1971 JJ Prum WS Auslese Extra Long Goldkapsel

1971 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Extra Long Goldkapsel - drank over dinner at the Eight.  Nose of orange marmalade, honey, apricot and slightly musty.  A little sweet on the palate with an acidic finish.  After 30 minutes in the decanter, the familiar petrol notes emerged, along with some white flowers.  About 1½ hours after opening, the also-familiar notes of polyurethane showed up, as well as a hint of almonds.  

The color has now turned a dark, beautiful amber.  A very, very beautiful wine, and so nice to be able to pick up something that I can't find anywhere else in Asia... 

Full post on dinner is here.

Kuronawa and Mizu no Eau

Lunch at New Furusato in Lisboa Hotel, Macau.

Mizu no Eau Daiginjo Light (水の王 大吟醸ライト) - we were treated to a bottle of this sake, which was meant to pair well with food due to its lighter flavor profile.  I had drunk a bottle of this a couple of years ago... It was indeed light on the palate at first, but very lovely and fragrant like fermented rice (酒釀).  Later on the palate became a little stronger, and for some reason the phrase "コクがある" popped into my head... Interesting when tasted with sea urchin. 

Kuronawa Daiginjo (黒縄 大吟醸) - this is made by the Takagi Brewery (高木酒造)from Yamagata Prefecture (山形県), maker of the famed Juyondai (十四代) brand.  I thought I had a pretty good grasp of most of the Juyondai range, but I had never seen this before.  Apparently (according to one source) Kuronawa was the brand name the brewery used within Yamagata, while in the old days Juyondai was the brand name used for koshu (古酒) sold outside the home prefecture.  Anyway, as I had the opportunity to taste something that I thought was out of the ordinary, I went for it and ordered a bottle.  Later on I realized this probably wasn't as much of a bargain as some of the other selections, but never mind...

This was much drier and spicier, very full-bodied with a very long finish.  Interestingly, the spicy mid-palate led to a sweet finish, in what the Chinese would call 囘甘.  Seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%.

Full post on lunch is here.

1997 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto

1997 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto - drunk over dinner at the Kitchen in the Grand Lisboa.  mint and red fruits on the nose, with dried herbs, smoke and coffee.  Pretty smooth on the palate.  The wine was much better after 2 hours in the decanter, showing potpourri on the nose.  Acidity on the palate dropped off and the wine became sweeter.  A pretty good wine, but unfortunately no "wow" factor.

Full post on dinner is here.

2006 Cédric Bouchard Le Creux d'Enfer

2006 Cédric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne Le Creux d'Enfer - drank over lunch at Robuchon a Galera.  This rosé Champagne made with the saignée method using 100% Pinot Noir had such a beautiful color... almost crimson.  A full-bodied wine, very smooth on the palate with a really long finish.  Nose of strawberries and minerals.  Very, very delicious to the last drop.

Full post on lunch is here.

Château Palmer tasting

Tasting of Château Palmer's wines at Hong Kong Wine Vault.  Bernard de Laage de Meux, the Marketing Director, was here to meet and greet.

2006 Alter Ego - sweet and ripe, smoky, oaky.  Sweet on the palate but turned a little dry on the finish.

2005 Alter Ego - nose was more open, with cedar, mint and sweet fruit.  Lovely and ripe on the palate.

2005 Palmer - nose was very lovely and open, with more cedar, dried herbs and not so ripe and sweet.  Smoky.  Very well-balanced on the palate.  A much more classic Bordeaux that is completely different in style to Alter Ego.

2000 Palmer - classic nose with smoke, dried leaves, grilled leaves and cedar.  Not too sweet on the palate.

1998 Palmer - nose was smoky, open and beautiful, with coffee notes.  Very smooth.  Drinking beautifully and a complete surprise.

1995 Palmer - smoky and minty.  Sweet on the palate with some tannins still detectable.

Historical XIXth Century Wine - this is another batch of Palmer's "experimental" wine, which adds Syrah from Northern Rhône into the blend... just like the way they used to back in the old days.  The designation of "L.20.07" means it was produced in 2007, making it the third release after 2004 and 2006.  Nose was very big, rich, ripe and jammy.  Minty, alcoholic and a little sharp with pine needle.  Pretty new world in style.

1990 Haut-Brion Blanc and then some

Sipping wine at Tastings.

2008 Pierre Bise Lune d'Anjou - a 4,000-bottle limited cuvée made for Caudalie Wines of Hong Kong.  Nose was very tropical, fruity and sweet, like peaches and apricot... also floral.  Surprisingly it is dry on the palate, despite the nose fooling one into thinking that it's a sweet wine.

