2025 Vastira

Lunch at Ru Yuan in Hangzhou.

2025 Jinyu Yunlai Petit Manseng Vastira - flinty and mineral on the nose. Acidity was nice and high, but there was some ripeness on the front palate. Lovely lemon notes.

Full post on lunch is here.

Hundred mountains and Glaciers

Dinner at Yong Fu.

DEVO MV04 Brut Nature - the nose was flinty and mineral. The palate was fairly well-balanced, although it was rather flat mid-palate, with some orange marmalade notes.

2023 JiangYu Grechetto - this was very oxidized. Ripe and sweet.

Bai Yue Cheng Qu Long Jian Fu Xi (百越承曲 龙见伏兮) - made with a solera system, with wines up to 30 years being used. Long finish here. Nice.

2023 Domaine des Glaciers Cabernet Sauvignon - started serving almost 3½ hours after opening. Initially the nose was rather muted and only so-so, with a hint of spices and some green capsicum. Then it got more open and fragrant, with smoky notes and some graphite. Some 4½ hours after opening this got to be pretty nice.

2017 Franco-Chinois Petit Manseng - very sweet on the nose, with lots of intense honeydew melon.

Full post on dinner is here.

Silver Heights Emma and more

Dinner at Rùn.

2015 Roebuck Blanc de Noirs - a little bit of minerality with some acidity here.

Bernard Lonclas Blanc de Blancs, dégorgée le 14 novembre 2022 - floral on the nose, or was it the perfume from the room? Medium-bodied, kinda simple on the palate. Showed more sweetness on the palate with the spicy fish maw.

2020 Domaine de Bila-Haut Les Vignes de Bila-Haut Blanc - too over-ripe although there is still some acidity. Showing polyurethane and a little petrol.

2020 Bachelet-Monnot Santenay Blanc - nice and toasty, showing some coffee notes, and very savory on the nose. Lots of popcorn in the really big nose. Very nice.

2019 Craggy Range Pinot Noir Te Muna Road Vineyard - very New World in style, showing lots of new wood with good amount of fruit. Fairly sharp on the nose.

2019 Silver Heights Emma's Reserve, from magnum - very ripe fruit, with lots of forest, very heavy oak, very minty. Actually this was not too tannic for such a young wine.

2018 Domaine de Souch Cuvée Domaine - good acidity but a little bitter.

Full post on dinner is here.

Parker 90s for gala

Dinner at the Michelin Hong Kong / Macau gala 2023.

2021 Quinta do Vallado Branco Reserva - flinty with nose of tropical stone fruits.

2010 JL Chave Selection Côtes-du-Rhône Mon Coeur - very mineral, minty, lots of leather, a little farmy and stinky.

2020 Vietti Roero Arneis - some flint here, not very interesting.

2020 Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay - nice and toasty. Beautiful.

2017 Niepoort Charme - sharp nose of alcohol, very ripe but not in the way I like.

2009 Larrivet Haut-Brion - minty, very ripe and fruity with cassis, tons of oak, some smoke. Pretty nice.

2017 Domaine Franco Chinois Petit Manseng - a little metallic like pear which has oxidized, a little rusty. Syrupy. Very one-dimensional on palate.

Remy Martin XO - about as expected.

Full post on the day is here.

Wines at Gaggan x Den

Four hands dinner with Gaggan Anand and Hasegawa Zaiyu at Gaggan in Bangkok.

Eikun Murasaki no Eikun Junmai Ginjo Muroka Namagenshu (英君 紫の英君 純米吟醸 無濾過生原酒) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 50%.  Sweet on the attack but dry mid-palate, and surprisingly dry and spicy on the finish.

Primosic Ribolla de Oslavia Riserva, vintage unknown - nose was oxidated and came with very familiar flavors.

2014 Lapierre Morgon - nose seemed a little stewed prunes?  Nice with just enough acidity here.

2015 Occhipinti SP68 Bianco - oxidized nose with acetone notes, a little dry on the palate, not really sweet.

2012 Albert Mann Pinot Gris Hengst - off dry, with nice ripeness on the palate and a slightly bitter finish.  Good length.

Château Jolys Cuvée Jean, vintage unknown - sweeter on the palate with deeper flavors, more marmalade, and slightly bitter.

Full post on dinner is here.