Champagne and syrah

Dinner at Peking Hotpot.

2015 Louis Roederer Cristal - nice acidity on the palate. Easy to drink, but not a whole lot of character at this stage.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 161ème Édition, en magnum, ID 113017 - beautifully aged, with classic toasty nose, good depth on palate with lemon and marmalade.

2005 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard - started drinking about 1 hour and 45 minutes after decanting. The nose was kinda muted now compared to what I know this wine could be, but still showing some fragrant, woodsy notes with good concentration. Nice but not explosive.

Bought from the winery for USD 60 plus tax.

Full post on dinner is here.

2003 Pax

Drinking at home.

2003 Pax Syrah Walker Vine Hill Vineyard - very fragrant nose of dried herbs, really sweet on the nose, almost like blueberry jam. Good acidity mid-palate and on the finish. After half an hour this was showing nice woodsy notes, and was really sweet on the palate.

Bought from the winery for USD 50 plus tax.

George and Super Pink

Drinking at my cousin's place.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Super Pink - definitely flinty, and we've got some savory minerals on the palate. Nice red fruits.

2008 George Pinot Noir Leras Vineyard - really sweet on the nose with red cherries, and definitely got that vanilla oak. Showed some leather notes later, and really fragrant with the woodsy notes.

Bought from Mayfair for HKD 644.

2003 Pax Kobler

Drinking at home.

2003 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard - started drinking 45 minutes after decanting. Initially the nose was a little chalky. Really big nose with the second pour, very jammy with lots of exotic spices and dried herbs. Still very rich and concentrated after more than 20 years, with mint and eucalyptus on the nose. After more than 2 hours in the decanter, this also showed some sandalwood notes.

Bought from the winery for USD 60 plus tax.

2004 Pax

Drinking at home.

2004 Pax Syrah Walker Vine Hill Vineyard - double-decanted and stoppered for almost 4 hours before serving. The wine was too warm when initially served, resulting in it being hot and alcoholic on the palate. Still very sweet and fruity, with really nice notes of a blueberry jam along with dried herbs. Drinking nicely.

Bought from the winery for USD 50 plus tax.

2008 Sonoma Coma

Drinking at home.

2008 George Sonoma Coma - served after decanting. Nose of ripe black blums with some nice spices along with leather for a really fragrant nose. Good level of acidity on the palate. Almost 2 hours in there was some cotton candy and almost a little vanilla on the nose.

Bought from Mayfair for HKD 454.

2004 Williams Selyem

Drinking at home.

2004 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - started drinking 30 minutes after decanting. Reasonably fragrant and open nose, with stewed black fruits, a little juicy blackcurrant, a little leather and potpourri. Acidity was prominent on the palate but the wine is smooth and silky. About an hour in the wine started to show sweet vanilla and black cherries. A third pour 1½ hours in was really fresh and lively, showing fruity and woodsy notes. Last pour was 1 hour and 45 minutes after decanting and there were notes of mint and eucalyptus. Drinking well.

2005 Pax Kobler

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard - started drinking 15 minutes after decanting. The nose was very ripe and sweet at first, almost jammy, and kinda sharp and alcoholic on the nose. Initially there was almost a faint dusty nose. The first sip was pretty dry on the palate, while the very fragrant nose showed cedar and leather notes. Second pour 45 minutes after decanting and the wine was really fragrant now, showing an even bigger woodsy nose with leather and meaty undertones. More sweet fruit on the nose about 1½ hours, and the tannins were still very much here. About 2½ hours after decanting the acidity was relatively high on the palate, but this new pour saw the wine still showing very nicely, still incredibly fragrant with woodsy notes and lots of potpourri, still meaty, and definitely more Rhône-like than Californian. Last pour not from the decanter but from the bottle 3 hours after opening, and the nose was still very jammy. Fantastic!

Bought from the winery for USD 60 plus tax.

2009 George Leras

Drinking at home.

2009 George Pinot Noir Leras Family Vineyard - the nose was fragrant with notes of juicy black plums, a little eucalyptus, very sweet and kinda jammy at first. The wine clearly had a little age on it, showing a little maturity and the complexity that comes with it, along with being very smooth and silky on the palate. This was really, really beautiful on the nose, with some leather and woodsy notes like sandalwood with more aeration, as well as black cherries.

