4/29/2024 - Papies wrote:

Asia’s special friend this moscato d’asti of whiskeys in a way. Better as a highball and at its best at a karaoke bar a Seoul!

5/2/2024 - Papies wrote:

Far too young but after a week in South Korea we could use some red wine so went with it. Ripe, young juicy and just one dimensional at this stage. Well managed and restrained on the oak ( a bit of a surprise ) and not austere at all , just young and very fresh. Good but far too young to rate.

5/3/2024 - Papies wrote:

Ironically the highest selling beer brand and we never heard of it … Good export lager and that’s all but much like Soju ( probably the highest selling by volume alcoholic drink) locally sold in vast volume .

5/2/2024 - Papies wrote:

Soft and pretty, touch of the ever present Jeju Mandarin for good measure and ever so refreshing.

5/2/2024 - Papies wrote:

Bright , fresh , semi modern IPA and full of charm. Very good albeit not really distinct.

5/1/2024 - Papies wrote:

Aged in small 30-litre cask and packs a mighty 57% alc so not for the faint of heart. We loved their tag line “ Use it like there was only 80 bottles of it on this planet” and this sums it all up.

5/1/2024 - Papies wrote:

Soft and elegant and really if paired with tonic we suggest the lightest possible as , much like in our case , a heavy tonic just makes this generic. Was paired it with Jeju orange and actually worked well.

5/1/2024 - Papies wrote:

Punchy in both price and alc ( at 25% ) but very refined and elegant and closer at times to a ginjo sake than a soju or as better said by Nicol a hybrid of sake and grappa.

4/30/2024 - Papies wrote:

U see their experimental beers. A good twist in a way and good to come across it. It’s a strong lager with the aromatics of white wine in a way . Why not.

4/30/2024 - Papies wrote:

U see their experimental beers and ok is as it says on the tin. Soft sweet, aromatic and a bit confectionary. Has its place but that it’s not our heart

4/30/2024 - Papies wrote:

Local collaboration between Seoul’s Ojeje Tonkotsu Restarant & Beervana Brewing Co.
Pretty soft white beer, light citrusy and elegant and just effortless across. Good random find.

4/30/2024 - Papies wrote:

Local collaboration between Seoul’s Ojeje Tonkotsu Restarant & Beervana Brewing Co.

4/29/2024 - Papies wrote:

Cordyceps Militaris based spirit. DMZ made too.

4/29/2024 - Papies wrote:

DMZ made In The North Korean style of spirits.

4/29/2024 - Papies wrote:

“Wine” but really a liquor as iit clocks at 38% alc… DMZ made and that’s its calling card

4/29/2024 - Papies wrote:

Good unflavoured Sihu, soft and to the point and very easy going . Pretty in a way and better a bit colder.

4/29/2024 - Papies wrote:

Tries to be a carlsberg .. does it matter it has succeeded? Can be mixed nicely with Soju too

4/28/2024 - Papies wrote:

Carlsberg of the east , ha! Well said us.

4/28/2024 - Papies wrote:

A good pale ale with a splash of honey to give it a bit of an extra depth but without making it sweet or confectionery.

4/28/2024 - Papies wrote:

Good , clean hybrid of an old school and modern styles. On the softer side of things. Easy going IPA

4/28/2024 - Papies wrote:

Pretty soft wheat beer with a splash of Jeju’s famous orange peel. Very pretty

4/28/2024 - Papies wrote:

100% real carbonated beer? As opposed to ..? Generic and refreshing lager style beer. That’s all folks.

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
Old school, classic , touch rustic in a way but all the classic elements are here and works very well. Rich, dry nuts and fruits, balsamic. Oxidative of course and touch sharp as all malvasias should be. 91

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
We always say this is a sweet wines for people who don’t like sweet wines. And indeed with its firmer, sharper style keeps the sweetness in check and definitely carries the honey, waxy feel along very well. Impressively so and a beautiful wine. 92 and great value too

4/28/2024 - Papies wrote:

500 years of tradition here by grade 6 grand master distiller. It’s still soju though.

