The monster and chenins

Dinner at a friend's home.

2021 Thomas Batardière L'Esprit Libre - big nose of toast upfront. Good acidity on the palate, maybe a little on the lean side. Lots of flint on the nose, and very crispy on the palate. More than an hour after opening, we've also got green apple notes, too. Very enjoyable, just as one would expect from this wine.

2021 Pierre Menard Anjou Clos des Mailles - this was much bigger on the palate, fatter, richer, much more ripe and alcoholic than expected.

2021 L'Ange Vin L'Iris - this was a very interesting and complex wine. Strangely it smelled like yogurt with lactic acid,along with pineapple and other tropical fruits. There's good acidity on the palate with a long finish.

2022 Pierre Mang Le Parc Rouge, en magnum - opened at least a day before. The nose was really sweet, like juicy berries. Very fragrant with some dried herbs, and a little leather, too.

2004 Pax Syrah Cuvée Keltie - started drinking around 50 minutes after decanting. Still got that huge nose of ripe and jammy fruit, very metallic, and still alcoholic after mellowing out for 20 years. Still going strong after more than 3 hours in the decanter.

Bought from the winery for USD 65 plus tax.

2003 Clos Mimi Étiquette Rose - this was sooooo ripe, sweet like cough syrup. Nose was pretty flinty, kinda like natural wine. After 1½ hours still going strong, still hot and alcoholic on the palate.

Bought from the winery for USD 75 plus tax.

2020 Pierre Mang Coteaux du Layon Faye Cosmos - so rich, really sweet and ripe, so tropical, with apricot notes.

1985 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge - popped and poured. The nose was really big and open, so fragrant, with lots of leather, a little smoky and wonderful toasty notes. There was also a little hint of farmy notes. The palate was on the light side, but it was all about that beautiful nose.

2020 Pompois

Drinking at home.

2020 Le Clos des Treilles Pompois - the nose showed a little smoke, a little animal, and meaty notes.

Bought from Winetastic for HKD 225.

Cossard and Pompois

Drinking at home.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Pinot Noir - pretty fragrant nose. Love the sweet fruit, with notes of hawthorn and leather. A little floral and soapy on the palate.

2020 Le Clos des Treilles Pompois - strong notes of animal and barnyard, and a little bretty? The nose was also a little medicinal as well as savory.

Bought from Winetastic for HKD 225.

Hokkaido Kerner and more

Dinner at Test Kitchen.

Antoine Bouvet Les Coutures, vendage 2017, dégorgée le 31 Janvier 2022 - nice with decent acidity, big and yeasty on the palate, with a long and very dry finish.

2018 Nicolas Réau Victoire - very big and toasty nose, flinty, but very ripe on the palate. Still had the acidity for balance.

Bought from Winetastic for HKD 351.

2004 Pax Syrah Lauterbach Hill - removed the cork 50 minutes after double-decanting, and drank another 50 minutes later. The nose was really fragrant, with lovely spices but not quite floral. There was a little leather with plenty of sweet fruit on the nose, although not quite sweet to the level of being jammy.

2020 de Montille and Hokkaido Kerner - some toast on the nose, but otherwise very flat and boring.

2020 10R Stella Maris Kerner - so much more fragrant on the nose, very lychee, like lolly water. Lots of ripeness on the palate, but also surprisingly lots of toast on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Le Clos des Treilles Pompois -

Drinking at home.

2020 Le Clos des Treilles Pompois - drank 30 minutes after opening. Definitely farmy and barnyard nose, with leather, eucalyptus, plenty of coffee, lots of toast, and very meaty. After 1 hour this opened up and became more fragrant and woodsy.

A taste of Loire Valley

Winetasting at Clarence, hosted by Winetastic.

La Taille Aux Loups Triple Zéro - a little metallic like Anjou pear, definitely kinda fruity and refreshing, clearly a pet nat with not a lot of small bubbles. Acidity was not too sharp, and almost a bit grippy on the palate.

2020 Domaine 7 La Guimardière - nose came with a little bit of heavy toast, smoky, almost like smoked meats. A little flinty. On the palate there was more depth, with acidity and some grippiness on the back end.

2020 Domaine 7 La Nouette - riper and much more metallic on the nose, with more oxidized pear. Also riper on the palate without much acidity.

2021 Simon Batardière Au Rocher des Quarts - flinty and apricot, not sure I was getting the lychees that some others were talking about. Was there a hint of honey? Ripe-ish on the palate but also a little lean on the finish.

2018 Nicolas Réau Victoire - tasted blind. Initially served very cold, but even then I could smell the toasty popcorn, along with lots of flinty minerals. Started to be like a Meursault but this was very ripe on the palate, so it must be Loire. Finally after a while, the wine got grippy on the palate and the acidity finally came out after warming up. Quelle surprise!

2019 Le Clos des Treilles La Décente Aux Amphores - really fruity and sweet on the nose, almost like mango. Really sweet like sugar or a very ripe honeydew melon. I actually like it! Wow! Good balance between the acidity and ripeness. Almost a little pungent sulfur and savory notes on the nose at the end when sniffing the empty glass.

