Charity Event for Lee Ah Mooi Old Aged Home

Kudos to William who put together this brilliant charity event. We all donated bottles of wine, which were then opened to the public for tasting, which pours of the different wines carrying different price tags depending on their cache. It was a great chance to hang out with friends, drink some superb wines and do something for charity.

• 2007 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Felsentürmchen Spätlese 92 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  A very nice Riesling. Not one of Donnhoff's strongest Spat's in 2007 maybe, but a really good drink nonetheless. It was my second outing with this bottle, and it seemed to have improved just a little bit. I must say that this had been opened several hours before I got to it though, which may have helped. The awkwardness I remembered from the previous bottle had gone, leaving in its place a nice nose of fuzzy peach scents, red apples, white flowers and a minerally undertow. The palate was beautifully balanced. Sweet with peach, apricots and apple flavours, yet kept lively with bright lime and lemony acidity. The finish was surprisingly persistent as well. Creamily textured, it drifted away with bits of spice and mineral that lingered nicely in the mouth. Very nice. This was rather step up from last year's bottle - a good sign that bodes well for the future. With the high 2007 sugar levels and the lovely acidity apparent from this bottle, this should last a really long time indeed, probably only hitting peak in a decade or more.

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• 1985 Dr. Loosen Bernkasteler Alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Spätlese 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  I love old German Rieslings, and this was as nicely aged a Spätlese as I have ever had. Not superlative, but it was extremely pleasurable - a classic Middle Mosel if there ever was one. It had a really fresh nose, surprisingly showing barely a hint of kerosene. This was more marked by touches of earth, a hint of rubber and then dried apple and apricot scents with a dusting of lime zest. Interesting stuff. The palate was by now nicely rounded by age. It still had a little touch of sweetness to it but, beyond that, it had mellowed into a soft, creamy caress of vanilla and caramelised apple flavours that were fresh rather than sweet. There was still some bright, slightly lemony acidity, all brilliantly melded into a superbly integrated whole. The finish just lacked a bit of conviction, but otherwise, this was a lovely drink.

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• 2002 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Mindbogglingly good. This was even better now than the last, quite superb bottle I had a couple of years back. Another to add to the list of truly great Criots-Bâtards that have stumped me in recent years. A list, I must add, that is threatening to grow longer than the equivalent for its big brothers, Chevalier and Le Montrachet, across the road. The nose on this wine just promised so much. Beautitul Grand Cru stuff, it had a lashing of butter and cream aromas, some egg-white, lovely lilting aromas of white peach and melon, and then a lovely minerally undertow with layers of chalk, all in a wonderful integrated whole. Expressive yet never showy, this was a nose that just screamed class. Amazingly, the palate not only delivered on the early promise, but even bettered it. Beautifully complex, this unfolded in layers of pear, apple, musky peach and melon - a lovely depth of fruit. Rich, deep, big, yet it was so perfectly balanced that you barely felt the weight at all. So elegant in fact that what caught in my mind was how the wine never seemed less than wonderfully focused and beautifully poised. Yet at the same time, it was certainly powerful, intense almost, as it weaved through palate and into a beautiful, creamy finish laced with with a gentle minerality. Beautiful length here. Anything less would have been a letdown after that nose and the wonderful attack and midpalate. This was a complete wine no doubt, and absolutely oozing with class. At a beautiful place now, although it should last for a long, long time yet. It would be a real treat to try this in 5 years' time to see how it develops. In the midst of a pretty stellar line-up, this was by far the brightest star.

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• 1995 Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Le Marigny 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  This was a real surprise. I had never heard of this bottling before and was not intending on trying it, but boy was I glad I did - this was a smashing bottle of Vouvray Moulleux. Having had the benefit of breathing for several hours in an open bottle, it showed lovely nose - all seashells, cotton wool, honeyed melons, apples and apricots. Rich scents that made the wine just so very inviting. The palate carried on just where the nose left off. It had a rich, creamy texture, yet was surprisingly clean and bright, with a lovely clarity to its pure apple flavours laced with more seashells, cotton wool and spiced nuances. I just loved the bits of citrussy acidity that weaved its way in and out of the superbly integrated midpalate. It had a great finish too, coating the mouth with a layer of old honeyed notes, brown sugar and a touch of cloves. A beautiful wine at a very nice place now.

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• 2000 Nicolas Potel Romanée St. Vivant 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru

  Opened for about 45 minutes before I got to it, this kept evolving in the glass, so that it divided opinions amongst those of us who tasted it at different times. I thought it was excellent though, a wine that was both impressive and interesting - a real Grand Cru experience. It had a very expressive nose for a start. Rather overly woody at first, but this subsided with time and melded into a deep, rich, seductive melange of dark cherry and blackberry aromas, lush undergrowth notes lined with seams of metallic mineral, doses of Vosne wood spice and vine stems and, finally, a lovely perfumy waft of fresh cut flowers. Lovely, conplex stuff. There was just a hit of glycerol in there somewhere, but barely enough to disturb the overall package. After that bouquet, the palate came across as still being very young and slightly awkward on first blush. There was clearly Grand Cru depth and length, and this was wed to surprisingly fresh, almost zippy acidity that caused the wine to almost dance across the mouth with a lovely amount of energy. Very surprising for a 2000 on that count. This was accompanied by some wonderfully delicious, rather pure flavours of dark cherries and strawberries that tumbled out of the glass on the attack and layered the midpalate with a soild show of depth. for all that though, I could not get past the feeling that there was just so much hidden behind that, just waiting for time to draw out. Not to say that this was exceptionally tight or unyielding - there was certainly complexity even now, with little bits of orange peel, smoky wood spice, earth, mineral and flowers floating like a halo around the core of more pirmary fruit, all making for an absolutely pleasurable drink. It was just that there was something a bit gawky and shy behind that, like a young girl caught in the moment between slightly surly, awkward adolescence and beautiful mature womanhood. All in all though, this was a lovely wine, with each sip calling out for another - delicious enough so that I could not keep my hands off the glass. No harm drinking it now I would say, but it was such a nice bottle that it really deserves a lot more time in the cellar - a decade or so before peak maybe.

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• 1996 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  A very nice wine, just starting to come into its own. There was a classic La Chapelle nose here - broiled meat and damp earth aromas were accompanied by some winter melon scents, a touch of peppery spice and nice dark fruited scents of cassis and blackberries touched with a flowery hint. The palate had all the classy elegance you would expect of a good La Chapelle. Not huge depth here, but it did not need it. This had beautiful poise, focus and balance, like a male ballerina, sinewy, yet lithe and elegant with a velvety structure and well-integrated acidity weaving its way through clean, clear flavours of dark plums and blueberries, and then lower-toned notes of earth and warm spices filling in at the decent finish. Nice. Not one of the great La Chapelles I think, but a very nice wine indeed. While it is just starting to drink well, it would really benefit from another 5 years or so in the bottle.

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• 1999 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Vürsù Vigneto Gallina 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  This was excellent. Opened a hour and a half before I got to it, it still showed far too young at the moment, but solid nonetheless. It had a beautiful nose. Complex and intrguing, at once earthy yet feminine, this showed lots of soil aromas, a touch of woodland mushrooms, a sprinkling of wood spice, and then violet petals, dark cherries and berries and smoky tarry accents kissed by a small hint of oak - just lovely. The palate was far too young unfortunately. Still robed in a thick robe of mouth-coating tannins from attack to finish, it took some food to tame it. Lots of quality here though, with rich yet pure flavours of dark cherries and pretty red berries showing both intensity and balanced poised as they layered the midpalate with luxuriant depth. It had an excellent finish too, long, powerful, compelling, with a long brush strokes of dark fruit, tar and flower petals washing the backpalate. It was especially excellent with some Jamon Iberico, which lifted the cloak of tannins somewhat and allowed the fruit to peek out just that bit more. All in all, leaning towards the modern, extracted fashion, but really good indeed - this should be absolutely smashing in a decade or so and will probably last far longer than that.

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• 1970 Château Giscours 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  This was beautiful. A classic Margaux at the height of its powers. The nose seemed a bit weak, a bit tired at first, with notes of metal and iodine creeping into its scents of cassis, spice, and cigar smoke patted down with left-bankish earth aromas. It opened up with a bit of air though, with sweet spicey scents and dried flowers coming to the fore, all making for a really nice bouquet. While there might have been doubts about the nose, the palate was absolutely at peak. Perfectly resolved, it was round, plush and velvety, and yet it still with a backbone of fine tannins holding up its juicy cassis flavours touched with a ring of matured sweetness. Just lovely, this was wonderfully drinkable and really delicious. The acidity was not all that bright, but it was still very balanced all the way through into the finish. It was still quite persistent here too, lingering away with sweet fruit, spice and tobacco notes. A lovely wine - if only every bottle of Bordeaux we ever open is caught at its peak, just like this one was. High-time to pop these if you have any.

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• 1996 Château Rauzan-Ségla 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  I thought this was really excellent - yet another example of just how good 1996 was on the left-bank. It had a knockout nose, completely bursting with Margaux goodness. Here there were lush aromas of loamy earth, whiffs of cigar smoke and a little lift of sweet wood spices ringed around a core of ripe cassis and red cherry notes, along with a touch of violets peeking out from behind. Really pretty stuff. Palate was beautiful too. This had everything I like in 1996 left-banks - pure, transparent cassis fruit, lovely fleshy sappiness, finely detailed tannins, beautiful fresh balance - all soft and supple yet with no lack of structure, this was just delicious. At the back-palate, a lovely long finish lingered away with licks of very Margaux spice, smoke and tobacco. Beautiful. At a nice place for drinking now, especially with a nice cut of meat, but I can imagine that this will be a tremendously good wine in another 2 to 3 years. This would have been superb value upon release. Pity how high the prices have climbed year-on-year since the Chanel takeover.

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