4/28/2024 - Papies wrote:

By the glass , a bit of extra over and above of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
500 years of tradition here by grade 6 grand master distiller. Bottled here in the Yangbantal porcelain bottle ,modelled after the famous Hahoetal traditional masks worn by entertainers, dating back to the 12th century. Impressive story but still soju power and style.

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
From magnum via Coravin. Punchy and young but round at the same time and not difficult and for sure in no way austere. Rich dark fruits, good use of oak and just about getting into its secondary feel. Good wine, solid 90

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
Dry smooth and elegant, red fruité, softest kiss of modernity here and works well. Polished fruit, well approachable even this young and with a harmony from palate to nose. Good 91 and with a good decade in it.

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
Made by the grand master or at least the first master of yeast fermentation in south of the 38th parallel this is made for the 5th (of 24) Jeolgi Seasons especially this arrived on our table with a blast of sensory feel. Umami, soy touch was distinct on the nose but the complexity here is what will stay with us , soft acidic, fruity, plum, light malty feel. Impressive and worthy of the hype.

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
Young and full of energy. Granted the oaky dynamic is at the forefront but really this is value adding oak use. Post that the wine delivers, with lovely citrus and stone fruits, light honey touch, quite firm and mineral too on the palate. Very solid 91-92

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
Unsurprisingly local rice wine of the highest grade and most soft after producers makes it on their list. This albeit maybe not for everyone was a new discovery for us. Cloudy golden in colour, round and rich on the palate, touch malty at times, spices and soft exotic fruit and generally the nose is a bit of a mystery. An experience.

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

Soju of the highest grade and nearly impossible to track down.

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
Surprised and not really surprised to find a natural wine on their selection. Aromatically this is very good. Expressive and not confectionery. But on the palate like most of its kin it fails as it has that fruit-juicy feel and lacks structure. At least the VA is under control. Really with the exception of very very few this style of drink ( we can argue if some are wines) fails us. Not poor for the style but no more than an 87

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
Straight out of the glass singing wine and what a great surprise. Ditch the flutes here ( they are for beer anyway) and go for big white wine glasses to allow the wine the full capacity to deliver. Well aged , rich palate, good autolitic side, fuller palate and with a lot of bready truffle-y notes on the nose . Superb and easy 94 .

100% Chardonnay , disgorged 21 Jan 2021 with 3 g/l

4/27/2024 - Papies wrote:

It is a mingling effect (Mingles , Seoul): By the glass as part of their signature pairing at Mingles , Seoul.
Bright and energetic , firm and a pretty aperitif, light on the aromatics but with a nice clean palate feel. Good but just lacked the special side. 90

50-50 2018& 2019, 16Nov22 disgorgement with 3-5 g/l.

4/26/2024 - Papies wrote:

Adventures in a Japanese Airport. ANA Lounge.
Potent and punchy , 20% and with a presence . Round on the edges tough and not a simple texture either . Martini lovers sake in a way.

4/26/2024 - Papies wrote:

By the glass courtesy of BA en route LHR > TKY. Freshly opened bottle.
It’s a good effort and at least no confectionery or fake. Will beat any Prosecco for sure and will make a better Aperol Spritz than anything the Italians can through in the mix. 85

4/26/2024 - Papies wrote:

By the glass courtesy of BA en route LHR > TKY. Freshly opened bottle.
Frankly quite young and thus not a proper representation but that been said it did feel like it was made for early drinking. Ripe cherry , soft spice , rich and polished and probably sees some wood here but old. Thinking about it probably better this young while is fresh and full of energy. 87-88

4/26/2024 - Papies wrote:

By the glass courtesy of BA en route LHR > TKY. Freshly opened bottle.
A year to the date almost and again at 35k feet. More Syrah feel a year later, more spice and almost punchier. Good wine for the lovers of the style. 88

4/26/2024 - Papies wrote:

By the glass courtesy of BA en route LHR > TKY. Freshly opened bottle.
Soft and mild almost lacking any sense of presence . Not sure what they aimed to deliver here but this is for those looking for a very light drink. Maybe good partner for a spritz too. 85

4/26/2024 - Papies wrote:

By the glass courtesy of BA en route LHR > TKY. Freshly opened bottle.
What we loved about it was the fact that it had presence and character and this is a wine that leaves a lasting memory and it not easy to be down at its level. Granted not the most complex and a touch bitter on the finish. But still ( and we are sure this is great value for money) it was proper and pure and we would happily drink this any day. 89 but a very good wine.

