Selosse and Roumier

Dinner at Xinrongji.

Jacques Selosse Les Chantereines, dégorgée 26 Janvier 2017 - drank some 45 minutes after opening. Nose was nice and caramelized with some vanilla notes along with some marmalade. Really lovely, and almost getting some savory notes on the nose. About an hour after opening the nose was really fragrant, with sweet notes of sugar cane. Later on there were also notes of aged tangerine peel, with a little smoky and savory notes.

Jacques Selosse Chemin de Châlons, dégorgée 1 Fevrier 2017 - drank some 45 minutes after opening. The nose was also caramelized with a little more sugar cane. On the palate there was a little bit of savory mineral notes. Initially this was more simple compared to the Les Chantereines, but with more aeration this got much better, showing more body and more complexity. Still very savory. Some 2 hours after opening this became really nice, and was lighter, more easy going compared to Les Chantereines, but definitely not a simpler wine.

Jacques Selosse Le Bout du Clos, dégorgée 13 Avril 2012 - drank about 2½ hours after opening. Nice with savory minerals on the nose, with sugar cane showing much, much later. There was really good depth on the palate here with a long finish, and the 5 extra years of aging compared to the other two really shows. There was a good amount of acidity on the palate, too.

Bought from Christie's for HKD 2,969.

2008 Lucien Le Moine Clos Saint Denis - drank about 45 minutes after opening without decanting. The nose was pretty fragrant, and the wine was fairly elegant. Showing a little meaty nose and nice notes of leather. About 1½ hour after opening we also got some lovely black cherries on the nose.

Bought from Altaya for HKD 774.

2011 Georges Roumier Moret-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos de la Bussière - drank about 1 hour after opening. Very nice and toasty on the nose, and later showed more animal and leather notes. This was really very nice and very silky smooth.

2014 Georges Roumier Moret-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos de la Bussière - drank about 2 hours after opening. This was very clean and seemed relatively subdued compared to the 2011. Around 3 hours after opening, this opened up well to show some really lovely fruit.

2013 Benjamin Leroux Bâtard-Montrachet - the nose was really ripe and oxidized, with a little flint as well as some stone fruit.

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Full account of dinner is here.

La Mission Blanc and Lachaux

Dinner at Estro.

2013 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc - beautiful nose with flinty and mineral notes, along with lemon. Nice ripeness on the palate but still got the acidity, with good depth.

2005 Pascal Lachaux Clos Saint Denis - drank around 1½ hours after opening without decanting. Very nice and fragrant, lots of fruit here, very sweet, with strawberries and red cherries. Started to go a little downhill 2½ hours after opening, perhaps. Drinking very nicely right now.

Full post on dinner is here.

Burgs and the Judge

Dinner at Le Bec Fin.

2005 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge - definitely too ripe, but improved significantly with chilling down to a lower serving temperature.  Showed a good amount of mineral and flint, with a big toasty nose.  Still ripe on the palate and the finish was kinda short, with a little bitterness.

2005 Pascal Lachaux Clos-Saint-Denis - served 45 minutes after opening.  Fragrant nose with sweet fruit like strawberries, with dried herbs and meaty notes underneath.  Two hours later showed more black fruits.

2017 Comte Ligair-Belair Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Grandes Vignes - really fragrant, definitely red fruits, and also black cherries.  Nice toasty notes, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - Hong Kong Club

MNSC dinner at the Hong Kong Club, hosted by Gayliao.

1985 Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet - very nice and caramelized, with popcorn notes.  So smooth.  The last pour more than 2 hours after opening was amazingly beautiful, with sweet and exotic coconut and Chinese licorice notes.

First flight: poured 1½ hours after opening, and served 2 hours after opening.

1985 Dujac Clos Saint-Denis - beautiful and floral, really elegant.  Still got a hint of sweet grass.  Second pour was more concentrated.  96 points.

1985 Dujac Bonnes Mares - very nice, with lovely fruit and leather notes.  More tannic and grippy.  97 points.

Second flight:  poured 2 hours after opening, served 2½ hours after opening.

