GINA’S BIRTHDAY DINNER - Kai Garden, Marina Square (20/12/2017)
BUBBLES
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1990 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
A really nice, mature Champers - this has come a long way since the last bottle I had 9 years ago. It started out with a lovely nose of soft yellow fruited scents wed to earthy mineral and a base of savoury white meatiness - a really complex and compelling bouquet. The palate had a nice softness to it, with round, fleshy flavours of red apples underlined by more of that beguiling earth and mineral picked up on the nose. There was a glowing purity on this and a lovely sense of integration, with juicy kumquat acidity and a gentle mousse melting gently into the soft, palate caressing finish, where little notes of spice lingered away nicely. (93 pts.) -
2002 Dom Perignon Champagne - France, Champagne
Good stuff - this is coming along very nicely indeed. The nose was a very attractive melange of fresh red apples, florals, toasty almonds and buttery brioche. The palate was eminently drinkable, with fresh acidity and really fine, lacy mousse woven through delicious flavours of red apple, cream and white flowers, and then a nice little hint of lemon zest and minerality at the finish. A bit soft and advanced, but certainly yummy. I do not think it will the longest lived DP, but it will give a lot of pleasure over the decade. (92 pts.)
REDS
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2000 Jacques Cacheux Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
One of a yummy pair of nicely matured Echezeaux, this had a really pretty nose of blueberries, orange peel, earth and woody spice, leading into a soft palate where sweet but light-footed blue fruit and perfumed florals filled the mouth along with a blast of woody spice and a twist of orange peel at the finish. It had just a bit of drying woody tannins that gave it a touch go rusticity, otherwise, this was very pleasurable and drinking well. Much better than the last two bottles I had years ago. (92 pts.) -
2000 Domaine Francois Lamarche Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru
Very enjoyable. The nose was a nice mix of lifted wood spice and sweet blue fruit patted down with minerally earth and a nice savoury meatiness. The palate was nicely soft, with tannins having resolved into a silky robe draped across fresh, juicy flavours of sweet red cherries nicely seasoned with a bit of spice and earth, and just a hint of dried flowers at the finish. Not especially impressive - this lacked a bit of midpalate weight for a Grand Cru - but this was in nevertheless really enjoyable. A nice wine in the right place to drink now. (92 pts.) -
2001 Domaine Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
Another really enjoyable wine, firing on all cylinders on the night. This had a beautifully sweet nose of blueberries flecked with bits of earth and spice. Nothing confected or artificial, just a glow of natural fruit. The palate was soft and lovely, with silky tannins and bright acidity enlivening juicy red cherry notes, along with just the lightest layering of earth at the finish. Like the Lamarche Echezeaux that preceded it, this was not a blockbuster, maybe just lacking a touch of Grand Cru authority and weight, but was a delight to drink. (92 pts.) -
2012 A. et P. de Villaine Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise La Digoine - France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise
Very nice, this had a youthful but attractive nose of sweet red fruit and stalky flowers along with a bit of earthiness. There was just a hint of greenness on the edges and a bit more woodiness than I like, but otherwise very pretty. The palate had a lovely purity to its lifted notes of sweet red cherries soaked with flower petals, undergirded by a firm layer of tannins and a nice spine of mineral and spice. There was a beautiful clarity to the wine - really fresh and vibrant, with a crystalline transperancy right through its core and into a finish lightly gripped by very fine, slightly woody tannins. Still way too young and a tad simple, but this was a beautiful Cote Chalonnaise that was bursting with potential. (91 pts.) -
2002 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
A slightly more worked, extracted style of Burgundy than most of the other wines on show, but really nice as always - showing better, in fact, than the last bottle I had back in January of this year. The nose had a touch of toasty wood and brambly spice floating around a deep core of blue fruit and funky, meaty notes, with a steely band of iron mineral running along behind. A deep, masculine bouquet. This was nicely echoed on the palate, with a powerful mouthful of blue fruit and iron mineral couched in nicely fresh acidity and velvety tannins. A muscular wine, with lots of substance, but also very nicely balanced and structured, with a good bit of acidity and fine tannins still forming a noble frame for the wine. Nice long finish too, with a nice
of spice and a lovely pull of steely mineral drifting away on the back-palate. Lovely stuff, drinking nicely now but with upside still to come over the next few years. My wine of the night along with the 1981 Haut Bailly that followed. (93 pts.)
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2001 Domaine Ponsot Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Another nice wine. This also had a really nice nose, with dashes of earth and spice and green bramble drifting about polished wafts of blue fruit. There was a really juicy succulence on the palate, with orangey acidity running through crunchy red cherries, with fine tannins giving the wine a nice chew that carried the wine towards a long finish. Still a touch on the primary side, but beautifully fresh and very yummy, with tons of substance in its locker. This was a nice wine that wed both strength and elegance - I would love to try this again 10 years down the road. (92 pts.) -
1981 Château Haut-Bailly - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Nice stuff, drinking at a lovely peak. The lone Bordeaux in Burgundy line-up, this really stood out - thankfully in a good way. The nose was classic left bank, with cassis, leather and wet leaves, along with whiffs of cedar wood, dark chocolate and a lovely pull of tobacco. The palate had a beautiful clarity to it, with pure notes of sweet, juicy cassis and broiled meat lined with smoky, charred wood notes and a high-toned drift of tobacco floating into the midpalate. This was lovely - not the deepest or weightiest, but really elegant, with silky tannins and lovely acidity lending it a real sense of finesse to it. Wonderful stuff, remarkable for its vintage. (93 pts.)
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