09 Torbreck Juveniles

Drinking at home.

2009 Torbreck Juveniles - intense nose of raspberries and black cherries.  Full-bodied, tannins are still here.  Kinda bitter on the palate.

Kongsgaard, Prieuré-Roch, and Jamet

Dinner at Écriture.

2006 Kongsgaard Chardonnay - opened and decanted 1 hour and 45 minutes before serving.  Lots of big toasty oak, flinty, and nice acidity on the palate.  In very good condition and very lively.

2004 Prieuré-Roch Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru - opened 2½ hours prior to serving.  This was sooooo fucking fragrant, with strawberries and leather.  So sweet with black cherry notes.  Beautiful nose.  A bit short on the finish, though.

1999 Jamet Côte-Rôtie - decanted 3 hours and 40 minutes before serving.  Very savory and mineral, with black olives, Puer tea, and smoky notes.  Probably over-decanted and breathed too long, as there wasn't enough fruit now.  A little disappointing.

Full post on dinner is here.

Mukyutenon

Dinner at JunG39.

Mukyutenon Saninginjo Kimototsukuri (無窮天穏  山陰吟醸  生酛造り), 29BY, from isshobin - some fermente flavors, good depth on the palate.  Fatty, rounded, and viscous but dry on mid-palate and also on finish.  Some sweetness on the attack.

Saku, shochu, and more

Dinner at a friend's home.

Hiroki Junmai Daiginjo (飛露喜 純米大吟醸), 29BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 50%.  Kinda dry on the palate, but still some roundness and some sweetness.  Rather balanced.  Long finish.

Sookoo Junmai Daiginjo Yamadanishiki (蒼空 純米大吟醸 山田錦), 30BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Stronger fermented flavors, dry on the palate, which got sweeter as it warmed up.

Homemade mei kuei lu (玫瑰露) - lovely and aged, smooth, almost a little stinky and fermented.  Very alcoholic but smooth, like a smooth firewater which burns/warms on the way down.  Definitely felt like I was drinking Cantonese duck liver sausage.

2005 Moriizo (森伊蔵) - pretty smooth.

2009 Haut Condissas

Dinner at Metropole Restaurant.

2009 Haut Condissas Prestige, en magnum - lots of sweet fruit, earthy notes.  Can still feel the tannins, and a bit lean on the palate.

Maximin Grünhaus dinner

Dinner at Kin's Kitchen with the wines of Maximin Grünhaus, organized by Fine Wine Experience.  Maximin von Schubert in attendance.

2016 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Kabinett Auktion - a bit of honey, flint, polyurethane.  Actually a bit sweeter than I expected, but still has a good balance of acidity mid-palate.  Quite a long finish.

2015 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Kabinett Auktion - more honey on the nose, more orange blossom, with flint.  Shorter on the finish.   A little later it was much bigger on the attack, some petrol, along with a bigger and slightly more punchy nose.  The last drops were pretty big and showy on the palate, but the finish was still short.

1986 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Spätlese - huge, punchy nose, with polyurethane and some lemon.  Very clean, rounded but dry on the palate, almost like eating muscat grapes, with a hint of straw.  At the end there was still lemon, and a hint of savory notes.  Still got the polyurethane.

2017 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Auslese Auktion - nose was so much more intense and a bit pungent, and really really ripe, with tropical notes like stone fruit, and a little flinty.  Pretty sweet on the palate for sure, big and powerful.  Didn't really smell like riesling...  This was the first harvest for vines planted by Maximin, with yields of 300L/ha and small berries.  300 bottles made.

2015 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Spätlese Auktion - leaner on the nose, with petrol.  Later sweeter and floral.

2018 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Auslese Fuder 89 - this was really young, very, very ripe on the nose, and lots of flint with tropical stone fruit like peaches.  Very sweet on the palate, like muesli with dried fruits.  So ripe, hot, and alcoholic that it seemed almost Alsatian.  Residual sugar around 125g/L.

2011 Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Auslese Fuder 15 - a lot of plastic and polyurethane, with some petrol... and almost smelled like insecticide spray... Sweet on the palate but not much on the finish.  Later on showed some honey and pollen.

2011 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Auslese Fuder 87 - totally different from the Herrenberg.  Smelled like the smoke rising from the wick of a candle that had just been extinguished... or gun powder.  Much sweeter on the nose but also some bitterness.  Later showed polyurethane and the smokiness faded.  Some orange blossom water on the palate, and the finish was much longer.

2006 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Auslese Fuder 45 - more pungent and stinky, with animal notes.  More acidity here, with a very long finish.  A little bitter on the palate, and love the acidity.  Showed much more character.  A great wine.

1993 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Eiswein Fuder 190 - so rich, with lots of marmalade, definitely botrytis, honey, flinty, a little savory.  Rich on the palate, but surprisingly (to me) with piercing acidity through the unctuous, viscous wine.  Later showed caramelized notes like a crème brûlée and cane sugar.  Residual sugar about 50-60g/L.

1989 Maximin Grünhauser Abtsberg Trockenbeerenauslese, from half bottle - nose was a little muted, with some honey pollen.  Some depth on the palate, a little bitter.  Certainly richer and more viscous, with marmalade, a hint of dried apricots.  Definitely still acidity here and quite high, but not at the level of eiswein.  Probably above 200g/L of residual sugar.

Full post on dinner is here.

Keller and Tsingdao

Dinner at Sichuan Moon in Macau.

Delamotte Brut - riper on palate than expected.

2015 Keller Dalsheim Hubacker Riesling Trocken Großes Gewächs - nice minerality, good acidity with some ripeness.

Tsingdao Original 13° (青島啤酒原漿), bottled August 1st - so light and elegant. Even softer than a witbier.

Full post on dinner is here.

Old rieslings and more

Dinner at The 8 in Macau.

2002 Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - nose kinda ripe, buttery, sweet and tropical, flinty, later obvious notes of frangipani.  Good acidity, with some ripeness but overall still kinda lean.

1969 Schloss Eltz Eltviller Sonnenberg Riesling Feine Spätlese - spiced quince, almost nutmeg, honey, marmalade, orange peel, and savory mineral notes.  The second pour delivered a little more sweetness on the palate.

1959 Anheuser Kreuznacher Narrenkappe Riesling Feinste Auslese - actually more dry than the '69 spätlese.  Oxidized and mineral nose, with polyurethane.  A little hint of bitterness on the palate.  The second and third pours came flat and short on the palate, while the bitterness became more pronounced.  Not as pleasant as the '69.

2000 Chave Hermitage Rouge - served more than 1½ hours after opening, without decanting.  Lots of fruit with eucalyptus, along with a bit of iron rust and metallic notes.  Exotic spices, pretty jammy underneath the oak, along with leather, smoke, a bit of graphite and some barnyard.  Drinking absolutely beautifully.

Full post on dinner is here.