MNSC Rhone Trip Day 1: Coche-Dury and Henri Jayer, again

Lunch at Colline du Colombier in Iguerande.

2004 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières - nose of toasty oak, smoky, a little grassy with obvious straw.  A little ripe on the palate.  Honestly, a little too subtle for a Coche-Dury...

2004 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - much bigger nose, heavier toast, explosive almost as I would expect from a Coche-Dury.  A hint of lemon and toasted corn.  More acidity on the palate, and this was a very well-balanced wine.

1993 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée - lots of fruit, sweet and lovely nose.  A little floral and smoky.

1995 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée - minty, nose was a little closed.  Some dried herbs with ripe prunes.

Dinner at Troisgros.

1990 Troisgros Cuvée Jean-Baptiste, elaboré par Duval-Leroy - lovely, oxidized nose, a little metallic and mineral, sweet and caramelized, a hint of salty plum (話梅), sugar cane, and Chinese licorice (甘草).

2002 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne - beautiful, big nose of toasted corn and smoke.  Very pure, and extremely well-balanced on the palate.

1992 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux en magnum - lots of forest and sous bois notes, a little sharp on the nose, with mint and dried herbs.

1999 DRC La Tâche - a bit smoky, still pretty sharp and alcoholic on the nose due to the young age.  A little tight and took some time to open up.  A little raw and simply too young.  Infanticide.  We finished the bottle in my room after taking a quick walk around town, and it drank a little better.

Full post on lunch and dinner is here.

2006 Kongsgaard VioRus

Dinner at Caprice.

2006 Kongsgaard VioRus - lots of toast and lots of minerals in the nose.  Ripe and sweet on the palate.  No longer any hint of fresh floral notes from the Viognier... Detected a little sulfur on the nose.  A little alcoholic and slightly sharp on the nose.  Later on toasty corn showed up.

Full post on dinner is here.

Piedmont and French

Wine tasting at Mayfair Fine Wines.

1971 Nicolas Potel Pommard 1er Cru Pézerolles - my friend very generously gave me a pour from this bottle.  What a lovely wine!  Nose of plum and Asian spices... almost floral.  Very elegant after 40 years.  The lovely nose lingered in my glass, and I almost didn't want to move on to the next wine...

2007 Le Petit Lion de Marquis de Las Cases - the first vintage of the "second wine" from Las Cases.  Typical of modern vintage Bordeaux... minty, ripe, very alcoholic on the nose, with cedar and other forest notes.  A little too young.

Dinner at Gold.

2004 La Spinetta Barbaresco Vürsù Vigneto Starderi - pretty young and pretty alcoholic, with nose of black fruits, prunes and dried herbs.  Later on the nose was more smoky.  Fairly smooth.

2008 Domenico Clerico Barbera d'Alba Trevigne - very sweet nose with lots of vanilla and oak.  Definitely alcoholic.  Needs a few more years.

Full post on dinner is here.

Meursault and Carneros Pinot

Dinner at Portofino in Taipei.

2006 Bouchard Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - sweet on the nose, with corn, lemon, a little toast.  Initially a little light-bodied, but developed over time.  Not bad at all.

1997 Saintsbury Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir - nose was very alcoholic, fruity, sweet... almost a little over-ripe and I thought it was a little cooked at first.  A little minty with dried herbs.

Full post on dinner is here.

2007 Girardin Meursalt Les Narvaux

Dinner at Oso in Singapore.

2007 Vincent Girardin Meursault Les Narvaux en demi-bouteille - big and open nose of lemon, toasty oak, popcorn, ripe on the nose, and a little alcoholic.  Drinking nicely.

Sake for yakiniku

Dinner at Hutong 1 in Taipei.

Okunomatsu Junmai Daiginjo Sparkling (奥の松 純米大吟醸 スパークリング) - nose was full of fermented rice (酒釀), palate slightly on the sweet side, with tiny bubbles tingling the tongue.  40% seimaibuai.

Kokushimuso Daiginjo (国士無双 大吟醸) - noticeably drier on the palate, and it's made that way.  40% seimaibuai.  Made with water from the melted snow of Hokkaido's Daisetsusan (大雪山).

Kameizumi Junmai Daiginjo Kihin (亀泉 純米大吟醸 貴賓) - can't really remember what this tasted like...

1997 Corton-Charlemagne and 2004 Aubert

Dinner at Mao Yuan in Taipei.

1997 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Charlemagne Cuvée François de Salins par Louis Max - picked up this bottle at a bin end sale.  It was clearly pretty oxidized, but then again I happen to love oxidized white wines.  Nose of cotton candy, sugar, a little straw and grassy, with notes of orange rind and sugar cane.  Kinda acidic mid-palate with a ripe and bitter finish.  Can't complain too much given the price I paid...

2004 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren - nose showed a lot more concentration, definitely felt the new oak, and the wine was kinda ripe.  At the end the alcohol was very prominent, which is curious given that it usually shows up immediately...

Full post on dinner is here.

2006 Hugel Gewurz Tradition

2006 Hugel Gewurztraminer Tradition "Hugel" - initially not cold enough, so the palate was a little flat.  Nose was very ripe, with marmalade, floral and a little lychee.  After chilling for a while the palate was more lively.  Nose gained mineral notes with a little bit of toasty oak at the end.  Finish was slightly bitter, both from being over-ripe and from poor storage.  Color was a little darker than expected - a clear sign of oxidation.  Still very enjoyable.