Welcoming Adam to Singapore

This could probably be termed the first Wineberskers offline in Singapore. Adam, who is a fellow poster on the board, dropped me a PM asking if we could do an offline. A few days later, we gathered together with Kelvin, Ming and HM at the newly opened Luke's Oyster Bar on a Tuesday evening. And what a Tuesday evening too, with great company, good (if rather pricey food), and tons of great wine. Wines were all blind as usual, and paired with a range of seafood dishes and a couple of meats.

• 2000 Geoffroy Champagne Extra Brut Millésime 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  This was a nice Champagne. Disgorged on 22/2/2010, it had a very developed nose for such a young Champagne, with lovely appley scents soaked through with yeast, earthy notes, with some mineral and slightly dried flowery accents. Really nice. The palate was marked by very bright acidity and a nice streak of minerality washing through a solid core of apple fruit. The bubbles had gone down, leaving a hint of the finest mousse in a creamily textured mouthfeel before a long, minerally finish wound its way out with a touch of oyster shell and a bit of citrus. Unsurprisingly, this was wonderful with the fresh-shucked oysters we had. A nice Champagne, although given the rich weight and fruit forwardness, I would never have guessed this as an extra brut with zero dosage.

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• 1998 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  I thought this was an excellent Rosé. It had lovely minerality on the nose, leading into deep aromas of earth, some berries and cherries, a hint of drying flowers and then some game meat and sweeter strawberry fruit coming out at the edges. Very red Burg-like in the way it came together, with earthy scents spiked with red fruit. The palate was rich and layered, with tons of depth in its strawberry and raspberry flavours, along with some perfumy flowers and more earthy, forest floor nuances on the mid-palate. The mousse had softened into a luxuriously creamy mouthfeel, especially noticeable at the long, long finish, where layers of lovely minerality wrapped the wine up. Harmonious, deep and balanced, this was a very complete wine. Gorgeous stuff.

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• 2002 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  This was another brilliant bottle. Beautiful Chablis nose here, with lots of salinity in its wafting scents of oyster shell, salty seabreeze and some savoury, almost umami notes of toasted bread, earth and bits of fig and white plum. Not quite oxidative, but certainly matured. Very advanced actually, but very nice. With time though, any oxidative edge that might have been there seemed to recede, and fresher white fruit and citrus scents emerged alongside even more wonderful oyster shell minerality, with flinty, salty aromas coming to the fore of the bouquet beautifully. Intriguing stuff. The palate was every bit as good. This was a classic minerally Chablis, but with all the depth, breadth and complexity you would expect from a Grand Cru from a strong vintage as it apporaches peak drinking. A bit waxy on the texture, a bit creamy, it showed a whole lot more of the oyster shells one got on the nose, along with rich figs, white plums, some apple flesh and a tiny hint of lemon floating around the deeper white fruited flavours. Onto the mid-palate, the wine was anchored by lots of little salty seaside nuances along with a little lick of oak and cream and nut accents, all the while showing a mouthwatering juiciness. After an hour or so though, the oak dissolved into an incredible stony, flinty minerality that just pulled away into a long, powerful finish. Like the nose, this was a bit advanced, but absolutely lovely, with all the purity and focus you would want from a Chablis wed to a delicious fleshiness. As would be expected, a perfect pairing with seafood, and particularly brilliant with seared scallops.

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• 2005 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfüllung 94 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  I thought this was a stunner. My favourite white wine of the night in the midst of several really good bottles. The nose here was a nicely integrated melange of dried flowers, apriocts, maybe nectarines, with just a bit of ripe peach and drifting scents of honeysuckle - rather sweet aromas actually. A real change of gear from the salty, flinty Chablis, but very attractive indeed. After that, the palate was almost surprisingly dry. There where hints of dried apricot here, but the more authoritative flavours were clearly those of spice, lentils and creamy white fruit. It did not have the piercing acidity, but was certainly nicely balanced, with a nice round fruitiness and a nice bit of minerality showing up alongside a lift of reshness in the superbly long finish. With a bit of time, the wine opened up even more, and lots of spice rushed in at back-palate where it was met with a hint of lentils. I found this a beautiful wine. Still young, but it was starting to show a burgeoning complexity and layers of depth. As a bonus, this was great pairing with cream spinach with truffle oil.

