SQN and friends

Dinner at Caprice.

2015 Vincent Dancer Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - started drinking some 3 hours after opening. This was sooo beautiful! There was a nice balanced level of toast on the nose, which wasn't too big and heavy but just right. Nice and buttery with a dose of lemon citrus and minerals. There was acidity on the palate, but once again it was nicely balanced with ripeness. What a wine!

2001 Sine Qua Non Albino - the nose was nice and floral, with lots of honey, marmalade, and some straw. Very ripe both on the nose and on the palate, but a little hot and alcoholic on the palate. A really lovely wine.

2006 Hundred Acre Ark Vineyard - decanted some 30 minutes after opening, and started drinking a little more than 1 hour after opening. Minty, a bit earthy, and actually a little savory on the nose. Definitely showing cool fruit, and surprisingly not as jammy as expected. Really opened up after 2 hours, and showing smoky notes, too. Delicious.

2005 Sine Qua Non Atlantis Fe₂O₃ Syrah 1c - decanted around 1½ hours after opening, and started drinking more than an hour after decanting. A bit smoky on the nose, and there was almost a hint of brett. Savory and a bit stinky on the nose. Pretty smooth and drinking well, but this was one of the least SQN reds I remember drinking. Totally lacking the typical punchy character and jammy fruit, and leaning more towards a French syrah.

1955 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottle 004, from imperial - this was so complex with lots of spices and herbs on the nose. Viscous texture and sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

70 BV and William Kelley

Lunch at Caprice.

2015 Jean Vesselle Pur B3, bouteille n° 838/1700, dégorgée 15 Fevrier 2023 - a little sweet and a little yeasty on the nose.

1970 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve - this bottle was more mature than the others I had tasted in previous years, and was showing a very savory profile on the nose with lots of soy sauce as well as smoke. Very nice and silky smooth after more than 50 years, and still got sweetness on the palate. Also showing some lovely spices on the nose.

Bought from Andromeda for HKD 1,750.

2020 William Kelley Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Elelois - the wine was definitely too young and this showed, as the nose was definitely pretty jammy and metallic, showing black cherries and also eucalyptus. Tannins were very obvious. A second pour after an hour after opening still showed plenty of metallic notes, more black cherries, and now also some violet. This was definitely infanticide and the wine was drunk far too young.

1931 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, from imperial - the nose was very complex and showed plenty of savory notes, along with dried herbs and plenty of nuts. Very rich and viscous on the palate, and very sweet on both the palate and the nose.

Full post on lunch is here.

Karl Haidle and Toro Albalá

Drinks and dinner at Caprice Bar.

2020 Karl Haidle Stettener Pulvermächer Riesling Großes Gewächs - very flinty with lots of toast, fragrant and nice nose with fruity notes. A little grippy on the palate with good acidity.

1929 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottled November 2014 - lots of prunes, soooo lovely on the nose, a little woodsy and almost a little savory. Unfortunately the intensity on the nose wasn't quite there, as this bottle was almost done and had probably been opened for some time. Nevertheless this was still very, very, very rich on the palate. Soooo sweet, soooo viscous, with a long finish. Would have been better if this was served colder.

Full post on the dinner is here.

Toro Albalá lunch

Lunch at MONO.

Toro Albalá Fino Electrico - not fortified, with 5 years of age. Savory notes here with some green olives.

2020 Toro Albalá MIUT El Jabonero - this showed floral notes that weren't overpowering, along with some mineral notes like those found in Anjou pear. Medium fry on the palate. First vintage of this wine with 3,990 bottles produced.

1998 Toro Albalá Vinagre Balsamico Pedro Ximenez Gran Reserva - the first vintage vinegar produced by the winery. Very fruity.

1964 Toro Albalá Marqués de Poley Palo Cortado - bottled in 2017, made with fino from a vintage deemed to be poor. Definitely smoky, oxidized and savory on the nose, and slightly sharp thanks to the 22% alcohol after fortifying with brandy. Some fruitiness but leans dry, almost a little medicinal. Only produced twice in the winery's history.

