1990s party

Dinner at SẾP.

1990 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - nice and toasty on the nose, with a bit of straw and some Chinese licorice, but also a hint of wet cardboard, perhaps. Good acidity on the palate.

1990 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile - the nose was really nice, showing classic notes of petrol / truffle and white flowers. Still pretty fresh, and there was good acidity on the palate with just a tad of ripeness. Even after 2 hours this was still really good.

1990 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot - definitely showing nose of leather and almost a little bit of piquillo peppers. Light color and lighter on the palate.

1990 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvée C - CORKED, but still nice and open, with leather notes and a very big, farmy finish.

1990 Hubert de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens - a bit more concentration here, with a lovely nose of eucalyptus along with smoky, grilled meats.

1990 Georges Mugneret Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots - this was fairly elegant, with a fragrant nose of leather. Very nice.

1990 Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist - peaty and smoky on the nose, but actually there was lovely caramel underneath the hospital disinfectant.

1990 Beaucastel - lovely fragrance of leather with a hint of farmyard on the finish. Surprisingly this was sweet on the palate.

1998 L'Evangile - decanted more than 2 hours prior to drinking. A lovely Bordeaux, with a very fragrant nose showing cedar and smoke.

1990 Climens - nose of honey, marmalade, honeydew, and also nutty. Wonderfully sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Laherte and Kongsgaard

Dinner at Sun Hon Kee.

Laherte Rosé de Meunier, dégorgée en Mars 2023 - lively, fresh, with plenty of juicy red fruits.

2005 Konsgaard Syrah - decanted 15 minutes after opening, and started drinking 45 minutes after opening. This was so fragrant with wonderful woodsy notes, along with eucalyptus. Smooth on the palate, with sweet and ripe fruit. About 2 hours after opening the wine started to show some floral, violet notes. Simply lovely.

Bought from the winery for USD 150.

Johnny Walker Red Label, from 4.5 liter bottle - this had a fragrant nose with nice caramel notes. I don't know how old this bottle is, but it's definitely got a few decades on it.

Full post on dinner is here.

2005 Ponsot and Pax

Lunch at a friend's home.

2005 Ponsot Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes - the nose was so fragrant, so fruity and juicy, and so lovely. With notes of leather, too. While the nose was extremely alluring, the palate unfortunately dropped off fairly quickly.

1967 Gordon and McPhail Connoisseurs Choice Glenugie, bottled in 1995 - the nose was on the sweet and fruity side, reasonably elegant.

Bowmore 21 Years, Distilled in 1974 - this was definitely more peaty and the alcohol really was more sharp.

Suntory President's Choice - back to sweetness, more caramel on the nose.

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - an immediate hit of the jammy nose while decanting. The nose was so sweet, very fragrant, with leather and woodsy notes, and so floral that was almost violet. The profile was definitely more Rhône and Côte-Rôtie thanks to the 3% viognier that was co-fermented. The nose was just beautiful after 30 minutes, with eucalyptus now coming out. Really lovely and floral on the palate now, too.

Bought from the winery for USD 90 plus tax.

Landonne and oxidized white Burg

Dinner at Jardin de Jade.

2005 Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne - totally oxidized.  Decided not to drink this.

2010 Lucien Le Moine Corton Blanc - also somewhat oxidized but still drinkable.  First whiff also pretty caramelized, with mamalade notes.  Still got the acidity but definitely very sweet on the palate.

1992 Guigal La Landonne - lovely nose with leather and smoky notes, a little floral, almost soapy, certainly fragrant.  Showed graphite notes later.

Drinks at House Welley.

The Whisky Agency 34 Years - distilled at Tomatin Distillery in 1976 and bottled in 2011.  Nose was floral and fruity for sure, with sweet vanilla notes later.  Seemed stronger than the 51% alcohol indicated.

Shinanoya Iskandar 17 years - distilled at Clynelish Distillery in 1996 and bottled in 2014.  The label was illustrated by Kobayashi Tomomi for the 25th Anniversary of Saga.  Nose was kinda muted, sweetish, not so sharp and alcoholic on the nose.  Nose was certainly more elegant, but the palate was kinda sharp.

