2017 Machete

Drinking at home.

2017 Orin Swift Machete - drank 30 minutes after decanting. Definite plenty of ripe and jammy fruit, metallic, still alcoholic on the nose. Plenty of exotic spices, and very woodsy. Hot and alcoholic on the palate 1½ hour after decanting, and pretty ripe on the palate.

Cali and white Burg

Drinks at a friend's home.

2009 Ramonet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet - reasonably ripe, some flinty minerals, toasty but not explosive. Pretty fragrant about 30 minutes after openng.

2003 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine - drank 1 hour after decanting. Very, very fragrant and elegant, with notes of sweet cherries. Tannins were now silky but the wine still had body and wasn't light by any means. After 2½ hours in the decanter the wine was still very nice and fragrant, but now had some toasty notes along with some leather.

1996 Shafer Hillside Select - drank 1½ hours after decanting. Pretty open and fragrant, smoky, with some green pepper, grilled meats, graphite, and also sweet fruit. Soft tannins. Really nice after 2 hours in the decanter, with a little savory minerals, and very complex now. Really opened up after 2½ hours in the decanter and much more oaky.

Cos Blanc and Roty Marsannay

Dinner at NOI.

2016 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - a little oily, toasty oak. More ripe on the palate.

2018 Joseph Roty Marsannay - very fragrant with black pepper, nice toasty oak, black cherry jam. A little sharp and alcoholic on the nose.

Full post on dinner is here.

Banfi and Grgich

Drinking at home in Taipei.

2013 Grgich Hills Fumé Blanc - drank 1 hour after opening. Lots of flint, slate, and minerals. Also notes of muscat grapes.

2015 Banfi Brunello di Montalcino - drank 30 minutes after opening. Very alcoholic on the nose. Notes of dried herbs and potpourri.

2007 Biserno

Dinner at The Ukai Taipei.

2007 Biserno - served 45 minutes after decanting. Initially there was a whiff of coconut butter, but this faded quickly and became much more smoky than expected. Also showing tobacco, grilled meats, black pepper... and later lots of graphite. Still got plenty of tannins, and sweet on the palate as expected.

Full post on dinner is here.

2020 Skerpioen

Drinks at Domaine Wine Cellars.

2020 Sadie Family Skerpioen - flinty and mineral on the nose but with ripeness. Initially served without being chilled so the acidity was still there, and remained grippy on the palate. With aeration this showed more floral notes along with a little tropical notes and acetone. Palate got less grippy and more crisp after chilling.

Chavost, Clape, and friends

Dinner at Petrus.

Chavost Eurêka!, dégorgée décembre 2021 - very fragrant and lovely floral notes... or was that the hotel perfume? Some minerality on the nose. Pretty elegant.

2010 Roulot Meursault Meix Chavaux - aired for just under 2 hours prior to serving. Big nose of toast, really flinty. Good acidity here. Nice and buttery after about 2 hours, and after 3½ hours there was some vanilla oak on the nose.

1972 Daniel Rion Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes - popped and served. Nose of leather, a little barnyard, brett, eucalyptus, a little prunes. Very nice on the palate, and while it was elegant the wine was not too light. After 30 minutes some black olives emerged.

1970 Lafleur - unfortunately kinda over-aerated. Bretty, a little medicinal, leather, smoke, prunes. I could smell the acidity.

1983 August Clape Cornas, en magnum - opened and not decanted just 1 hour before serving. This was sooooo beautiful, sooooo fragrant, with lots of bacon fat, smoke, grilled meats, some leather, and plums. Suddenly there was a whiff of dusty chalk but thankfully this faded. Plateaued about 1½ hours after opening, but remained lovely with lots of eucalyptus. Some 3 hours after opening there were some black olives, with less sweet fruit and more smoke.

Full post on dinner is here.

85 Chave

Dinner at La Maison.

1985 Chave Hermitage Rouge - decanting and served. Initially not open, with some leather notes showing. Improved after 15 minutes and the nose was pretty fragrant. After 1½ hours the acidity was a little higher. Drinking reasonably well but not spectacular.

Full post on dinner is here.