Burg night

Dinner at Hidden.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Croix Rouges - ripe and caramelized on the nose with metallic notes, like La France pear or Anjou pear. The first pour was too warm and was really metallic on the palate, too. The second pour was colder thanks to more chilling, and showed flint on the nose. Acidity was on the high side, and kinda tasted like a dry French cidre.

2019 Hubert Lamy Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblogs Vieilles Vignes - started drinking a little more than an hour after opening. We've got some flint on the nose, a hint of vanilla and some oak. This was a little fatty when warmed up slightly in glass, but the acidity was still high and very grippy or tannic on the palate. The finish was quite long thanks to the acidity.

2011 Perrot-Minot Mazoyères-Chambertin - started drinking more than 1½ hours after opening. Nose was showing eucalyptus, a little coconut butter, and vanilla oak.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ausone and Cos

Dinner at Mian.

Pol Roger Brut Réserve, dégorgée en September 2023 - the nose was surprisingly fragrant and floral, with some classic yeasty notes.

1982 Cos d'Estournel - what a classic claret from a fantastic vintage! Smoky, a little earthy, and still got the sweet fruit. Smooth and silky on the palate now, and still going strong after more than 4 decades.

2005 Ausone - decanted 1½ hours after opening, and tasted 30 minutes after decanting. Very fragrant nose with lots of coconut butter and vanilla, and also lots of oak. Very ripe and sweet on the palate.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Puligny-Montrachet - the nose was metallic and reminds one of Anjour pear. Pretty nice on the palate, more towards the lean and acidic side but well-balanced.

Full post on dinner is here.

1980 and 2020

Dinner at Plaisance.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - the nose started off being a little metallic, and kinda sweet on the nose like apricot. But DAMN! The acidity on the palate was so high but at the same time the wine was so rounded and fat. There was a lot of ripeness on the nose, but none of that buttery profile that many love about white Burgs. An interesting beast.

1980 Vega Sicilia Unico - decanted about an hour after opening and started drinking 15 minutes after decanting. Initially the nose showed a lot of exotic spices, vanilla, and coconut butter that I have come to love from Unico. What a lovely nose! There was a good amount of sweet fruit, almost like strawberries. So smooth and drinking so very well now.

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.

Cali and white Burg

Drinks at a friend's home.

2009 Ramonet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet - reasonably ripe, some flinty minerals, toasty but not explosive. Pretty fragrant about 30 minutes after openng.

2003 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine - drank 1 hour after decanting. Very, very fragrant and elegant, with notes of sweet cherries. Tannins were now silky but the wine still had body and wasn't light by any means. After 2½ hours in the decanter the wine was still very nice and fragrant, but now had some toasty notes along with some leather.

1996 Shafer Hillside Select - drank 1½ hours after decanting. Pretty open and fragrant, smoky, with some green pepper, grilled meats, graphite, and also sweet fruit. Soft tannins. Really nice after 2 hours in the decanter, with a little savory minerals, and very complex now. Really opened up after 2½ hours in the decanter and much more oaky.

JM Boillot

Lunch at Chiu Tang.

2014 Jean-Marc Boillot Puligny-Montrachet - riper than expected, more tropical and fruity with pineapple notes.

Full post on lunch is here.

Sake and Burg

Dinner at Sushi Mamoru.

Bijofu Junmai Daiginjo Hina (美丈夫 純米大吟醸 鄙), May 2022 - lots of banana on the nose. Very soft on the palate but after swirling it around the tongue, this ended up with a long and spicy finish.

1996 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet - decanted some 2 hours and 15 minutes after opening, and served 15 minutes after decanting. Lots of marmalade on the nose, with some salty lemon.

Bijofu Yumebakari Time (美丈夫 純米大吟醸 夢許 Time), October 2018 - very, very soft and elegant on the palate. Not as fresh and light as when it was first released, but still very lovely.

Full post on dinner is here.

White wines for Chinese

Dinner at Wing.

2002 Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill - I didn't get much from the nose, which was disappointing, but this had a beautiful palate. Still young and vibrant, not too oxidized given the age, and well-integrated on the palate.

Henri Giraud Fût de Chêne MV10, en magnum, dégorgée le 18 novembre 2016 - nose was really open, with a very nice mousse. Very fresh and lively. Drinking so well.

2011 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Aligoté - really, really big nose of toast. A bit heavy and pungent.

2019 De Montille Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - nice and toasty nose, very classic, very buttery and creamy.

2019 Penfolds Yattarna - even bigger toasty nose, much more intense. A little bit of ripeness and buttery on the palate, but the acidity was still here. Still young.

Full post on dinner is here.

Krug and de Montille

Dinner at Metropol Restaurant.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 170ème Édition, ID 221035 - nice and fresh, initially some toasty notes but not too heavy. After 10 minutes this got a lot more of the toasty, brioche notes along with nutty notes. Still very young and vibrant.

2012 Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret - nice and toasty, with some lemon, a little buttery, and also later some fruity and tropical citrus notes.

2005 Blankiet Vineyards Rive Droite - served more than 1 hour after decanting. Very ripe fruit here, with mint and eucalyptus, and a little earthy.

Full post on dinner is here.

Italian and French

Dinner at Estro.

2019 J.M. Boillot Puligny-Montrachet - a little toasty, flinty, pretty decent with good acidity and not too ripe. Later on this turned buttery.

2007 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche de Falleto Riserva - triple-decanted, with 1 hour and 15 minutes in first decanter, followed by another 45 minutes in the second decanter prior to serving. Fragrant with some stewed prunes and dried herbs. Still tannic. Later on minty notes showed up.

1998 Antinori Solaia - served after just under 1½ hours in decanter. Initially this was a little dusty but still got enough red fruits underneath. After the dustiness cleared up this showed smoke and pencil lead, and was kinda sweet on the palate. Drinking very well right now.

1998 Latour - triple-decanted, with 40 minutes in the first decanter and 2 hours in the second decanter. Smoky and minty, this was classic Pauillac.

Full post on dinner is here.

Kilikanoon and whites

Dinner at Genuine Lamma Hilton.

Dassai 23 (獺祭 純米大吟醸 磨き二割三分), R2BY - very rounded on the palate, nice nose of fermented rice.

2005 Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatieres - definitely over-oxidized but still drinkable. Flinty and toasty.

Serveaux Fils Pur Meunier - full-bodied with a good palate. High acidity but still grippy on the palate.

Full post on lunch is here.

Drinking at home.

2004 Kilikanoon Shiraz Green's Vineyard - drank 45 minutes after decanting. Really fragrant and open nose, minty, plenty of cedar, nice and sweet but not quite jammy. Some 30 minutes later this was really beautiful and sexy. Wow! Some coffee emerged a few minutes later. Still got good concentration after more than 3 hours in decanter. Very smooth but not light-bodied, and definitely sweet on the palate. Great wine.

My first online tasting

Drinking at home, with friends online.

Clandestin Les Semblables - this was OK, with some peaches, a little flinty and mineral on the palate. Easy to drink.

2019 Albert Joly Puligny-Montrachet Les Charmes - toasty nose, ripe and buttery on the palate. Nice depth on the palate with some bitterness later.

2019 Albert Joly Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblots - much more steely and mineral compared to the Charmes, but also pretty ripe on the palate.

2013 François Berteau Chambolle-Musigny - not too much fruit, kinda old style with more leather, a hint of floral notes. Leaner on the palate.

2019 Benoit Chevallier Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Boudots - preserved with Coravin starting Feb 27. Very ripe and sweet, some coconut, black cherries, young and punchy fruit, more oak.