2011 Simple Dinner Series 3 :: Mark visit

This is our first-ever simple dinner which is not for birthday celebration. It is, instead, a welcome dinner for Mark from Goedhuis. We came back to one of our favorite restaurants: Jade Palace @ Forum Shopping Mall as their food is consistently great with sufficient stemware and decanter.

Thanks to the generosity of Mark, we had a top class Chevalier Montrachet from Colin Deleger and and a well-crafted 2003 Sesti (Castello di Argiano) Brunello di Montalcino Phenomena Riserva. The CM, though young, is classy and promising.

We ended up with a well-spread lineup of 10 wines (+ one wine from our friend at next table) : red and white Burgundy, Bordeaux, Germany, Italy and a Californian Cab. To me, the stars of the evening are the 2007 Colin Deleger Chevalier Montrachet followed by the strikingly delicious 2008 Schloss Lieser BJS Auslese Goldkapsel. Thanks guys!

-> The 2009 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel that I have tasted last year was just as great as this bottle. One of my favorite German Riesling producer now!

• 2009 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese

  Germany, Nahe

  Alcohol :: 8.5%
  Focus, expressive with its honey lemon, citrus, mineral aromas with good hint of freshness. This come a bit lean on the mid palate and tension on the finish. After having the deep fried soon hock fish, the palate become weightier and denser with good sweetness intermixed with mouth watering acidity that carry through the intense mid palate to the rich, sweet finishing, as good as this is, it lack a tad of tension and precision to pull everything together. A really typical German Riesling Spatlese but definitely not the Donnhoff that I knew. My friend told me that this bottle just landed thus I believe it need more time to settle down after travelling. Buy - Re-taste is needed, but not a buy for what it is today.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Alcohol :: 7%
  750ml. Rather tight on the nose with hint of mangoes, chalky mineral and citrus lemon. However, the palate is another world, absolutely brilliant brilliant wine with class, finesse and complexity, layer and layer of concentrated ripe mangoes, apricot, red apple with earth and mineral all framed under the superb bright, mouth watering acidity with refreshing mineral that keep the wine in lazer like precision and focus, as well as light on its feet despite the highly concentrated and richness on the palate. Impeccable balance and harmonious and the juicy, detail finished just goes on and on. Excellent, miles better than Donnhoff. My 2nd WOTN. Buy - Definitely Yes.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

-> 2000 Domaine Michel Colin-Deleger Chevalier Montrachet, the 5th disciple in 神之雫 /《神之水滴》Episode 18 , described as TEST. It has this sharp mineral character that is hard to approach, but once your surpassed it, the achievement / accomplishment will definitely worth it, and I agreed with this. Though this is 2007, it is same as what the 2000 from the comic. I always find Chevalier Montrachet is 严峻的，宏伟的规模建立起一道让人无法轻易接近的障碍，虽然艰苦，但却无法停止步伐的想要越过它，一旦跨越了，那美妙的金黄色体验是无法用言语来形容的。We had the 2000 Marc-Colin Montrachet, which was also appeared in the comic as another candidate of 5th disciple, which we understand why it is being described as magnificent, majestic, large-scale but gentle, has the ability to tolerate and accept everything to its world. It was what exactly hit my mind when I had it: 宏伟，温柔，优雅，拥有无限的包容力但却不失威严. Again, I would love to thanks to all my friend who share with me their knowledge, all the great wines to me, really appreciate it, without you guys, I won’t have the exp of what I’m having now.

• 2007 Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Alcohol :: 14%
  The wine was really tight at first, with lots of oak, creamy vanilla and butter, cold mineral tones that dominated the nose and palate. When I tried the wine again at the end of dinner (approx in the glass for an hour or maybe more), it was singing. Bright, cold fresh herbs, alluring spices, creamy butter, very deep, complex and classy. Full bodied, palate staining indensity, large scale and stunning depth, layer and layer of complex flavors, herb, white fruits, white floral, creamy butter, nuttiness that completely buffer off the high level of oak. The fresh cold mineral is slight sharp and powerful that made this wine need your patience and attention to really know that there is this sense of elegance and finesse hiding deep inside the core. The immensely long finish is electrifying that last for a min with the pure fresh mineral aftertaste lingering effortlessly. This is no doubt a wine for the long haul. It is not really hard to say this is my WOTN. Buy - Yes.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Deep golden. Powerful, heavy oaky and nuttiness buried the lemon custard beneath with roasted herb, tons of power on the palate, quite acidic with tons of oak glide through the palate brutally with sharp mineral finish that seems lack of fruits. This has passed its peaks. Drink up. Buy - No.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

-> Lucien Le Moine is a new rising star of micro-negociant, very good maker and grab them before the price shot up (in fact, already did)!

