MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 3: Montrachet and Bonnes Mares

Lunch at Le Montrachet in Puligny-Montrachet.

2004 Sauzet Montrachet had a good, buttery nose with toasty oak, flint, minerals, lemon citrus, and honey.  Ripe and a little hot on the palate as well as the finish.

2003 Roumier Bonnes Mares - minty, lots of fruit, pine needles, sweet, very beautiful... lots of minerals and almost a little iron.  A bit hot on the palate and very sweet.  The finish was a little grippy towards the end, and after a while the palate pretty much died.

Full post on lunch is here.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 3: Michel Niellon

Visit to Michel Niellon in Chassagne-Montrachet.  Michel Niellon himself received us and conducted the tasting.

2009 Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet - lots of vanilla, oak, lemon, floral and sweet.

2009 Michel Niellon Chassange-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Maltroie - more closed initially... oak, vanilla and a bit of white button mushrooms on the nose.  Round and alcoholic on the palate.

2009 Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers - also a little tight on the nose with mineral notes.

2009 Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean Blanc - sweeter nose with vanilla, a bit of minerals, and a little sharpness.

2009 Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean Rouge - nose of berries a little mushroom, and mint.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 2: Coche-Dury, Henri Jayer and more

Lunch at La Colline du Colombier in Iguerande, France.

2003 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Caillerets - lots of toasty oak, oily, buttery, a little steely with minerals, really round and smooth on the palate. Not acidic but not overly ripe either. Plenty of toasty corn at the end. A classic Coche-Dury.

2000 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne - this wine had always eluded me, because I had always been content to drink Jean-François Coche-Dury's cheaper offerings. This wine was initially very closed, but after some aeration revealed the classic intense nose of toast I have comeh to love. Pretty ripe on the palate, with lots of minerals. After a bite of the acidic jelly, the wine tasted really sweet when I sipped it. What a wine!

1990 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée - a little vegetal at first masking the fruit core. Later strawberry notes emerged, with a little bit of grass, forest and mint. Still really young, although the color was pretty light. A reasonable amount of tannins left.

1993 Henri Jayer Echezeaux - very floral, osmanthus, a little smoky, some fruit came out after a while. Still enough tannins to be a little grippy.

1988 Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux - very farmy, nose was much more open and beautiful, with lots of fruit and a bit toasty. Higher acidity on the palate was noted. Lovely, floral like violet. A beautiful wine!

Dinner at Troisgros in Roanne France.

2002 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - nose was a bit toasty and mineral, which kept the ripeness of the fruit hidden underneath.  Drank beautifully while we were at the bar.

1996 Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - nose was very open and floral, with a bit of apricot, ripe fruit, honey, marmalade, sweet grass, and just sweet perfume in general.  There was also a slight hint of acetone.  A really beautiful wine.  Someone at the table commented that this was just like kissing and smelling the sweet scent of a woman's neck.  I think he was having a Les Gouttes de Dieu (神の雫) moment...

1993 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée - not in the original line-up, but Dr. Poon inserted this bottle as he thought it would be a reasonable choice.  I'm glad he did, as this bottle drank very well.  Minty nose with herbs, pine needle, black cherries... Sweet and a bit alcoholic.  Dr. Poon loved it so much that he spoke of opening a bottle for breakfast tomorrow...

1995 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée Beaumonts - a little hard and steely at first.  Nose turned floral and pretty sweet later. 

1992 Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux - a little vegetal on top of the fruity and sweet nose.  Farmy and minty notes, with rose overtones.  Really open and beautiful.  Definitely my favorite Henri Jayer today.

