2016 Ganevat En Billat

Drinking at home.

2016 Ganevat En Billat - this was classic Fanfan. We've got floral notes on the nose along with the leather, and of course there were slight hints of pungent, farmy notes. There were also juicy, dark fruits, with some woodsy fragrance. About 1½ hours in some toasty notes came out, like popcorn.

Le Jaja du Ben

Dinner at Cheong Gor Cantonese Cuisine.

2016 Anne et Jean-François Ganevat Le Jaja du Ben, en magnum - pretty meaty nose with leather, with floral notes underneath. Also pretty big and toasty. Acidity was on the high side.

Bought from Christie's for HKD 321.

Labet and Giraud

Dinner at Caprice.

Henri Giraud Blanc de Craie - a nice blanc de blancs with good acidity, with some ripeness on the palate so that it wasn't completely lean. The nose was very toasty, flinty, mineral, and rather fragrant and almost floral. So nice.

2021 Labet Savagnin En Chalasse - there was a huge nose of toast, which also showed up on the palate so I felt like I was chewing on a piece of plywood... The nose was pretty reductive, mineral, and savory. So intense, but really nice.

Bought from Ginsberg + Chan for HKD 1,610.

Full post on dinner is here.

Five Shooters and more

Dinner at Man Ho.

2006 Jean-François Ganevat Les Vignes de Mon Père, en magnum - drank about 40 minutes after decanting. What a beautiful nose, with lots of toast and floral notes. The acidity was still crisp. Such an amazing wine!

1978 Antinori Solaia - drank about 40 minutes after decanting. Very big nose with lots of smoke, grilled meats, leather, and maybe a hint of green capsicum. Showed some sweetness on the nose after 1½ hours.

2010 Sine Qua Non Five Shooter Grenache, from magnum - decanted 50 minutes after opening, and started drinking more than 1½ hours after decanting. Initially the nose was a bit muted, but still got some sugary ripeness. This opened up and was soooo sweet and ripe on the palate.

2010 Sine Qua Non Five Shooter Syrah, from magnum - decanted 50 minutes after opening, and started drinking more than 1½ hours after decanting. Of course this was ripe and sweet as we would expect it to be. Some of the tannins have been shed after 15 years, so this was tasting fairly smooth on the palate, but clearly showing the concentration of the syrah and obviously a bigger wine compared to the grenache. Beautiful.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sommelier wine pairing

Dinner at Caprice Bar.

2019 Les Poëte Argos - the nose showed mineral and waxy notes, and was a little more oxidized with smokiness. Overall this was really nice and fragrant. This was rounder and riper on the palate, but still had good acidity without being sharp on the long finish.

2018 François Rousset-Martin Perle du Village - showing a very fermented and savory nose, maybe almost at the Chinese fermented beancurd 腐乳 level. Surprisingly this was very clean on the palate. Getting a taste after some lobster made this a little sweet on the palate.

2015 Contrà Soarda Breganze Torcolato - for a sweet wine this was certainly on the light side and not too sweet on the palate. Showing some citrus orange, a bit of acetone, manuka honey, orange blossom water. After opening up a little more this showed more complexity on the nose. And after warming up a little this got bigger on the palate, giving a little more sweetness as well as some bitterness on the finish. With a little more time the nose got pretty intensely sweet, with really ripe honeydew melon.

Full post on dinner is here.

Dufour and Ganevat

Dinner at Hoper's Base.

Patagonia Yamamori (パタゴニアやまもり) 2024 - seimaibuai of 85%. Initially served under-chilled, and both the nose as well as the palate was showing fermented notes.

Bulles de Comptoir par Charles Dufour #13 Cuisine du Dimanche, dégorgée Octobre 2025 - this was bit metallic, kinda like French apple cider. Very strange.

2018 Ganevat Les Varrons Vieilles Vignes - served 20 minutes after opening. This was much riper than expected, with the nose more caramelized, but still a bit flinty and mineral. This, too, was approaching cider level, but not quite.

