1st Vivino Int'l chapter in Singapore (Sat. afternoon), Part-1

We gathered at Bok's place on Saturday, for an afternoon of fun, blind-tasting thr' an array of wines. We were all very appreciative of our Int'l attendees who had made time and flown in for this event. Anticipation was high all round, especially after the "warm-up" over dinner (which I missed, unfortunately) the evening prior. All-in-all, it was certainly an afternoon of fun and solid company!



And Bok, thanks for hosting this!

• 1985 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon

  France, Champagne

  What a great way to kickoff an afternoon - a mature DP! Honey, brioche on the nose, with much lesser of that oxidative/toasted note. A properly stored bottle (from Bok's cellar no less), it still had very fine bubbles. Very rounded and rich mouthfeel, with notes of apples, nuts, chrysanthemums. Very good! If I had to be picky, the only snag is it didn't have that "palate-staining" feel & intensity that a btl of '90 we had recently exhibited; Otherwise, excellent!

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• 1982 Pierre Morey Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  It's often a treat to have a full-Monty (Montrachet) amongst a wine-tasting lineup, but to have a trio of them... what a privilege! This had a nose of flowers, some pears which followed onto the palate, together with notes of citrusy lemons, honeysuckle. This was in the drinking window; Finished long but with a slight tinge of bitterness, perhaps imparted from the pips...? Nevertheless, nice! And what a way to start the tasting!

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• 1992 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  Wow, magical... as Olivier called it. Great nose of flowers, honey, pears and a bit of creaminess, followed by a very rich palate of more honey, minerality & some spice coupled with bright acidity. It was almost like the fruits and honey glided and fanned out across the palate to coat it, then followed by the acid which came in to clean up the path, to make way for subsequent mouthfuls of the elixir! Bravo!

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• 1959 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

  Last of the trio of full-Montys... This was almost golden in color, hinting that this was really aged. And indeed it was from the nose and palate. Straight-off, one can pick up "fortified, sherry-like" aromas, with a lot of nutty notes and chrysanthemums too. The sherry-like notes continued onto the palate - it was dry, but extremely fresh, somewhat like sea-breeze. Finish was quite rounded and long. Remembered exclaiming to GO beside me that this reminded me of a La Bota. A great experience of an old Burg!

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• 1989 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Whoa, our first red of the afternoon, and bang! There was funk, blood, meat, herbs on the nose. This must be a top-class aged Rhone or Burg; And the funk and blood made me lean more towards a mature Rhone. Fresh and silky on the palate, with beautiful powdery tannins accompanied by notes of earth, more meat and some mushrooms, this finished long and beautiful. Very very memorable!

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• 2006 Château Ausone

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  After the Chapoutier, this came across young (very) and "modern". Many thought this was a Pingus when first poured, but it kept morphing in the glass and became more Bord-like... Nose was very enticing - floral, creamy (vanillin), spices/pepper. In the mouth, this had a soft, silky/velvety texture. Far from maturity, this was already quite approachable with the tannins well hidden behind the rich dark-red fruits. Long and sensual. Very good, but will be even better in the next decade or two... Bravo!

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• 1978 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Wowsay, this would later proved to be our wine of the afternoon, as well as wine of the day! The nose pretty much jumped out from the glass! Blood, iron, spices/herbs. Palate was simply incredible - forest floor, earth, leather, autumn leaves, tea leaves... the whole gamut of secondary/tertiary flavours that left a long, yet fresh trail as it glided across the palate. Stunning elegance! A revelation! Thank you Christian!

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• 1985 Château Haut-Brion

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  A beautiful and perfumy nose greeted us. Floral/violets, tobacco, cedar... Most thought this was a Right-Bank Bord. A very nice and elegant palate too, some smoke, some tar, some spice... but none of that earthly character that underpin most Graves. A nice long and complex finish, but none had this correct as a HB! In any case, very good!

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• 1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  After the last HB which some guessed was Cheval and proven wrong, many thought this was it. So so beautiful and amazing on the nose - cassis, graphite, cigar-box, some tobacco and berries. Wow, the amazement followed onto the palate - pure, silky texture, with layers and layers of red-dark fruits coupled with more notes of earth, cigar-box, truffles. Finished long, fresh, vibrant but elegant. A FG-beater in most cases. Would've been my wine of the afternoon if not for the Chave! Great!

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• 1979 Château Mouton Rothschild

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  For me, this was somewhat lost amongst the Bords, with perhaps more illustrious companions like the '82 Lalande, '83 Mouton, '85 Cheval etc. But make no mistake, this was still very good. Very typical nose of graphite, cigar-box and some earth that all followed thr' onto the palate, plus some blackberries and chocolate with secondary/tertiary notes... However, this still lacked a bit of "class" as opposed to the '83 Mouton. Nonetheless, enjoyable...

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• 1983 Château Mouton Rothschild

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This came across very much like (pencil-shavings, cigar-box, ink etc...) the prior '79 Mouton, except it seemed fresher, more complex and silkier than the '79. No surprise when it was unveiled to be the '83 Mouton. Great!

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• 1955 Château La Conseillante

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Very much well and alive! This was really an experience - it's not everyday that one has a 60-yr old wine! This still had a lot of life in it. Incredible nose... smoke, lots of tea-leaves. Fresh and lifted on the palate, with somewhat sweet fruit delivered in a very elegant package. Wow!

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• 1985 Château Cheval Blanc

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  This was probably the "joker" of the afternoon. We had thought the HB was it; That the Lalande was it... Only to have it turned out amongst the last wines, but what a debut. A very seductive nose of sandalwood, plums, earth, cigar, spice. On the palate, aristocratic with flavours of cassis, smoke, more plums with red-dark fruits all delivered in a silky like satin package. Very very classy!

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• 1990 Château d'Yquem

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Last wine of the afternoon. From the color as well as theme of the day, it was almost a no-brainer what this was. Honey, butterscotch, nectarines, orange-peel, caramel etc. Very dense on the palate; I wished it had a tad higher acidity & would liked it more lifted, but hey, no complains! Thank you Jack, and a fitting wine to end an afternoon of great wines and company! At this juncture, we had little idea what was about to unfold... perhaps an even more remarkable follow-on 2nd-chapter over (an impromptu) dinner!

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With the d'Yquem, we had thought the day (of tasting/drinking) was over. Little did we know that our group was so spontaneous at this point, that the moment someone suggested dinner (this was absolutely impromptu), everyone jumped and said, "Let's do it!" and at the same time, thinking through in our own minds/heads what (wines) to BYO for dinner! Thus unfolded Part-2 of this very memorable Saturday...