Two Rieslings

Dinner at The Chairman.

1990 Maximin Grünhauser Riesling Herrenberg Kabinett - this was still pretty fresh and lively, with good acidity level on the palate.

Bought from Mayfair as part of a mixed lot for HKD 316.

2019 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - definitely sweeter as a spätlese. Very nice and classic.

2011 Payre Rose Marlène N°3 - pretty smooth now given its age, with nice leathery notes on the nose.

Bought from Ginsberg + Chan for HKD 560.

Full post on dinner is here.

Isojiman Adagio vertical

Isojiman Adagio vertical tasting at Hotel Metropolitan Edmont in Tokyo, organized by Tamanegiya.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2009, from jeroboam - only 51 of these 3-liter bottles exist, with glass handblown in Italy. This was very smooth, and slightly sweet on the palate. It's clear that there is age on it but it's not showing too much of the fermented or savory notes one usually finds with koshu. Did I smell a little more of the alcohol than usual, and was it because of the light fermentation notes? Regardless, this was just a really smooth and beautiful drink.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2010 - the nose was not as open as the 2009, and this was more dry on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2011 - this was a little more rounded on the attack but turned dry and spicy almost immediately afterwards.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2012 - very smooth and round, soft and slightly sweet on the palate now.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2013 - rounded on the palate, but slightly more dry than 2012.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2014 - definitely sweeter on the palate, and showing notes of starchy rice on the nose.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2015 - sharper alcohol notes on the nose, a little more dry than the 2014, and bigger on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2016 - very sweet and starchy nose, but also started to be a little spicy on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2017 - got a little more acidity on the palate here, but overall rounder and smoother on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2018 - reasonably smooth on the palate, with a good balance between being neither too sweet or too dry.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2019 - this was more dry on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2020 - rounded on the palate, a little bit sweet but still kinda dry, too.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2021 - this leans dry on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2022 - rounded and smooth on the palate, but I could taste the alcohol a little more. Slightly dry on the finish.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2023 - the nose was not as open on this one, although it was sweeter on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2024 - a little bit of banana on the nose.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35), 2023 - this was the very last vintage of Nakatori 35, as a new product line started in 2024. The palate still started out being sweet, but turned dry towards the finish.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 33 Grazioso (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 33 グラツィオーソ), 2024 - this was the first vintage of Nakatori 33 Grazioso, which replaced the "regular" Nakatori 35. Having just been released, the alcohol seemed to be a little sharper on the nose for this one.

Photo credit: Kinoshita Takayoshi

Full post on the tasting is here.

Burg night

Dinner at Hidden.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Croix Rouges - ripe and caramelized on the nose with metallic notes, like La France pear or Anjou pear. The first pour was too warm and was really metallic on the palate, too. The second pour was colder thanks to more chilling, and showed flint on the nose. Acidity was on the high side, and kinda tasted like a dry French cidre.

2019 Hubert Lamy Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblogs Vieilles Vignes - started drinking a little more than an hour after opening. We've got some flint on the nose, a hint of vanilla and some oak. This was a little fatty when warmed up slightly in glass, but the acidity was still high and very grippy or tannic on the palate. The finish was quite long thanks to the acidity.

2011 Perrot-Minot Mazoyères-Chambertin - started drinking more than 1½ hours after opening. Nose was showing eucalyptus, a little coconut butter, and vanilla oak.

Full post on dinner is here.

Prüm and Lucia

Dinner at Metropole.

2011 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, from magnum - this was sweeter than expected on the palate. On the nose there were notes of white flowers and flint, and some polyurethane.

Bought from HK Wine Vault for HKD 838.

2010 Lucia, from magnum - a little smoke, a decent amount of cassis and black fruits. Smooth on the palate with good concentration.

Bought from Mayfair for EUR 74.

Selosse and Roumier

Dinner at Xinrongji.

Jacques Selosse Les Chantereines, dégorgée 26 Janvier 2017 - drank some 45 minutes after opening. Nose was nice and caramelized with some vanilla notes along with some marmalade. Really lovely, and almost getting some savory notes on the nose. About an hour after opening the nose was really fragrant, with sweet notes of sugar cane. Later on there were also notes of aged tangerine peel, with a little smoky and savory notes.

Jacques Selosse Chemin de Châlons, dégorgée 1 Fevrier 2017 - drank some 45 minutes after opening. The nose was also caramelized with a little more sugar cane. On the palate there was a little bit of savory mineral notes. Initially this was more simple compared to the Les Chantereines, but with more aeration this got much better, showing more body and more complexity. Still very savory. Some 2 hours after opening this became really nice, and was lighter, more easy going compared to Les Chantereines, but definitely not a simpler wine.

Jacques Selosse Le Bout du Clos, dégorgée 13 Avril 2012 - drank about 2½ hours after opening. Nice with savory minerals on the nose, with sugar cane showing much, much later. There was really good depth on the palate here with a long finish, and the 5 extra years of aging compared to the other two really shows. There was a good amount of acidity on the palate, too.

Bought from Christie's for HKD 2,969.

2008 Lucien Le Moine Clos Saint Denis - drank about 45 minutes after opening without decanting. The nose was pretty fragrant, and the wine was fairly elegant. Showing a little meaty nose and nice notes of leather. About 1½ hour after opening we also got some lovely black cherries on the nose.

Bought from Altaya for HKD 774.

2011 Georges Roumier Moret-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos de la Bussière - drank about 1 hour after opening. Very nice and toasty on the nose, and later showed more animal and leather notes. This was really very nice and very silky smooth.

2014 Georges Roumier Moret-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos de la Bussière - drank about 2 hours after opening. This was very clean and seemed relatively subdued compared to the 2011. Around 3 hours after opening, this opened up well to show some really lovely fruit.

2013 Benjamin Leroux Bâtard-Montrachet - the nose was really ripe and oxidized, with a little flint as well as some stone fruit.

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Full account of dinner is here.