• 2007 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Bright ruby red. Rather expressive for such a young wine, complex intense nose of floral, Indian spices, incense, sweet macerated cherry with wild, another good example of why Burgundy is seductive. However, this is definitely too young and exhibit this metallic tones which slightly distract a bit. Fullish palate, good transparency and precision cut through the flavors but the mid palate seems a bit lean with firm integrated tannin and touch of oak that went through to the finish with traces of alcohol heat. This is too young for sure, hope additional bottle age will help to round up the wine as well as gain in weight. Buy - Re-taste is needed, but not a buy for what it is today.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1996 Sylvain Cathiard Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  Alcohol :: 13.5%
  Aged nose with kinda pungent spice that expose its NSG identity along with earth, pepper, mushroom swirling around the sweet dark cherry core and fur. It was drinking quite beautifully within the first 30mins with some sweet fruits intermixed with secondary note like dried tea leave and then it started to fade in the glass, absent of fruits, volatile acid and oak with lots of bitter tannin with alcohol heat finish. Drink up. Buy - No.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1999 Domaine de L'Arlot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Powerful nose of black cherry, red cherry, floral, blood and this iron that seems not truly refine. Rich, concentrated cherry with slight sharp edge of mineral and blood iron that tightly knit by the bitter tannin leads to powerful, rich long finish. A powerhouse that needs many more years to come just I thought this lack of the refinement that I found on Arnoux suchots. Buy - No.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1999 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Alcohol :: 13.5%
  Complex, classic bouquet of CDP, brett, barnyard with focus, deep core of sweet plum, currant liquor, provencal spices, animals. However the palate is kinda fading, mild fruits can't cover / counter balance with the barnyard, animals and tannin with oak not fully integrated resulted in bitter chocolate taste that leads to very un-pleasing finish, though Is long but dried. Drink up. 2nd release, my friend told me that his previous bottle was way better. Bottle variation maybe. Buy - No.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2003 Sesti (Castello di Argiano) Brunello di Montalcino Phenomena Riserva

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  The lone Italian, but surprisingly good. Blue cheese, barnyard, fish market, herb and macerated cherry on the nose with high acid started the journey on the palate with flavors of sour cherry, blackberry with leather, earth and mouth coating tannin but all well in check lending to the firm, long, powerful finish. Buy - Maybe.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1995 Château Léoville Barton

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  Lovely powerful nose of blackcurrant, tobacco, earth and roasted herb that very much like a st-stephe to me. Still rather young and tight, big, broad shoulder, with very good acidity to keep this full bodied, firmly structure, powerful wine in precise and focus in precise and focus, with fine grained tannin that leads to the firm, powerful finish with grounded coffee, dark chocolate aftertaste. This is clearly not ready but I pretty much like it, give it another 5-7yrs. Buy - Maybe.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2007 Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Alcohol :: 14.8%
  Definitely new world as this has completely different profile with the Barton, it is hard to say which is better as this is more of preference, but nonetheless both are very good wines. Aromas of sweet blackcurrant, dark plum intermixed with mint, creamy vanilla, liquorice, nail vanished and perfume violet, broad and complex, not at all pungent, beautiful. As expected, the wine is still very tannic and structure but there were these superb rich and concentrated flavors and extract that nicely balance and buffer which make this wine fairly approachable, complex flavor of nail vanish, almond nut, real creamy vanilla, blackcurrant, heavy weight boxer like intensity with very powerful, medium length sweet finish. A real blockbuster but quite a elegance one. Buy - Maybe.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue