Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Singapore Chapitre de la St Hubert

This was certainly one of the better Confrerie dinners this year. Food was pretty good, setting was very lovely and the group was nice and intimate. Some really nice wines too - quality over quantity I thought. Chad, Jillian and Leonard were on another table, while ours was made up of Charles and Michel, Hwee Nee, Ken, KG, Lawrence and I.

• NV Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Cuvée No. 730 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  A really nice NV at its price point. Largely based on the 2002 vintage, and the quality tells. Lovely fine stream of bubbles. Very nice nose showed some yeast, a subtle chiken-meaty, umami savouriness, browning red apples and a hint of kumquats. Extremely pleasant palate. Such nice balance, a light refreshing mousse, and nice, rich flavours of apples, peach and ripe lemons with a hint of mineral moving into the mid-length finish. Enjoyed this as an aperitif when we met on the roof of the Fullerton overlooking Marina Bay (gorgeous view), but even more when a fresh glass was poured to go along with the cured meats.

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Salame nero nebrodi from Emilia Romagna
Wild boar prosciutto from Umbria
Tomini cheese
Cured goose sausage from Langhe
Donkey salame from Cremona

• 2001 Nicolas Potel Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts 90 Points

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

  Started off really well, but faded rather alarmingly. A bit disappointing for a Potel Malconsorts from a decent vintage. Slightly murky, darkly red colour. Slightest bit of reduction on the nose took a little while to low off. That aside, I thought the wine had a lovely, slightly-aged Vosne nose, with red cherries galore, stewed strawberries, earthy sous bois and soy, meaty offal notes and lots of wood spice. Quite gorgeous really. Pity the palate was not quite there. Rich on the attack, with dried strawberries and haw flakes, but quickly turning lean and slightly mean towards the mid-palate, with the fruits going skinny and ferrous minerality and wood spice coming to the fore. Very nice balance with lots of freshness though - I thought the wine what it lacked in power was made up for in stylish sleekness. Finish showed lingers of ginseng, wood spice, meatiness and a little orange peel. Unfortunately, after half an hour, the fruit more or less completely evaporated, leaving a mean shell of the wine it was when first poured. Still, I enjoyed this quite a bit while it lasted.

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Homemade Pappardelle pasta, Wild boar ragout, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

• 2003 Geantet-Pansiot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Poissenot 87 Points

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

  After a string of surprsingly good 2003 Burgs, this was close to a disaster to my tastes - a mishapened creature of a Frakenstein vintage. There was little sign of this on the nose - just a rather elevated sweetness level in its red cherry fruit. Otherwise, pretty normal, with earth, meat and smoke notes. The palate was rather displeasing though. Lots of toasted notes, sticky cherries, agressive 2003 tannins, jammy sweetness. All a bit bit clumsy and stodgy, almost flat in its lack of acidity. Very new wordly on the finish, with chewy tannins, lots of toasty spice and a rather diffused, loosely knit structure. I can how this could really please palates that prefer say ripe Californian pinots - but I did not like it one bit.

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• 2004 Geantet-Pansiot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Poissenot 90 Points

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

  Rather pleasant without scaling the heights, but certainly a relief after the rather unpleasant 2003. Nose showed more classic Gevrey notes, with some funky, cured meat tones, along with ferrous mineral, dried oyster and rather sweet cherry cola notes. Rather modern I thought. The 2004 vintage showed up in woody spice, some dried vegetable and Chinese herb notes that flecked the edges of the bouquet. Palate had some richness for a 2004, with a waxy, weighty feel that was nicely balanced out with fresh acidity. Some tannins provided a sense of structure. Again, rather sweet, with cherries at the fore and some ginseng notes at the background. The finish droops a little after the midpalate, ending with a linger of spice and Chinese herbs. A decently good wine. Not great, but altogether rather pleasant.

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Smoked suckling pork cheek, chestnut purée, grilled asparagus

• 1998 Domaine Bart Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  Charles pronounced "the king has arrived" when we got this bottle, and I could not agree more. Absolutely gorgeous nose - everything a Beze should be, with deep, complex notes of naturally-sweet dark red fruit, morel mushrooms, sweetly perfumed flowers and piles of damp earth and meaty notes undergirding it all. Little specks of wood spice, winter melon and some higher-toned sweetness, like Manuka honey and even lychee tones floated around. Wow. Palate was a bit weaker - perhaps indicating that this wine needs a bit more time. Still though, it showed as a very elegant and complete wine. Very nicely textured on the mouth, with some grip at the back-end, this showed flavours of sweet cherries, spice and more mushrooms along with the remnants of hard 1998 tannins at the medium-length finish. A bit thin for a Beze I thought, but still with more than enough richness and plenty of concentration tied to lovely balance and a fine, grippy structure. Still very tight, it needs time to fill out and to soften. Should be even better in five years' time, when it should just about hit its peak.

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• 2003 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

  Now, this is the way to make a good wine in 2003. Well controlled and supple, this was a pretty delicious wine, especially in the context of the vintage. Nose was very nice indeed. Still tight, but showing complex and layered notes of red fruits, wood spice and a sprig of two of lavender - very stylish and attractive in true Clos des Lambrays fashion. Palate showed some signs of the vintage in that it had a touch of alcohol showing along with an unusually rich concentration and dusty, mouth-coating tannins. It was well balanced too, but perhaps just a little less focused than the lovely 2002. Otherwise, it was really well-controlled and rather delicious, with gummy cherries and a little mandarin orange top note moving into a longish finish with cherry fruit and woody spice mingling in the mouth. Very nice, and still very young. This should be lovely with more time in the bottle. I would give it easily 8-10 years before it hits it peak drinking window.

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• 2002 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

  Very young, but very lovely. This was a clear step up from the already very good 2003. Lovely depth on the nose, with deep reservoirs of dark cherries, granitic mineral and touches of flowery, lavender scents. Palate clearly had lots of depth and quality as well, but was very tight on the night. Still though - its fantastic balance and stylish structure was evident, with complex flavours of dark cherry, earth, mineral, lavender and some black tea leaves bubbling under the surface. Nice longish finish too, with a little twist of orange peel. Watch this space - the wine needs time, lots of it, but should unfold into a beautiful drink within the next decade. Very classy.

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3 years old aged Parmigiano Reggiano [ hard cheese made from cow's mlik ]
Pecorino de Pienza [ semi hard Tuscan pecorino made from cow's ( 70 % ) and goat's ( 30% ) milk ]
Taleggo stagionato [ semi soft cheese made from the milk of cows mooing on the Alps ]
Gorgonzola dolce erborinato [ soft cheese from cow's milk ]

• 1999 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Charlemagne Maison Christian L. Remoissenet 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  Very good indeed - this is just about hitting its stride, and should continue evolving beautifully over the next few years. Nose showed lots of nutty, walnut notes, toasted sesame seeds, some turkey ham accents, white pears and a very nice seam of gunflint. Palate had nice heft, with an oily texture to it, but this certainly was not the richest Corton-Charlie I have ever had. The wine was more about focus and balance, with clean, precise flavours of white fruit and seasame seeds moving into pear fruit and a nutty finish with really nice length to it. Just great with a sweetish Gorgonzola cheese.

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