2005 Petaluma Tiers

Dinner at home.

2005 Petaluma Chardonnay Tiers - overripe as with previous bottles, with some flint and lemon citrus. 

05 Petaluma and Monbousquet

Drinks at my cousin's place.

2005 Petaluma Chardonnay Tiers - really, really ripe on the palate, maybe over-ripe...  Nose was initially chalky and toasty, but the chalkiness faded and what remained was buttery and toasty corn.  Maybe going downhill?

2005 Monbousquet - a little smoky, ripe black fruits, coffee, and chocolate notes.  Pretty smooth now, but the palate was kinda flat with a short finish.

2016 Lucy Margaux Chardonnay

Drinking at home.

2016 Lucy Margaux Chardonnay - fairly pungent nose, which was surprising given that supposedly no sulfur was added.  Pretty heavy toast, flinty and mineral.  Good acidity on the attack, fairly round on the palate, with some length but faded quickly on the palate.  Almost a little pipi de chat in the nose, a little green, but pungent nose fades in glass - until a fresh pour.

05 Petaluma Tiers

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2005 Petaluma Chardonnay Tiers - very ripe on the palate, with heavy toasty nose and some buttery corn.

Full post on dinner is here.

Mouton and Burgs

Dinner at the Chairman.

2005 Petaluma Tiers - a little corked, but we ended up drinking it anyway because the heavy oak kinda masked it.  Very ripe, a little oxidized, caramelized and sweet on the nose, but slightly bitter on the palate.  Also with some straw notes.

Krug Grande Cuvée - love the ripeness of old reserve wines.

2007 Bouchard Corton-Charlemagne - ripe on the palate, and later on a little buttery.  Slightly ripe on the finish.  Heavy toast emerged after a while.

2002 Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds - forest and potpourri notes, some sweet fruit.  A little tight at first but starting to loosen up and drink well.

1981 Mouton-Rothschild - soooo classic.  Very smoky, savory soy sauce, cedar, mint and dried herbs.

Full post on dinner is here.

2005 Petaluma Tiers and 1995 Caymus SS

Drinks at a friend's house.

2005 Petaluma Chardonnay Tiers Vineyard - a little toasty, yeasty, definitely buttery, with lemon citrus.  Pretty decent.

Dinner at Luk Yu.

1995 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection - sweet on the palate.  A little smoky, a bit alcoholic, and minty.

Full post on dinner is here.

Opus and Les Forts

Dinner at On Lot 10.

2005 Petaluma Chardonnay Tiers - pretty big nose with lots of toast, corn, mineral and flint.  Ripe and acidic on the palate, with plenty of citrus.  Much better than the last bottle I had from the same case.

1991 Opus One - double-decanted for 1½ hours prior to drinking.  Smoky, fruity, mineral, minty with pencil lead.  First pour was much more lively, and mellowed out as the evening went on.  Tannins were rounded, soft and silky.  Such a great value.

1990 Les Forts de Latour - much softer and more elegant than I had expected, perhaps a result of sitting in a decanter for about 1½ hours.  A little smoky, with surprisingly prominent sweet grassy notes.  Always a treat to drink this wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

Kiwi, Aussie and Froggie

Dinner at Gold by Harlan Goldstein in Hong Kong.

2007 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - classic Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, with green apple, mineral, pipi de chat and muscat grape notes.

2005 Petaluma Tiers Chardonnay - my first taste of this wine.  Smooth, some toasty oak, a little sweet on the palate with a spicy finish.  Very ripe and alcohol is evident on the palate.

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - I was a little apprehensive about opening the first bottle from a batch I purchased at auction last year, and my fears were justified.  I think there was a hint of TCA here.  The nose showed brett, some fruit, prominent notes of salty mineral and soy sauce, and even a little tea-smoked duck (樟茶鴨)…  This bottle is tasting a little tired and over the hill.

Full post on dinner is here.

A mostly French evening

Dinner at Kiangsu and Chekiang Residents Association (蘇浙同鄉會).

2003 Barratt Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay - ripe and oaky, very New World but not so interesting. No refills on this one...

1996 Billecart-Salmon Grande Cuvée - which had a very yeasty nose and reminded me of - would you believe - Kellogg's cornflakes... The wine was sweet on the palate but had a decidedly sharp finish. I normally go for either the NV or the NV Rose, so having the Grande Cuvée was certainly a treat.

2005 Vincent Girardin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot - this really showed its colors about 1 1/2 hours after popping the cork. While others finished their glasses early, I left my glass untouched until theeastern star garoupa steamed in soy sauce was served. The wine tasted a little "hot" on the palate at first, with nose of toasted oak, minerals, buttery corn. There was good balance of acidity and sweetness, and the wine was so round and smooth on the tongue, with a very long finish. Yummy! I don't think you can go wrong with any 2005 white Burgundies right now.

2003 Haut-Brisson - despite having heard so much about the wine in the Greater China wine world, I had never had this wine before. The proprietor is Elaine Kwok, daughter of Peter Kwok. Peter is a senior figure in the Greater China finance world, having made the rounds at my old shop Bankers Trust and later at CITIC Ka Wah Bank as well as CITIC Resources. The wine has a large following in the region thanks to Peter. The wine was pleasant to drink, with lots of minerals - almost reminding me of blood - and a good amount of sweet fruit.

1990 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru les Saint Georges - as the domaine is relatively new, this bottling is actually a negociant wine. I was a little worried since my last experience with this wine, the 1999 vintage, was quite disappointing. At first I was unable to detect much from the nose, but as the wine opened up I noted mint and sweet fruit, and eventually a hint of wet chalk. There was good balance between the tannins and acidity. Quite enjoyable and better than my initial expectations.

To finish off the evening, a very old bottle of Hennessey Cognac XO emerged. This bottle is reputed to be more than 30 years old, judging by the import label on the back of the bottle. While I do not normally drink Cognac, I was blown away by the brown liquid sitting in my glass. There was lots of salty preserved plums (話梅), salty preserved orange rind (陳皮), and caramel. There was no more burning of the throat than a single malt whisky would have delivered, and the spirit had aged and oxidized beautifully. Now if only I could find a case of this stuff...

Full post on dinner is here.