MNSC - Caprice

MNSC dinner at Caprice, hosted by me.

1992 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Française, bouteille N°626 – definitely showing its age, with marmalade on the nose, almost a little oily. The body was fine but not too powerful, which fades quickly to a soft finish that seemed to last for a while. The nose was almost a little like Japanese umeshu.

Flight 1: opened 1 hour before serving.

1986 Lafite-Rothschild – stoppered right after opening and served without decanting. A bit more ripe and advanced, with clear oxidation. Higher acidity on the palate. Certainly savory on the nose. This bottle that I originally took from dad’s office – which did not have a wine fridge - more than 25 years ago is clearly not showing at its best. 92 points.

1986 Mouton-Rothschild – served without decanting. This was very elegant, smoky, woodsy, and exhibiting a classic nose for the region. Also green capsicum. Two hours after opening this was showing some lovely sweet fruit along with coffee. 95 points.

Flight 2: opened about 2 hours before serving without decanting.

1996 Colgin Herb Lamb Vineyard – this was really ripe and sweet, with a hint of metallic nose along with eucalyptus. I love it. My kind of shit. 97 points.

1996 Masseto – this was also ripe and sweet, but a bit more smoky. So lovely now and drinking so well. 96 points.

Flight 3: I had been wanting to do this pairing since 2016, when Foursheets found the bottle of "Château Le Pin" in her neighborhood Wellcome supermarket. Foursheets says it cost around HKD 70, but I thought it would be hilarious to serve it in a blind tasting together with the "real" Le Pin. You should have heard some of the guesses from the boys about what they thought this was...

2014 Le Pin – served without decanting 2 hours 45 minutes after opening. This was showing a beautiful nose, so ripe and sweet but not quite to the level of a Californian. Smoky, leathery, minty, and fragrant eucalyptus. A little young, perhaps. 94 points.

2014 Château Le Pin – served without decanting 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. This was definitely more lean and rustic. Not very interesting and clearly a couple of steps down. 88 points.

2024 Clos Mao Light (理光) – decanted for more than 30 minutes before serving. Very big and toasty popcorn nose, reductive, flinty, with lovely lemon notes. Nice and round on the palate. 96 points.

2024 Michel Naddef Marsannay Chardonnay – also showing big, toasty nose. Flinty, lean, and slightly reductive. 95 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

Fortia and Thalabert

Drinks at a friend's home.

2015 Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert - meaty and leather nose, and the acidity was higher than expected.

2019 Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino - pretty fragrant nose with some woodsy notes. Pretty easy to drink.

2003 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Baron - started drinking after 1 hour in the decanter. Pretty fragrant with eucalyptus notes, with a surprise later on in the form of black olives.

Bought from Farr Vintners for GBP 13.

Anything but SQN

Dinner at a friend's home with Julia and Nik Krankl as guests of honor. Theme was "Anything but Sine Qua Non (and Fingers Crossed)". Magnums were requested.

2018 Robert Faivre L'Experte - light on the palate, acidity level was OK.

2023 Agnès Paquet Chassagne-Montrachet Les Battaudes - nose was very oak-oaked with tons of vanilla.

1966 Gruaud-Larose, en double magnum - definitely got that sweet grass on the nose, with smoke and leather, too. So classic.

1994 L'Evangile, en magnum - this had a much bigger nose than the '66 Gruaud-Larose, and it was nice and smoky, with pepper and green capsicum.

2018 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett, from double magnum - there was a nice bit of sweetness on the palate balanced by the acidity. Huge nose of petrol and white flowers. So nice.

2002 Torbreck RunRig, from magnum - this was showing so beautifully, with lots of coconut butter, leather, and smoke on the nose.

1983 Auguste Clape Cornas, en magnum - tasted right after opening and decanting. Toasty nose with leather. Very smooth on the palate now, but a little less lively than expected. Not so much juicy fruit.

1995 Lafleur-Petrus, en magnum - nice and smoky on the nose, with more sweet fruit. A bit savory on the palate.

2006 Torbreck The Laird - tasted a couple of hours after opening. Very ripe and jammy on the nose, really big and so sweet on the palate. Just an amazing fruit bomb that has aged for 20 years. So nice.

1996 Cos d'Estournel, en magnum - still got the sweet fruit on the nose, as well as smoke and fragrant woodsy notes.

2006 Napa Valley Reserve, from magnum - very fragrant on the nose, without too much vanilla, but still got the lovely oak. Still so tannic after almost 20 years.

