MNSC dinner - Woo Cheong

MNSC dinner at Woo Cheong Tea House.  Pineapple hosting.

1986 Ponsot Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Monts-Luisants Vieilles Vignes - so toasty, with a little coffee, beautiful and buttery nose. Palate was still dry and acidic.

First flight: served some 2½ hours after opening without decanting.

1976 Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges - a bit smoky, acidity was pretty high. 91 points.

1976 Robert Arnoux Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots - a hint of smoke at first. Around 3 hours after opening this started to open up and showed toasty, cedar, and woodsy notes. 95 points.

1976 Bouchard Musigny - much riper, acidity was very high. Almost showing a little coconut butter. 94 points.

Second flight: served 4 hours after opening without decanting.

1976 Ausone - classic claret with a bit of smoke on the nose. 93 points.

1976 Lafite-Rothschild - some exotic spices, sweeter and more ripe. 94 points.

Third flight: served 4½ hours after opening without decanting.

1976 Henri Jayer Richebourg - this was off and the nose was maderized, with savory notes and clear oxidation. What a shame!

1976 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - pretty open, toasty and very minty. 93 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC dinner - Hong Kong Club

MNSC dinner at the Hong Kong Club, hosted by Gayliao.

1985 Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet - very nice and caramelized, with popcorn notes.  So smooth.  The last pour more than 2 hours after opening was amazingly beautiful, with sweet and exotic coconut and Chinese licorice notes.

First flight: poured 1½ hours after opening, and served 2 hours after opening.

1985 Dujac Clos Saint-Denis - beautiful and floral, really elegant.  Still got a hint of sweet grass.  Second pour was more concentrated.  96 points.

1985 Dujac Bonnes Mares - very nice, with lovely fruit and leather notes.  More tannic and grippy.  97 points.

Second flight:  poured 2 hours after opening, served 2½ hours after opening.

2000 Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - minty, a little burnt rubber, a bit more acidity on the palate.  With the second pour there was more leather, and still pretty tight.  94 points.

2000 Ponsot Clos de la Roche - kinda closed, minty, and almost gingerbread.  Much better with the second pour, with a sweeter nose.  95 points.

Third flight: poured 2 hours and 45 minutes after opening, served almost 3½ hours after opening.

2003 Bouchard La Romanée - kinda alcoholic, minty, potpourri, coconut.  Second pour more animal and leather notes, almost a totally different wine.  96 points.

2003 Hudelot-Noellat Richebourg - beautifully toasty, with a hint of burnt rubber, and a layer of coffee along with some fruit.  97 points.

2003 Mugnier Musigny - sharp on the nose, a little metallic.  Not great.  A little orange and sweet fruit.  93 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Burgundy and more

Dinner at Softbank Kitchen.

2004 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne, en magnum - initially kinda closed, with a little mineral, flint, toast, and lemon.  Opened up well after about 40 minutes.  Still alive after 3 hours, with a little Chinese licorice.

2011 Joseph Drouhin Clos des Mouches Blanc, en magnum - very elegant and buttery.

Tesseron X.O. Exception Lot N°29 - pretty nice stuff from 1929...

2011 Arnaud Ente Meursault La Sève du Clos - much bigger and more toasty, with higher acidity.  Showing buttery notes 3½ hours after opening.

1998 Jacques Prieur Musigny - opened for 6 hours prior to serving.  Really sweet with black fruits. elegant, almost a little tea leaves.

1996 Royal Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Blue Label - nutty, marmalade, dried tangerine peel, honey, sweet on the palate but comes with plenty of acidity, too.

Full post on dinner is here.

Juyondai Black Label and more

Dinner at Shoun RyuGin in Taipei.

1995 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Œnothèque - nose was a little strange, maybe some sugarcane notes, with very strong marmalade and nice minerality along as well as a little toast.  Acidity was pretty high.

