1996 Musigny and Chambertin - in magnum formats!

25 March 2011: We love serving magnums at dinner parties, and we now know that for 10 people, we should have prepared 3 magnums, rather than 2!  We also tried a new chef at home - Chef Yip - I thought his orange peel flavoured spare ribs and deep fried pomfret were rather tasty! (Plus I am still enjoying the almond cream with eggwhite while nursing a very bad cold and bursting head at home. I am geting rather fed up with the erratic weather patterns in HK - the temperatures this spring have been going up and down with no rhyme or reason, like a yoyo!)

We started with a Jacques Selosse Brut Initial.  We probaby should have served this wine in white wine glasses because it's first and foremost a mature Chardonnay, second a champagne!  (In fact on the back label, it says the wine should be decanted or served after a couple of hours of aeration!) Rich and ripe fruit nose of toast, pear tart, hazelnuts and honey, with a very creamy mousse and opulent texture, bolstered by racy acidity and a precise minerality. Lovely long finish. Disgorged in 2009, this Brut Initial was a mix of vintages 2004, 2003 and 2002 of parcels from the grand cru vineyards of Avize, Cramant and Oger.  18/20

1995 Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles: First bottle slightly corked.  Second bottle showed a classy nose of lemon curd, passion fruit, guava, nutty, spicy and buttery.  On the palate, balanced and structured. Well matured now - would advise drinking up within next 2 - 3 years for optimum enjoyment. 16/20
1990 Chevalier Montrachet, Michel Niellon:  Medium golden and medium-full bodied. Somewhat subdued initially.  I had it decanted for an hour. Grapefruit, floral, ripe apple, toasty, very spicy, minerality, with some creamy character. Persistent finish and very refined. A quiet and unassuming Chevalie Montrachet, albeit well-made, offering plenty of complexity.  Drinking at peak now until 2016 for optimum enjoyment. 17.5/20
1996 Chambertin, Armand Rousseau (magnum):  Classy nose, sous bois, wet leaves, farmyard, over strawberry, red fruit and dried rose petal.  Still firm tannin and vivid acidity. Not the most dense and concentrated of the Rousseau Chambertins, but a great effort. Took at least 3 hours of decanting to reveal its finest.  This wine could do with more development in the bottle.  Drink from 2015+.  18/20

1996 Musigny, Prieur (magnum):  Gained weight and complexity with 2 hours of decanting. A very charming nose of ripe red fruit, raspberry and redcurrant, perfumed and rose petal, interluded with some wet leaves. Very appealing, silky texture, allowing the ripe (but not intense) flavours to coat the tastebuds.  I probably would have expected a richer and more fulfilling mouthfeel.  Slightly vegetal and stalky on the finish. Drink now (further bottle development could be expected) - 2018 to enjoy it at its best (especially for normal bottle formats).  17.5/20
1991 Chambertin Clos de Beze, Armand Rousseau: A class act.  Behind the silky tannin and very ripe fruit, the wine revealed an astonishing freshness, firm sturcture and great concentration and intensity of flavours. Ripe red fruit, violet, earthy with some chocolate.  Hardly spent any time in the decanter as this was the last minute addition to fill our guests' fast emptying glasses (always a good sign for us!). Drinking beautifully now and for next 8 - 10+ years, with further evolution expected.  18.5/20 (And 2 bottles of this went down rather quickly too! Excellent!)
1988 Climens: Honey, dried apricot, sultana, floral, quince, marmalade, etc. Medium bodied, harmonious acidity, richly balanced. A marvellous effort, impressive, but not flamboyant. Drink now - 2016 before the acidity runs out. I had bought a chocolate gateau called "Voyageur" from Jean Paul Hévin as alternative dessert because the almond cream probably wasn't everyone's cup of tea!  And the Climens went beautifully with it!  18.5/20  (Richard's wine of the evening!)

I had saved a glass of the Selosse Brut Initial for the following day and it tasted just as marvellous! I can't wait to try the Substance, of which we have one bottle!

1953 Haut Brion

26 March 2011: 1953 Haut Brion, recorked in 1997.  One of those impromptu  moments to open a great wine over a hastily prepared supper! Decanted for about 40 minutes, just enough time for us to finish off the bottle of 1985 Trotanoy that Charles had brought.  (The 1985 Trotanoy, despite its less than sumptuous body for a Pomerol, had still retained an attractive bouquet of chocolate, coffee and dark cherry, mixed in with a good dose of vegetal character. Still well-balanced, just a little lacking in mid palate and probably saw better days 3 - 4 years ago?  Went well with the simple supper of coquelet and very caramelised peas and carrots, and definitely needed drinking! 16/20)

Back to the 1953 Haut Brion, a distinctly ruby core, with only the faintest suggestion of garnet at the rim.  Once in the glass, the wine immediately captivated us with this most glorious yet utterly unmistakably Haut Brion/Pessac Léognan bouquet of blueberry, violet, cedar, cigar tobacco, bergamot and sweet leather.  We were next completely flabbergasted by how fresh it tasted, as if time had stood still for it a long time ago.  The palate revealed a silky mouthfeel, elegant structure, finesse and complete harmony, without any harsh edges.  Persistent length with a caramelisé finish, punctuated with a slight sense of dryness.  Drinking magnificently now, and for next 5-6 years, after which time, its age might just catch up with it. 19/20

Prunotto Wine Dinner

23 Mar 2011: Bert and Hester invited us to a Prunotto wine dinner at La Piola, a Piemontese bar and restaurant that opened recently in Central. Prunotto is located in Alba, between Barolo and Barbaresco.  In 1989, the Antinori family began its collaboration with the Prunotto Cellars and later in 1994 became much more involved in the production.  One of the key objectives was to produce wine from own grapes and own vineyards, and to highlight those individual crus. 

