Dinner at San San Trois.
Drank 1999 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fume de Pouilly Pur Sang, and the 1990 Jayer-Gilles Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Hauts Poirets.
Full post on dinner is here.
June 21, 2007
June 11, 2007
MNSC Dinner - Caprice
MNSC dinner at Caprice, hosted by Alexandre. Pierre Perrin from Beaucastel attended as guest.
First flight:
1991 DRC Echezeaux - 91 points.
1991 DRC Richebourg - 90 points.
Second flight:
1991 DRC La Tâche - 94 points.
1991 DRC Grands-Echezeaux - 95 points.
Third flight:
1989 Guigal La Landonne - 95 points.
1989 Guigal La Turque - 97 points.
First flight:
1991 DRC Echezeaux - 91 points.
1991 DRC Richebourg - 90 points.
Second flight:
1991 DRC La Tâche - 94 points.
1991 DRC Grands-Echezeaux - 95 points.
Third flight:
1989 Guigal La Landonne - 95 points.
1989 Guigal La Turque - 97 points.
June 3, 2007
MNSC Dinner - Tim's Kitchen Macau
MNSC dinner at Tim's Kitchen (桃花源) in Macau, hosted by Dayliao.
First flight:
1976 Penfolds Grange - 91 points.
1976 Penfolds Bin 766 - disqualified.
Second flight:
1996 Leroy Vosne-Romanée Les Beaux Monts - 94 points.
1996 Rouget Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux - 91 points.
Third flight:
1996 Clarendon Hills Old Vines Grenache Kangarilla - 90 points.
1996 Clarendon Hills Astralis - 94 points.
Fourth flight:
2002 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele - 96 points.
2002 Dominus - 98 points.
First flight:
1976 Penfolds Grange - 91 points.
1976 Penfolds Bin 766 - disqualified.
Second flight:
1996 Leroy Vosne-Romanée Les Beaux Monts - 94 points.
1996 Rouget Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux - 91 points.
Third flight:
1996 Clarendon Hills Old Vines Grenache Kangarilla - 90 points.
1996 Clarendon Hills Astralis - 94 points.
Fourth flight:
2002 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele - 96 points.
2002 Dominus - 98 points.
May 15, 2007
Harlan Estate and Screaming Eagle
Dinner at H One. The Harlan Estate team was represented by Bill Harlan himself, as well as Don Weaver, the marketing Executive Director and Will Harlan, Bill's young son who looked like he was being groomed to take over in the future. I felt quite privileged to meet Bill, who is often cited as a visionary and I think can be compared to the likes of Robert Mondavi.
The Screaming Eagle team was represented by Ursula Hermacinski, the famous wine auctioneer who apparently was lured to Screaming Eagle by the new owners, Charles Banks and Stanley Kroenke. Banks and Kroenke were part of the Asian tour, but had left yesterday during the day so did not attend our dinner.
The lineup of wines were quite interesting, and I believe that most of the guests had never tasted Screaming Eagle, after all the hubbab we had heard for the last 10+ years, so it was a rare treat for us.
El Alma de Jonata 2004 - "the soul", this was a smooth, easy-drinking Cabernet Franc
El Desafio de Jonata 2004 - "the defiance", this is their Cabernet Sauvignon that would be one of the stars of the vineyard. Much more tannic and concentrated than the El Alma
El Corazon de Jonata 2004 - "the heart", this was curiously a blend of every varietal from the vineyards, which include Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Syrah, Sangiovese, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, among others. The nose was quite funky since this is a jumble of both red and white grapes...I was left with the question: "What were you thinking?!"
La Sangre de Jonata 2004 - "the blood", this was a ripe, sweet and powerful Syrah which I think will do well
Jonata is a project in the Central Coast owned by Banks and Kroenke, and the vines were planted in 2001 so they are extremely young.
BOND St Eden 2003 - this was clearly superior to the Jonata wines, and as well it should since the quality/price/target market is completely different. Much more complex and very open.