Full post on the evening is here.

Lafleur and SQN Raven

Dinner at Ta Vie 旅.

2007 Ram's Hill - pretty ripe and alcoholic at first, especially when not cold enough.  Much better after chilling and using a smaller glass designed for sauvignon blanc.  Still got green apple notes, and sweet like Chinese licorice.

1970 Lafleur - opened for 1 hour prior to serving.  Smoky, minty.  Much more open with the second pour, sweeter and more woodsy.  Pretty nice.

2006 Sine Qua Non Raven Syrah No. 4 - served more than 1½ hours after decanting, and was just opening up.  Metallic notes, sooo ripe and sooo fragrant.  Really fucking good 2½ hours later.  Still going strong after 3½ hours.

Drinks at House Welley.

The Wishing Well - distilled in 1994 at Braes of Glenlivet, aged 24 years in Bourbon cask and bottled for The Mash Tun Tokyo.  Very floral, kinda sweet on the nose.

Glen Grant 25 Years - initially fragrant, fruity and almost pear-like.  Nose concentrated in glass with intense alcohol.  Smooth on the palate.  Very nice.

Full post on dinner is here.

Bruichladdich and Lassègue

Lunch at Authentic Living Butcher NYC in Fukuoka.

2008 Lassègue - smoky, a little bit of fruit, with some woodsy notes.  Relatively soft and smooth.

Full post on lunch is here.

Drinks at Bar Kitchen.

Bruichladdich 3D The Peat Proposal - peaty for sure.

Bruichladdich "Jazz Bar Rondo" - 16-year-old, bottled in 2019 for the 60th anniversary of Jazz Bar Rondo in Saga.  Clearly sweeter, more caramel, and less peaty.  Cask strength.

Bruichladdich 18 Year - not so peaty, somewhat sweet, more power thanks to its age, and definitely burns more.

Glen Grant 23 Years Cyborg 009 - bottled in 2018.  Notes of sweet pear.

Juyondai and Next5

Drinking at Stag in Kikakyushu.

1957 Blandy’s Bual – nice and savory on the palate, kinda like Shaoxing (紹興酒) that has had salted plum (話梅) soaked in it. Only medium sweet since it’s Bual.

The Strathconon 12 Years Old – apparently this was from the 1970s and 1980s, and are no longer made today. Wasai-san had to peel off some Scotch tape he used to seal up the bottle to slow down the evaporation. This was certainly smoother and milder, and I could kinda taste the effect of age on it. A little sweet and grassy on the palate, but not too much.

Drinking at Shuho (酒峰) in Fukuoka.

Next Five Hyouge Mono 2018 Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo (生酛 純米大吟醸) – I had seen others post about Next Five, but this was my first opportunity to try it. This particular bottling was apparently done as a collaboration with a manga (漫画).  Seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 45%. Very smooth and soft, with a sweet attack but a bit dry mid-palate. Sweet nose with a little banana. Nice depth on the palate.

Juyondai Junmai Daiginjo Tobingakoi Shichitare Nijikkan Ryugetsu (十四代 純米大吟醸 斗瓶囲い 七垂二十貫 龍月), 23BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Pretty smooth. Sweet on the nose but not on the palate.

Juyondai Junmai Daiginjo Tobingakoi Shichitare Nijikkan Ryugetsu (十四代 純米大吟醸 斗瓶囲い 七垂二十貫 龍月), 24BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Bigger nose, with more fermented notes.

Juyondai Junmai Daiginjo Tobingakoi Shichitare Nijikkan Ryugetsu (十四代 純米大吟醸 斗瓶囲い 七垂二十貫 龍月), 25BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Nose was a little sharp with starchy notes.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 25BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. More complex nose with banana notes. Pretty smooth but still got some depth on the palate.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 26BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. Even sharper on the nose. Smooth and sweet on the attack, and generally nice and rounded on the palate.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 27BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. Very big nose, and this was more “typical” and classic in terms of Juyondai.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 28BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. More powerful and complex nose. Very smooth. A little sweet on the attack but dry in the middle.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 29BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. Fragrant nose with banana notes. Very smooth and light. Very clean.

Full post on the evening is here.