2000 Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - minty, a little burnt rubber, a bit more acidity on the palate.  With the second pour there was more leather, and still pretty tight.  94 points.

2000 Ponsot Clos de la Roche - kinda closed, minty, and almost gingerbread.  Much better with the second pour, with a sweeter nose.  95 points.

Third flight: poured 2 hours and 45 minutes after opening, served almost 3½ hours after opening.

2003 Bouchard La Romanée - kinda alcoholic, minty, potpourri, coconut.  Second pour more animal and leather notes, almost a totally different wine.  96 points.

2003 Hudelot-Noellat Richebourg - beautifully toasty, with a hint of burnt rubber, and a layer of coffee along with some fruit.  97 points.

2003 Mugnier Musigny - sharp on the nose, a little metallic.  Not great.  A little orange and sweet fruit.  93 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Roederer Brut Nature and Clos St Denis

Lunch at Robuchon au Dôme in Macau.

2006 Louis Roederer Brut Nature - nice and crisp acidity after the initial ripe attack, and pretty long on the finish.

2010 Lucien Le Moine Clos Saint-Denis - lots of dried herbs along with good amount of sweet berries, with leather and slightly smoky notes.  A little stemmy and a little grippy on the palate.  30 minutes after opening the nose showed lots of toasty notes, and was really, really fragrant.

Full post on lunch is here.

05 Lachaux Clos St Denis

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2005 Pascal Lachaux Clos St Denis - lots of black fruits here.  Opened up really nicely to show forest and herb notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

No Aussie for dinner

Dinner at Jade Dragon in Macau.

2005 Kistler Chardonnay Stone Flat Vineyard - the toasty nose was very overpowering, to the point it smelled like burnt charcoal, so we had the wine decanted.  Things got a little bit better afterwards, but remained heavily toasted.  Ripe on the palate.

2007 Lucien Le Moine Clos Saint Denis - double-decanted.  A little lighter on the palate than I expected.  After 1½ hours the nose really opened up to reveal lots of sweet fruit.  This drank reasonably well.

2002 Bertagna Vougeot 1er Cru Clos de la Perrière - this had been shaken around earlier in the day, so it wasn't a surprise that it didn't show very well.  This was also a little more tannic after shaking, and frankly pretty one-dimensional.

1988 Suduiraut - the nose was surprisingly a little smoky at first, with some burnt rubber notes alongside some plastic and acetone.  Palate was not as sweet as expected.  After more aeration I found honey and a little nutty notes in the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - Megan's Kitchen

MNSC dinner at Megan's Kitchen, hosted by Gayliao.

1995 Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires - pretty fresh, slightly ripe on the palate but with a short finish.

First flight: decanted 1½ hours prior to serving.

1996 Latour - very young and alcoholic, a little sharp.  Nose was a little exotic, with vanilla notes and sweet, ripe fruit, along with earthy, smoky, and lead pencil notes.  96 points.

1996 Dujac Clos Saint-Denis - really sweet fruit, with strawberries, a little forest.  A little bitter on the palate, but otherwise just a a really beautiful and stunning wine.  97 points.

1996 Comte de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - pretty fruity, a little muted at first, and kinda like cherry-flavored cough syrup.  A little chalky, and a little bubble gum.  92 points.

Second flight: opened 45 minutes prior to serving without decanting.

1993 DRC La Tâche - showing cool fruit, a little minty, slowly opened up, with nice sweet fruit.  93 points.

1993 Mugnier Musigny - nose was a little weird and a little dirty.  92 points.

Third flight: opened three hours prior to serving without decanting.

1991 Mugnier Musigny - rich, ripe, a little sweet, and some minty notes.  95 points.

1991 Comte de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - a little sharp on the nose, pretty ripe, a little sweet, and a little toasty.  93 points.

1991 Dujac Echezeaux - really open and absolutely beautiful.  Very clean with floral notes.  97 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - The Pawn

MNSC dinner at The Pawn, hosted by Lord Rayas.

