Silver Heights Emma and more

Dinner at Rùn.

2015 Roebuck Blanc de Noirs - a little bit of minerality with some acidity here.

Bernard Lonclas Blanc de Blancs, dégorgée le 14 novembre 2022 - floral on the nose, or was it the perfume from the room? Medium-bodied, kinda simple on the palate. Showed more sweetness on the palate with the spicy fish maw.

2020 Domaine de Bila-Haut Les Vignes de Bila-Haut Blanc - too over-ripe although there is still some acidity. Showing polyurethane and a little petrol.

2020 Bachelet-Monnot Santenay Blanc - nice and toasty, showing some coffee notes, and very savory on the nose. Lots of popcorn in the really big nose. Very nice.

2019 Craggy Range Pinot Noir Te Muna Road Vineyard - very New World in style, showing lots of new wood with good amount of fruit. Fairly sharp on the nose.

2019 Silver Heights Emma's Reserve, from magnum - very ripe fruit, with lots of forest, very heavy oak, very minty. Actually this was not too tannic for such a young wine.

2018 Domaine de Souch Cuvée Domaine - good acidity but a little bitter.

Full post on dinner is here.

Dujac and Trimbach

Dinner at Estro.

2000 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune - served almost immediately after opening. Good nose of petrol, but more oxidized than expected. Acidity was not so sharp here. Second pour around 40 minutes after opening, and the wine was colder and showed more polyurethane. Still more sweet and rounded than expected. Pretty nice.

2001 Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes - served almost 1½ hours after opening. Nose of leather and animal. About 2 hours after opening the wine was lean and grippy. Pretty decent, but not enough luscious fruit to make me love it.

Full post on dinner is here.

Latin wine pairing

Andō x Manu lunch at Andō.

Sparkling Blood Orange Roaste Mate Tea - definitely very fruity and citrusy, but can certainly taste the mate.

Miolo Cuvée Brut - very easy-drinking. A slight hint of bitterness, decent acidity, very moussy and lively.

2021 Garzón Pinot Rosé de Corte - nose of red fruits, a little flinty. Pretty light and refreshing.

2005 Catena Alta Malbec - TONS of vanilla oak, really sweet on the nose, with notes of grilled meats. Still grippy on the palate after all these years.

Full post on lunch is here.

Aramasa, Kikuhime and more

Dinner at UZA by Nikushou.

2010 Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoch Rosé - good acidity and maturity.

Kokuryu Hiirazu Junmai Daiginjo Nama (黒龍 ⽕いら寿 純⽶⼤吟醸 ⽣), 2022 - seimaibuai of 35%. Nose of banana, really fragrant and floral, very refreshing and clean. A little bit of fermented flavors on the palate, which was surprising.

Aramasa New Year's Day Special Brew (新政 新年純米しぼりたて -isopokamuy- ) 2023 - very clean, very precise, fragrant but not as fruity, with more fermented rice lees.

Aramasa 170th Anniversary Commemorative Brew (新政  創業170周年記念酒), R3BY - similar nose to the New Year's Day Special Brew, but leaner on the palate. More woodsy notes here, almost like Japanese cypress, thanks to fermentation in wooden barrels. Very fragrant with a lot more depth of flavors.

Hakurakusei Zankyo "Super 7" (伯楽星 残響 "Super 7"), 2017 - much more fermented rice lees, starchy, sweet. Very rounded and viscous on the palate. So smooth and beautiful.

Kikuhime Tokugin (菊姫 特吟), H8BY (released 2019), from isshobin - nose was a little on the dry side, with a slight hint of fermentation due to extended aging. Definitely more dry and spicy on the finish, with much more depth on the palate. With more aeration over time, as well as warming up, this became more dry and sharp on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Brochet and Faiveley

Dinner at Jean May.

Emmanuel Brochet Rosé de Saignée - nose of red fruits, plenty of raspberries. Flinty. Very lively and fizzy. So easy to drink.

2005 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin - started drinking 45 minutes after double-decanting. Still tannic on the palate. Nose of cassis, definitely lots of forest pine. Second pour 1½ hours after decanting and the nose was more open and fragrant, with nice woodsy notes along with leather. After two hours the nose opened up even more and got more alluring, but the palate was still relatively tight.

Full post on dinner is here.

89 Trimbach FE VT

Drinking at home, with electronic candles.

1989 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile Vendages Tardives - floral with white flowers, lychee, a little honey and marmalade. Nice and fragrant nose. Off-dry with a light sweetness upfront, and acidity comes out mid-palate. Mild level of bitterness on the finish. So elegant and beautiful.

2020 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2020 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - lots of flint and muscat grape, green apple. Very big on the palate. Later on plenty of vanilla oak on the nose.

2010 Arioso

Dinner at Rosita.

2010 Rotem and Mounir Saouma Châteauneuf-du-Pape Arioso Rouge - smoky with notes of leather and some vanilla, lovely fragrance of cedar. Definitely sweet, black fruits here.

Full post on dinner is here.