MNSC - Derby

MNSC dinner at the Derby Room, hosted by Curry.

2013 Raveneau Chablis Valmur - huge, toasty nose, with lovely lemon notes. Nice and buttery.

2013 Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre - more grassy notes on the nose, more ripeness AND more acidity.

First flight: opened more than 3½ hours prior to serving.

2007 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaumonts - nice and smoky, earthy, meaty. Opened up further with time. 95 points.

2007 de Montille Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Malconsorts Cuvée Christiane - nice and fragrant nose, very elegant. Softer. 95 points.

Second flight: opened more than 5½ hours before serving.

2013 Mugnier Musigny - very fragrant nose with a little leather notes. Slightly grippy on the palate.

2013 Dujac Bonnes Mares - this was more complex, with a more toasty nose. 96 points.

Third flight: opened 5 hours prior to serving.

1995 Lafleur - really smoky, pretty bretty and savory. The brett faded and this was showing beautifully. 97 points.

1998 Lafleur - sweeter on the nose, more elegant. Pretty open and smoky almost 6 hours after opening, with a bit of grass.

Full post on dinner is here

1990s party

Dinner at SẾP.

1990 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - nice and toasty on the nose, with a bit of straw and some Chinese licorice, but also a hint of wet cardboard, perhaps. Good acidity on the palate.

1990 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile - the nose was really nice, showing classic notes of petrol / truffle and white flowers. Still pretty fresh, and there was good acidity on the palate with just a tad of ripeness. Even after 2 hours this was still really good.

1990 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot - definitely showing nose of leather and almost a little bit of piquillo peppers. Light color and lighter on the palate.

1990 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvée C - CORKED, but still nice and open, with leather notes and a very big, farmy finish.

1990 Hubert de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens - a bit more concentration here, with a lovely nose of eucalyptus along with smoky, grilled meats.

1990 Georges Mugneret Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots - this was fairly elegant, with a fragrant nose of leather. Very nice.

1990 Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist - peaty and smoky on the nose, but actually there was lovely caramel underneath the hospital disinfectant.

1990 Beaucastel - lovely fragrance of leather with a hint of farmyard on the finish. Surprisingly this was sweet on the palate.

1998 L'Evangile - decanted more than 2 hours prior to drinking. A lovely Bordeaux, with a very fragrant nose showing cedar and smoke.

1990 Climens - nose of honey, marmalade, honeydew, and also nutty. Wonderfully sweet on the palate.

Full post on dinner is here.

Champagnes for seafood

Dinner at Hokkien House.

2004 Drapper Oenothèque – nice and toasty, also yeasty nose. Good acidity on the palate.

1996 R et L Legras Saint-Vincent, en magnum – nice and mature now, but still got the acidity from chardonnay. Was there some vanilla on the nose? Definitely flinty and mineral with marmalde.

2016 Àguila Albillo Viñas Viejas – the nose was very plastic and polyurethane, which was a real surprise. Also turned nicer with some sweet corn notes.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 173ème Édition, Krug ID 224030 – good acidity on the palate, with some ripeness on the attack but a bit lean on the finish.

2006 Marcassin Pinot Noir Three Sisters Vineyard – started drinking 2½ hours after opening. The sweet fruit here was so nice, with lots of blueberries and almost vanilla-like.

Full post on dinner is here.

2007 la Mordorée

Drinking at home.

2007 la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge La Reine des Bois - started drinking 40 minutes after decanting. This was definitely very ripe and sweet on the palate. Initially the nose wasn't showing much, with just a little hint of leather and also plastic. Could still feel the tannins on the tongue. After about 1½ hours in the decanter the nose was more leathery, a little more open. Surprised to find saffron on the nose after the wine opened up.

2020 La Charmotte

Dinner at Torikaze.

2020 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits-Saint-Georges La Charmotte - nice fruit on the nose, which was not quite floral but almost, and kinda elegant.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC - Caprice

MNSC dinner at Caprice, hosted by me.