1982 Lafite-Rothschild - WOW!  What an amazing wine!  Decanted for almost four hours, this was beautiful!  Nose of mint, sweet grass, smoke and a little soy sauce along with some fruit.  A classic elegant claret through and through, and you know this wine can last for a long, long time.  Of course provenance is without question, and Pineapple acquired this bottle some years back and I know he is extremely meticulous on this topic...  This was the "missing bottle" from our Bordeaux trip last year - when we drank a bunch of '82 First Growths - and it was sooooo much better than the bottle I was invited to taste a couple of months ago in Hong Kong. As much as I liked this wine, I could not bring myself to give it a perfect score, as that is reserved for the next bottle we drank...

1998 Le Pin - I knew we were drinking a Le Pin the minute I swirled the glass and took a whiff.  The exotic nose was unmistakable.  Explosive, sweet, ripe and fruity, with notes of French pears and sweet tropical fruits.  Also notes of tea.  Decanted for 2 hours.  What a beautiful wine!  I actually wrote down "f**king awesome" in my tasting notes, because I loved it that much.  We drank another bottle of this wine last year in Bordeaux, and at the time it was also my favorite wine of the evening.  100 points!

Full post on lunch and dinner is here.

2000 Calon-Ségur

We bought this bottle at Free Duty in Hong Kong and brought it to the Cathay First Class Lounge.

The 2000 Calon-Ségur drank pretty well for a bottle that did not get any aeration. Nose of chocolate, smoke, sweet fruit, alcohol, toffee and toast. Still pretty young and full-bodied.

The description on the incident involving this bottle is here.

Acker Hong Kong XI: part 1

Back at another Acker auction after missing the last one. Since I'm an occasional customer and by no means a big fish, I found myself sitting in the back of the room. This means instead of getting the choice wines served to me, I got the run-of-the-mill stuff.

I passed on the 1995 Haut-Marbuzet and wait for something better. 1995 Ducru-Beaucaillou showed up and was certainly better. Nose of mint, cigar smoke and fruit. Initially OK on the palate, then turned pretty funky and a little nasty. A second bottle drank better, with noticeable floral perfume in the nose on top of the sweet fruit.

My friend John very kindly came over and offered me a glass of 1933 Bouchard Beaune 1er Cru. I had no expectations for this wine, and was pleasantly surprised by the nose of salty plum, smoke, grilled meats, beef jerky and a hint of herbs. Smooth but not watery and light.

2005 Hervé Roumier Clos Vougeot - I guess I'm more familiar with Georges Roumier... minty, sharp, reasonable amount of fruit...but not great.

1999 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze - smoky, earthy and peppery. Decent amount of fruit underneath but needs time for the smoke cover to dissipate.

Prices continue to reach stupid levels, although not to the levels seen last week at the Sotheby's auction. Hammer prices continue to exceed estimates when it comes to Lafite, although there seemed to be a lot less of it this time around. The multi-vintage verticals of Bordeaux First Growths weren't very popular as they were offered later in the evening, and went for prices below estimates.

The Acker auctions continue to be long and increasingly painful for me to sit through. John's pace isn't very fast when he's in Hong Kong, and the pace seem almost snail-like when Gil is wielding the hammer while trying to impress us with his Cantonese. I felt like pulling my hair out while waiting in between lots I wanted to bid on.

And what's up with these guys hiring a bunch of (mostly European) leng mos (靚模) as spotters? Other than looking tall and (somewhat) pretty in very short skirts - one showed up in a very revealing dress looking like a Mainland hooker - they weren't very useful. Some of them weren't in position, and those who were didn't really do their jobs of pointing out bidders who had raised their paddles. My friend who works for a large auction house made one comment: "Cheap".

In the end I did pick up a few lots, although none of them were the birth vintages I had originally set my sights on. I even wore a long-sleeved UNICEF shirt in my lucky yellow, matching the color of the auction catalog... but no dice. Oh well... At least I can console myself with some 1990 Amoureuses...

A pair of Rhone blends

Dinner at Kin's Kitchen (留家廚房).

2009 Doyenne Métier Blanc - this is a blend of Viognier and Roussanne from Washington, and showed a really big, floral nose that was sweet and vibrant, with tropical fruits and candied pomelo rind. Really lovely.

