91 DRC Richebourg and La Turque

Dinner at a friend's house in Tokyo.

Killawarra Sparkling Shiraz Cabernet - pretty good.  Very different from Champagne.  It's richer, fuller-bodied. and not as acidic.

1991 DRC Richebourg - I decanted this about an hour prior to dinner into a carafe without a stopper.  Wow!  What a wine!  This is a great Pinot, and certainly justifies DRC's reputation.  This was the first time that my friend used his Riedel Burgundy Grand Cru glasses to drink a true Burgundy Grand Cru.  The nose was amazing.  Very intense, lots of fruit.  Extremely smooth going down, and long finish.  Spent lots of time chewing this wine.  Soooo delicious.  The bouquet continued to develop over time, and was quite amazing 2½ - 3 hours after opening. Awesome!  Bit of vanilla nose.

Bought from Tatung Atherton for TWD 6,450.

1991 Guigal La Turque - decanted for about 1 hour.  Amazing wine!  I liked this much better than the DRC, even though the Richebourg already blew my palate away.  This is incredibly smooth and soft, yet it had a good, medium body and structure, with good acidity balance.  This was a complex wine with good concentration without being heavy.  Bouquet was very nice and aromatic, with lavender overtones.  I love this wine!  Very rich.  Again I spent time chewing this wine.  What an unforgettable experience!

Bought from Vinum for SGD 541.

1990 Yquem en demi-bouteille - Wow!  Amazingly rich, with lots of walnut and honey.  A bit thick now but sure to improve for years to come.

California tasting

California Wine Trading tasting at Tokyo American Club.

Carneros Creek Estate Grown Pinot Noir - this was a bit young, but it was OK.  The Estate Grown is better than their generic Pinot.

1996 St. Supéry Meritage - this was OK.  Nothing special.

I was amazed that they offered the '95 Caymus SS for tasting, and they were already on their 3rd bottle!  Of course I jumped at the chance to taste the wine that got a 97 from Wine Spectator.

1995 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection - hmmm... Not bad at all!  While it was still a little  young, it certainly had a lot of potential!  It was a full-bodied wine.  Tannins were firm and chewy, but nice on the palate.  Long finish.  Complex.  Good amount of fruit in the structure.  Wow.  This would be awesome in another 5 years.

Niebaum Coppola Merlot Diamond Label - not bad at all.  Good effort.

1997 Cuvaison Pinot Noir - this was really wonderful.  It even resembled Syrah a little bit to me.  I guess it's because of the tannins.  Tokyu sells it for JPY 4,000.  Definitely a big buyer of this wine.

Met Suzie Selby who is the winemaker for both Rabbit Ridge and Selby.

Rabbit Ridge Zinfandel OVZ Reserve (vintage forgotten) - definitely a very nice wine, better than Hedin or Olson.

Selby Syrah (vintage forgotten) - this was OK.

Merryvale Chardonnay Starmont (vintage forgotten) - good wine.

Merryvale Profile (vintage forgotten) - good.

Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon Jack London (vintage forgotten) - pretty good.

1993 La Mouline

Dinner at Les Amis in Singapore.

1993 Guigal La Mouline - decanted for some time before drinking.  It was very aromatic, and reminiscent of Guigal's Côtes-du-Rhône!  Very interesting.  The wine was smooth on the palate with nice, medium body, and soft tannins.  The nose had a distinct vanilla note.  Very nice and good for drinking now.

Bought from Oaks for SGD 204.

Seppelt wine tasting

Tasting of Seppelt wines at Indochine in Singapore.

Sat next to Ian Mackenzie, Chief Winemaker of Seppelt.

Seppelt Great Western Brut - this was OK.

Seppelt Chardonnay

1998 (?) Seppelt Pinot Noir - not bad, but still waaay too young.

1992 Seppelt Cabernet Sauvignon Dorrien Vineyard - this was sooooo good!  Amazing amount of fruit flavors, and smooth, chewy tannins.  Good amount of sweet fruit on the palate, with a long, nice finish.  A truly outstanding effort.  I had 3 glasses of this and was in heaven.

Seppelt Muscat - very good.

Phelps Mistral and Rosemount GSM

Dinner at Oaks in Singapore.

1997 Phelps Vin du Mistral Viognier - a bit disappointing, since it wasn't as floral and fresh as I expected it to be.  This tastes a lot like the Guigal Côtes-du-Rhône.

Bought at Oaks for SGD 68.

1996 Rosemount GSM - mmm... Pretty good indeed.  Definitely Rhône style, but much sweeter palate as is typical of New World wines.  Still a bit young so tannins were still a bit much, but a very good effort.

Bought at Oaks.

1994 Penfolds Koonunga Hill

Drinking at home.

1994 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

1994 Beaucastel and 1990 Lynch-Bages

Dinner at Plume.

1994 Beaucastel Rouge - wow!  Talk about explosions in your mouth... This was really forward, really sweet, wonderfully fruity nose.  Wow!  Yummy.

Bought from Manly for HKD 330.

1990 Lynch-Bages - decanted for an hour.  What a wine!  Super concentration of fruit.  Good levels of tannin without being too harsh.  Delicious to drink now.  I can't wait to drink the rest of my case over time.  No one wanted to drink Beaucastel after this one!

Bought from Remy for HKD 1,048.

Housewarming party

Housewarming party.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut - it was very good.

1995 Wolf Blass Cabernet Sauvignon Presidents Selection - didn't get to drink this...

1996 De Loach Zinfandel Platinum - blegh!  It had a synthetic cork, and it tasted awful!

Bought from Watson's for HKD 119.

1991 Jaboulet La Chapelle - decanted at the start of the party.  It was very good and consistent with the last tasting a few months ago, although less tannic.

Bought from Remy for HKD 308.

1992 Guigal La Landonne - I was very excited about opening the 92 La Landonne.  This was my first bottle of single vineyard Guigal.  I have lots in my collection but haven't drunk any.  I decanted this.  Pretty unique nose.  I suppose it's the "Asian spices" Parker was talking about.  Very nice.  Actually the tannins were OK, not that dense.  This was pretty yummy.

Bought from Tatung Atherton for TWD 6,430.