en Jeroboam - once again this wine disappointed me. The nose was fairly nice, with lots of bacon fat, sweet fruit, smoky, farmy and forest notes. But the wine was acidic on the palate. I guess it's an improvement over what I tasted 3 years ago.

1989 DRC Romanée-Saint-Vivant - much nicer than the '88 Tâche... very fruity, more concentrated and vibrant on the palate.

2007 Guigal La Doriane - very floral and ripe, with marmalade and paraffin in the nose. I think the recent vintages of this wine have all been very ripe, robbing it of some of that freshness I expect from Viognier. Body was light, with a little spicy and long finish.

2006 Guigal Hermitage Blanc Ex-Voto - fresh, light with nice acidity balance. Perfumed nose with Asian spices. Long finish.

2005 Chapoutier l'Orée Blanc - ripe nose of honey, toasty oak and minerals.

1990 Chapoutier La Mordorée - nose of spices, sweet fruit and mint. Medium bodied...palate was only so-so.

1994 Chapoutier Le Pavillon en Magnum - nose of cotton candy and a hint of floral notes. A little alcoholic, but in general a lot younger and fresher than the '90 La Mordorée.

2003 Chapoutier Le Pavillon - definitely the new style Chapoutier...heavy and sharp metallic nose on top of the fruit. Lots of earth and iron. Very masculine.

2005 Guigal La Mouline - freshly opened bottle. Nice nose of vanilla, fruit, floral and smoke. Actually somewhat drinkable.

2005 Guigal La Landonne - literally the last few drops of the bottle. Muted nose (too much aeration?), slightly gamey, with pretty firm tannins.

2003 Guigal Château d'Ampuis - floral notes showing the Viognier, with some toffee notes. Nose was a little sharp.

1996 Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Clavoillon - nose of sweet grass, minerals, ripe and sweet corn, sugar cane. Slightly acidic on palate.

2007 Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche - I always say that a Montrachet's nose is unmistakable, and that there is never a bad Montrachet...whether you drink a bottle from an off-vintage or an unknown producer. The terroir of the wine always comes through. Huge nose of flint, toasty oak, sweet corn, vanilla and banana. Absolutely lovely.

1997 Yquem - lots of plastic and polyurethane, sharp... very sweet on the palate at first, but the finish was pretty bitter like bitter orange marmalade.

1988 Yquem - plastic, polyurethane, honey and orange. Much smoother on the palate, a little more viscous...almost a joy to roll it around your tongue.

1989 Yquem - honey, walnut nose. Very sweet but with better acidity balance. Thinner and not as viscous as the '88.

1990 Yquem - plastic, botrytis, honey, orange and apricot notes.

2006 Y de Yquem - a very nice dry white. Minerals, a little lemon, muscat grapes, green apple and flint in the nose. Nice acidity.

1972 Bouchard Chambolle-Musigny- a beautiful nose with farmy and bacon notes, lots of smoked meats, fruit and mint. Unfortunately it was totally dead on the palate.

2005 Bouchard Beaune-Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus - nose was kinda sharp with lots of minerality.

2006 Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet - very nice with lots of minerals.

2005 Les Amis de l'Abbaye de Saint-Vivant Réserve Ficofi - very interesting wine. I think it's made from Aligoté, and this was bottled by DRC. Very light and fresh, with floral and some green apple notes.

MNSC dinner - Rhône

MNSC dinner at the Mandarin Grill. Theme was Rhône.

1996 Chapoutier Ermitage De L'Orée - for some unknown reason no one got enough of this wine. It was creamy, buttery, and lacking of the usual mineral nose. Unfortunately temperature wasn't quite right as it was too cold and nose was not open.

1991 Guigal La Landonne - this was a deep ruby color. Nose was bacon fat, grilled meats, without any violet or floral notes typical of viognier. Tannic and a bit hard on the palate.

1991 Guigal La Mouline - notes of lavender, floral, mint, and this was very open. The taste was "soapy" with round tannins, and a good, long finish. Thoroughly enjoyable. This was much better than my last bottle a year ago.

Bought from Vinum for SGD 541.

1991 Guigal La Turque - the nose also showed lavender but was less open. It was also very good and probably my favorite of the night, just as good as I remember from 2½ years ago.

Bought from Vinum for SGD 541.

1972 Jaboulet La Chapelle - the edges have turned amber and fading. The nose was pain grillé and gamey, grilled meats. Smooth, silky tannins but the finish was a bit short.

1996 Chapoutier Hermitage Vin de Paille, en demi-bouteille - bouquet was full of sugar cane, sweet corn, and beet sugar, along with toasty oak. It was only medium sweet but still very nice.

Bought from Berry Brothers for GBP 55.

Leroy, DRC, Grange, Suduiraut

Dinner at a friend's home.

1986 Maison Leroy Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru - decanted 1 hour prior to serving.  Good nose but not much concentration.  Obviously past its time.

Bought for NTD 3,200.

1989 DRC Échézeaux - opened 1 hour and 45 minutes prior to serving.  Much better than the Leroy.  Great concentration of fruit, good palate with a long finish.

Bought for SGD 367.

1972 Penfolds Grange - highly anticipated since none of us have had Grange before.  Decanted for 2½ hours prior to serving.  The nose was distinctive and unpleasant to me.  A friend described it as a "wet chalk" smell, and I have to agree.  There was still fruit at the core of the wine, but not enough.  It was quite a disappointment.  I initially thought the wine might simply be over the hill.

Re-tasted the next afternoon and it seemed the chalk nose disappeared somewhat.  However when we tried it again on the third night, the fruit started to disappear but the chalk was still there.

Bought for HKD 1,710.

1983 Suduiraut - this was nice. Older but not as concentrated as the '90 Yquem.  Much more of an orange and pineapple nose.  Very good indeed.

Bought for HKD 559.