BOND is the project Harlan started a few years ago in cooperation with several growers, and shares the same winemaking team and style with Harlan Estate.
Harlan Estate 2000 - this was not a particularly good year in California but Harlan felt that this was one of the wines of the vintage. Still very closed and tannic
Harlan Estate 2001 - this is one of the wines Robert Parker rated 100. This is still very closed today but you can see the potential for this wine to go to great heights
Harlan Estate 2002 - this was one of the wines of the evening. Robert Parker also rated it 100, and I can see why! This is very ripe and forward, and already drinking very well compared to the 2001
Harlan Estate 2003 - this was also very forward and ripe, although some in the crowd quiet complained that it was too ripe and again the comment of being "madeirized"
The highlight of the evening was no doubt the Screaming Eagle 2003, which was quite interesting. It was clearly very ripe and the nose was very sweet. Fairly concentrated as it is still a very young wine. I would not say that this was the best Californian I have ever tasted, but it is nevertheless a very good effort. Whether I would pay the USD 500 release price from the winery...well, I can probably turn around and flip it in the market if I didn't like it enough.
I think most of us appreciated the chance to finally drink Screaming Eagle, but I don't think any of us were really wowed...not at these prices. The similarly-rated 1998 vintage is now being offered on Winebid.com for USD 1,100 - before premium and taxes. For that price, I can think of many, many legendary wines in the world I would prefer to drink...
Full post on dinner is here.
The Screaming Eagle team was represented by Ursula Hermacinski, the famous wine auctioneer who apparently was lured to Screaming Eagle by the new owners, Charles Banks and Stanley Kroenke. Banks and Kroenke were part of the Asian tour, but had left yesterday during the day so did not attend our dinner.
The lineup of wines were quite interesting, and I believe that most of the guests had never tasted Screaming Eagle, after all the hubbab we had heard for the last 10+ years, so it was a rare treat for us.
El Alma de Jonata 2004 - "the soul", this was a smooth, easy-drinking Cabernet Franc
El Desafio de Jonata 2004 - "the defiance", this is their Cabernet Sauvignon that would be one of the stars of the vineyard. Much more tannic and concentrated than the El Alma
El Corazon de Jonata 2004 - "the heart", this was curiously a blend of every varietal from the vineyards, which include Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Syrah, Sangiovese, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, among others. The nose was quite funky since this is a jumble of both red and white grapes...I was left with the question: "What were you thinking?!"
La Sangre de Jonata 2004 - "the blood", this was a ripe, sweet and powerful Syrah which I think will do well
Jonata is a project in the Central Coast owned by Banks and Kroenke, and the vines were planted in 2001 so they are extremely young.
BOND St Eden 2003 - this was clearly superior to the Jonata wines, and as well it should since the quality/price/target market is completely different. Much more complex and very open.
BOND is the project Harlan started a few years ago in cooperation with several growers, and shares the same winemaking team and style with Harlan Estate.
Harlan Estate 2000 - this was not a particularly good year in California but Harlan felt that this was one of the wines of the vintage. Still very closed and tannic
Harlan Estate 2001 - this is one of the wines Robert Parker rated 100. This is still very closed today but you can see the potential for this wine to go to great heights
Harlan Estate 2002 - this was one of the wines of the evening. Robert Parker also rated it 100, and I can see why! This is very ripe and forward, and already drinking very well compared to the 2001
Harlan Estate 2003 - this was also very forward and ripe, although some in the crowd quiet complained that it was too ripe and again the comment of being "madeirized"
The highlight of the evening was no doubt the Screaming Eagle 2003, which was quite interesting. It was clearly very ripe and the nose was very sweet. Fairly concentrated as it is still a very young wine. I would not say that this was the best Californian I have ever tasted, but it is nevertheless a very good effort. Whether I would pay the USD 500 release price from the winery...well, I can probably turn around and flip it in the market if I didn't like it enough.