2002 Kongsgaard Syrah - this was in the decanter for about 10 minutes before pouring back into the bottle. The nose was very ripe and sweet while decanting, which was just as I expected. But some 50 minutes after initial opening the nose was more stewed fruits, showing more maturity than expected. We still got the leather on the nose, and surprisingly still kinda alcoholic on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ganevat and Muxin

Dinner at Man Ho.

2018 Domaine Ganevat Les Varrons Vieilles Vignes - it took time for the wine to open up, with more ripeness on the nose than expected, together with flint. Lean on the palate with high acidity. More than an hour later the nose began to show toasty notes. Drinking decently.

Bought from Ginsberg + Chan for HKD 1,000.

2020 Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay 1er Cru Le Beaurepaire - this was pretty forward. Nice and fruity on the nose, with a little leather and also a little meaty. Very pleasant and easy to drink.

Bought from Ginsberg + Chan for HKD 800.

1982 Giscours - started to drink more than an hour after opening. Clearly a little tired, as the sweet fruit was gone. Got some sweet grass on the nose, musty, definitely bretty. Not great.

2021 Muxin Rouge - started drinking about 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting. The nose was pretty open, and this was definitely predominantly cab. Smoky, earthy, mineral. Young and lively. This was much better than the one I tasted last year.

Bought from Ginsberg + Chan for HKD 1,250.

Full post on dinner is here.

French and Spanish

Dinner at Roganic.

Jacques Lassaignes Les Vignes de Montgueux - there was good level of acidity, pretty lean on the palate but still got a little ripeness. However, this is just not the type of Champagne I prefer.

2022 Hiedler Grüner Veltliner Thal - a little green on the nose, and you know it's not a riesling, and in fact smells more like muscat.

2021 Robert-Denogent Pouilly-Fuissé Climat Vieilles Vignes - good acidity on the palate, and more on the lean side, with some lemon citrus on the nose.

2020 Rafael Palacios Val do Bibei As Sortes - this has a nice and toasty nose, with good acidity on the palate.

2012 López de Heredia Reserva Viña Tondonia - this was very fragrant on the nose, with some blueberries that almost started to border on rubber. Nice and ripe on the palate, still got the tannins but there was enough acidity to balance it out. The nose also showed a little bit of savory minerals in the midst of potpourri fragrance.

Domaine des Marnes Blanches Macvin du Jura - this was a little tea-like with notes of jasmine flowers, and also pretty fruity. Very nice and alluring. So happy with this.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ganevat, Rostaing and more

Dinner at Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic.

Billecart Salmon Pic, MyOrigin 191220 - we were told the base vintage was 2020 but the website says 2019... This has a lovely fragrance. Good balance on the palate, very easy to drink, but by no means bland or light. Finish was nice and long.

2023 François Cotat Sancerre Monts Damnés - this was soooo fresh, full of green apples and a little bit of vanilla from oak. Sweet and fragrant on the nose. Lovely wine.

Hanatomoe Extended Aging Koshu (花巴 本醸造 長期熟成古酒), 1988, released 2024 - seimaibuai of 70%. This was very fragrant, very savory, with beautiful notes of soy sauce, plus a little nuttiness thanks to oxidation. Absolutely perfect pairing with the mushroom.

2022 Cos Zibbibo in Pithos - pretty fragrant with some interesting spices on the nose. Definitely a little oxidized but not too bad.

2016 Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Ampodium - this was pretty young and soooo fragrant, so floral with a hint of violet, and plenty of cedar. So full of life at this stage, and I would love to revisit in another 5 or 10 years.

Jean-François Ganevat Vieux Macvin du Jura - apparently aged for 8 years. This smelled not like wine but Chinese white tea, with a slight hint of raisins. Very fragrant in the mouth, with a light sweetness, some acidity, and a nice and herbal finish that just lingered on. Such a beautiful wine!

Full post on dinner is here.