Pinots and chards

Dinner at Ta Vie.

2002 Krug, Krug ID 115009 - nice and floral nose, and this was very seductive and alluring. The acidity was a little high but the palate was also a little ripe now.

2004 Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - popped and poured. Nose was showing more leather and animal notes. Still got the fruit here but this was more muscular and rustic, not an elegant wine. Later we also got some toasty notes on the nose.

2010 Domaine Roulot Merusault Luchets - good fragrance on the nose. Ripe on the palate but still got a good level of acidity on the finish. Later on this opened up to show a little buttery nose.

2010 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet - wine was pre-moxed and flawed.

2011 Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes - pretty rustic. A bit rough and animal on the nose. Frankly this was kinda flawed.

2019 Taupenot-Merme Chambolle Musigny - nose of pine needles, potpourri, along with black cherries and blueberries. Young and vibrant.

1989 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune Vendages Tardives - served about 3 hours after opening. Good ripeness here but the wine wasn't really sweet on the palate. Acidity was still here, but the wine was just more mature. Classic petrol on the nose. Drinking pretty well.

Full post on dinner is here.

Jadot and La Doriane

Dinner at Frantzén's Kitchen.

2012 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles - lots of toast, buttery, creamy.  Just beautiful.

2016 Guigal La Doriane - really floral and fresh, but still very ripe on the palate.  Like overripe lychees.

1991 Opus One - decanted for less than an hour prior to serving.  Initially very bretty, very much like a claret, somewhat medicinal, but there was some underlying sweet fruit, and woodsy notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - Jackson Room

MNSC dinner hosted by Dr. Poon.

1993 Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet - high acidity here but not too sharp.  Mature and very ripe on the nose, with toasty notes.

First flight: opened for 1 hour prior to serving.

1982 DRC Grands Echezeaux - beautiful and floral nose, fruity and elegant, with intense sweetness almost like honeydew.  Slightly less elegant after a few minutes in glass, but still great.  97 points.

1993 DRC Grands Echezeaux - more powerful with a much bigger nose of leather.  Stemmy and almost a bit stinky.  A hint of savory black olives, then a bit of green pepper.  95 points.

Second flight: opened 2 hours prior to serving.

1993 Lafleur - classic and smoky nose, with spicy green peppers.  Dry on the palate.  Very nice.  95 points.

1993 Screaming Eagle - rich and open, sweeter on the nose, with oaky notes and a hint of rubber and eucalyptus.  Sweet and ripe. A bit sharp and alcoholic, and some acidity on the palate.  98 points.

Third flight:

1937 Latour - opened 30 minutes before decanting and serving. 60 minutes after opening, showed a really minty nose, almost medicinal, savory, funky, and almost like fermented shrimp... with a hint of coffee? 93 points.

1949 Latour - opened 2½ hours prior to serving. So beautiful!  So smoky with cedar, oak, and tobacco notes.  Pretty sweet at first and showed a little higher acidity later.  97 points.

1959 Latour - opened 2½ hours prior to serving. Much leaner, greener, grassy, green pepper, smoky.  High acidity on the palate with some tannins.  93 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Chevalier and Chapelle

Dinner at Petrus.

2012 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles - served from a decanter.  Toasty notes, nice and buttery, with good citrus notes.  Good acidity on the palate.

2005 Ponsot Chapelle Chambertin - served 1 hour after decanting.  There is some black fruit like plum.  Lean and astringent on the palate, with more acidity than expected.  Later on showed a whiff of sweet honeydew melon.  Very disappointed.  Second pour showed savory, black olive notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Leflaive and Roumier

Dinner at Hidden Kitchen.

2004 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - CORKED.  Pretty grassy and green.  With some coaxing came a little toasty oak, a little sweetness.  Nice acidity on the palate.

2006 Christophe Roumier Charmes-Chambertin aux Mazoyeres - opened for an hour prior to serving.  Lovely sweet fruit here with nice forest notes, and the wine gained weight in glass.  Nice balance but lacking concentration.