1992 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Française, bouteille N°626 – definitely showing its age, with marmalade on the nose, almost a little oily. The body was fine but not too powerful, which fades quickly to a soft finish that seemed to last for a while. The nose was almost a little like Japanese umeshu.

Flight 1: opened 1 hour before serving.

1986 Lafite-Rothschild – stoppered right after opening and served without decanting. A bit more ripe and advanced, with clear oxidation. Higher acidity on the palate. Certainly savory on the nose. This bottle that I originally took from dad’s office – which did not have a wine fridge - more than 25 years ago is clearly not showing at its best. 92 points.

1986 Mouton-Rothschild – served without decanting. This was very elegant, smoky, woodsy, and exhibiting a classic nose for the region. Also green capsicum. Two hours after opening this was showing some lovely sweet fruit along with coffee. 95 points.

Flight 2: opened about 2 hours before serving without decanting.

1996 Colgin Herb Lamb Vineyard – this was really ripe and sweet, with a hint of metallic nose along with eucalyptus. I love it. My kind of shit. 97 points.

1996 Masseto – this was also ripe and sweet, but a bit more smoky. So lovely now and drinking so well. 96 points.

Flight 3: I had been wanting to do this pairing since 2016, when Foursheets found the bottle of "Château Le Pin" in her neighborhood Wellcome supermarket. Foursheets says it cost around HKD 70, but I thought it would be hilarious to serve it in a blind tasting together with the "real" Le Pin. You should have heard some of the guesses from the boys about what they thought this was...

2014 Le Pin – served without decanting 2 hours 45 minutes after opening. This was showing a beautiful nose, so ripe and sweet but not quite to the level of a Californian. Smoky, leathery, minty, and fragrant eucalyptus. A little young, perhaps. 94 points.

2014 Château Le Pin – served without decanting 1 hour and 15 minutes after opening. This was definitely more lean and rustic. Not very interesting and clearly a couple of steps down. 88 points.

2024 Clos Mao Light (理光) – decanted for more than 30 minutes before serving. Very big and toasty popcorn nose, reductive, flinty, with lovely lemon notes. Nice and round on the palate. 96 points.

2024 Michel Naddef Marsannay Chardonnay – also showing big, toasty nose. Flinty, lean, and slightly reductive. 95 points.

Full post on dinner is here.

2013 L'Evangile

Dinner at Gyu+bar by Miyoshi.

2013 L'Evangile - decanted and poured. Pretty nice nose with sweet, black fruit, smoke, and almost a little coconut. Some vanilla oak here, and the nose got pretty smoky as it opened up. Still concentrated and tannic, but drinking well.

Full post on dinner is here.

MNSC - Country Club

MNSC dinner at the Grill Room of Hong Kong Country Club.

1996 Salon - more lemon citrus than mature marmalade. This was much fresher, more elegant. The acidity came out strong on the second sip, which was just as expected.

1996 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - very nice and toasty nose. Good acidity on the palate together with nice maturity, and this was drinking very nicely. Not surprisingly this was the more forward of the pair.

First flight: served 1½ hours after opening without decanting.

2001 Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny - this was a little dusty but also had the toasty popcorn on the nose. Farmy with some sweetness later. 95 points.

2002 Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny - nose of leather, and clearly more rustic. 95 points.

2003 Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny - nice sweet red fruits on the nose. Pretty soft. 94 points.

Second Flight: served after 2½ hours in the decanter.

1994 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - this was the more bretty of the two. But surprisingly I preferred it. 96 points.

1995 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - nice and smoky. So classic. 95 points.

Third Flight: served after 3½ hours in the decanter.

1999 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - this was very oxidized and very ripe. 95 points.

2000 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - this was sooo beautiful, with a sweetness that included some grassy notes. Smoky and meaty, too... and then a bit floral about 20 minutes later. 99 points.

2001 Beaucastel Hommage a Jacques Perrin - the nose had plenty of coconut butter, with good ripe fruit but not quite jammy. A great wine with good concentration. Almost a bit of Chinese medicine and minty. 97 points.

Full post on dinner is here.