2010 Louis Michel Chablis Grenouilles - lovely minerals, some flint, and stone fruits.  Decent acidity level was it was not too high.  Some ripeness and fragrance lingered in the mouth for a lovely finish.

1995 Comte de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - lots of leather in the nose.  Still hard with tannins, and turned acidic with aeration, but the tannins were still present.  Later on with further aeration acidity became really high.  Probably just not ready yet...

Kokuryu Daiginjo Ryu (黒龍 大吟醸 龍), 30BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%.  Nice flavors of fermented rice.

Sohomare Kimotoshikomi Junmai Ginjo (惣誉 生酛仕込 純米吟醸), 30BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 55%.  Nose showing some fermented rice flavors, with banana notes.  Drier on the palate but with good depth.

Juyondai Black Label, 29BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) is not disclosed for this bottling.  Nose was somewhat fermented, with some fermented rice notes.  Pretty sweet on the palate with a long finish.

2010 Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny - toasty, minty, leather notes.  Good acidity here.

Vincent Fleith Crémant d'Alsace Brut Nature - flinty with stone fruits on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC Dinner: The Chin's

MNSC Dinner at The Chin's, hosted by Juliano.

2007 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots - nice and big toasty nose despite being served very cold.  Showed savory and mineral notes.  Beautiful.

First pair:

1971 Trotanoy - opened and served 1 hour and 45 minutes later from bottle.  A little minty, earthy, a little ripe and still showing nice fruit.  Second pour was much sweeter, and almost a little coconut.  94 points.

1971 Rayas - opened 1 hour prior to decanting, and served 45 minutes after decanting.  More ripe and oxidized, almost maderized.  Cleaner on the palate, very sweet and almost jammy, but also a little savory at the same time.  93 points.

Second pair: opened 2½ hours prior to serving without decanting.

1976 Faiveley Musigny - a little alcoholic on the nose, still kinda closed.  92 points.

1989 Faiveley Musigny - showing a little fruit with some sweetness, still got some tannins here.  92 points.

Second pair: opened 1 hour prior to decanting, and served 2½ hours after decanting.

1975 Lafleur - stinky, a little savory, smoky, with some sweetness.  Somewhat tannic on the palate.  94 points.

1986 Lafleur - a little metallic, minty.  With new pour became very sweet with lots of ripe fruit, almost cconut.  95 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

76 Yquem and Vogüé Musigny

Drinks at a friend's house in Singapore.

2006 Beaucastel Blanc Rousanne Vieilles Vignes - lots of tropical fruits like mango, ripe and sweet on the palate.  Drinking deliciously.

Dinner at the Tippling Club.

1976 Yquem - double-decanted due to a broken cork.  What a lovely wine!  Loads of honey, nutty, grapey notes... with dried prunes and Medjool dates.  The wine opened up with time and just got richer and more amazing over the course of the evening.  Such an incredible privilege to be able to drink this 40-year old nectar!

2001 Comte de Vogüé Musigny Vielles Vignes - opened for an hour prior to decanting.  This needed to be chilled to a more suitable drinking temperature.  A little smoky with leather, eucalyptus, dried herbs, and forest notes.  Long finish.

Full post on dinner is here.

Four bottles, four French regions

Dinner at VEA.

2000 Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill - ripe and caramelized nose, with a little bit of straw and some marmalade.  Nice acidity on mid-palate and finish.

1990 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune - classic nose of petrol, flint, rubber, and white flowers.  Very lean and almost monolithic.  Beautiful.

1996 Comte George de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes - opened but not decanted for 1½ hours.  Still closed on the first pour, almost a little green.  Put into a decanter for the rest of the evening.  Showed a little of the vanilla oak much later, and after three hours it finally opened up.

1971 Palmer - popped and poured.  Lovely nose showing smoke, savory notes like black tea, pencil lead, with some nice fruit and a little green capsicum.  Almost a little coffee, with a final bit of farmy and stinky notes at the end.  A beautiful and elegant wine.

Full post on dinner is here.