2020 Calon Ségur

Dinner at Ginza in Taipei.

2020 Calon Ségur - started drinking 40 minutes after opening. Smoky, minty, very classic claret. Nice and lively fruit as the wine is still young.

Bought from Altaya for EUR 91.

90 Montrose and friends

Dinner at Flower Drum.

2020 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc - nose of green apple and muscat. Drinking well with a little ripeness to balance the acidity.

Bought from Altaya for EUR 112.

1981 Guigal La Landonne - all sediment poured into decanter. Started drinking around 40 minutes after decanting. Kinda meh. With the char siu the after taste was pretty metallic and a little funky. Got better after 1 hour in the decanter, and now I could smell the acidity, and the acidity also started to show on the palate. Still got sweet fruits like plum on the nose. After 1½ hours the nose was now better than the palate. Just kinda disappointing.

Bought from Sotheby's for GBP 195.

1990 Montrose - all sediment poured into decanter. A little bretty just after decanting. Started drinking about 1 hour and 45 minutes after decanting. Very lively. Around the 2-hour mark the nose was very smoky, showing lots of tobacco, leather, mineral and savory notes. Really nice and fragrant. Maybe not performing as a 100-point wine tonight but very delicious nonetheless.

Full post on dinner is here.

89 Cos

Drinking at home.

1989 Cos d'Estournel - started drinking 30 minutes after decanting. Very silky smooth on the palate. Smoky nose with some cassis, a bit of leather, some grilled meats, a little wood, and a really nice fragrance. Still got the silky tannins on the finish. A little sharp on the nose after 1 hour, but w hours after decanting this was more elegant and rounded on the nose. Started to get minty some 2½ hours after decanting, with a slight hint of green capsicums. After 3½ hours we've got some fragrant, toasty coffee coming out. Drinking so well right now.

Bought from HK Wine Vault for HKD 2,000.

2020 Calon-Ségur

Drinking at home.

2020 Calon Ségur - first taste 20 minutes after decanting. Nice and woodsy on the nose, with lots of vanilla, sweet black cherries, smoke, and pencil lead. Definitely sweet on the palate. After more than an hour in the decanter, the nose was showing a hint of green, but still got the pencil lead, and a bit of grilled meats. More than 1½ hours in, we got a little mint on the nose. There was a bit more acidity on the palate, and tannins got more grippy. Two hours after decanting, this was really fragrant and woodsy.

Bought from Altaya for EUR 91.

86 Cos and Chavost

Dinner at Bâtard.

Chavost Eurêka, dégorgée en Janvier 2024 - nose was yeasty and a little flinty. There was some toast on the nose which came out with some aeration, and eventually that floral fragrance emerged. The palate was a little bitter, and the finish is still pretty short.

1986 Cos d'Estournel - served right after decanting and showed notes of sweet grass and smoke, and this is classic claret with a mature elegance. Opened up beautifully less than 30 minutes later to show plenty of cedar and woodsy notes. Drinking very well.

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.

2012 Lilian Ladouys

Lunar New Year's Day dinner at home in Taipei.

2012 Lilian Ladouys - nose of black fruits, cassis, definitely some oak, and a little leather. Good acidity balance.

Dewazakura Eto-Bottle Junmai Daiginjo Genshu, 2024 (出羽桜　干支ボトル  純米大吟醸 原酒 2024) - seimaibuai of 50%. Rounded on the palate but the finish was a little sharper. Nose was rather subdued but the aromatics developed whle in the mouth.

Bollinger and Pagodes

Dinner at Le Train Bleu in Paris.

Bollinger Special Cuvée - an easy drinking wine. There's acidity here but the palate is definitely more on the sweet side.

2020 Pagodes de Cos - ripe and jammy cassis, definitely pretty oaky with that vanilla, some smoky on the nose, too. I could feel the tannins a little but the wine was already soft enough to be drinkable. Soooo minty and fragrant on the nose, this was a vibrant wine and drinking pretty well.

Full post on dinner is here.

Moët and Bordeaux

Pop-up dinner in Kyoto.

2013 Moët et Chandon Grand Vintage, dégorgée en mai 2021 - OK laaaa.

2019 Le Marquis de Calon Ségur - very ripe, very fruity, lots of jammy fruit, very oaky with notes of dried herbs and forest. Some tannins here.