1951 Toro Albalá Marqués de Poley Amontillado - coming in at 21% alcohol but not fortified. Acidity was higher here, and this was more focused.

1955 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección - really floral and fragrant, lovely and exotic spices, cinnamon, dried figs, and plum. Amazingly round and sweet on the palate.

1946 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottled in 2013 - bigger nose than the 1955. Much more fragrant, can feel how sunny and warm the vintage was, and also very nice herbs on the nose.

Full post on lunch is here.

Toro Albala and more

Dinner at MONO.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 170ème Édition, ID 221032 - nice and toasty nose with nice acidity on the palate.

2020 Garzón Albariño Petit Clos Block 27 - not so aromatic, but not bad. A little ripe on the palate now.

2012 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion - initially very dusty and chalky, a little unpleasant. Smoky. Unfortunate.

1929 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottled November 2014 - a bit smoky, a little savory, with soy sauce. Sooooo rich, sooo thick and viscous and unctuous, almost like drinking honey. What a beautiful wine!

Full post on dinner is here.

1940 Canon and friends

Dinner at Caprice.

2016 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - nose of green apple and muscat grapes. Some ripeness on the palate as expected.

1940 Canon, ex-château 2021 - served undecanted. Very minty nose with lots of smoke, a little earthy. Lighter and thinner on the palate, especially compared to the 1940 Pichon Lalande from yesterday. A bit savory on the nose with more acidity on the palate. With the second pour 45 minutes later showed more tannins, with tons of sediment.

Bought from Sotheby's for GBP 1,288.

2002 Yquem, en imperial - very fragrant nose of citrus and mandarin, apricot, beeswax, acetone, and a little honeydew melon. Just beautiful.

1929 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, bottled November 2014, from double-magnum - nose of preserved prunes, exotic spices. Very rich and incredibly unctuous, really sweet and jammy on palate like syrup.

Full post on dinner is here.

Cristal Rosé and Dame de Montrose

Lunch at Caprice.

2004 Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé - lovely nose, showing marmalade, a little toast, a hint of honey and some strawberries.  Good balance on the palate.

1990 La Dame de Montrose - served an hour after opening, undecanted.  Minty, smoky, earthy, cedar, and still a little bit of fruit left.

1965 Toro Albalá Don PX Selección, from methuselah - raisiny, potpourri, almost a little savory, a hint of medicinal notes, exotic spices, eucalyptus, aged mandarin peel, almost like panettone, and aged Chekiang vinegar with diced ginger used for dipping crab.

Full post on lunch is here.

Côte-Rôtie for game

Dinner at Caprice.

Juyondai Hizoushu (十四代 秘蔵酒), bottled July 2010 - this is a junmai daiginjo (純米大吟醸) koshu (古酒) with at least 3 years' aging, using Aiyama (愛山) rice milled down to a seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%.  I bought this bottle in 2010 and it's been aging in my cellar since then.  Nose was now much more intense, with sharper alcohol, much more fermented notes but somehow not fermented rice, with a lot less of the tropical peach I expected, but later on still some banana.

1999 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - really nice and fragrant right off the bat, with sweet fruit, a little eucalyptus, leather, and bacon fat notes.  Nice and ripe but somehow also a little cool, more mineral.

1995 Guigal La Mouline - served 2 hours and 45 minutes after decanting.  Classic La Mouline, which meant it was much more floral than the Jamet.  Very opulent with violet notes, a little black pepper, a little monkfruit.  So, so beautiful after 3½ hours, with lots of potpourri notes and bacon fat.

1955 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, from imperial - really intense on the palate, sooo raisiny, lots of minty herbs.  Very sweet as expected, like syrup.

1929 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección, from imperial - not as fresh and fruity like the 1955, perhaps because it was the last pour from the bottle.  More meaty notes, a lot more complex, almost a bit spicy and a hint of smoke.  Much more viscous in terms of texture.

Full post on dinner is here.