The tasting was very well-organised and well represented by the winery and a representative from Antinori, the Asian brand ambassador. We started with the 2008 Dolcetto d’Alba, followed by 2007 Barbera d’Asti, 2006 Barbaresco and 2006 Barolo. Every wine showed extremely well and very true to its typical characteristics. The Dolcetto was a delightfully easy-drinking wine, with bright fruit, minimal acidity and some soft ripe tannin. The Barbera formed a nice contrast, with refreshing acidity and very little tannin, and married extremely well with the stewed bell peppers in a garlic and anchovy sauce, and equally well with the eggplant flan with Fontina cheese, as the acidity cut through the fluffy and creamy flan. I actually did not think the Barbaresco with its still young and unintegrated tannin was a good match for the pasta, which was a lovely homemade tajarin (very thin and eggy linguine) with artichokes and Castelmagno cheese. So I rather saved the Barbaresco for a side by side comparison with the Barolo. Although the medium-bodied Barbaresco with herbal, liquorice and tarry character had a more immediate appeal because of the more forward ripe black fruit and ripe but firm tannin, the subtle power and concentration of the Barolo eventually came through and there was no question of it being the superior wine. I adored the blackberry, floral, truffle, earth and mineral character of the Barolo with its smoother tannin, elegance and finesse. Then we were treated to a special pouring of 2005 Prunotto Bussia, from the single vineyard. There was the concentration, intensity and structure of a beautifully crafted Barolo, full of floral, black cherry, liquorice and tar. The best wine of the evening. To wind down from these big Nebbiolo beauties, we had a glass of the estate’s Moscato d’Asti, so refreshing, grapey and floral! Delicious, though it was hardly the right thing to match with the rather alcoholic chocolate flan, called Bonnet!
All in all, a very educational and enjoyable evening and thank you to Bert and Hester!  And we shall be returning to La Piola for another dinner soon!  I really liked the unpretentious setting and friendly service - besides the owner is from Piemonte - so it would be the ideal place for another Piemontese evening! 

BYO Dinner at Fusion

22 March 2011: A BYO dinner at Fusion Restaurant amongst friends. We decided that we would divide our group into Bordeaux and Burgundy contributors. Well, Burgundy won on this evening, as there were 5 bottles of Burgundy and only 2 bottles of Bordeaux. All great bottles but I think if I were to do this again, I definitely would not go to Bordeaux after Burgundy – the bigger structure and aromatics for the Bordeaux were simply a little too overwhelming for the more subtle burgundies!

2002 Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles, Leflaive: Bright lemon core. A warm nose of guava, fig, lemon curd, cashew, candied fruit, smoke and spice. Somewhat more advanced in its development than expected. Rich mouthfeel, balanced by fresh acidity, intensely flavoured on the palate, with a long finish.

Drinking beautifully now and will see further evolution in the bottle over the next 5 – 6 years. 17/20

1986 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet, Blain Gagnard: Bright golden core. Ripe pear and figs, layered with crème brûlée, grilled hazelnuts, smoke, marzipan, dried persimmon and liquorice. Even at this age, the wine needed some time in the glass to open up. Vibrant, very harmonious and beautiful complexity and length. Drinking at peak now (no further evolution to be expected) and for next 4 - 5 years for optimum enjoyment. 18/20

2000 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint Jacques, Fourrier: An extremely well-made precise and complex Clos Saint Jacques, packed with ripe red fruit, mushroom, undergrowth, wet leaves and savoury character. Very fresh still, though starting to show some tertiary character. A velvety structure, with plenty of backbone. Persistent finish. Drink now with decanting or from 2013+ for further evolution. 17.5/20

1991 Clos de La Roche, Dujac: This nectar-like wine captivated us with its heady perfume, silky texture and lingering finish! It was not a wine that distinguished itself by its power and concentration. On the contrary, it would be described as elegant, harmonious, perfumed and rather sensual. Tinned strawberry, pot pourri, rose petal, mushroom, wet stones and earthy dominated the nose. All the elements in total harmony and beautifully integrated. Just sublime! Drinking at peak now, and for the next 4 – 5 years for optimum enjoyment. 19/20 (This was the wine of the evening for me!)

