MNSC - Country Club

MNSC dinner at the Grill Room of Hong Kong Country Club.

1996 Salon - more lemon citrus than mature marmalade. This was much fresher, more elegant. The acidity came out strong on the second sip, which was just as expected.

1996 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - very nice and toasty nose. Good acidity on the palate together with nice maturity, and this was drinking very nicely. Not surprisingly this was the more forward of the pair.

First flight: served 1½ hours after opening without decanting.

2001 Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny - this was a little dusty but also had the toasty popcorn on the nose. Farmy with some sweetness later. 95 points.

2002 Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny - nose of leather, and clearly more rustic. 95 points.

2003 Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny - nice sweet red fruits on the nose. Pretty soft. 94 points.

Second Flight: served after 2½ hours in the decanter.

1994 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - this was the more bretty of the two. But surprisingly I preferred it. 96 points.

1995 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - nice and smoky. So classic. 95 points.

Third Flight: served after 3½ hours in the decanter.

1999 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - this was very oxidized and very ripe. 95 points.

2000 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - this was sooo beautiful, with a sweetness that included some grassy notes. Smoky and meaty, too... and then a bit floral about 20 minutes later. 99 points.

2001 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - the nose had plenty of coconut butter, with good ripe fruit but not quite jammy. A great wine with good concentration. Almost a bit of Chinese medicine and minty. 97 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Christie's tasting

Christie's pre-auctin dinner at the Hong Kong Club.

Jacquesson Cuvée N°748, dégorgée en Mars 2025 - this was actually very floral and elegant, with a nice little yeasty nose.

First flight:

2010 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal Blanc - the nose was waxy, very ripe and definitely on the bitter side. This was more expressive and open on the nose, more opulent, but the palate was kinda boring.

2016 Chave Hermitage Blanc - there was also some bitterness on the palate, but the nose was much more fresh, with flinty and citrus notes, but leaner on the nose. More than 2½ hours after opening, the nose was becoming buttery.

Second flight:

1989 La Mission Haut-Brion - this was so, soooo beautiful! Big nose of tobacco, smoke, nice fruit but so elegant, so fragrant. Plummy on the nose but without the cooked fruit or the acidity on the palate. This was still so lively at its age, showing the beauty of the vintage. What a stunning wine, and certainly my favorite tonight.

1982 Léoville-Las Cases - this was clearly more mature, more ripe on the nose with sweeter fruit. This was so interesting, and we've got green capsicum... which wasn't a surprise. The wine was silky smooth on the palate, but the finish wasn't very long. The nose also showed some smoke and grilled meats, and 2½ hours after opening, the nose got even more smoky.

2001 Dominus - pretty minty, and very much sweeter on the palate.

Third flight:

2015 Chave Hermitage Rouge - this was still very young, and still showing lots of metallic and iron notes on the nose, and also very sweet. Then it became a bit grassy on the nose, and of course it was still kinda tannic on the palate.

1995 Chave Hermitage Rouge - this was sooooo nice, so beautiful. with classic notes of bacon and game meat. On the palate this was so fragrant and complex, with potpourri and herbs. Surprisingly, more than 3 hours after opening this kinda fell off a cliff.

2015 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque - this was much riper compared to the Chave, very sweet, with big nose of potpourri and herbs. Kinda hot and alcoholic on the palate. This became so, so nice after more than 2 hours as coffee and caramel notes developed.

Fourth flight:

2001 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - this was really nice and open, especially as it was sweeter on the nose than expected, and there was that bacon... So fragrant but still had the signature barnyard notes, although not strong and offensive, and definitely got a little brett. Still so nice, though.

2003 Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de Mon Aïeul - this was definitely overripe, and started to remind me of cough syrup with its alcoholic profile, and stewed prunes on the palate. Really, really sweet and jammy.

1990 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - this was such a big wine with that signature barnyard nose, soooo bretty, and pretty savory. Not my thing.

Fifth flight:

2007 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - kinda fragrant and woodsy, pretty fragrant, minty, with lots of dried herbs.

