Cali night

Dinner at a friend's home.

2008 Dashe Zinfandel Todd Brothers Ranch Old Vines - decanted for a short while before serving. Earthy nose with cooked fruit, really sweet and jammy on the palate. There was also a little savory soy sauce on the nose.

2001 Arietta H-Block Hudson Vineyards - started drinking more than 1 hour after opening without decanting. Very nice and minty, very fragrant and sooo sweet on the nose... almost jammy with vanilla notes. A little hot and alcoholic on the palate.

Bought from the winery for USD 75 plus tax.

2003 BOND Matriarch - decanting just before serving. Very sweet on the palate but still got the acidity for balance, A little mushroom and green capsicum on the nose, which was unexpected.

Bought from the winery for USD 100(?) plus tax.

Old Napa cabs

Dinner at The Merchants.

1985 Silver Oak Alexander Valley - pop and poured. Still pretty fresh and lively. The nose was very minty, smoky, with lot of cedar, and really sweet, with beautiful notes of tobacco. Acidity was slightly on the high side on the palate. My wine of the evening.

1976 Silver Oak Alexander Valley - this was more mature and more developed compared to the 1985. Nose of stewed fruit, still got the sweetness on the nose, but this has started to develop savory notes like black olives. The nose was still pretty fragrant but the palate wasn't as good as the 1985, with pretty high acidity. The nose had a little more vanilla, and oxidized like old Madeira.

1974 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosché - the nose was showing a little game and leather on the edges, with a hint of savory olive, a little bit of smoke, and nice fruity notes. The palate was on the savory side.

1976 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve - served about 1½ hours after double-decanting, which was much later than anticipated. This was a decent showing for the wine, very soft on the palate, niced aged, with a nose that was oxidized and on the savory side. Some 3 hours after decanting the nose was still showing OK, and 4 hours after decanting the nose was pretty savory by then.

Bought from Andromeda for HKD 1,800.

1977 Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon - this was fresher and cleaner on the nose, with more sweetness. There was a little more body on this wine compared to the 1976, and then also started to show savory notes. More than 3½ hours after opening the nose was showing plenty of savory soy sauce, which was pretty nice.

1970 Heitz Martha's Vineyard - served some 45 minutes after opening. The nose showed nice and ripe fruit, with leather and also nice smoky notes. My third favorite wine of the night.

1976 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - served about 1½ hours after opening. The nose was a little more green than the other wines, but not in a bad way. Pretty open and fragrant nose showing woodsy notes. Really showing nicely some 3 hours after opening, with a bit of sweet grass and almost floral notes. My second favorite wine of the evening.

1984 Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - drank about 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. This was really nice after about 2 hours, showing some sweet fruit on the nose.

1985 Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - drank about 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. The nose was bigger than the 1984, with more savory notes, but still showed a good amount of sweet fruit.

1986 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill - drank about 1½ hours after opening. The nose was nice and woodsy, showing a bit of savory profile. The wine was drinking really nicely some 3½ hours after opening.

Full post on dinner is here.

Chablis and pinots

Lunch at Petrus.

2004 Raveneau Chablis Valmur - lemon citrus notes, still got good acidity with some ripeness, with some notes of straw after 15 minutes.  Opened up more after 30 minutes showing bigger nose of oak.  Still going strong more than 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening, showing some green notes and also acetone.

1990 Thomas-Moillard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Malconsorts - served 30 minutes after opening. Showing some age here with savory black olive and a little smoke. Pretty nice and smooth on the palate, some black fruits with leather notes. Showing nicely 1 hour after opening and matching well with the morels.

2002 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine - served 1 hour after opening. Very big nose of toasty oak, a little rubber... almost like Blu Tack, still sharp and alcoholic, and very extracted. Opened up and much nicer 2 hours after opening and mellowed out.

Full post on lunch is here.

Ostertag and more

Dinner at Frantzén's Kitchen.

2016 Ostertag Riesling Muenchberg - a little petrol, flinty, a little tropical stone fruit.  Leaner with higher acidity with a little bitterness mid-palate.  Later on the ripeness came out, and this was almost overripe and alcoholic when warmed up.

2015 Royal Tokaji Tokaji Late Harvest - honey, orange blossom, with a little residual sugar.

2016 Ridge Geyserville - initial whiff smelled like paint thinner with banana notes.  Then lots of coconut butter, very oaky, very sweet, with leather notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

1996 Geyser Peak

Dinner at Teca.

1996 Geyser Peak Alexander Valley Merlot Reserve - amazing... this didn't smell or taste like a Californian, but rather like a Bordeaux, with veggy and mineral overtones. After airing out it got pretty good, and sweeter.

Bought from Remy for HKD 340.