Full post on dinner is here.

1980 around the world

Dinner at Seventh Son.

A pair of rosé Champagne:

1982 Dom Pérignon Rosé - color looked light brown so it was definitely an aged rosé.  Nose showed this was clearly aged, with savory minerals, a whiff of yeastiness, and also sweetness like sugar gane.  A little nutty, too.  Not a lot of bubbles here, and showing good length in finish.

1980 Dom Pérignon Rosé - more lively than the 1982, with some minerals in the nose.  More body here and also a longer finish.

A pair of white Burgundy:

2001 d'Auvenay Meursault Les Narvaux - nice toasty nose with lemon, but also exotic coconut butter and pineapple.  Rather elegant, actually.  With further aeration the toasty notes became even more powerful.

2001 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - a little sinky sulfur at first.  Less toasty notes here, but the toasty notes also became more prominent later.

A trio of red Burgundy from 1980:

1980 Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - the bottle was not in good condition, since the cork was loose and fell into the wine during opening.  Nose of mushroom and wet cardboard, green and grassy.  Pretty light body.  The second pour was a lot better, but the nose was still grassy.

1980 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze - a little smoky, ripe, and a little animal, minty and some mushrooms.

1980 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux - bigger nose here compared to the other two, with more animal, smoky, a little savory soy sauce.  More body yet also more acidity on the palate.  My favorite of the trio even as we tasted blind.

A quartet of 1980s from around the world:

1980 Petrus - really fragrant, almost floral nose, with very sweet fruit, and some mint, a little leather.  with a hint of sweet grass, and later on a little bit savory on the nose.  What a beautiful and elegant wine.

1980 Sassicaia - very exotic nose, with coconut butter, vanilla, sweet fruit, and mint.  Still quite a lot of body here but the acidity was a little higher on the palate.  If this were a Bordeaux it would have been something like a Le Pin or 1990 Montrose.  Could have guessed it was Grange, but there was not enough body here.  A wine with an awesome nose.  My kind of shit.

1980 Penfolds Grange - nose was more metallic, exotic, sweet, coconut butter, a little forest pine.  More body here and definitely a Grange.

1980 Vega Sicilia Unico - a little funky nose, slightly metallic, a little bit animal, some sweet grass, and also exotic tropical fruits.  Light-bodied in comparison.

1995 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Beerenauslese - nose of polyurethane, honey, apricot, and marmalade.  Nice acidity balance here.

Full post on dinner is here.

Burgs and Krug

Dinner at Amber.

1989 Krug - nice and aged, a little savory, salty plum, sweet grass and marmalade.  Slight hint of bitterness on the finish.  Very lovely.

2004 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - nice and toasty, very big nose, crisp, pure and beautiful.  Later on sweet and butter.

2004 Dujac Charmes-Chambertin - very fragrant, fruity, a little smoky, very sweet on the nose but dry on te palate.  Nice woody flavors with some leather.

1999 Rouget Echezeaux - nose was a little spunky, smoky, tighter than expected.

Full post on dinner is here.

Burgs and friends

Dinner at Mandarin Grill + Bar.

1978 Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes - beautiful amber color, definitely showing age, with toasty and bready, yeasty notes, nutty, coffee and a little sweet Chinese licorice (甘草).

1997 Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet - sweeter, pretty ripe, still a little alcoholic.  More minerality here.

1999 Gantenbein Pinot Noir - kinda big, ripe, with a little leather.  Still young and relatively closed.

1993 Domaine Leroy Nuits-Saint-Georges - beautiful and floral, with leather, black cherries and passion fruit.

1985 Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze - beautiful, floral and fragrant.  A hint of savory notes with wonderfully sweet fruit.  Very clean, nice and ripe.  An elegant wine.

1990 Jaboulet La Chapelle - minty, ripe fruit and smoky notes.  Relatively closed.

2010 Kapcsándy Estate Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon - lots of coconut butter, minty, pine needle, ripe and sweet.

Full post on dinner is here.