I think most of us appreciated the chance to finally drink Screaming Eagle, but I don't think any of us were really wowed...not at these prices. The similarly-rated 1998 vintage is now being offered on Winebid.com for USD 1,100 - before premium and taxes. For that price, I can think of many, many legendary wines in the world I would prefer to drink...
Full post on dinner is here.
May 5, 2007
MNSC Dinner - Caprice
Part 2 of Dr. Poon's 40th celebration - the MNSC dinner at Caprice. Another bunch of really old wines...
First flight:
1945 Grand-Puy-Lacoste - a very good wine from this stellar vintage, and demonstrates why GPL holds such a special place among lovers of Bordeaux
1945 Beychevelle - also a wonderful wine and we scored it slightly higher than the GPL
Second flight:
1947 Margaux - we knew this was a step up from the last flight, and really enjoyed this pair. I noted the hint of grass in the nose so I was able to guess that this was a Margaux
1947 Palmer - as enjoyable as the Margaux
Third flight:
1953 Figeac, ex-chateau - this was an awesome wine and all of us loved it. Wine of the evening for the group as a whole with an average score of 97 points
1953 Angelus, ex-chateau - I thought this was even better than the Figeac and gave it 98 points. These wines just taste incredibly fresh and you would never guess they are 50 years old
Fourth flight:
1981 Sassicaia - I thought this was an awesome wine with lots of rich, sweet fruit. I never would have guess this was an '81...and scored it 98 points
1985 Sassicaia - I was glad to have finally tasted the legendary '85, which is now going for around GBP 900 a bottle. As delicious as this was, I actually rated the '81 better! And to think that the '81 cost less than 1/10 of the '85...guess I'll be buying lots of the '81!!!
Full post on dinner is here.
First flight:
1945 Grand-Puy-Lacoste - a very good wine from this stellar vintage, and demonstrates why GPL holds such a special place among lovers of Bordeaux
1945 Beychevelle - also a wonderful wine and we scored it slightly higher than the GPL
Second flight:
1947 Margaux - we knew this was a step up from the last flight, and really enjoyed this pair. I noted the hint of grass in the nose so I was able to guess that this was a Margaux
1947 Palmer - as enjoyable as the Margaux
Third flight:
1953 Figeac, ex-chateau - this was an awesome wine and all of us loved it. Wine of the evening for the group as a whole with an average score of 97 points
1953 Angelus, ex-chateau - I thought this was even better than the Figeac and gave it 98 points. These wines just taste incredibly fresh and you would never guess they are 50 years old
Fourth flight:
1981 Sassicaia - I thought this was an awesome wine with lots of rich, sweet fruit. I never would have guess this was an '81...and scored it 98 points
1985 Sassicaia - I was glad to have finally tasted the legendary '85, which is now going for around GBP 900 a bottle. As delicious as this was, I actually rated the '81 better! And to think that the '81 cost less than 1/10 of the '85...guess I'll be buying lots of the '81!!!
Full post on dinner is here.
May 4, 2007
40th birthday celebration
Dr. Poon hosted his big birthday dinner for 60 of his friends at Azure, and brought a few of his cult Californian wines to share before dinner. I arrived late and missed most of it, but did manage to taste the Fisher Millenium (vintage 1997 released for 2000) as well as the 1997 HL (Herb Lamb Vineyard, the source for Colgin's first wine). Both were quite interesting and kinda made up for the 1996 Harlan Estate, 1997 Dalla Valle Maya, 1997 Araujo Cab Eisele Vineyard...that I missed.
During dinner, Kevin served the Mer Soleil Chardonnay, followed by both the Cab and the Merlot from Blankiet Vineyards, all from magnums (don't remember the vintages). To top it all, there was an imperial of 1988 Mouton-Rothschild. I must say I much preferred the Blankiet to the Mouton...
During dinner, Kevin served the Mer Soleil Chardonnay, followed by both the Cab and the Merlot from Blankiet Vineyards, all from magnums (don't remember the vintages). To top it all, there was an imperial of 1988 Mouton-Rothschild. I must say I much preferred the Blankiet to the Mouton...
