MNSC - Caprice

MNSC dinner at Caprice, hosted by me.

1992 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Française, bouteille N°626 – definitely showing its age, with marmalade on the nose, almost a little oily. The body was fine but not too powerful, which fades quickly to a soft finish that seemed to last for a while. The nose was almost a little like Japanese umeshu.

Flight 1: opened 1 hour before serving.

1986 Lafite-Rothschild – stoppered right after opening and served without decanting. A bit more ripe and advanced, with clear oxidation. Higher acidity on the palate. Certainly savory on the nose. This bottle that I originally took from dad’s office – which did not have a wine fridge - more than 25 years ago is clearly not showing at its best. 92 points.

1986 Mouton-Rothschild – served without decanting. This was very elegant, smoky, woodsy, and exhibiting a classic nose for the region. Also green capsicum. Two hours after opening this was showing some lovely sweet fruit along with coffee. 95 points.

Flight 2: opened about 2 hours before serving without decanting.

1996 Colgin Herb Lamb Vineyard – this was really ripe and sweet, with a hint of metallic nose along with eucalyptus. I love it. My kind of shit. 97 points.

1996 Masseto – this was also ripe and sweet, but a bit more smoky. So lovely now and drinking so well. 96 points.

Flight 3: I had been wanting to do this pairing since 2016, when Foursheets found the bottle of "Château Le Pin" in her neighborhood Wellcome supermarket. Foursheets says it cost around HKD 70, but I thought it would be hilarious to serve it in a blind tasting together with the "real" Le Pin. You should have heard some of the guesses from the boys about what they thought this was...

2014 Le Pin – served without decanting 2 hours 45 minutes after opening. This was showing a beautiful nose, so ripe and sweet but not quite to the level of a Californian. Smoky, leathery, minty, and fragrant eucalyptus. A little young, perhaps. 94 points.

2014 Château Le Pin – served without decanting 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. This was definitely more lean and rustic. Not very interesting and clearly a couple of steps down. 88 points.

2024 Clos Mao Light (理光) – decanted for more than 30 minutes before serving. Very big and toasty popcorn nose, reductive, flinty, with lovely lemon notes. Nice and round on the palate. 96 points.

2024 Michel Naddef Marsannay Chardonnay – also showing big, toasty nose. Flinty, lean, and slightly reductive. 95 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Giraud Ennéade and Lafite

Dinner at Xinrongji.

1993 Henri Giraud Fût de Chêne, from Ennéade Collection Case #237 - the age on this was obvious as the wine was just softer on the palate. Nice nose of marmalade with a hint of straw. The acidity on the palate was pretty high, even with all the ripeness. Very nice.

2017 Clemens Busch Marienburg Rothenpfad Riesling Reserve - this was so classic... The nose was so open and fragrant. The wine was pretty soft on the palate, and actually very elegant. The white flower notes on the nose were so nice, and the palate was sooooo soft and supple. About 2 hours after opening, the nose was very caramelized and very sweet.

1975 Lafite-Rothschild - the nose was smoky as expected, but there were also obvious grassy and wet cardboard notes, along with a hint of funky, stinky notes. Oh well. With all the age and sediment of this wine, no one had suggested that we decant the botte... so naturally we got all the sediment in the glass.

Full post on dinner is here.

Rodez and Lucien Le Moine

Dinner at a friend's home.

Chandon Garden Spritz – I do enjoy Apero spritz, so this was pretty much right up my alley with all the orange bitters.

Eric Rodez Cuvée des Grands Vintages, dégorgée en Janvier 2021 – good acidity and definitely good depth on the palate. My host was happy with it.

2010 Lucien Le Moine Clos de Vougeot – the nose was nice and ripe, with plenty of sweet fruit and leather. Decent acidity on the palate.

2007 BOND Matriarch - surprised that the nose was a bit reductive. Lots of dried herbs and potpourri here. Not as delicious as other bottles opened earlier.

Full post on dinner is here.

Chave and friends

Dinner at Hiyama.

1988 Chave Hermitage Blanc - started drinking around 30 minutes after opening. The nose was initially kinda closed and showed some marmalade and a little beeswax. The second pour some 20 minutes later was pretty cold, and this showed that the wine was weak and short on the palate. The last pour was drunk more than 5½ hours after opening. By now the nose was really open, showing apricot in addition to the marmalade and beeswax. Unfortunately it remained short on the palate.

1999 Chave Hermitage Rouge - started drinking more than 1½ hours after opening without decanting. The nose was kinda nice but felt a little muted. Showing some leather, plum, and a bit of acidity. Some 3 hours after opening this was very nice and fragrant, with woodsy notes.

Drinking at home.

2016 Château de la Gardine L’Immortelle - started drinking some 2½ hours after decanting into the Daniel Ricciardo shoey decanter. The first pour was very muted, almost not showing anything on the nose. After a few minutes in the glass this got a bit funky and stinky, which was actually a bit better. Another hour later the nose yielded some stewed prunes. Was this still tight and needed more time?

1990 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - started drinking 15 minutes after decanting. This was really nice and smoky, showing grilled meats, pencil lead/graphite, and tobacco. Reminds me of a Pauillac.

