2005 Petaluma Tiers and 1995 Caymus SS

Drinks at a friend's house.

2005 Petaluma Chardonnay Tiers Vineyard - a little toasty, yeasty, definitely buttery, with lemon citrus.  Pretty decent.

Dinner at Luk Yu.

1995 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection - sweet on the palate.  A little smoky, a bit alcoholic, and minty.

Full post on dinner is here.

2012 Schlumberger

Lunch at Upper Modern Bistro.

2012 Schlumberger Pinot Gris Les Princes Abbés - nice and fragrant, slightly ripe on the palate, very round body, with a hint of bitterness on the finish.  Very refreshing.

Full post on dinner is here.

French wines for roast piggy

Dinner at Kimberley Chinese Restaurant.

Delamotte Brut - toasty and oaky.  Very nice.

2004 La Lagune - shoe polish, smoky, minty, still pretty tannic with grippy finish.

2008 La Bourguette Cuvée Prestige - opened the day before, so there was plenty of aeration.  Fruity, sweet, ripe and stewed fruits and porty.  Nose was still fine but the palate was pretty bleh by now.

2007 Pascal Côtes du Rhône L'Oratoire de la Brune - the palate was a little bland, while the nose showed notes of tea and dried herbs.

2002 L'Evangile en magnum - fragrant notes of coffee, dried herbs and a little smoky.  Really enjoyed the nose... not bad at all.

Full post on dinner is here.

Wine by varietals, episode 2

Drinking in the office.

2007 Joh.Jos Prüm Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett - very classic, with petrol, flinty and mineral notes.

2006 Il Pino di Biserno - very fruity, sweet, ripe, forest, potpourri, smoky.  A little too bitter on the palate.  Not what I expected.

2007 Torbreck Roussanne Marsanne Viognier - really oaky, kinda ripe on the palate, round on the tongue, pretty toasty, a little buttery corn.

1997 Antinori Pian delle Vigne - disappointing.  A little like Bordeaux, with noticeable brett.  Later on became yucky on the palate.

2009 Doisy-Daëne Sec - green apple, muscat grapes, very oaky, a little pungent, mineral and flinty.  Love the purity of this wine.

2003 Huet Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Première Trie Moelleux - plasticky, manuka honey, floral and marmalade.

2011 Quinta do Noval - this bottle has been open for 6 days, and I thought I'd use this opportunity to drink it up.  Still doing well, and packing plenty of fruit, and potpourri.

Full post on the evening is here.

Rhône night

Dinner at Bistronomique @Staunton.

2005 Tattinger Comte de Champagne - toasty, a little ripe on the palate.

1985 La Mission Haut-Brion - very smoky, minty, pencil lead, a little earthy, with some fruit.  Classic claret.  Soft on the palate with velvety tannins.  A beautiful wine.

1996 Guigal La Mouline - beautiful, rich and fat, with leather notes.

1998 Guigal La Mouline - beautiful, with bacon fat, sweet fruit, floral notes, a little coffee and some potpourri.

1995 Chave Hermitage - a little floral, nice and lovely with leather notes.

1998 Jaboulet La Chapelle - initially still a little closed but opened up a bit more later.

1995 Jaboulet La Chapelle en jeroboam - leather and animal notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Quinta do Noval Masterclass

Co-hosted by Corinne Michot of AXA Millésimes and (Gérard Basset?).

2000 Quinta do Noval Colheita - still really alcoholic, very sharp nose, with lots of red fruits, very grapey, still got the tannins.  Later this opened up more and showed nutty notes like hazelnuts, and prunes.

2011 Quinta do Noval - forest pine notes.  Obviously still tannic, the alcohol wasn't so sharp.  Very sweet on the palate but not so bad on the finish.

2004 Quinta do Noval - exotic nose, with acetone, and this was a little weird... maybe with some banana?  Not what I expected.  Can feel the tannins softening.

2000 Quinta do Noval - nose was very closed, just as Corinne said.  A little paint thinner, with maybe a teeny bit of leather and a hint of forest.

1994 Quinta do Noval - much more developed, with exotic nose that was sweet like sugarcane, Asian spices.  Really lovely, and wonderful on the palate.

We then moved on to the Nacionals - the rarest of Ports made from a small plot of ungrafted, pre-phylloxera vines.  Production is extremely tiny - about 200-250 cases per year, and these days the practice is to release it slowly over 10 years while keeping about 20% stock at the quinta.  It's an incredible privilege to be drinking any of these wines, and especially the older vintages.

2011 Quinta do Noval Nacional - lots of forest pine, much bigger and more intense than the vintage.  Definitely licorice and spices, with a hint of smokiness.  More tannic because the berries are smaller.  Good sweetness on both the nose and on the palate.

2004 Quinta do Noval Nacional - nose was a little closed, somewhat stinky, with a little animal and hospital disinfectant... I think Christian Seely was right in not releasing this wine earlier, because I'm one of those who don't really "get it", at least not right now.

2000 Quinta do Noval Nacional - just like the 2000, I didn't get much out of the nose... only shoe polish, as the nose was pretty closed.

1994 Quinta do Noval Nacional - a lot more smoke, pencil lead, a little green.  Not showing as well as the vintage.

1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional - more alcoholic, with paint thinner, a hint of dustiness, but oh-so-beautiful on the palate!  Very nutty, soft and beautiful, with candied fruits and prunes.  What a privilege to have tasted this wine!

1937 Quinta do Noval Colheita - the oldest colheita from Noval, and these were bottled only 2 months ago from pipes.  With savory notes and very alcoholic on the nose.  This was simply stunning!  Soooo rich and unctuous on the palate.  Wow!

Unbelievable to have drunk 3 (or was it 4?) glasses of this tonight.

2009 Quinta do Noval Duoro - nose of potpourri, and still kinda tannic.

2000 Fisher Lamb Vineyard

Dinner at Cafe Causette.

2000 Fisher Lamb Vineyard - a little alcoholic, minty, oaky, smoky, sweet with blueberries.

Full post on dinner is here.

Les Plantiers and Les Terrasses mags

Dinner at Liu Yuan Pavilion.

2000 Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion en magnum - toasty, a little buttery corn, with lemon notes.  Round and soft on the palate.  A little surprised by the softness and elegance.

2001 Alvaro Palacios Les Terrasses - totally disappointing.  Probably served too warm and needed chilling, as the alcohol was too sharp and prominent.  Nose seemed disjointed with paint-thinner, fruit...etc.  Improved with more aeration, but a far cry from the other magnum opened a few months earlier.

Full post on dinner is here.