1998 Clos du Mont-Olivet Selection Reflets - I was disappointed in this bottle. The nose was obviously oxidized and cooked, with ripe strewed fruits and sweetness, along with smoke and very pronounced preserved plums (話梅). Also a little bit of violet on the palate, which actually was pretty flat. Maybe the wine was just a little too warm and could have used a bit of cooling down.

Full post on dinner is here.

Vincent Girardin and Chinese food

Dinner at the Chairman (大班樓). The food was paired with wines from Vincent Girardin, and Marco Caschera from the domaine was here.

2007 Vincent Girardin Saint-Aubin Les Murgers des Dents de Chien - really sweet nose with minerals and flint. A little hint of hot and ripeness on the palate. Toasty corn notes at the end. Pretty surprising on the upside.

2007 Vincent Girardin Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes-Dessus - minerals, steely, citrus lemon, a bit sweet and buttery. Reasonably ripe on the palate with slightly higher acidity than the Saint-Aubin. Definitely feel the difference interroir.

2006 Vincent Girardin Santenay 1er Cru Clos des Tavannes - really sweet and fragrant nose with white flowers and minerals. Very nice. Reasonably sweet and smooth on the palate. A little toasty at the end.

2007 Vincent Girardin Beaune 1er Cru Les Bressandes Vieilles Vignes - smoky with Chinese medicine notes, along with spices and mushroom. Not as open and fruity, rather closed.

2007 Vincent Girardin Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots Vieilles Vignes - a beautiful wine, with lots of black fruits such as blackcurrant. Very young and vibrant, a little smoky, and sweet on the nose as well as palate. Very enjoyable.

Full post on dinner is here.

Domaine d'Eugénie tasting

Tasting through Domaine d'Eugénie's wines with Frédéric Engerer.

Domaine d'Eugénie was created with the 2006 purchase of the vineyards of René Engel by François Pinault. Since then it has been under the same management team as Château Latour, who are now in the process of transforming the vineyards to be bio-dynamic. The wines showcased tonight are from the first two vintages produced under new management.
 
2008 Eugénie Vosne-Romanée - young, a little sharp, woodsy, mushroom, a little sweet with a hint of smoke. Later the nose became a bit medicinal and showed heavier charcoal notes. Also more body as time went on.

2007 Eugénie Vosne-Romanée - sweeter than the 2008, with caramel notes. Bigger nose, heavier on the grilled meats, potpourri and spices. Very nice. Later on the alcohol got sharper, but the palate was a little light. Faded after more than an hour.

2007 Eugénie Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées - definitely a step up from the village. Nose was very open with more fruit. Definitely notes of leather, bacon fat. Classic and beautiful. Lighter but not watery, rather medium-bodied. Very approachable now. Notes of smoked meats which actually reminds me of Côte-Rôtie. A bit of caramel. Definitely one of my wines of the evening.

2008 Eugénie Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brûlées - interesting nose. Riper and more concentrated fruit like prunes. Nose was still powerful, a little smoky, with Asian spices and herbs. Nice and soft on the palate but still a little grippy on the finish. Toffee on the edges. Later on a bit of turmeric, and even some 鐵打酒!

2007 Eugénie Clos-Vougeot - clearly another step up from the premier cru. A lot more concentration here. Lot of leather, fruit, bacon and smoke. Fully open and beautiful. My wine of the evening.

2008 Eugénie Echezeaux - nose was a bit tight but I could feel the concentration. Notes of forest, pine needle, and almost a little orange...

2007 Eugénie Grands Echezeaux - first whiff showed strong notes of soy sauce...smoky and green. Nose was pretty shut. Could definitely feel the tannins. On the second try the nose was a little more open and nice, with some fruit. A bit acidic mid-palate.

I think the wines are interesting today, but I look forward to tasting their wines in a few years' time - when Frédéric and team have finished the transformation they started.