DINNER AT SUMMER PAVILION - Summer Pavilion, Ritz Carlton, Singapore (30/9/2017)
BUBBLES TO START
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2004 Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Grand Cru Fleur de Passion Brut Cramant - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
From a magnum, this was very enjoyable indeed - a great bottle to have over a Cantonese meal. The nose was really pretty, with little dancing notes of white fruited Chinese pears, brioche and flowers streaming out o the glass. Unsurprisingly for a 2004 magnum, the palate still felt extremely youthful, with plenty of bright acidity and a very lacy mousse giving the wine a sense of laser-like focus underneath otherwise soft, fluffy flavours of sweet white fruit, lemony citrusy, and a little lick of minerality at the end. This will come together very nicely over the next few years, but it was a delight to drink even on the day. (93 pts.)
A PAIR FROM 1978
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1978 Bodegas Riojanas Rioja Viña Albina Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
Second time round with this seemingly ageless wine, and it gave as much delight as the bottle we had a few years back. There was a really nice nose on this one - flowers, dark cherries, a touch of liqueur, all playing against an earthy backdrop, with a hint of meatiness acting as a savoury counterpoint to the otherwise sweet and seductive aromas of the bouquet. The palate had a nice richness to its matured tones of dark cherries and honeyed berries dashed with powdered spices, but there was also tons of bright, orange peel acidity that kept the wine feeling really pure, light and very delicious. A little chew of powdery tannins than led into a long finish with lovely spicy details. Fresh and beautiful, this was a delight to drink. (93 pts.) -
1978 Maison Albert Bichot Gevrey-Chambertin Domaine du Clos Frantin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Decent enough at its age, but this was not great - it paled significantly next to a 1978 Rioja Gran Reserva that we had alongside. The nose showed a touch of funk alongside other teritary aromas of winter melon, soy sauce, and earthy, truffley mushroom notes, all this with just a touch of red fruit and preserved plum smells along side. The preserved plums were picked up again in the palate, along with a fresher note of red cherries and a twist of orange peel. It was still quite fresh, but the structure somehow felt a bit soft and muggy with the tannins having completely gone, with the finish tailing off somewhat. All in all, a decent enough drink - simple but charming at its age, but not great. Should have been drank up a few years ago maybe. (88 pts.)
A LOVELY TRIO FROM MEURSAULT
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1995 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Really strong for village white that has spent more than 20 years in the bottle. I really liked the nose on it - sweet cream and egg whites - meringue I thought - the ripest lemons, a hint of white peach, then a twist of greener aromas like celery and grapefruit, all this laced together with a hint of minerlaity. Very nice. The palate felt very full and ripe on the attack, with sweet lemons and yellow fruited notes edged by a touch of heat and some glycerol. It was lifted by a good bit of lemony acidity on the midpalate though, and into a long finish of cream and chalk. Sweet but controlled, just a touch obvious and a bit straight-laced on the palate after all that complexity promised on the nose, otherwise this was a delicious wine, drinking well on the night. (92 pts.) -
2002 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Really, really nice - this was a wonderful example of Meursault Charmes, drinking beautifully at the moment. The nose was super-expressive here, with classic Meursault drippings of cream and chalk, along with sweeter accents of candy floss and vanilla, a core of white fruited aromas, and then a strong two of earthy minerality underneath it all. A lovely bouquet. The palate was at once big, round and powerful, but there was also a wonderful clarity and juiciness to its full, creamy depth, with lovely flavours of lemon curd seasoned with fragrant nutmeg and cloves, all this wonderfully integrated into a beautiful whole. A very charming wine that was just begging to be drank up. (94 pts.) -
2000 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
Wow. This was a step-up from the already great bottle of 2002 Lafon Charmes that we had alongside. It had such an expansive bouquet, filling the nose was wafts of cream and chalk and minerals, then white fruit and sweeter sultanas, white flowers with touch of honey, finally a draw of hazelnut aromas - a real whiff of heavenly nectar. Wow. It was amazing on the palate too, starting with an attack of sultanas, spice and brioche - flavours like a raisin-cream bun I thought - and then opening up into warm, generous flavours of white peaches and ripe lemon that just expanded and expanded in the mouth against a deeply buried structure of mineral and soft acidity. This was a wonderfully integrated wine, beautifully round and mellow, broad and generous, yet suavely balanced and always supremely focused. Great long finish too - not showy, but with a subtle tail of stony minerality that lingered and lingered on the back palate. A superb expression of the Perrieres vineyard, drinking at a delicious peak now. (95 pts.)
THE LONE RANGER
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1999 Domaine Ponsot Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Cuvée des Alouettes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
Decent. Nothing special, nothing especially bad. Just about decent. A bit dissapointing for a Ponsot 1er Cru I must say. It had a pretty good nose of powdered herbs, red cherries, roots and bramble, along with a good but of fragrant spice. The palate was very ho-hum though, with simple but uninspiring flavours of sour plum and sour cherry, with a touch of orange acidity that all faded towards the finish. Balance was okay, structure was okay, but the wine just felt a touch pedestrian and rather boring for all that. It may be going through a dumb phase, as Ponsot wines sometimes do - I am just not sure it will ever get out of it. (88 pts.)
SWEET END
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1991 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
A strange little bottle with a rather unusual flavour profile. Not unpleasant though. There was something really savoury on the nose - chicken stock cubes almost - along with more traditional port aromas of molasses, treacle and Christmas plums. The palate was exptremely pepperminty - almost reminiscent of Woods cough syrup - with a touch of molasses and spice alongside. Decently balanced, quite nicely soft and mellowed, so altogether a decent enough drink - just a bit strange. (89 pts.)
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