WHITE AND FISH @ TONNY’S - Tonny Restaurant, Geylang Lor 3, Singapore (23/7/2014)
Peter had another good catch on his fishing expedition and gathered a small group of us at Tonny to share the bounty. Chef cooked up the fish three ways and put together a few other yummy dishes. Theme was white wines, and we ended up with a pretty neat selection of blind wines.
-
2000 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon - France, Champagne
Yet another bottle of the 2000, and this was as consistently good as it has been over the past 2-3 years or so. It had a gently sweet nose of ripe red apples and strawberry flesh laced with a little smokiness and some mineral scents, with just the lightest floral note trailing on behind. The past few bottles have been showing an increasingly resolved palate, and this certainly continued the trend – it was round and generous, with a fine mousse that it just beginning to lose its vigour, and fleshy tones of red apples and sweet lemons. Lovely balance, even if it was clearly on the fleshier, less sleek side of Dom Perignon. There was just a little bright citrus edge showing the last vestiges of youth as the wine went past the midpalate, and then it trailed off into a long, minerally finish, with little kiss of warm spice and the tiniest linger of biscuity flavours. Very nice. (92 pts.) -
2004 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
I had quite forgetten having drank (and enjoyed) a bottle of this some 3 years back. Tonight, I found it a bit too heavy for me, but this was very much a wine of character that went well with food. A rich nose was a precursor to the rest of the wine, with slightly sweet, weighty aromas of beeswax, stone fruit and spice, and then more savoury tones of mushrooms, mineral and a little nutty creaminess. The palate had a rich, waxy texture, with very honeyed shades of nectar, white peach and Chinese pears. Tons of creamy depth and texture hear. However, even punctuated as it was by some of the freshness of the vintage, this still seemed heavy, with an impressive of lower acidity, especially towards the finish, where the freshness gives out and the wine got just a little plodding. It certainly had length though, with a powerful finish with mineral, spice and a little almond nut note. Not bad, but not quite the style of wine I enjoy at this point of its evolution. I am not sure this is going to get much better given the lack of freshness and the already honeyed maturity in the wine’s flavours either. (91 pts.) -
2004 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
Very pleasant – this was quite a nice 1er Cru. It had nicely typical Chassagne tones on the nose, with light honeyed tones, white peach and Chinese pears aromas, mixed in with a little bit of cream, and drifts of spice, chalk and some dancing mineral scents. There was something floral and perfumy about that, and really quite attractive. The palate reflected a higher acid year. It was nice and fresh, with limey, lemony notes running through creamier, slightly buttery tones and a more white fruited midpalate and than into a bright finish with a little touch of brioche to it. All in all, very open, loose-knit and generous. This was drinking beautifully and was very pleasant on the night. (92 pts.) -
2008 Patrick Piuze Chablis Grand Cru Bougros - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Put next to a slightly corked 2007 Fevre Les Preuses, this really shone. It was every bit the classic Chablis, with a classy nose of chalk and mineral and seashelly bits hanging around a core of white fruit, sweeter white peach scents and little honeyed backnote. Very classic on the palate too, with more of those saline hints of seashell and mineral and brighter notes of lemon zest and citrus lime running through a white fruit attack and midpalate. There was still some austerity on this, with a juicy, zippy acidity and a gentle but insistent spine of minerality running through the wine into a nicely detailed, precise finish. It was very elegant though, and beautifully put together. While there is no harm drinking this with appropriate food in its youth, I feel it really needs quite a few years more to show its best – try again in 2018-2020. 92+ (92 pts.) -
2007 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
A wonderful wine. I was rather underwhelmed by a good but not great bottle that I had a few years back, but served blind again, this just about smashed all the other wines tonight, including a white Hermitage and two Chablis Grand Crus, that preceded it. The nose was pure Sauvignon Blanc, and yet clearly not of the new world, kiwi variety. There was a little shade of cat’s pee and a little rubbery bounce in there somewhere, but this was all about summery fruit – green mangoes, lychees, passionfruit – all lovely sunny aromas, with the littlest rivulet of earthier mineral scents just starting to emerge at the edges of the bouquet. The palate had superb weight. The sticker read only 12.5%, but this felt like it had more depth and power and presence than even the 14% Rhone. Great depth of flavours too – from citrusy notes of green mangoes and green apples to more exotic lychees and a hint of passionfruit at the edges of the midpalate. Glorious balance all round, with rivers of perfectly integrated acidity and muscular mineral undertones running through into a super long finish, where chalky mineral and a little spice lingered with a lick citrusy freshness. Beautiful stuff. I was very taken by this wine. It was solid and impressive, and can probably last another 20 years with that amazing minerality and structure, but it was already so enjoyable on the night – complete, complex and absolutely compelling. 92-94-95 (94 pts.) -
2006 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Really solid for a village. This had a typical Leflaive nose, if just a touch on the riper side, with sweet lemons and pineapple aromas ringed with wafts of gunflint and mineral. The palate had a good sense of depth and breadth to it, without quite crossing over into 1er Cru territory, showing ripe apples and more citrusy lemon flavours seasoned with some spice, some roasted nuts, and a nice earthy minerality towards the finish. There was still a good drop of lemony acidity keeping the wine nicely balanced, but while it has quite a few years in its tank yet, I do not think it has the structure and balance to be one of the longer lasting wines. Drinking nicely now though. Solid. (91 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
