Dinner with the IT guys

It's been almost a month since we last met, and so we arranged to meet-up for drinks over dinner at Tung Lok. Truely a most enjoyable evening of drinks, chit-chatting (aka gossiping) and company... And we were all ecstatic at the news that John will be a dad soon!

• 2012 Philippe Chavy Bourgogne-Aligoté

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Aligoté

  Had this blind, but couldn't quite pin it down. Some lemons and flowers on the nose. On the palate, this tasted like an average German GG with notes of citrus, pear, good minerality and acidity. Quite a dry finish with admirable length. An interesting drink to start the dinner...

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• 2010 Terre di Talamo Vermentino Vento Forte Toscana IGT

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  A very unique nose - some oxidative notes, nutty, sea-breeze... just like some sherry or late-harvest tipple. Quite mineral on the palate, with a tinge of lemons, grass, fermented-barley. Good acidity. Finished dry and refreshing...

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• 2000 Giaconda Pinot Noir

  Australia, Victoria, North East, Beechworth

  After the 2 whites, we moved on to our 1st red. Blinded, this had a very attractive nose. Sour-cherries, autumn leaves, a tinge of plums and some earth. The garnet color (together with the nice nose) led us to believe this was an old-world Pinot (Burg?) with some age. Unfortunately, the nice nose didn't transcend onto the palate though. Earthly with dark-red fruits, this was rather unbalanced due to the very shrill acidity that was poking through. Didn't improve in the glass. Drink-up if you have any left.

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• 2012 Domaine Duroché Charmes-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

  I had brought this along, anticipating that the odds were high that I had to "make amends" for the prior bottle of Pinot :) Whoa, this was very pretty. Floral nose, red-cherries. On the palate, bright red fruits. The youth & density of the fruit made it come across as a bit liquer'ish, but yet, it was so fresh, so lifted, so silky & lacy. In short, so nice! The structure manifested after being in the glass for close to 2 hrs, and it started to tighten and clamped up. A keeper! Try one now if you've a few...

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• 2000 Château Cos d'Estournel

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  From the sexy Duroche, we moved back to the traditional Bords. In this Cos, we had graphite, leather and a bit of that leafiness on the nose. Dark-fruited and quite dense on the palate, it tasted of coffee, more ink, and some chocolates. Not as complex as some of the recent Cos (albeit older) that I've tried recently. However, this had good freshness, so believe it'll develop nicely in bottle...

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• 2007 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Blinded. Scents of cassis, tobacco and sandalwood on the nose. However, this somehow lacked the typical tell-tale notes of cigar-box, pencil-shavings of a Pauillac. Not tannic nor astringent, this was already fairly drinkable; Quite simple and straightforward on the palate, with a dark-fruited profile. Perhaps time may add more complexity to it...

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• 2001 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul

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

  Last wine of the evening. Unfortunately, this might've also been an off bottle. Had it blinded. Very funky and barnyard'y nose. And it stayed that way pretty much for most part of the night. Palate was quite muted (dark, brooding) for most part, but some hints of spices emerged towards the end of our dinner. A pity we didn't have more time with this. It might just turn the corner given more air and time. Would love to try this again in another seating...

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