Stephan Les Binardes

Drinking at home.

2018 Maison Stephan Côte-Rôtie Les Binardes - lovely nose of leather, fragrant wood, and very ripe fruit. Love the after palate with that bacon fat. The alcohol was still sharp on the nose, and the wine was hot going down the back of the throat. The wine also showed plenty of floral notes like lavender, and I enjoyed how ripe and sweet this was. But in reality the wine was just too young and still rough around the edges.

Sommelier wine pairing

Dinner at Caprice Bar.

2019 Les Poëte Argos - the nose showed mineral and waxy notes, and was a little more oxidized with smokiness. Overall this was really nice and fragrant. This was rounder and riper on the palate, but still had good acidity without being sharp on the long finish.

2018 François Rousset-Martin Perle du Village - showing a very fermented and savory nose, maybe almost at the Chinese fermented beancurd 腐乳 level. Surprisingly this was very clean on the palate. Getting a taste after some lobster made this a little sweet on the palate.

2015 Contrà Soarda Breganze Torcolato - for a sweet wine this was certainly on the light side and not too sweet on the palate. Showing some citrus orange, a bit of acetone, manuka honey, orange blossom water. After opening up a little more this showed more complexity on the nose. And after warming up a little this got bigger on the palate, giving a little more sweetness as well as some bitterness on the finish. With a little more time the nose got pretty intensely sweet, with really ripe honeydew melon.

Full post on dinner is here.

Trimbach and Bain

Drinking at home.

2022 Trimbach Riesling Vieilles Vignes - FUCK! This was just so ripe on the palate! What happened to the acidity? Where is it? Lots of petrol, polyurethane, and truffle on the nose, but even the nose was much too ripe and sweet. There was a touch of vanilla, along with lemon confit, marmalade, and lanolin. OK, so there was some acidity on the finish, but not nearly enough. Not what I wanted from this wine at all.

2018 Alexandre Bain La Levée - the nose was freakishly ripe, with lots of apricot, ripe peach, and a bit of acetone. Very ripe on the palate, but at least this had the biting acidity along with some grippy tannins.

Dufour and Ganevat

Dinner at Hoper's Base.

Patagonia Yamamori (パタゴニアやまもり) 2024 - seimaibuai of 85%. Initially served under-chilled, and both the nose as well as the palate was showing fermented notes.

Bulles de Comptoir par Charles Dufour #13 Cuisine du Dimanche, dégorgée Octobre 2025 - this was bit metallic, kinda like French apple cider. Very strange.

2018 Ganevat Les Varrons Vieilles Vignes - served 20 minutes after opening. This was much riper than expected, with the nose more caramelized, but still a bit flinty and mineral. This, too, was approaching cider level, but not quite.

2002 Kongsgaard Syrah - this was in the decanter for about 10 minutes before pouring back into the bottle. The nose was very ripe and sweet while decanting, which was just as I expected. But some 50 minutes after initial opening the nose was more stewed fruits, showing more maturity than expected. We still got the leather on the nose, and surprisingly still kinda alcoholic on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Palacios and Cañas

Dinner at Leela.

2023 Alvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat - very ripe and very oaky, with forest and potpourri notes.

2018 Luis Cañas Rioja Reserva - the nose was a little sharp at first, and riper, more intense. Later on the wine got softer on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ganevat and Muxin

Dinner at Man Ho.

2018 Domaine Ganevat Les Varrons Vieilles Vignes - it took time for the wine to open up, with more ripeness on the nose than expected, together with flint. Lean on the palate with high acidity. More than an hour later the nose began to show toasty notes. Drinking decently.

Bought from Ginsberg + Chan for HKD 1,000.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay 1er Cru Le Beaurepaire - this was pretty forward. Nice and fruity on the nose, with a little leather and also a little meaty. Very pleasant and easy to drink.

Bought from Ginsberg + Chan for HKD 800.

1982 Giscours - started to drink more than an hour after opening. Clearly a little tired, as the sweet fruit was gone. Got some sweet grass on the nose, musty, definitely bretty. Not great.