April 30, 2007
MNSC Dinner - Classified
Paulo hosted his MNSC Dinner in the private cellar at Classified. We were served a bunch of old wines from around the world, which are always much harder to blind-taste...
First flight:
1967 Gaja Barbaresco - this was OK but we were not impressed, scoring it below 90 points.
1967 Latour - this was slightly better but again not a great wine.
Second flight:
1953 Marques de Riscal Riserva - most of the others complained about this being "madeira-ed" and felt it was off, but I, being a great fan of Madeira, actually really loved it. By popular demand we excluded this from our normal scoring.
1953 Canon - we could tell that this wine was fully mature as well, and scored it a bit above the '67 Latour.
Third flight:
1955 Inglenook Cab - none of us had any idea what this was and we all guessed it was Spanish...
1955 Cheval Blanc - this was certainly the wine of the evening! We gave it an average of 95 points
Fourth flight:
1969 Charles Noellat Romanée-Saint-Vivant - it's always nice to drink a very old Burgundy, especially one from a great vintage such as '69. Surprisingly the color was not as light as I would expect. This property was subsequently sold to Domaine Leroy.
1969 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle - this is the oldest La Chapelle I've ever had, and very enjoyable.
First flight:
1967 Gaja Barbaresco - this was OK but we were not impressed, scoring it below 90 points.
1967 Latour - this was slightly better but again not a great wine.
Second flight:
1953 Marques de Riscal Riserva - most of the others complained about this being "madeira-ed" and felt it was off, but I, being a great fan of Madeira, actually really loved it. By popular demand we excluded this from our normal scoring.
1953 Canon - we could tell that this wine was fully mature as well, and scored it a bit above the '67 Latour.
Third flight:
1955 Inglenook Cab - none of us had any idea what this was and we all guessed it was Spanish...
1955 Cheval Blanc - this was certainly the wine of the evening! We gave it an average of 95 points
Fourth flight:
1969 Charles Noellat Romanée-Saint-Vivant - it's always nice to drink a very old Burgundy, especially one from a great vintage such as '69. Surprisingly the color was not as light as I would expect. This property was subsequently sold to Domaine Leroy.
1969 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle - this is the oldest La Chapelle I've ever had, and very enjoyable.
April 20, 2007
Le Palais des Grands Crus 2007
I had the good fortune of attending the Deutsche Bank wine tasting for the third year. From the wine list it seems that we are getting cheaper compared to previous years, as there were fewer "stellar" wines around this year. Or maybe it is because wine prices have soared in the last year, and for the same amount of cash spent, we cannot afford the same wines we tasted last year. In any event, there is never any plonk or average wines at these tastings so I should not complain...
As usual the Grand Hyatt Ballroom is set up with tables with specific themes, with either sommeliers or representatives from the wineries pouring the wines. Based on past experience, the plan is to prioritize and hit the best wines before it is gone.
My first stop was at the Red Burgundies table since there usually are several offerings from DRC. I tried a couple of 2003 grand and premier cru wines from Prieure-Roch, but was less than impressed. The Romanee-Saint-Vivant 2001 from DRC was much better (duh...), and the 2000 DRC Echezeaux was drinking very, very well - shows the power and concentration from a DRC grand cru. After seeing one person after another asking for the La Tache (most probably have no idea what it is, but have been told that it is an expensive wine so they must drink it...), I finally worked up to it...but was very disappointed. The 1988 La Tache (served from methuselah no less) was definitely over the hill...a bit of stewed prunes and higher acidity than I expected. Certainly the biggest disappointment of the evening.
Next stop was the Jaboulet table. The 1998 La Chapelle was not bad but not outstanding. The 1983 La Chapelle was drinking quite well, although it never was a stellar wine. The highlight of course was the 1990 La Chapelle served from magnum. Wow! This was my wine of the evening...everything I expected. There is enough concentration and fruit to last for a long time, and no question why Parker and others gave it 100 pts. Wonderful stuff!
