2025 Murgo

Dinner at Ninetta.

2025 Murgo Etna Bianco - really flinty on the nose, with lots of peaches along with vanilla oak. Acidity on the palate was quite high for the first sip, which was what I wanted out of this wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

SQN and Pietradolce

Dinner at Estro.

2023 Pietradolce Archineri - the nose was very fragrant and tropical, showing stone fruits along with floral and flinty notes. The crisp acidity shone through.

2016 Sine Qua Non Deux Grenouilles - 36% roussanne, 29% chardonnay, 23% viognier, 9% petit manseng, 3% marsanne. Started drinking around 15 minutes after opening. Nose of apricot, a hint of honey, definitely very ripe, oxidized, and alcoholic. Showing notes like Chinese licorice, and almost reminds me of Chartreuse.

Bought from the winery for USD 137.

Full post on dinner is here.

Ganevat, Rostaing and more

Dinner at Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic.

Billecart Salmon Pic, MyOrigin 191220 - we were told the base vintage was 2020 but the website says 2019... This has a lovely fragrance. Good balance on the palate, very easy to drink, but by no means bland or light. Finish was nice and long.

2023 François Cotat Sancerre Monts Damnés - this was soooo fresh, full of green apples and a little bit of vanilla from oak. Sweet and fragrant on the nose. Lovely wine.

Hanatomoe Extended Aging Koshu (花巴 本醸造 長期熟成古酒), 1988, released 2024 - seimaibuai of 70%. This was very fragrant, very savory, with beautiful notes of soy sauce, plus a little nuttiness thanks to oxidation. Absolutely perfect pairing with the mushroom.

2022 Cos Zibbibo in Pithos - pretty fragrant with some interesting spices on the nose. Definitely a little oxidized but not too bad.

2016 Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Ampodium - this was pretty young and soooo fragrant, so floral with a hint of violet, and plenty of cedar. So full of life at this stage, and I would love to revisit in another 5 or 10 years.

Jean-François Ganevat Vieux Macvin du Jura - apparently aged for 8 years. This smelled not like wine but Chinese white tea, with a slight hint of raisins. Very fragrant in the mouth, with a light sweetness, some acidity, and a nice and herbal finish that just lingered on. Such a beautiful wine!

Full post on dinner is here.

Krug, Trimbach and more

Dinner at VEA for the VEA x Gaggan collaboration.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 172ème Édition, ID 123005 - initially this was served too cold, but after warming up a little using my hands, the nose opened up to show the classic toasty brioche notes that I love so much from Grande Cuvée. The acidity was fairly high, and we had a little tartness and tannins on the finish.

2020 Trimbach Riesling Réserve - very big nose of petrol, much more powerful than "white truffle", although it almost seemed like there was a little sugar on the nose, too. Good, lean acidity as expected. Reliable as always.

2022 Marco de Bartoli Pietranera - the nose was very aromatic and floral, with a little flint and a bit metallic like pears such as La France. This was sooo fragrant with fruity sweetness.

2020 Mark Haisma Saint-Romain Blanc - this was buttery on the nose, but also showing flinty notes. On the palate this was more dry and lean than I had expected, which was nice.

2020 Rolet L'Étoile En Novalet - I had expected this to be oxidized and caramelized, and we've certainly got vanilla, too, along with some flint. The palate was a little bit sweet, although the acidity was still prominent for a good balance.

2019 Philippe Jouan Coteaux Bourguignons Cuvée Thomas - earthy, eucalyptus, leather, and animal notes on the nose. Drinking pretty nicely.

2019 Decugnano dei Barbi Pourriture Noble Muffa Nobile d'Umbria, from half bottle - some acetone and honeydew melon on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wine pairing at Jungsik

Dinner at Jungsik in Seoul.

Le Brun de Neuville Double Autolyse, dégorgée en Février 2021 - good complexity here.

Guccione 1920 - a blend of 2019 and 2020. Nose was pretty fragrant with notes of apricot and peach, as well as honey. Very ripe on the nose and kinda ripe on the palate, too.

2019 Els Jelipins Vi de Taula Rosat - a little sulfuric on the nose. Savory, toasty, and definitely bongwater.

2019 Serene Chardonnay Evenstad Reserve - this was really oaky and buttery, with vanilla and flinty notes.

2016 Luis Cañas Gran Reserva - nose came with lots of vanilla and coconut butter, really sweet fruit.

Full post on dinner is here.

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.

L'If and more

Dinner at Spaghetti House.

Herbert Beaufort Carte d'Or Tradition - a bit yeasty, ripe on the palate.

2014 L'If - served 30 minutes after opening. Fragrant nose of dried herbs and sweet vanilla.

2015 NUN Passito di Pantelleria - lots of orange blossom, eucalyptus, honey, and grape jelly.

Full post on dinner is here.

Sul Vulcano Bianco

Drinking at home.

2019 Donnafugata Sul Vulcano Bianco - nose was pretty floral and perfumed, with some flint and mineral. Some ripeness here but still got good acidity on the palate. Later on the nose became ripe and alcoholic.

Simple wines for spicy food

Dinner at Deng G in Wanchai.

Frederic Savart L'Ouverture, dégorgée en mars 2021 - yeasty nose, with bigger mineral nose. Good depth on the palate.

2019 Occhipinti SP68 Rosso - simple and one dimensional at first, opened up more about an hour later, showing more woodsy notes.

2015 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Blanc - flinty, a little tropical stone fruit.

Full post on dinner is here.

Cornelissen Munjebel VA

Drinking at home.

2016 Frank Cornelissen Munjebel VA - kinda sharp on the nose, a little pungent and sulfuric. Still grippy on the palate thanks to the tannins, kinda savory and mineral, maybe thanks to the volcanic soil? Lots of sous bois and forest in the nose, very ripe, like those thick skins of Kyoho grapes with the plastic notes.

2019 Susucaru Rosato

Drinking at home.

2019 Frank Cornelissen Susucaru Rosato - definitely a little pungent, almost sulfur-like, some flint, with red currants. Acidity was high and it was a little lean on the palate, with a slight grippy finish. Second pour was more fragrant.

Umeshu and more

Dinner at Tatler Dining Kitchen for the UZA by Nikushou pop-up.

Homamade umeshu highball - made with Nikushou's house umeshu.  Rich and intense plum flavors.

2018 Planeta Carricante Eruzione 1614 - a little ripeness on the palate, and flinty.

Tsubo Hassen Junmai Daiginjo (壷八仙  純米大吟醸) - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 50%.  HUGE nose of bananas, sweet and soft on the palate.

2017 Kracher Beerenauslese Cuvée - not as sweet as expected, kinda mild. Nose of pollen.

Takashimizu Kaonjukusei Gedatsushu Junmai Ginjo (高清水  加温熟成解脱酒) - seimaibuai of 50%. Sake meter value of -30. Oxidized nose but not over the line. Lighter on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.