2021 Muxin Rouge - started drinking about 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting. The nose was pretty open, and this was definitely predominantly cab. Smoky, earthy, mineral. Young and lively. This was much better than the one I tasted last year.

Bought from Ginsberg + Chan for HKD 1,250.

Full post on dinner is here.

Chinese wines with Sichuanese food

Dinner at Chef 1996 Restaurant in Beijing.

2022 Petit Mont Baima Snow Mountain Yanjing (寸山白马雪山盐井) - OK la... this opened up after a while, showing some nice fruit, some forest notes, and maybe even a hint of coffee later.

2024 The Four Girls Mountain Chardonnay Selection (四姑娘山霞多丽臻選) - lots of vanilla and oak on the nose, along with flint and stone fruits. A little sharp and alcoholic on the nose. Got decent acidity on the palate.

1996 Wuliangye (五粮液) - very smooth on the palate. Still got that classic baijiu profile on the nose.

89 Lang Jiu (郎酒) - there was more umami on the palate, more like Shaoxing, with plummy and fermented flavors.

2023 Clos Mao Shuó Lin (说林) - definitely more rustic on the nose, reflecting the cabernet franc. Still very tannic on the palate.

2018 Célèbre Red (寶莊) - tons of vanilla oak on the nose, ripe and jammy.

2020 Lapu Valley Vidal Golden Ice Wine (藏云谷威代尔冰酒) - very floral with lots of honey.

Full post on dinner is here.

Águila and Cossard

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Chassagne-Montrachet - the acidity was very high, just the way we wanted. Got some toasty and flinty notes.

2010 Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Rousseau-Deslandes, mis en bouteille par Lucien Le Moine pour MNSC - served without decanting more than 1 hour after opening. Plenty of toast on the nose and also lots of coconut butter. Still pretty fragrant. The wine was decent on the palate, but it's more simple now compared to just a a year or two ago.

Bought from Altaya for HKD 590.

2018 Dominio del Águila Albillo Viña Viejas - flint nose, very fragrant, very big toasty nose, and lots of vanilla and sweet bubblegum on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

2018 Torbreck Steading

Drinking at home.

2018 Torbreck The Steading - decanted 1 hour after opening, and started drinking 15 minutes later. Very oaky, lots of vanilla, good concentration on the palate. Drinking nicely.

Bought as part of a mixed case from Christies for HKD 396.

Pinots for mushroom

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2009 Dom Pérignon Rosé - very nice nose of strawberries, nice and toasty, so refreshing.

Kamoshibito Kuheiji Inoné 5 Stars (醸し人九平次 いのね 5つ星), 2022 - this had a HUGE nose, really rich in starchy rice and very sweet. The attack was fresh and fruity but there is much more depth mid-palate and turns a bit dry on the finish. Really good shit.

2018 Gonet-Médeville Ambonnay Cuvée Athénaïs, en magnum - started drinking some 50 minutes after opening. Really nice and fruity on the nose, with eucalyptus, pine needles, and a bit of woodsy fragrance.

2005 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin - started drnking about 2 hours after opening. Nose of leather with a bit of funk, maybe a little sulfur.

Bought as part of a mixed lot from Sotheby's for HKD 827.

2004 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine - first tasted just before we got to 2 hours after opening. Surprisingly big and toasty nose. Obviously the fruit was very sweet and ripe. Still going strong after another half-hour. This was fairly different from the two previous bottles I had opened in the past, and this was much more masculine and in-your-face, without the elegance I was expecting.

Full post on dinner is here.

Brochet and Auslese

Dinner at Sheung Shing.

2018 Emmanuel Brochet Le Mont Benoit - lovely nose with plenty of savory minerals. Lighter on the palate and on the refreshing side.

1998 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Auslese Fuder 215, from half-bottle - definitely sweet but also got the acidity, with lovely orange marmalade notes, and some minerals. Good viscosity on the palate, but perhaps a little too oxidized.

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