I stopped by the Angelus table to greet Coralie de Bouard, Hubert's daughter. She had hosted their table at last year's tasting and I thanked her for participating again. I tried the 1998 Angelus, 2003 Angelus and 1983 Angelus in that order. '98 was drinking alright but did not perform up to its potential. The 2003 was drinking better than I expected, and the '83 was beautiful. Missed out on the 1970 Angelus because I waited too long.
Finally to the whites. The 2004 Chablis Les Clos from William Fevre from jeroboam was a good starting point. The pair of 2004 Domane Leflaives - the Meursault Sous le Dos d'Ane and the Puligny-Montrachet Clavoillon - showed powerful nose of petrol and minerals, a bit too much for my taste, especially the Meursault. The 2000 Bouchard Meursault Charmes was more elegant. The 2002 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne from jeroboam was very, very nice.
And I spent a long time hanging around the sweet wine table. I started with the 1924 Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu - this was really wonderful. The pair of 1978 and 1979 Rieussec was great, as was the 1985 Suduiraut. These are wines I would drink any day after a nice dinner. Of course, everyone goes for the Yquem, this one the 1999 Yquem from imperial. You will never have a bad Yquem, but this one was a little too young. Tonight, the winner was definitely the '24 Huet, and I managed to get the last pour out of the bottle.
It was a very good evening, and I finally went home some 4 hours after I started.
As usual the Grand Hyatt Ballroom is set up with tables with specific themes, with either sommeliers or representatives from the wineries pouring the wines. Based on past experience, the plan is to prioritize and hit the best wines before it is gone.
My first stop was at the Red Burgundies table since there usually are several offerings from DRC. I tried a couple of 2003 grand and premier cru wines from Prieure-Roch, but was less than impressed. The Romanee-Saint-Vivant 2001 from DRC was much better (duh...), and the 2000 DRC Echezeaux was drinking very, very well - shows the power and concentration from a DRC grand cru. After seeing one person after another asking for the La Tache (most probably have no idea what it is, but have been told that it is an expensive wine so they must drink it...), I finally worked up to it...but was very disappointed. The 1988 La Tache (served from methuselah no less) was definitely over the hill...a bit of stewed prunes and higher acidity than I expected. Certainly the biggest disappointment of the evening.
Next stop was the Jaboulet table. The 1998 La Chapelle was not bad but not outstanding. The 1983 La Chapelle was drinking quite well, although it never was a stellar wine. The highlight of course was the 1990 La Chapelle served from magnum. Wow! This was my wine of the evening...everything I expected. There is enough concentration and fruit to last for a long time, and no question why Parker and others gave it 100 pts. Wonderful stuff!
I stopped by the Angelus table to greet Coralie de Bouard, Hubert's daughter. She had hosted their table at last year's tasting and I thanked her for participating again. I tried the 1998 Angelus, 2003 Angelus and 1983 Angelus in that order. '98 was drinking alright but did not perform up to its potential. The 2003 was drinking better than I expected, and the '83 was beautiful. Missed out on the 1970 Angelus because I waited too long.
Finally to the whites. The 2004 Chablis Les Clos from William Fevre from jeroboam was a good starting point. The pair of 2004 Domane Leflaives - the Meursault Sous le Dos d'Ane and the Puligny-Montrachet Clavoillon - showed powerful nose of petrol and minerals, a bit too much for my taste, especially the Meursault. The 2000 Bouchard Meursault Charmes was more elegant. The 2002 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne from jeroboam was very, very nice.
And I spent a long time hanging around the sweet wine table. I started with the 1924 Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu - this was really wonderful. The pair of 1978 and 1979 Rieussec was great, as was the 1985 Suduiraut. These are wines I would drink any day after a nice dinner. Of course, everyone goes for the Yquem, this one the 1999 Yquem from imperial. You will never have a bad Yquem, but this one was a little too young. Tonight, the winner was definitely the '24 Huet, and I managed to get the last pour out of the bottle.
It was a very good evening, and I finally went home some 4 hours after I started.
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