Chidaine and Gonon

Dinner at Jin Sha in Hangzhou.

2022 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Choisilles - nose was very flinty and tropical, a little ripe on the palate. Also some lemon citrus.

2023 Pierre Gonon Les Iles Feray - this was very interesting with lots of spices on the nose. The wine was very young and full of really ripe fruit, and also kinda metallic and a little sharp on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

de Chanceny Crémant

Buffet dinner at King Sejong Memorial Hall in Seoul.

de Chanceny Crémant de Loire Brut

Full post on the wedding is here.

Rodez and Guiberteau

Dinner at Amber.

Eric Rodez Blanc de Noirs, Edition 45, dégorgée en Decembre 2023 - nice and lovely on the palate, with a good balance between acidity and ripeness, good depth and a long finish. Classic marmalade on the nose.

2019 Guiberteau Saumur Les Moulins - the nose was surprisingly ripe and sweet, with plenty of toast on the nose. The acidity was still there on the palate, making it nice and lean.

L'abricot du Roulot - the nose was definitely very apricot. Sweet on the palate but not too sticky.

Full post on dinner is here.

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.

Bongwater night

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2005 Inflorescence La Parcelle Côte de Béchalin, dégorgée en avril 2012 - the nose was really nice and toasty, very fragrant with nice notes of marmalade, toasty corn, and amazingly very nice and perfumed with floral notes.

2020 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant - still flinty on the nose but more ripe on the palate thanks to the grapes being harvested late.

Bought from Pillariwine for HKD 748.

2008 Jean-François Ganevat Cuvée Prestige - the nose was really oxidative, very savory on the nose, very much like the vin jaune from Jura.

Bought from Andromeda for HKD 680.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Skin-Contact "Rafling" - the color was orange and cloudy. Very ripe on the palate, more like a cider than wine with the tannins and the mouthfeel. Good depth on the palate and plenty of acidity.

2009 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Clos du Roi Cuvée Baronne du Bay, elevé et mis en bouteille par Lucien Le Moine pour El Bulli, en magnum - started drinking about 2 hours after decanting. Drinking really nicely now with some vanilla oak, so, sooo sweet that I could have taken it for a Californian pinot, with lots of coconut butter, too. Also blueberries. Tannins were still here on the palate. A lovely wine.

Bought from Sotheby's for HKD 1,838.

2013 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie Côteaux de Tupin, en magnum - started drinking about 2½ hours after decanting. Meaty and leather notes on the nose. The wine then really opened up some 3 hours after decanting, and became soooo floral with lots of violet. Beautiful!

Bought from Midfield for HKD 2,300.

Full post on dinner is here.

From Collin to Sassicaia

Dinner at Wing.

Ulysse Collin Rosé de Saignée Les Maillons, dégorgée en Mars 2021 - lovely notes of red fruits. This was so elegant, really nice and rounded on the palate.

1988 Maximin Grünhaüser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett - this was really nice and fresh despite the age, and a good amount of acidity made it very lively on the palate. There was a bit of sweetness, of course, and the prominent notes of white flowers were very nice, too.

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

2016 Guiberteau Saumur Brézé - there was a huge, toasty nose, and also very fragrant. Pretty lean on the palate with grippy tannins and good acidity. Later on, though, the nose started to develop a buttery profile.

2005 Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis - a really fragrant nose of spices and also somewhat smoky. It's still got the concentration but now the wine is ready, and drinking very nicely.

2007 Sassicaia - smoky, minty nose with wonderful fruit, where it's jammy but not sugary sweet on the nose, and a little fermented. Really good concentration on the palate. Beautiful wine from a great vintage.

1988 Maximin Grünhaüser Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese - slightly more sweetness on the palate than the kabinett, but still got lots of acidity, and not surprisingly this was more rounded on the palate. Lots of white flowers on the nose, making it very nice and fragrant.

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

Full post on dinner is here.

Bongwater with Italian

Dinner at Sagrantino.

2018 Jean François Ganevat Savagnin En Billat - a little toast on the nose, plus a little ripeness on the nose, but good acidity level.

2009 Chacra Pinot Noir Cincuenta y Cinco - double-decanted but stoppered for 30 minutes, then started drinking 1 hour after decanting. There was good amount of ripe fruits on the nose, but it was served a little warm at first. Very smooth now, and improved once the wine was chilled down a little.

Bought from IWM for HKD 590.

2019 Le Clos des Treilles La Décente Aux Amphores - the nose was nice and fragrant, with a little flint. Somewhat reductive, with a hint of savory, fermented notes as well as sulfur that is unmistakably bongwater. The palate was not really sweet but a bit more ripe and rounded.

Bought from Winetastic for HKD 351.

2020 Hirakawa Notre Siècle - some toasty notes on the nose, and definitely soft on the palate. Fairly easy to drink.

2003 BOND Matriarch - stoppered for 45 minutes after double-decanting, and started drinking almost 2 hours after decanting. Smoky nose with some meaty notes. Very ripe and sweet on the palate. Later on there was unmistakable nose of coconut butter as well as vanilla oak.

Bought from the winery for USD 85 plus tax.

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.