1988 Silver Oak Napa

Dinner at a friend's in Tokyo.

1988 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - what an amazing wine!  Big bouquet of sweet, extracted, jammy red fruits.  Very smooth tannins, medium to full-bodied.  This can definitely age for some more years.

Overture

Dinner at Hotel Kajikaso in Hakone.

Overture - this is the non-vintage second wine of Opus One.  Opened in the morning and breathed for most of the day, so it was actually very drinkable by dinner time.  Pretty smooth, but not an amazing wine.

100-point '86 Paullacs

Dinner at Brian's in Tokyo.

1983 Dom Perignon - brought this bottle.  Very nice.  Crisp acidity, full of toasted oak and caramelized sugar.  Not many bubbles due to the age.

1973 DRC La Tâche - H-man brought this bottle.  Very good wine.  Another fine example of old, mature Burgundy.  Initially the color was so faded it looked like I was decanting apple juice!  But the nose opened up nicely with ripe red fruits, bacon, grilled meats.  Hmmm....

1986 Lafite-Rothschild - I brought this bottle.  Pretty sweet nose of red fruits, minerals, tobacco.  A bit of sweet grass.  Very good wine overall and glad it wasn't cooked while being stored in Taipei.

1986 Mouton-Rothschild - from H-man.  Very powerful.  Big, smoky cigar nose dominates everything.  Very full-bodied and long finish.  Minerals and grilled meats nose.

MNSC Dinner - '82 First Growths

MNSC dinner at Toscana.  Theme was '82 First Growths.

1982 Haut-Brion - very sweet nose, with grilled meats & leather.  A bit acidic at the end.  Pretty log finish.  Very good wine.

1982 La Mission Haut-Brion - nose of ripe, sweet red fruits, melon, with a long finish.  Turns acidic on the palate after 3 hours.

1982 Latour - my contribution.

1982 Lafite-Rothschild

1982 Mouton-Rothschild

1982 Margaux

A pair of '97 Right Banks

1997 La Gomerie - opened up after 40 minutes.  Sweet nose with vanilla notes.

1997 L'Evangile - minerals, blood, earth, grilled meats and bacon.

Unico, Pichon Baron and Pride

Dinner at Grissini.

1962 Vega Silicia Unico - Wow!  Amazing wine.  Very open, sweet and powerful.  I would say it's better than the '70 I opened for my birthday.

1989 Pichon-Baron - classic Bordeaux nose.  Very good.

1997 Pride Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - powerful as usual.  Wow!  Total fruit bomb.  The nose blows everything else away.

1996 Trio

1996 Rosemount Syrah Balmoral

1996 Torres Grans Muralles

1996 d'Arenberg Riesling the Noble

MNSC Dinner - Fortune Room

MNSC dinner hosted by Lord Rayas, held at the Fortune Room in the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

1988 Krug

1998 Showket Cabernet Sauvignon

1998 La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon

1987 Guigal La Mouline

1987 Guigal La Turque

1982 Petit Village

1982 Calon-Ségur

1982 Beychevelle