Krug Rosé and Clos Rougeard

Dinner at Impromptu by Paul Lee in Taipei.

Krug Rosé - nice and rounded on the palate, pretty mature now, with a little toast on the nose. A little more bitterness when it warmed up in glass. Pre-2004 label so this has around 20 years' of age on it. What a treat!

2013 Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny - served starting 1 hour after decanting. Pretty muted nose at first, perhaps a little corked? Some light red fruits on the nose, with a slight hint of brett. Not much body here. Disappointing.

2012 Tommasi Recioto della Valpolicella Fiorato - the sharpness of alcohol on the nose was evident. Almost a little raisin on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sake and Italian reds

Barbecue lunch at a friend's place.

Hakurakusei Junmai Daiginjo Tojoakitsu Yamadanishiki (伯楽星 純米大吟醸 東条秋津 山田錦) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 29%. Starchy nose, a little banana. Sweetish on palate.

Kikuhime Tokugin (菊姫  特吟), 7BY (released 2018), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 50%. Pretty rich, definitely deep flavors and surprisingly not too oxidized. More dry on the palate and also on the finish.

2013 Plozza Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio IGT - lighter than expected.

2011 Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore - good acidity, more concentration, and even a little vanilla.

2000 Quintarelli

Drinking at home.

2000 Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore - drank 1½ hours after opening.  Ripe and juicy like black cherries, a little pruny, almost smoky.  Very smooth on the palate.  Love the nuances that come from the drying process.  Fragrant nose with lots of potpourri and spices.  Still going strong after 5 hours, showing ripe and jammy fruit.

Cab, Corvina, and Grüner

Dinner at Seventh Son.

2011 Hirsch Grüner Veltliner Kammern Kamptal Reserve Lamm - mild on the palate, a little flinty.

2009 Dame de Montrose, en magnum - decanted 30 minutes prior to serving.  Alcoholic, tannic, and a little grippy on the palate.  Much better after 2 hours as it softened up.

2008 Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore - sweet fruit, smokey, ripe on the palate, and definitely felt the 15% alcohol.

Full post on dinner is here.

2009 Sartori L'Appassito

Dinner at Cucina.

2009 Sartori L'Appassito - initially some green and herbaceous notes, which I thought may be signs of TCA.  Still some black fruits in the nose.  Opened up well after 30 minutes and the green notes disappeared, leaving a nice and fragrant nose.  Soft on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

More hodgepodge

Dinner at a private kitchen.

2003 Gazin - smoky nose with some fruit, with meaty and savory, mineral notes.

1998 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Spätlese-trocken - nose kinda pungent, stinky, almost rubber, with lemon citrus and flinty notes.  Definitely more dry and acidic but still kinda round on the palate.

1999 René Geoffroy Brut - very ripe on the palate.  A little caramelized on the nose, and a little savory but not quite salty plum.

2012 Kamoshibito Kuheiji Human (醸し人九平次 純米大吟醸 Human) - made with Yamada Nishiki (山田錦) at a seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 45%.  The nose was rich with lots of fermented rice notes.  Alcoholic both on the nose and the palate.  Very dry mid-palate and on the finish. Definitely karakuchi (辛口).

1986 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Spätlese - lemon, almost cream soda nose, with petrol and flinty notes.  Not too sweet on the palate with good acidity.

2008 Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Clos des Réas - nice blackcurrant, black cherries with a bit of forest in the nose.

1995 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - leather, animal, and a little bacon fat.  Not bad at all.

2006 Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore - coconut, vanilla, minty, and a little smoky.  Still kinda tannic.

1975 Coutet - really big polyurethane nose, very rich on the palate, with apricot and nutty flavors.  Yum.

Full post on dinner is here.

The Italian trio

Dinner at Cipriani.

1996 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin La Grande Dame - this pretty bottle bears the touch of Emilio Pucci, with the signature pattern trim around the label as well as the box.  Salty and plummy nose, caramelized, ripe and sweet.  From the nose I would have guessed the wine comes from an older vintage.  Ripe and slightly bitter on the palate.

2003 Domenico Clerico Barolo Percristina - this was a tough one.  The Specialist had opened it in the office, knowing that it would take a while to open up, but it wasn't quite enough.  It needed to be chilled to rein in the 14.5% alcohol.  As the Specialist put it "Cristina was too hot".  Nose was alcoholic with notes of forest, sweetness, vanilla, a hint of pepper and star anise.  Still pretty tannic.

2001 Giuseppe Quintarelli Rosso Ca' del Merlo - I knew this would take a long time to open up, so I decanted it in the office 2 hours before dinner started... and it helped tremendously.  Minty, fruity, forest, a little smoky and medicinal.  Later on it smelled a little like cough syrup, with sweetness and vanilla coming out 5 hours after opening.  Reasonably good to drink.

Full post on dinner.

Winos drink too much...

Dinner with the Winos at a friend's house.

1990 Dom Perignon en magnum - a beautiful Champagne with lots of toasty oak, lemon and minerals.

2002 Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre - ripe nose of lemon, lots of minerals with sweet butter. For a while it was acidic both on the palate and on the finish. Towards the end the palate was a bit sweet and ripe. This wine is already mature.

2002 Ravaneau Chablis Valmur - lots of mineral, flint and lemon in the nose. Very smooth and soft on the palate.

2000 Sylvain Cathiard Chambolle-Musigny Clos de L'Orme - notes of sweet grass, currant, a little farmy. Nose was pretty open and easy to drink.

2000 Armand Rousseau Chambertin - minty, smoky, a bit of smoked meats, alcoholic. Lots of concentrated sweet fruit. Delicious, especially towards the end after further aeration.

2001 Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - pretty alcoholic nose, a bit sweet with farmy, sous-bois, and some orange marmalade towards the end. Fairy concentrated. This appears to the last vintage for this cuvée.

2005 Lou Dumont Charmes-Chambertin - vanilla, currant notes with a hint of roast meats. Acidic on the palate.

2001 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Mazzano - I got to this wine rather late, and it tasted flat and lightly acidic.

1996 L'Eglise-Clinet - a classic Bordeaux. Smoky, grassy, currant, slightly minty. Very open and a very nice wine.

2002 L'Eglise-Clinet - minty, alcoholic, smooth and concentrated.

1996 Chapoutier Hermitage Vin de Paille - an amazing nose of cane sugar - just like the Cantonese drink of 竹蔗茅根- as well as honey, orange marmalade and honey dew.

Full post on dinner is here.

1990 Quintarelli Amarone Classico Superiore

Dinner at a friend's home.

1990 Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Superiore - the nose was... WOW!  That 15% alcohol really shows!  It was like Cognac at first.  It got better with time, but the punch from the alcohol remains.  It was a bit raisiny, some coffee, toffee with caramel.  Strange since you just can't escape the alcohol.  It took between 2-3 hours to reach peak.  After decanting not as good as we hoped.

Bought for SGD 160.

1995 Masi Amarone

1995 Masi Amarone - drank at Baci with friends.  Boring bottle with not much on the nose.