1996 Salon - very nice and toasty, some lemon notes, pretty round on the palate, smooth, with some acidity at the end.  So glad that this is finally starting to open up and drink well.

First flight: opened 100 minutes before serving, not decanted.

1988 Dujac Clos de la Roche - really sweet nose, with lots of fruit.  A little more smoky later.  A little grippy on the palate.  93 points.

1988 Dujac Clos Saint-Denis - a little more animal notes in the nose, more dried herbs, really beautiful and floral, and a little more toasty.  More full-bodied.  95 points.

Second flight: opened 2½ hours prior to serving, not decanted.  Both bottles were ex-domaine.

1996 DRC Romanée-St-Vivant - nice fruit in the nose, but also a little plastic initially, and alcoholic.  A little toasty and minty.  Light on the palate.  93 points.

1996 DRC La Tâche - much more fruity nose, more minty, sweet and ripe.  Very nice.  A little thin on the palate.  94 points.

Third flight: opened 2½ hours prior to serving, not decanted.

1985 Haut-Brion - very stinky, manure, animal, and medicinal nose.  94 points.

1986 Haut-Brion - a little riper, cool, hint of pencil lead, hint of medicine, with smoke, earthy, and stinky nose.  Slightly savory on the palate.  95 points.

1989 Haut-Brion - definitely smoky, cigar box, with pencil lead and a little earthy nose.  95 points.

Extra flight:

1973 Heitz Martha's Vineyard - a little grassy and sweet, minty.

1973 Clos Du Val - maderized with grassy notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - Summer Palace

MNSC dinner at the Summer Palace, hosted by me.

Jacques Selosse Brut Rosé, dégorgée à 18 octobre 2009 - definitely mineral and salty plum nose, very yeasty... almost like what you'd get from a freshly steamed Chinese bun (包子).  Nose was also initially a little strong, not quite pungent.  Very nice on the palate with a pretty long finish.

First flight: opened but not decanted about 45 minutes prior to serving.

1970 Maison Leroy Clos-St.-Denis - more sweetness and ripe fruit here, with some savory notes.  Went downhill quickly.  85 points.

1970 Maison Leroy Chambertin Clos de Beze - savory nose, with lots of soy sauce notes.  Very ripe, and surprisingly grippy on the palate - perhaps from the sediment.  Went downhill pretty quickly.  85 points.

Second flight: decanted around 2½ hours prior to serving.

1990 DRC Echezeaux - there was a decanting mistake that I didn't catch earlier... This was supposed to be opened 2½ hours before, but not decanted until 30 minutes prior to serving.  The extended decanting time obviously hurt the wine, and it didn't drink anything like I had hoped.  Initially a little savory on the nose, still got some nice fruit, and it was clearly over-decanted.  Too acidic on the palate.  88 points.

1990 Angélus - nice and lovely nose.  A little medicinal, with nice fruit and concentration here.  Very fragrant nose.  Smooth on the palate with medium-to-full body.  What a beautiful wine!  98 points.

Third flight: decanted 2 hours and 45 minutes prior to serving.

1995 Harlan Estate - a little burnt rubber at first, smoky, still slightly closed.  Opened up a little later, and it was very well-balanced.  Still grippy on the palate after 20 years.  96 points.

1995 Bryant Family - lots of coconut butter, tons of oak, vanilla, much sweeter on the nose than the Harlan.  Less tannic than the Harlan, but they're still there.  Fantastic wine!  98 points.

Fourth flight: decanted almost 4½ hours prior to serving.

2000 Mouton-Rothschild - incredibly open and fragrant nose.  Lots of coffee and smoke, slightly savory notes and some pencil lead.  What a beautiful wine!  99 points... and tempted to give it 100!

2000 Pavie - more muted compared to the Mouton, with a hint of smoke and a little pepper.  Nice and smooth on the palate.  Maybe this was over-decanted? 94 points.

Full post on dinner is here.