Bought from Mayfair for HKD 546.

Hokkaido Kerner and more

Dinner at Test Kitchen.

Antoine Bouvet Les Coutures, vendage 2017, dégorgée le 31 Janvier 2022 - nice with decent acidity, big and yeasty on the palate, with a long and very dry finish.

2018 Nicolas Réau Victoire - very big and toasty nose, flinty, but very ripe on the palate. Still had the acidity for balance.

Bought from Winetastic for HKD 351.

2004 Pax Syrah Lauterbach Hill - removed the cork 50 minutes after double-decanting, and drank another 50 minutes later. The nose was really fragrant, with lovely spices but not quite floral. There was a little leather with plenty of sweet fruit on the nose, although not quite sweet to the level of being jammy.

2020 de Montille and Hokkaido Kerner - some toast on the nose, but otherwise very flat and boring.

2020 10R Stella Maris Kerner - so much more fragrant on the nose, very lychee, like lolly water. Lots of ripeness on the palate, but also surprisingly lots of toast on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

2002 Williams Selyem

Drinking at home.

2002 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Flax Vineyard - drank 30 minutes after decanting. Nose was really jammy and sweet, like strawberry jam. Really fragrant, with a hint of leather, along with eucalyptus and also a little floral notes. Drinking so well now.

Williams Selyem Zinfandel

Drinking at home.

2004 Williams Selyem Zinfandel Feeney Vineyard - decanted 30 minutes after opening. Showing black plums on the nose, stewed prunes on the palate with the high acidity. After 1 hour in the decanter this was pretty fragrant. Smooth on the palate but still got the concentration. Ripe and jammy black fruits on the nose, with fragrant vanilla notes. Drinking reasonably nicely.

2008 Sonoma Coma

Drinking at home.

2008 George Sonoma Coma - decanted and drank immediately. Initially the nose was kinda jammy, although clearly the wine has been aged so this wasn't a big punch in the face with the fruit. Nose was kinda like cherry-flavored cough syrup, with black cherries and blueberries. About 50 minutes in the nose was more open and fragrant, with more spices, a little potpourri. Really sweet on the palate.

1997 Kistler

Drinking at home.

1997 Kistler Chardonnay Dutton Ranch - definitely oxidized now. Ripe and fragrant on the nose, very buttery, toasty. Honestly this wine was very alluring just on the nose and on the palate. However, the wine was also halfway between being too ripe while still retaining a hint of acidity. There was a slight bitterness mid-palate, and much later on with a couple of hours of aeration there were some coffee notes which emerged.

Pax and Calcogno

Dinner at Seventh Son.

2003 Pax Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch - served right after decanting. Floral, smoky, nice and fruity, even two hours later.

2020 Calcogno Ginestra - high acidity on the palate. Flinty and oaky on the nose, and not bad after it opened up.

Full post on dinner is here.

2003 Pax Castelli-Knight

Drinking at home.

2003 Pax Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch - drank after 2½ hours in decanter. Still very fruity with cassis, blueberries, and cedar notes. Beautifully fragrant with eucalyptus and some stewed prunes. Acidity was on the high side and then showing smoky and leather notes. Aerated for too long and needs to be drunk with less time in decanter.

03 Pax Castelli-Knight

Drinking at home while suffering from Covid.

2003 Pax Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch - nose of sweet, ripe fruit, and lovely woodsy notes.

Ruinart and Kistler

Dinner at Popinjays.

Ruinart Brut - more rounded and viscous than expected. Seemed more moussy than usual.

2005 Kistler Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard - served 45 minutes after decanting. A little stinky and dusty at first. Still got lots of ripe fruit, but palate completely went off and tasted like soap after 1 hour and 40 minutes later.

2008 George Hansen

Dinner at Peking Garden.

2008 George Pinot Noir Hansen Vineyards, from magnum #9/48 - still got the fruit, a little savory on the palate now, almost like soy sauce. Ripe and rounded, nice and complex. Very fragrant on the nose with leather notes. Drinking pretty well.

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.