2006 Dal Forno Amarone della Valpolicella, from double magnum - this was double-decanted at 3pm yesterday... and showing lots of coconut and plenty of ripe fruit. This was such a big wine.

2014 FX Pichler Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Kellerberg, from magnum - definitely got the white flowers and polyurethane, and also some flint.

2010 Alain Voge Cornas, en magnum - obviously fresher than the '83 Clape.

2011 Antinori Tignanello, from magnum - this was OK la...

2015 Eisele Vineyard Syrah - still really young after 10 years, a bit sharp and tannic.

Five Shooters and more

Dinner at Man Ho.

2006 Jean-François Ganevat Les Vignes de Mon Père, en magnum - drank about 40 minutes after decanting. What a beautiful nose, with lots of toast and floral notes. The acidity was still crisp. Such an amazing wine!

1978 Antinori Solaia - drank about 40 minutes after decanting. Very big nose with lots of smoke, grilled meats, leather, and maybe a hint of green capsicum. Showed some sweetness on the nose after 1½ hours.

2010 Sine Qua Non Five Shooter Grenache, from magnum - decanted 50 minutes after opening, and started drinking more than 1½ hours after decanting. Initially the nose was a bit muted, but still got some sugary ripeness. This opened up and was soooo sweet and ripe on the palate.

2010 Sine Qua Non Five Shooter Syrah, from magnum - decanted 50 minutes after opening, and started drinking more than 1½ hours after decanting. Of course this was ripe and sweet as we would expect it to be. Some of the tannins have been shed after 15 years, so this was tasting fairly smooth on the palate, but clearly showing the concentration of the syrah and obviously a bigger wine compared to the grenache. Beautiful.

Full post on dinner is here.

Col d'Orcia and Arietta

Dinner at Deng G.

2017 Col d'Orcia Riserva Poggio al Vento - this was very fragrant with good amount of sweet fruit. About 1½ hours later we also had nice, woodsy notes.

2001 Arietta H-Block Hudson Vineyards - started drinking after 1 hour and 15 minutes in the decanter. This was really sweet and very ripe, almost jammy. Smoky and also nice, woodsy notes.

Bought from the winery for USD 75 plus tax.

Full post on dinner is here.

Gruaud Larose and Philip

Dinner at a friend's home.

2022 Mazzei Philip - opened the previous evening and vacuum pumped. Nose was a little muted and initially served a little too cold. As it opened up the nose was showing fruity and minty notes, almost sweet like candy.

2017 Gruaud Larose - started drinking 1 hour after opening. Ripe fruit on the nose, but a little metallic. Opened up a little more later and became more fragrant.

2007 Lodovico

Dinner at home in Taipei.

2007 Biserno Lodovico - started drinking 15 minutes after decanting. Nose of black fruits, a little bit of leather, and a hint of sharp alcohol. After 1½ hours with the third pour this was really sweet on the palate.

Bought from Mayfair for HKD 1,980.

Wines with UNO

Drinking at a friend's home.

2015 Maison Leroy Bourgogne - tasted a couple of hours after aerating. Nice and fruity, jammy, and a little plummy.

2005 Kongsgaard Syrah - drank almost 2½ hours after opening. Very ripe, sweet, and jammy on the nose. Lovely nose of leather and mint. Sooooo fragrant. Fantastic!

Bought from the winery for USD 150 plus tax.

1999 Avignonesi Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice - this was really thick and viscous, like pouring syrup into a glass. Nose showing smoky, nutty, honey, and medjool dates. Lovely.

2019 Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes - a little pungent on the nose, with some exotic spices.

Cabs and Tuscany

Dinner at Carna.

2006 Casanova di Neri Cerratalto - double-decanted at home. Very big and oaky nose, with tons of sweet fruit along with sweet vanilla. Very concentrated on the palate, and a really lovely wine in the prime of its drinking window.

1985 Antinori Solaia - decanted an hour after opening and started drinking after 1½ hours in the decanter. A little too soft by now, although 20 minutes later this was more fragrant with some woodsy notes. Very soft and supple on the palate. Probaby should have started drinking earlier as the wine may have had too much aeration.

1994 Haut-Brion - decanted an hour after opening and started drinking after 2 hours in the decanter. Big nose of smoke and green pepper, tobacco, and a bit earthy. Really fragrant after about 2½ in the decanter. Still very much alive and going strong.

Full post on dinner is here.