Sake and Italians

Dinner at DEN in Tokyo.

Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta Cuvée Prestige 46a Edizione - decent acidity on the palate. Pretty nice.

Houou Biden Black Phoenix Junmai Ginjoshu Muroka Honnama (鳳凰美田 純米吟醸酒 無濾過本生), 2024, from isshobin - very lovely fragrance, showing sweet rice lees on the nose.

2020 Sturm Andritz Bianco - the sauvignon blanc really shows through, with a little flint on the nose. Good acidity on the palate but not too lean or sharp.

Sara Usukiri Junmai Ginjo Muroka Genshu (彩來 うす霧 純米吟釀 無ろ過原酒), from isshobin - definitely fruity and sweet on the palate. Pretty soft and round on the palate, too.

Tedorigawa Junmai Daiginjo Muroka Genshu Hakusan Yamada Nishiki (手取川 純米大吟醸 無濾過原酒 白山市産山田錦) - nose of melon. Very clean on the palate, with a nice balance between sweet and dry.

Full post on dinner is here.

Bourgogne and more

Lunch at Mosu.

2015 Bollinger La Grande Année, dégorgée en Octobre 2023 - first sip delivered a dose of high acidity, but the palate also had some roundness. Some toasty notes on the nose.

Gonin Musume Shizen No Manma (五人娘 自然のまんま) - seimaibuai of 70%. Showing lots of savory fermented notes on the nose initially, but so sweet on the palate like Chinese fermented rice lees. Soon after the nose changed and showed tons of caramel, toffee, or dulce de leche. Very fruity with a bit of citrus, and also like Japanese konpeito.

2017 Coche-Dury Bourgogne Chardonnay - initially the nose was not very open despite having been decanted, showing only a little citrus and a hint of green apple. Acidity showing on the palate, and there was some ripeness on the palate with the oak. But totally not what I had expected.

2018 Domaine de la Roseraie Bourgogne Senex - showing animal notes, lots of eucalyptus, dried herbs, big and toasty, and a little farmy that made me think of natural wines. Pretty fragrant.

2022 François Villard Crozes-Hermitage Cour de Récré - this was a lot more fruity on the nose than I had expected, with some acetone. What was really interesting was that it almost started to smell like Oolong tea!

2022 Keller Sylvaner Feuervogel - big nose of petrol, flint, and muscat grapes. Good and crisp acidity.

2015 Bressan Schioppettino - this was really fragrant with tons of herbs, like a chinotto, but also a little savory. This was very, very lovely.

Full post on lunch is here.

Bongwater and sake

Drinks at Naturevin in Fukuoka.

2006 Dario Prinčič Cabernet Sauvignon - decanted and served. Really sweet and jammy on the nose, a little metallic. Very raisin-like, very oaky, lots of vanilla. Lighter on the body but still got some tannins.

Dinner at Chiso Nakamura in Fukuoka.

Kokuryu Kuzuryu Tarekuchi (黒龍  九頭龍  垂れ口) - seimaibuai of 65%. Rounded on the palate, sweet on the attack but gives way to medium-dry. A little lactic acid here, perhaps? Kinda refreshing.

Jikon Jyunmai Ginjyo Yamadanishiki (而今  純米吟醸  山田錦), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 50%. Medium-dry, thin on the palate at first but got more viscous. Sweeter now but still got the dry finish.

Juyondai Tatsunootoshigo Daigokjo Nama Junmai Daiginjo (十四代 龍の落とし子 大極上生 純米大吟醸), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 35%. Very fruity and floral, plenty of banana. So easy to drink as always.

Drinks at Shuhou in Fukuoka.

Ryujin Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo Yamadanishiki 35% (龍神 中取り 純米大吟醸 山田錦35％) - drinking very well, medium-dry, very elegant.

Juyondai Tatsunootoshigo Daigokjo Nama Junmai Daiginjo (十四代 龍の落とし子 大極上生 純米大吟醸), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 35%.

Azumaichi Junmai Daiginjo 100th Anniversary (東一 純米大吟醸 百周年記念酒), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 35%. Fairly light and elegant, a little muted on the nose as last time. A different Azumaichi from the usual.

Full post on the drinking sessions are here.

GohGan bongwater

Dinner at GohGan in Fukuoka.

2013 Vodopivec Vitovska Origine - decanted for 3 hours prior to serving. Eventually opened up and showing nice toasty and coffee notes. After another hour in there was more sweetness on the nose with coconut notes.

2017 Fontedicto Promise - a little woodsy on the nose.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Skin-Contact "Rafling" - not bad at all! Some flint and lemon citrus. Some 3 hours later this was kinda floral and reminded me of Hoegaarden.

2018 Cható Pqta - fragrant and sweet nose with red fruits, light-bodied but slightly grippy. Also a little leather on the nose.

2021 Funky Château Funky Rouge - not too sweet, almost a tad savory.

2021 Noëlla Morantin Côt à Côt - a little funky, savory on the nose, almost like Pu'er tea or tea eggs, also game meats.

2020 Jean-Yves Péron Côtillon des Dames - very floral with some exotic spices.

Full post on dinner is here.

2017 Meroi Chardonnay

Drinking at home.

2017 Meroi Colli Orientali del Friuli Chardonnay - very buttery and caramelized nose, with marmalade, lemon, and a hint of toast.  Palate was a little on the ripe side.

Schiopetto and Moulin de Gassac

Dinner at Amber.

2013 Schiopetto Collio Friulano - much riper and sweeter on the palate than expected, very rounded, but perhaps a little overripe.  Some minerality here.

2017 Moulin de Gassac Syrah - lots of dried herbs and potpourri, eucalyptus.  A little bitter on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wines at Gaggan x Den

Four hands dinner with Gaggan Anand and Hasegawa Zaiyu at Gaggan in Bangkok.

Eikun Murasaki no Eikun Junmai Ginjo Muroka Namagenshu (英君 紫の英君 純米吟醸 無濾過生原酒) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 50%.  Sweet on the attack but dry mid-palate, and surprisingly dry and spicy on the finish.

Primosic Ribolla de Oslavia Riserva, vintage unknown - nose was oxidated and came with very familiar flavors.

2014 Lapierre Morgon - nose seemed a little stewed prunes?  Nice with just enough acidity here.

2015 Occhipinti SP68 Bianco - oxidized nose with acetone notes, a little dry on the palate, not really sweet.

2012 Albert Mann Pinot Gris Hengst - off dry, with nice ripeness on the palate and a slightly bitter finish.  Good length.

Château Jolys Cuvée Jean, vintage unknown - sweeter on the palate with deeper flavors, more marmalade, and slightly bitter.

Full post on dinner is here.