4/26/2024 - Papies wrote:

By the glass courtesy of BA en route LHR > TKY. Freshly opened bottle.
One of many good NVs but that’s pretty much it. Soft floral and soft roast, touch sharp. Ok for the style and level. 88 but in no way poor.

4/25/2024 - Papies wrote:

Decanted for 30 minutes and a good addition . The arbitrage in absolute quality vs price is defined by this beautiful chateau. And we do mean absolute cause the wine is beautiful ( as is always in good years) irrespective of its prices. We joked it’s these random wine openings every now and then that remind us the beauty and greatness of classic Bordeaux. This a wine we have tried a few times in the last 15 years and much like last time in 2020 ( Papies 93) it excelled . Classic through and through from nose to tail and now is in a good secondary phase but the fruit is vibrant and very much present. A magnificent wine , easy 93 on its own merit , exceptional price to quality and this will perform easily for another 15yrs minimum. So happy we have more and easily will add if we see any flying around.

4/23/2024 - Papies wrote:

Bright fresh and very modern, rich , deep , dense in colour and flavour. Very solid and albeit rich it is also utterly refreshing

4/22/2024 - Papies wrote:

Pure agave harvested in 2023 at the San Jeronimo estate in Jalisco. No coloring, no additives whatsoever, as pure and clean as it gets. No barrel and or smoky edge and this is a pure tot he agave as it gets. Solid.

4/21/2024 - Papies wrote:

The wine has infinite capacity to benefit for decanting. In our case the bottle was opened and decanted then put back in bottle with a splash of argon and kept for another day in the fridge. Redecanted the day after et voila. The wine was as bright and fresh as the day before! The rest was sing all the way and back to its normal service. The third time we try it in the last 8 years and remains consistent albeit a lot more secondary now but with every little bit of the punchy rich style it is made in. 91 again and this has easily another decade at peak.

4/20/2024 - Papies wrote:

A wine and a super cuvée we always argue is better younger than older and this 2015 felt about right on the money. Always a bit special, rich and very giving a very much in the “English Typer of Taste” as the French would say which is richer and with decent use of oak in its elevate. Pretty 93 from us

4/19/2024 - Papies wrote:

London Chapter Dinner of the Cavalieri del Tartufo & dei Vini d’Alba (The Oxford & Cambridge Club, London): This followed in the wake of its pretty sibling the 2010 ( Papies 94) and thus vs that it clearly showed the 2013 vintage did not delivered the promised land wine it set up to be. That been said this as expected and coupled with a bit of the light modernity of the style of Grasso delivers even at this young age. Polished and elegant , open and expressive on the nose .Ripe cherry feel, light floral at times, also a touch of a sharp edge on the palate. Well round other than that and impressively polished wine. 92 for now from us.

4/19/2024 - Papies wrote:

London Chapter Dinner of the Cavalieri del Tartufo & dei Vini d’Alba (The Oxford & Cambridge Club, London): A few years since we had this ( Papies 91 in 2019) and continues to be that more modern expression of the single vineyards. 2013 the vintage of promise but of no delivery ( for us) so the modernity in control of the style of Grasso here helps polish the wine and give it an approachable in its youth feel. We would suggest one decants this even risking the anathema of of the Piemontesi as this needs at this stage a bit of help to get going. 91-92

4/19/2024 - Papies wrote:

London Chapter Dinner of the Cavalieri del Tartufo & dei Vini d’Alba (The Oxford & Cambridge Club, London): Corked.. shame