1993 Corton-Renardes, Leroy

21 August 2014:

1993 Corton-Renardes, Leroy

Medium garnet. Sauvage, truffle, damp autumn leaves, earth, Asian spices of cardamom and cinnamon, plum fruit. Silky, elegantly structured, with freshness underscoring the mellow tannin. All this embracing ripe and mature fruit. Drinking beautifully now, and will continue to deliver at this level over next 6 - 8+ years. Medium finish. 18/20

2010 Corton Charlemagne, Olivier Bernstein
Pale golden robe.  Honey, apricot, ripe pear and ginger. Fleshy and harmonious but started to show signs of maturity. Drinking very well now, not restrained at all. Though not showing signs of premature oxidation, this bottle seems to indicate an accelerated path of development.  (This is the first bottle of 6 that we tried....so I would try another one soon to see if these signs are present.) Medium finish.  I would drink earlier rather than later. 16.5/20

2000 Pavie and 2000 Montrose

23 August 2014: Another lovely dinner at Upper Modern Bistro....great modern bistro dishes, friendly staff and a lively ambiance. To accompany our 2006 Mount Mary Chardonnay, we shared smoked salmon toast with cauliflower puree and avruga caviar, mini sausage rolls and my favourite pig's trotter dip (sadly none of my friends shared my passion for this - so more for me!!). 

The Mount Mary Chardonnay from Yarra Valley was definitely a cool climate style Chardonnay, now in its 7th year, showing notes of lemon, ripe pear and apple, lightly ginger-spiced, and the faintest hint of oak influence (30% new oak and the rest in older or larger barrels). A linear structure, beautifully balanced and precise, nice weight on the palate, without being heavy, and a minerally finish. Still very much in its youth....can be enjoyed now and over the next 8 - 10+ years. 17/20  (The label of this bottle specially added a note of commemoration of Dr. John Middleton, the founder of Mount Mary Vineyard who died in 2006.)

We continued with starters of lobster salad, 63 degree egg with sauteed mushroom, crab meat and bellota ham. Then for our main courses, we had the two 2000 Bordeaux side by side.

2000 Montrose (opened and double-decanted 4.5 hours earlier )
63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. 12.5% abv.
Deep ruby. Cassis, dried herbs, blackberry, cedar, violet, hint of smoke, lead pencil, stoney, cool minerality, initially a hint of herbaceousness. Firm tannin, sense of freshness and coolness dominates the robust structure, powerful but not fleshy. Medium bodied. Muscular, firm and classic St Estephe. Still very youthful. Needs time to resolve. Continued to develop in the glass, took on more weight and the flavours more concentrated. Drink 2018+. A long life ahead. At least 20 years. 18/20


2000 Pavie (opened and double-decanted 2.5 hours earlier)
60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13.5% abv.
Deep ruby. Seductive nose of plump blackberry fruit, dark chocolate, hint of cedar over the liquorice and vanilla notes. Almost port-like. Fleshy and opulent, lush fruit and ripe but firm tannin dominating the texture, viscous and concentrated, still retaining a good level of balancing freshness. This is a wine generous in every sense! You can enjoy it now but I would wait 5 - 6 more years for a more harmonious experience. A very very long life ahead! Tonight, I preferred the less over-powering and more harmonious Montrose, as the Pavie seemed a bit too full-on! I do think the Pavie has an extremely long life ahead and will live up to its legendary status with the right amount of bottle age. 18+/20

We finished with Jeremy's selection of cheese, washed down with a half bottle of 2001 Suduiraut from the restaurant's wine list. Jeremy Evrard never fails to impress with his incredible knowledge of cheese and his stories about individual cheesemakers......For me, this is always a highlight at Upper Modern Bistro!

Village delights and a couple of mini M's!

10 Aug 2014: It would be awfully boring if one only experienced Grand Cru Bourgogne all the time.....to get the whole picture of the place, it is important to try the range of appellations from regional to village, Premier Cru and then Grand Cru. There are Bourgogne wines perfect for everyday purposes while others are ideal for convivial occasions with a few good friends.....then there are those more entitled to special celebrations. Here are some interesting examples we tried recently that we recommend:

2012 Bourgogne Chardonnay, Chanterêves: behind this new micro-négoce is Tomoko Kuriyama and Guillaume Bott. Tomoko is originally from Japan, and she was the winemaker at Weingut Altenkirch between 2007 and 2011. Guillaume has been the winemaker at Domaine Simon Bize since 2002, prior to that he was winemaker at Etienne Sauzet (1995 - 2002). Intrigued by this new micro-négoce, I bought a couple of bottles of Bourgogne Chardonnay to try. I was very impressed by the quality - a genuine authentic expression of regional Bourgogne (the 100% organically and biodynamicallly grown grapes for this vintage had come from Maranges), use of wild yeast, no bâtonnage, and only seasoned oak was used in the vinification process (3 to 10-year barrels), no fining and only light filtration before bottling. It showed elegance, purity, clear sense of place and expression of the vintage and the grape, balance and a well-defined structure. I would be very happy to have this as house wine! Drink now and over next 4 -5 years. Retailing at HK$ 220 in Hong Kong, It probably cost a bit more than a New World Chardonnay, but that sense of place and the inimitable Bourguignon finesse was worth the extra dollar (in my view)!