2009 Bava Gavi Cor de Chasse - really sweet nose, with banana, bubble gum and a little flint.

2004 The Foundry Syrah - nose was savory and a little pruny.

2006 Teliani Valley Mukuzani - I was so surprised to see this bottle, and immediately got myself a pour.  I had a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon from this winery while in Almaty back in 2008, and thought it was pretty decent.  This particular wine is made from 100% Saperavi, native to Georgia.  Nose of Asian spices, oak, vanilla and a little smoked meats.  Sweet and ripe on the palate. 

2000 Musar Red - medicinal nose with spices.

Dinner at Gold.

1990 Haut-Brion Blanc - I gave the Specialist carte blanche and told her she could pick any bottle of white from my stash in the office.  Didn't take a genius to guess which bottle she was going to pick...  Nose was very sweet, like cotton candy, ripe orange rind and flint.  Later on notes of plastic and honey emerged, and the Specialist insisted that it was white flowers (and not just any floral notes) that came out as the wine opened up.  It took at least 2 hours in the decanter for this to really open up.  In the end it wasn't as big and explosive as the Specialist had hoped for, but I thought it was a very lovely and elegant wine... perfect to go with food.

2006 Paolo Scavino Barbera d'Alba - grass, forest, sweet, minty, ripe and a little jammy.  Later on a little green pepper and slightly vegetal.  A pretty easy-drinking wine.  Bought this off the restaurant's list so we could get the corkage waived.

Full post on dinner is here.

Drinking at Acker XV

2006 Quinault L'Enclos - ripe and sweet with mint and forest pine.  Sharp and alcoholic on the nose.  Tannic on the palate with a hot and spicy finish.

2005 Virginie de Valandraud en magnum - cedar, dried herbs, sweet, tobacco and cigar, coffee, and a little toasty on the nose.  Still pretty tannic.  A lovely wine.

1995 Mouton-Rothschild en magnum - smoky with dried herbs.  Very classic.

1964 Petrus - first whiff was really fishy and pungent, like fish that has been left out in the sun for a day without ice.  This cleared up quickly to reveal nose of soy sauce, smoke and dried herbs.  The nose itself was slightly acidic, somewhat like ponzu (ポン酢).  Slightly sweet aftertaste (囘甘), like the sensation from drinking some strong and bitter teas.

1966 Petrus - much better than the '64.  Smoky, dried herbs and coffee grounds on the nose.  The same sweet Chinese licorice (甘草) aftertaste like the '64, too.

2000 Figeac - smoke, cedar, coffee and potpourri.  Sweet on the palate. A very nice wine.  Nose of green peppers showed up later.

1988 Armand Rousseau Chambertin - nose was lovely and floral, with raspeberries and a hint of leather.  Very soft and light.  Second pour was more animal, with sour plum notes.  A lovely wine to drink now.

2000 Valandraud - smoky with black fruits and coffee.  Actually very similar in style to the L'Interdit de Clos Badon I've had... more classic and less garagiste than I expected.

2001 Clos des Papes - initially the nose showed very strong nose of kelp like Japanese wakame (わかめ), and interestingly we got the same nose from 2 different bottles.  It was definitely something from the sea...almost like squid ink.  Smoky, salty with sharp alcohol. There was also a hint of lychees buried deep down which took time to emerge as the nose got better.

Krug Grande Cuvée - yeasty with rubber, lemon and minerals.  The annoying rubber notes disappeared with a new pour from a second bottle.

1984 Petrus - smoky, minty, a little bit of straw and sweetness.  This comes from a famously poor and disastrous vintage in Bordeaux, and since we had zero expectations for this wine it actually outperformed...

1995 La Tâche and 2000 Les Forts

Drinking at the Christie's Latour auction.

2000 Les Forts de Latour en magnum - served at the auction.  Lots of dried herbs, cedar, smoke, nutmeg and chocolate.  A lovely wine, but not for the prices buyers paid at the auction...

1995 DRC La Tâche - opened at the Grand Cafe.  Initially the nose was very muted with notes of dried herbs, and we had only one pour during dinner.  The second pour was at the auction 4 hours later.  Opened up nicely with lovely nose of dried fruits, prunes, dried herbs and potpourri.  A little acidic on the palate.  We decided not to finish the wine in the auction room but brought it back to my friend's place.  Turned out to be a mistake, as either the decanter or the glasses - or both - had that wooden cabinet smell which got to the wine.  5½ hours after opening, the wine smelled tired, old and dusty - like we were drinking cloudy sediment from a very old bottle.  A shame.

Full post on the auction is here.