1988 Musigny Vieilles Vignes, Freddie Mugnier: This wine was a little subdued and probably could have benefitted from some decanting. Rose, rosemary, thyme, animal and leather, with just a hint of volatility, showing its age? Initially a little lacking in stuffing on the mid-palate, and time in the glass added some weight and further complexity to the wine, but it still didn't quite have the immense structure, richness and concentration that I would have expected of a great wine. So a little disappointing. (Paul said that was his last bottle!) 17/20

1986 Lynch Bages: A very herbaceous nose, layered with blueberry, violet, blackcurrant, cedar and cigar box. Well-structured, balanced, and probably could do with some decanting.  Drinking well now with 2 hours of decanting! (I wasn't too keen on the overly herbaceous character, which was characteristic of the vintage, according to Richard.) 17/20

1990 Pichon Baron: A wine despite its age, still very much in its youthful state. Blue and black fruit dominated the nose, blueberry, blackberry, black cherry, showing some spice/liquorice, cigar box and cedar. Extremely well balanced with firm tannin, robust structure and a very long finish. We definitely should have decanted this wine. It hardly had time to develop in the glass. 18.5/20

So apologies to the Bordeaux contributors, I just felt that we didn’t really give the Bordeaux bottles the chance to shine!

On the restaurant, it’s a great venue for wine tasting, although the “glassage” cost could easily almost double the per head food cost…..if you insisted on changing glasses with every wine. (and they also charge breakage!) The food was of consistent quality. We hadn’t been there for almost a year and the food was pretty much the same quality. Particularly still good were the grilled pork chops and the mushroom salad. I decided to try the Wagyu beef tongue and it was quite an interesting match with the 1986 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet! I then had the grilled prawn pasta – the prawn was a little mushy – so I took a chunk of Richard’s pork chop to go with the well-flavoured tomato-sauced pasta!! Yummy (but probably not the best dish to go with the wines)!

Not quite sure what is going on with the photos-  they just refuse to be uploaded!

1971 Musigny, de Vogüé

Tasted 17 March 2011: (good level, approx. 2.5 cm below cork) Medium garnet core. Bouquet of rose petal, strawberry, autumn leaves, mushroom, coffee, caramel and five spice, a little marred by a hint of volatility. Palate confirmed the setting in of volatile acidity, but there was sufficient structure and complexity to suggest that this wine could have reached its peak only just a couple of years ago, when it was elegant and rich, sensual and breathtaking and at the highest and purest expression of top class burgundy!  Still persistent finish. 17/20

This is a wine that needs drinking now, at its peak, if it's been well stored!

2000 Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Clos Saint Jacques

13 March 2011: Drinking beautifully now, showing off its sweet ripe fruit, bolstered by the smooth velvety tannin, all balanced and propped up by a good level of acidity.  Lovely raspberry and redcurrant character, then opening up to savoury, violet, spicy and farmyard character. An extremely well-made Premier Cru, but I do not think there is a real rush to drink up this wine.  For those who like the fruity style, it is drinking beautifully now and for those who like some more tertiary character, this wine will hold up for the next 5 - 6 years, with some lovely surprises! By the way, it went very well with our deep fried pork, in a fermented bean curd sauce. 17.5/20

It just shows how under-rated 2000 has been for burgundies (both white and red)!  We opened a 2000 Simon Bize Corton Charlemagne recently and the wine was nowhere near the "Drink Me Up Quickly" point.  Belying the taut structure, it showed racy acicity and well integrated character of citrus and mineral, with just a hint of smoke and toast.  It could go on evolving for a long while!

1988 and 1992 Tollot-Beaut Corton Charlemagne

5 March 2011: On two consecutive days, I tried the 1988 and 1992 vintages of Tollot-Beaut Corton Charlemagne.  I have been so impressed by the amazing freshness of a number of 1992 white burgundies that I tasted recently, all exhibiting stunning minerality, lively acidity, complexity and a persistent finish.  The 1992 Tollot-Beaut was no exception, showing complex smokey, nutty, lemon curd, honeysuckle and spicy character, with a very light undertone of honey.  Elegant, rather understated and well-packed out with acidity and flavours, this wine was drinking extremely well now, but could definitely provide another 5 - 6+ years of extremely enjoyable drinking, without showing any sign of fatigue. 17.5/20

The 1988 by comparison, was a more solemn wine, in both mouthfeel and character, and displayed much more richness and mature notes of smoke, hazelnuts and honey.  There was just enough acidity to give this wine sufficient structure and balance.  Drinking probably just past peak or thereabouts, and this wine would be best enjoyed within the next 2 years, in good storage conditions.  16/20

Neither wine showed any sign of fatigue or oxidation, quite a relief given the general fear of pre-mature oxidation amongst white burgundies.   I rather prefer the more refreshing 1992 with the complexity and acidity pairing rather well with intensely flavoured chicken dishes (I am particularly referring to the classic Cantonese dishes of chicken cooked in soya sauce).  I was interested by the notion of pairing the 1988 with egg-white custard tart - I could not have thought of it myself!  I thought it went quite well with the pasta with field mushrooms, with the smokey character of the wine pairing off with the earthy and garlic-infused mushrooms.

Other 1992 whites I had recently included the Meursault and Meursault Charmes, Comtes Lafon and the Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne..........fabulous vintage, so yummy now (and what's more, all these wines have the intense flavours and acidity to go with normally challenging Chinese dishes)!