2019 Sylvie Augereau Peaux - surprised that I didn't hate it! Very aromatic, a bit flinty. Good acidity but not too sharp, and grippy on the palate.

2021 Nicolas Réau Enlèvement Demandé - lots of spices on the nose, much more exotic than I expected. Meaty, almost like tomato juice with that savory nose, along with some herbs.

2019 Le Clos des Treilles Pompois - A little more open, meaty, fragrant, with some bacon and kinda like Châteauneuf-du-Pape. A bit toasty and more savory, and starting to show a hint of barnyard. Then surprisingly turned pretty ffragrant with some eucalyptus.

2019 Nicolas Réau Garance - decent fragrance on the nose with a hint of savory notes, a bit meaty. Pretty smooth and easy to drink.

2019 Sylvie Augereau Les Manquants - nice and smoky, a bit meaty, with a little bit of exotic spices and savory notes. Soft on the palate.

2018 Jousset Montlouis-sur-Loire Trait d'Union - initially pretty cold and didn't give too much on the nose. Not too sweet on the palate but still refreshing, with good flavor profile. There was definitely a hint of tartness and bitterness on the finish. This was OK... neither here nor there. At the end there was a bit of apricot and honey on the nose.

2011 Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux - smoky with petrol, very much like a riesling but with more sugar. Got some of that citrus peel notes, and almost came with a little bit of white flowers.

2013 Clau de Nell

Drinking at home in Taipei.

2013 Clau de Nell - a little stinky 20 minutes after decanting, with leather , a little smoke, and somewhat fragrant and toasty. Acidity still high on the palate.

2013 Clau de Nell

Drinking at home in Taipei.

2013 Clau de Nell Cabernet Franc - drank 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting. A little pungent, with leather and dried herbs. A little tannic. Really sweet on the nose 2 hours after decanting, and showed nice floral notes.

Couralt and Montcalms

Dinner at Le Bologne in Geneva.

Benoit Courault Gilbourg, vintage unknown - initially muted, later flinty and steely.

2014 de Montcalmes Les Terrasses du Larzac Rouge - fragrant nose with woodsy and eucalyptus notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Bongwater at RAW

Lunch at RAW in Taipei.

2015 PUR n° 7 Énergie - very aromatic and floral, with tropical stone fruits.  Almost fatty and oily, thick and round on the palate.

2015 Agnès et René Mosse Les Bonnes Blanches - nose much more muted.  Hot on the palate and burns a little going down.  Not a fan.

2014 Jean Laborde Saint Joseph La Ferme des Sept Lunes - really ripe and almost jammy, with a hint of green.  Almost floral honey notes.

Full post on lunch is here.

2009 Pithon-Paillé and Alain Graillot

Lunch at Caprice.

2009 Pithon-Paillé Anjou Coteau des Treilles - finish was a little metallic at first.  Very ripe on the palate, and I definitely felt the alcohol burning as the wine went down the back of my throat…  A hint of honey, a little pungent, then sweet nose with white flowers.

2009 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage - what a lovely wine!  Lots of mint, herbs, potpourri… sweet fruit with floral notes.  Full-bodied.

Full post on lunch is here.

Cheese dinner pairing

Cheese dinner at Caprice.

2009 Pithon-Paillé Anjou Coteau des Treilles - from the négociant business set up by famed winemaker Jo Pithon and his stepson Jo Paillé after the former's ouster from the domaine that bore his name.  This was a little tropical, with minerals and ripeness.  Acidity is definitely there.

2009 Andre Perret Condrieu Chery - lovely nose of white flowers, lots of white peach, very tropical with a hint of banana.  Really ripe on the palate.

2003 Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Champigny La Marginale - this Cab Franc definitely reminded me of some of the Saint Emilion... Very earthy nose, with forest, smoke and some fruit.  A little cloudy thanks to the surprisingly large amount of sediment.

2003 Albert Mann Pinot Gris Pfersigberg - notes of pineapple, ripe fruit, a little sweet on the palate with a slightly spicy finish.

2008 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Rouge - what a wine!  Sebastien had opened two bottles of another wine which he found flawed, before popping the cork on this one and leaving it in the decanter for perhaps close to an hour.  When I received the first pour, I was blown away.  The amazing floral notes - which I only find in Northern Rhône - was in my face.  Loads of violet and rose, and sweet fruit, too.  After more than 10 years of drinking Syrah from Northern Rhône and having Côte-Rôtie as my favorite wine, I finally learned that the floral notes aren't actually the result of adding Viognier into the blend, but come from Syrah that has gone through a long maturation process.  Just shows you how much I know...

Eric Bordelet Poiré Authentique - as a lover of French cidre, I'm lucky to have found a source for Bordelet's famed cidre, some of which are made with fruit from trees that are a couple hundred years' old.  Toasty, mineral and of course sweet on the palate.  A natural pairing with the Fourme d'Ambert and pear.  Coincidentally, I was carrying in my bag a magnum of Bordelet's Poiré Granit that I had been keeping in the office...

Full post on dinner is here.