2004 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato Cà d'Morissio Riserva - there was still a little hint of sharpness on the nose. Weakest of the trio in this lineup.

2003 Gaja Barbaresco - nice and fragrant. OK lah...

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - MIAN

MNSC dinner at Mian, hosted by Dr. Poon.

First flight: served around 2 hours after opening without decanting.

1982 Mouton-Rothschild - nice, smoky nose with good fruit. Nice and cedar wood nose, also minty. Second pour showed more elegance along with more coconut butter. Really, really beautiful. 100 points.

1986 Mouton-Rothschild - initially more opulent than the '82, with sweet fruit. Good acidity. Then got heavier with more weight, more smoky, more concentration, with a little ripe fruit on the edges. 96 points.

Second flight: served around 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting.

2000 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - really, really sweet, soooo fragrant, kinda sugary on the nose. Sooo sweet and jammy, almost like muscovado. Love it. More than 2 hours in the decanter and this showed some burnt rubber.

2000 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - very savory nose, gamey, more oxidized. Got better and showed a sweeter nose, and a little exotic.

2000 Fonsalette Rouge - a little dusty and chalky, showing strong notes of American ginseng and Chinese angelica as well as leather. Nose cleared up with the second pour and was pretty clean, and was a bit ripe. Unfortunately with more aeration the Chinese medicine notes came back, and was almost bitter on the palate.

1999 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères - popped and poured. Soooo beautiful. Nice with orange marmalade, sweet notes of straw, nice and toasty. Very elegant, lovely buttery nose, and a little metallic.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner - home edition

Dinner at a friend's home.

1980 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - nice and mature now, toasty with lots of marmalade. Good depth on the palate but a little bitter.

First flight: served 1½ hours after opening without decanting.

1950 Cheval Blanc - lots of mint and smoke. Very fragrant nose with some underlying ripeness. More savory notes showed after lowering the temperature. 94 points.

1950 Petrus - riper, but somehow dusty and chalky, with burnt rubber. More fruit showed after cooling. 92 points.

Second flight: served 2 hours after opening.

1970 Heitz Martha's Vineyard - pretty acidic and lean on the palate. More exotic on the nose with spices woodsy notes and savory soy sauce. 96 points.

1970 Vega Sicilia Unico - smoky, a little leaner, a little grassy still some black fruits here, with a slight hint of chalk. 95 points.

1970 Giscours - sweet and grassy, with wet cardboard. Corked, but jammy and ripe and exotic underneath.

Third flight: Served 3½ hours after decanting.

1990 Guigal La Mouline - fucking beautiful. Soooo fragrant with smoky, leather, and coffee notes. 100 points.

1990 Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin - very open and beautiful nose, with woodsy notes and some hospital disinfectant, brett. 97 points.

Peyre Rose Oro and more

Dinner at Odette in Singapore.

Henri Giraud Fût de Chêne MV13 - nice and ripe, good depth on the palate, and almost a little bitter.

1999 Peyre Rose Oro - really huge and powerful nose, very toasty, almost coffee.  There was sweetness underneath it all.

2018 Gerovassiliou Malagousia Single Vineyard - highly aromatic, almost citrus zest, with tropical stone fruits.

2014 Château de la Négly L'Ancely - very ripe.

2012 Marcel Deiss Gruenspiel - sweet on the palate, flinty on the nose.  Taken with the Époisses, the flavors of mushrooms are magnified.

Full post on dinner is here.

Trimbach and Pibarnon

Tasting at Champagne Senez.

Cristian Senez Carte Verte

Lunch at La Colombe d'Or in Saint-Paul de Vence.

2011 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Réserve - really floral nose, totally ripe and sweet on the palate.

2013 Pibarnon Rouge - minty, forest, kinda ripe fruit.

Drinking at a friend's house.

2011 Cristian Senez Rosé Saignée, en magnum - not very impressed...  Very far from the type of saignée I would normally buy.

Full post on the day is here.