Full post on the evening is here.

70 Mouton

Dinner at Molino de Urdániz in Taipei.

2019 Gramona Imperial, disgorged June 2025 - this was kinda bland, to be honest. It was easy drinking but not particularly interesting.

1970 Mouton-Rothschild - decanted 10 minutes after opening, and served after 30 minutes in decanter. This was still fragrant and really woodsy, and still got cassis and black fruits. About an hour after opening we got some coffee, and after an hour and a half lots of tobacco smoke came, which was just classic Pauillac. So soft on the palate now at this age, and this bottle drank better than the last 2 or 3 I've opened.

Bought from Sotheby's for HKD 3,075.

Full post on dinner is here.

Big bottles for birthdays

Dinner at Kiu's Kitchen.

2008 Dom Pérignon, en magnum - this was pretty classic, and already kinda ripe and rounded given some years of aging.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 170ème Édition, ID 221034 - surprisingly the nose was not too tasty, and given I haven't tasted thie edition for a couple of years, I was surprised that acidity here was higher than that from the Dom, although thankfully not to a level that felt sharp.

2021 Catena Zapata Chardonnay White Stones Adrianna Vineyard - crisp with good acidity on the palate and a long finish. Pretty nice.

2008 Bergström Pinot Noir de Lancellotti Vineyard, from magnum - the nose was very open and fragrant, with good hit of fruit like dark blueberries, along with some sweet vanilla oak. Very enjoyable.

2005 Marqués de Riscal Gran Reserva - lots of mint and eucalyptus on the nose, almost menthol, and very sweet and ripe on the nose. There was also tons of oak as well as some smoke.

2004 Peter Michael Les Pavots, from magnum - this was very ripe with lots of nice fruit, also minty and very fragrant with cedar notes. Still got some tannins on the palate after more than 20 years. Drinking well.

1996 Silver Oak Alexander Valley, from magnum - this was more smoky than Les Pavots, and also riper with more fruit and got that coconut butter. Drinking very nicely.

Bought as part of a mixed lot from Christie's for HKD 1,608.

2016 Pahlmeyer - still a little young and slightly punchy.

2022 Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet

1990 Climens - tons of saffron on the nose along with acetone, classic marmalade, apricot, and pretty nutty. Very sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Christie's tasting

Christie's pre-auctin dinner at the Hong Kong Club.

Jacquesson Cuvée N°748, dégorgée en Mars 2025 - this was actually very floral and elegant, with a nice little yeasty nose.

First flight:

2010 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal Blanc - the nose was waxy, very ripe and definitely on the bitter side. This was more expressive and open on the nose, more opulent, but the palate was kinda boring.

2016 Chave Hermitage Blanc - there was also some bitterness on the palate, but the nose was much more fresh, with flinty and citrus notes, but leaner on the nose. More than 2½ hours after opening, the nose was becoming buttery.

Second flight:

1989 La Mission Haut-Brion - this was so, soooo beautiful! Big nose of tobacco, smoke, nice fruit but so elegant, so fragrant. Plummy on the nose but without the cooked fruit or the acidity on the palate. This was still so lively at its age, showing the beauty of the vintage. What a stunning wine, and certainly my favorite tonight.

1982 Léoville-Las Cases - this was clearly more mature, more ripe on the nose with sweeter fruit. This was so interesting, and we've got green capsicum... which wasn't a surprise. The wine was silky smooth on the palate, but the finish wasn't very long. The nose also showed some smoke and grilled meats, and 2½ hours after opening, the nose got even more smoky.

2001 Dominus - pretty minty, and very much sweeter on the palate.

Third flight:

2015 Chave Hermitage Rouge - this was still very young, and still showing lots of metallic and iron notes on the nose, and also very sweet. Then it became a bit grassy on the nose, and of course it was still kinda tannic on the palate.

1995 Chave Hermitage Rouge - this was sooooo nice, so beautiful. with classic notes of bacon and game meat. On the palate this was so fragrant and complex, with potpourri and herbs. Surprisingly, more than 3 hours after opening this kinda fell off a cliff.

2015 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque - this was much riper compared to the Chave, very sweet, with big nose of potpourri and herbs. Kinda hot and alcoholic on the palate. This became so, so nice after more than 2 hours as coffee and caramel notes developed.

Fourth flight:

2001 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - this was really nice and open, especially as it was sweeter on the nose than expected, and there was that bacon... So fragrant but still had the signature barnyard notes, although not strong and offensive, and definitely got a little brett. Still so nice, though.

2003 Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de Mon Aïeul - this was definitely overripe, and started to remind me of cough syrup with its alcoholic profile, and stewed prunes on the palate. Really, really sweet and jammy.

1990 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - this was such a big wine with that signature barnyard nose, soooo bretty, and pretty savory. Not my thing.

Fifth flight:

2007 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - kinda fragrant and woodsy, pretty fragrant, minty, with lots of dried herbs.

2004 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato Cà d'Morissio Riserva - there was still a little hint of sharpness on the nose. Weakest of the trio in this lineup.

2003 Gaja Barbaresco - nice and fragrant. OK lah...

Full post on dinner is here.