Canon and Te Koko

Dinner at Imperial Court in Macau.

2015 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - classic nose with lots of green apple and muscat grapes.

2010 Canon - drank after 45 minutes of decanting. Honestly, I couldn't smell anything other than the jasmine perfume of the hotel. What a waste of a nice bottle of wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2020 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - lots of flint and muscat grape, green apple. Very big on the palate. Later on plenty of vanilla oak on the nose.

2020 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2020 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - definitely lots of flint. A bit of muscat grapes, some ripeness here.

2020 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2020 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - muscat grape and green apple.

2020 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2020 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - green apple, muscat grape, flint, fruity, ripe on the palate but turns dry mid-palate into the finish.

2011 Ram's Hill

Drinking at home.

2011 Ram's Hill - ripe but lots of green apple, very fragrant nose with honeysuckle but also reductive with a little sulfur.

2019 Te Koko

Drinks at Winelog.

2019 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - acidity was a little higher than expected, but plenty of ripeness, too. Nose of green apple, flint, and toast.

2019 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2019 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - more ripe fruit than expected. Sweet nose with honeysuckle. A little acidity here which grew more prominent with time. Flinty and opened up very nicely to show big amount of toast.

Te Koko and Chenevottes

Drinking at home.

2016 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - muscat, flinty, green apple, served a little warm so more ripe on the palate than expected.  Slightly bitter.

2012 Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes - ripe and a bit alcoholic.

2016 Te Koko

Lunch at Howard's Gourmet.

2016 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - really fresh, with a huge nose of muscat grapes, green apple, and flint.

Full post on lunch is here.

2000 Bahans and more

Drinking at home.

1996 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - nice and a little floral, a little cotton candy.  Mellow, rounded, nice ripeness but not too much.  Very elegant and easy to drink.  More toasty with caramel notes 30 minutes later, with more depth on the palate.

2006 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - still flinty on the nose, not too ripe and caramelized, but finish was kinda short.

2000 Bahans Haut-Brion, en magnum - decanted 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to serving.  A little corked perhaps, definitely bretty, very chalky and dusty with the first pour.  Pretty savory but OK on the palate.  Three hours after decanting, the bretty notes kinda faded and graphite showed up.  Much better after extended aeration.

2001 Kracher Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese No. 9 Zwischen den Seen, from half-bottle - really ripe, honey, concentrated grape nectar, marmalade.  This seemed a little one-dimensional tonight.

2011 Ram's Hill

Drinking at home.

2011 Ram's Hill - very ripe, very sweet, some acidity there but not much.

2007 Ram's Hill

Drinking at home.

2007 Ram's Hill Sauvignon Blanc - green apple, flinty, very ripe on the palate with a hint of bitterness.

2007 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2007 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - very fragrant, floral, lots of muscat grape, green apple.  Pretty ripe and flinty on the palate, also a little pungent.  Hot palate with a little bitter finish.

Lafleur and SQN Raven

Dinner at Ta Vie 旅.

2007 Ram's Hill - pretty ripe and alcoholic at first, especially when not cold enough.  Much better after chilling and using a smaller glass designed for sauvignon blanc.  Still got green apple notes, and sweet like Chinese licorice.

1970 Lafleur - opened for 1 hour prior to serving.  Smoky, minty.  Much more open with the second pour, sweeter and more woodsy.  Pretty nice.

2006 Sine Qua Non Raven Syrah No. 4 - served more than 1½ hours after decanting, and was just opening up.  Metallic notes, sooo ripe and sooo fragrant.  Really fucking good 2½ hours later.  Still going strong after 3½ hours.

Drinks at House Welley.

The Wishing Well - distilled in 1994 at Braes of Glenlivet, aged 24 years in Bourbon cask and bottled for The Mash Tun Tokyo.  Very floral, kinda sweet on the nose.

Glen Grant 25 Years - initially fragrant, fruity and almost pear-like.  Nose concentrated in glass with intense alcohol.  Smooth on the palate.  Very nice.

Full post on dinner is here.

Cristal, rhone, and more

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2007 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - big, toasty nose.  Kinda ripe on the palate.  Muscat grape and a hint of green apple, along with some flint.  Actually this was pretty fresh for a wine this age, with some lively acidity and not too ripe.

2002 Louis Roederer Cristal - very smooth on the palate.  Nice and fragrant.

1989 Zind Humbrecht Clos Windsbuhl Riesling Sélection de Grains Nobles - tons of manuka honey, notes of apricot, dates, marmalade, acetone, and beeswax.

2003 Henri Bonneau Cuvée Marie Beurrier, en magnum - decanted 1 hour after opening, and served 1½ hours after opening.  Very fragrant nose with eucalyptus, some ripe fruit, and a little gamey.  Still a little tannic, actually.

2003 Torbreck Run Rig - decanted more than 1 hour after opening and served almost 3 hours after opening.  Sweet and ripe, and a little smoky.  Delicious.

2005 Jonata El Alma de Jonata - decanted more than 4 hours after opening, and served 6 hours after opening.  Really sweet with lots of vanilla.

Full post on dinner is here.

2019 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon

Drinking at home.

2019 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc - strong notes of green apple and muscat grapes, with lots of toast.

2017 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay

Drinking at home.

2017 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay - toasty, a little buttery, surprisingly forward and mature.

2005 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2005 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - still plenty of flint, green apple, not overly oxidized and just a little honey.  There is ripeness on the palate and some sweetness, but the acidity is still there.

2006 Te Koko

Dinner at home.

2006 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - no longer fresh but still lively, good depth on the palate.  Mature and kinda bitter mid-palate, with a lingering sweetness.  Nose of toasty oak, plenty of lemon, Anjou pear, almost a little mineral and metallic, without any savory notes.  Pretty complex now.