Another commendable white is a village white from Marsannay, Côte de Nuits.  It is 2011 Marsanny Les Champs Perdrix, Domaine Marc Roy.  At just 12.5% abv, this wine surprises with a mid-weight frame, with a creamy vinous texture, balanced richness, lively freshness and a crisp finish.  It ticks all the boxes for a more serious house white, perfect with the Sunday dim sum lunch with your family.  Exotic fruit on the nose, overlaid with citrus, toasty and slightly smokey notes. Not too heavy on the palate, but there is a nice smooth texture, with some weight, balanced by a good level of acidity (apparently only 50% malolactic fermentation). Crisp finish. It does not have the depth nor concentration worthy of a higher rating, but the balance and elegance definitely make this a very pleasurable wine at a reasonable price. Retails at HK$ 290 a bottle. Drink now and over next 4 - 5 years. 15.5/20

 

2004 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur, Marc Roy: this was my first bottle from this domaine, now run by 4th generation Alexandrine.  Minimal intervention and sustainable viticulture are practiced here. The grapes from this bottle came from the village part of Clos Prieur (which also had an upper portion declared as Premier Cru), a vineyard below Mazis-Chambertin. The lower part of Clos Prieur has heavier clay soil. Garnet robe. Already a mature bouquet of farmyard, earth, savoury, leather notes, with some spicy (nutmeg, cardamon, cloves) nuances, prune, autumn leaves, slight sappy note. Made in a classic rustic style, but the wine has now reached its plateau of maturity, showing a smooth medium-bodied texture, with a richness and elegance perhaps not quite expected of 2004, but without the concentration and depth of character worthy of a Premier Cru. Medium length finish.  Drink now and over next 2 - 3 years. Retails at HK$ 490 a bottle. I would score this 16/20.

 

2006 Chambolle-Musigny, Roumier: This village wine contains some premier cru Fuées juice. Fresh acidity, silky texture and refined elegance are distinct features of this wine. Some tertiary notes have started to appear: mushroom and earth accompanying the classic pure and ripe red fruit notes of raspberry and plum. Medium bodied, some concentration on palate and good length. Drink now and over next 6 - 8 years.  Medium length finish.  Retails at HK$ 1170 a bottle!  16.5/20

And for those special occasions this week, we tried 2 vintages of Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru, Comte Georges de Vogüé. The Chambolle Premier Cru from this domaine is typically made with young Musigny vines, usually up to 25 years of age.  The 2002 definitely showed the hallmark features of Musigny, with sublime elegance, precise detail and classy firm structure delivered in lightish frame, lacking the concentration and weight for the real stuff.  The tannins can still do with more time to resolve, leaving the wine with a chewy texture still.  Full of vigour and energy, and packed with pure red and black fruit appeal.  I would leave this for 12 - 18 months before trying again.  Drink over next 8 - 10 years!   The 2001 is definitely ready for drinking now but it does not quite have the same fruit appeal and suppleness as the 2002. It is more classic in style, but the detail and harmony are very evident. I would score the 2002 higher than the 2001. I would score 17.5/20 for the 2002 and 17/20 for the 2001.

1990 La Tache

1 Aug 2014: On the back of a very disappointing experience of a seriously out-of-condition magnum bottle of this wine, we decided to try a bottle of this, from the same US importer, Wilson Daniels, to see if the magnum was a singular aberration from the reputed quality of this wine.

1990 La Tâche: Deep garnet robe. An intensive bouquet of red fruit and floral notes greeted the nose, with aromas of raspberry, blueberry, violet and dried rose petals......overlaying some earthy, mushroom and spicy nuances. With extended aeration, the tertiary character kind of gave way to the dominance of an intense pinot perfume of raspberry. The tannins initially still showed a firm quality, together with the concentration and depth of flavours, lending a robust and powerful structure to the wine. The tannins slowly evolved in the glass and delighted the palate with such fleshy and velvety texture, and the flavours clinging onto the tastebuds. There was a very impressive freshness about this wine. Here the incredible balance and understated finesse transcended the apparent richness and opulence. The finish went on for a very long time.

A totally sublime expression! I think this could do with a couple more years of cellaring and watch out for further stunning transformation.......drink from 2016+. 19.5+/20