2011 Réserve de la Comtesse - more tannins here, leaner, and a bit more smoky.

Full post on dinner is here.

French at the Chairman

Dinner at The Chairman.

Krug Grande Cuvée, fifth generation label, (163ème Édition), ID 314050 - very nice and showing that it has mellowed with some age. Good and toasty nose.

1990 Tertre Roteboeuf - back in the bottle after decanting for 30 minutes, and drank about 1½ hours after decanting. Very minty, smoky, very soft on the palate and almost a little flat. Definitely on the downhill slide.

2017 Justin Girardin Corton-Charlemagne - fragrant and floral nose. Kinda soft on the palate.

1982 Talbot - drank about 1½ hours after decanting. Nose was very Saint-Julien, a little smoky, a little savory now, slightly grassy, almost a hint of brett.

1989 Lynch-Bages - drank about 1½ hours after decanting. Smoky, nose definitely very Pauillac, with grilled meats but still got the fruit underneath. Drinking pretty nicely.

2016 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - a little flint on the nose, oily on the palate, still got the acidity.

2015 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Auslese, from half-bottle - so floral with orange blossom, honey, and a little acetone. More acidity on the palate followed by a little sweetness and roundness.

Full post on dinner is here.

Dame de Montrose

Drinking during hotel quarantine in Hong Kong.

2019 Le Petit Marand eXtra Ordinaire Chardonnay - very ripe and rounded on the palate, but the acidity was still there.

2014 La Dame de Montrose - drank 1 hour after opening. Smoke and grilled meats on the nose. Classic.

Full post on the day is here.

Bordeaux and Dom

Dinner at Roganic.

2003 Dom Pérignon Plénitude 2 - very toasty but also very floral and fragrant. Really opened up an hour after popping.

2010 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, en magnum - some 2 hours after opening, starting to open up and get buttery and toasty. A little ripe on the palate but still got the acidity. Drinking really well just around 3 hours after opening.

1986 Lafleur - decanted and served 2 hours and 45 minutes after opening. Smoky nose, almost pencil lead, woodsy and fragrant. Drinking wonderfully.

2010 Ausone - decanted for 1 hour and served after another 2 hours in bottle. Big, big nose with lots of mint and smoke, with some ripeness underneath. Alcoholic on the nose. Showing some coconut butter some 5 hours after opening.

2000 Lafon-Rochet - popped and poured. Very fragrant nose with cedar, woodsy notes, smoky, but still have some fruit underneath it all. Pretty nice.

Full post on dinner is here.

Bordeaux and premoxed Burgs

Dinner at Caprice.

2011 Egly-Ouriet, dégorgée en juillet 2020 - beautiful wine, nicely balanced, and a little toasty on the nose.

2005 Vincent Girardin Bâtard-Montrachet - premoxed and undrinkable.

1992 Kistler Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard - really lovely and toasty nose, almost coffee-like, with aged tangerine, sweet vanilla, and a hint of cloves on the nose.  Good acidity here and not overripe or premoxed at all.

2018 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru Clos de la Mouchère - surprisingly with tropical stone fruits on top of toasty notes.  Pretty alcoholic, with good acidity.

2001 Cos d'Estournel - decanted for 1 hour prior to serving.  Minty, smoky, ripe fruit, with some coconut.

1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou - opened not long before serving.  Much more savory, with sweet grass notes typical of a St. Julien.  Very smooth by now.

2010 Lucien Le Moine Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - initially slightly corked, with grassy and vegetal notes.  Improved 2 hours later, with some ripeness along with acidity on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Bordeaux and sake

Dinner at Wa San Mi.

2011 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - definitely some green apple, toast, a little flint.  Some ripeness on the palate but the acidity was still here.

2000 La Chapelle de la Mission - still a little pungent and farmy at the open, a little bit of fruit showing. Served 1½ hours after double-decanting.  Pretty fragrant and open.  Half an hour later the wine was more smoky, and showed wonderful integration of the oak.

Akabu F - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 60%.  Very easy to drink, with banana, sweet fermented rice notes.  A little dry mid palate.