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• 2009 Pierre Prieur et Fils Sancerre les Coinches 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  I liked this. Beautiful nose here - passion fruit, guava, gooseberries, a touch of nuttiness, a bit of meadow grass. Very aromatically expressive, really nice, and clearly Sauvignon Blanc. The palate had a bit of rich creaminess that spoke of oak use. Beyond that, it was deliciously fruity, with lots of ripe passion fruit flavours, green mangoes, pineapples, guava, a whole spectrum of tropical fruit, but all beautifully balanced with crisp acidity and a beautiful Sancerre minerality that ran the length of the wine into a long finish where fresh fruit flavours lingered with bittersweet lime zest notes. Really good stuff.

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• 2008 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Domaine 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Still a very good wine, but not quite as good as the last bottle of this wine that we had. Could be because we did not give this enough time to open up and strut its stuff. Still, a enjoyed this. Lovely nose showed a little layer of cream and butter, some aromas of fleshy white fruit, and then apples, pears a bit of melons and a whiff of nuts at the edge. Very Meursault and very nice. The palate was lovely too. Rich but balanced, with almond nuts on the attack, a touch of buttery cream and rich white fruit on the midpalate. The finish had very nice length, with a bit of toast and a little waft of flowers. One day later, the rich creaminess had slimmed down somewhat, and the remaining couple of glasses started showing a really nice streak of minerality and spice. A very nice wine.

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• 1985 Prince Florent de Merode Corton-Clos du Roi 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  When a 1985 Grand Cru is on song, it can be quite an awesome wine to behold, and this was certainly one such bottle. What a beautiful, sexy nose here, full of slightly earthy, dirty nuances framing dark cherries aromas, with a hint of sweet spice at points, and then just wave after wave of perfumy florals with a little sweet ring of brown sugar at the edges. Varied, complex and lovely. The palate had resolved into a soft, plush, luxuriant texture - very Cote de Beaune, in fact most of us thought it was a Volnay. More than a quarter of a century old perhaps, but this showed like a far younger wine, with a beautiful fresh balance framing succulent flavours of dark cherries and berries, red strawberries, even some lovely red date nuances on the mid-palate. Along with the beautiful fruit, there were layers of earth and mineral, some forest floor and flower, all resolved and perfectly integrated, yet still very youthfull with a great sense of energy and presence all around. The wine closed with a nice round finish with sour cherries floating around the fleshier fruit notes on the back palate. Wow. Beautiful stuff.

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• 2004 Gerhard Markowitsch Pinot Noir Reserve 92 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Carnuntum

  Second time round, this was still a pretty good bottle. Quite unsurprisingly, we could not quite figure out whether this was an old or new world pinot when blinded. The nose showed some coffee, toffee, mocha and menthol and a bit of pine from oak used. However, beyond that, there was a whiff of ripe dark berries and cherries patted down with earth, mushrooms and forest floor. Attractive, with just a tiny touch of rubber making me think this was not quite Burgundian. The palate more or less confirmed that impression as well. Rich and ripe beyond what you would expect from a Burgundian Pinot, and weighty enough to be a good pairing with beef. But it was fresh, lively and very well-balanced, with nicely proportioned flavours of dark cherries, a hint of earth, and a bit of wood spice towards the decent finish. Not spectacular, but a very nice wine.

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• NV All Saints Estate Muscat Grand Rutherglen 92 Points

  Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen

  I thought this was actually really nice. It had a very port-like nose, with raisins, dried figs and cherries, a bit of spice, a touch of coffee, some chocolate - lovely stuff. The creamily-textured palate had rich flavours of melted prunes, choclate and coffee. Still young, a little primary, but this had tons of power wed to a lovely balance. The finish had tremendous length and presence as well, with layers of raisins, chocolates, and black forest cake flavours lifted by just a touch of orange peel. Like a young vintage port, this needs quite a bit more time in the bottle, but it helped that it showed the wonderful chocolaty decliiousness of a good Rutherglen fortified. The Aussies really know how to do these wines well, and this bottle was a fine example of that.

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