2011 Simple Series 7: Gary

Gary birthday this round, no specific theme, but as to our normal practice, as SIMPLE as possible. My first visit to Paradise Pavilion @ MBFC, nice spacious room with good stemware provided. Food wise, I find it slightly above average. One of the signature dish is roasted peking duck, which I find the duck skin is great, crispy and have this melted (slightly) effect when chew, but the duck meat is almost flavorless. However, the company and wines made up the day! Bravo!

• 2009 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Alcohol :: Alcohol :: 8%
  A.P. 2 589 314 5 10. Pop and pour. No surprise that the sulphur note dominated the nose, shy with mangoes and citrus hide underneath. The intensity and sweetness is close to Spat level, very good grip young Riesling zest of lemon, grapefruits flavors with the short to medium length finish that is quite dry. Very young and the flow from entry to the finish is not so smooth, slightly disjointed. Give this another 5yrs. Buy - No.

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Sadly, this is a pre-mox bottle though the palate is lively but the finish is..... a pity....

• 2002 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Alcohol :: 14%
  Served with Riedel Montrachet Sommelier. Wow, what a deep golden color that shows highly oxidative note. This served blind and have me guessed this was a 1992 Burg white and most of the ppl guessed this was a 80s…. A pre-mox bottle that display lots of nuttiness, smokiness and mineral over some ripe yellow fruits, not anymore. The palate possess remarkable freshness with very good lively acidity that is totally not echo with the color of the wine and blended together with the fruits and oak that bring out the creamy mouth feel, complex, good depth but not refine nor finesse, perhaps due to the pre-oxidation. And with the sheer power and muscle, I would guess this is a Batard rather than a Chevy. The alcohol spiciness exist in the medium lengthy finish with some roasted herb aftertaste. What a pity. Re-taste is needed and I wish will not affected by Pre-Mox. Buy - Re-taste is needed.

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The Drouhin is awesome and is my 2nd WOTN.

• 2002 Louis Jadot Griotte-Chambertin

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

  Alcohol :: 13.5%
  Super bright ruby red, jus like a very fine cut, 1st grade Ruby. Nose is very shy and unyielding with animal wildness and eucalyptus notes. The palate showing much better though, fresh acid, good intensity with slight bitter and alcohol spiciness over laced the red and dark fruits along with medium level of firm, but also much extracted tannin hence the bitterness flows from the entry and leads to the short finish that I didn’t really like it, with some alcoholic, sweet and sour cherry note. I would love to know how’s the evolution of the bitter taste, it will blend in to the fruits to form better depth and show harmonious or it will stay like it is today that lack of the refinement and harmonious of a Grand Cru? Hmm…. Buy - No.

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• 2002 Joseph Drouhin Griotte-Chambertin

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

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Bottle breath for 60mins. Translucent ruby with light rim. Wow, what a beautiful show casing here, loads of perfume red and dark floral with wildness accompany by bright dark fruits, game and underlying dried fig, caramel that is complex and amazingly perfume and elegance for a Gevrey. First impression of this wine: fresh, vibrant and full of harmonious, just like a performance of 1st class symphony orchestra on the palate. The medium weight, complex flavours is hard to dissect. At first this was quite light, but slowly gaining weight and depth in the glass. Some tannin kick in at the back for additional grip and dimension that leads to subtle, delicate finish with great persistent of mineral, dried herb like aftertaste. A beauty with refine outfit and loaded with finesse, elegance. Almost perfect as I would hope for slightly more mid palate intensity. Buy - Yes.

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• 2002 Domaine Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin

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

  Alcohol :: 14%
  Highly focus fresh red cherry and strawberry fruits wrapped by high tone of chalky mineral and earthiness, though not as tight as the Jadot, this is in fact quite shy too. This full bodied wine is a totally different showing compare to the elegance, feminine Drouhin’s, instead, this is muscular, powerful, but doesn’t lack of precision. The intense palate loaded with dense dark fruits, loads of dry extract and medium to high level of very firm tannin that seems over-extracted and even more than the Jadot. The bitterness exhibit from entry to the end which I must say is a big distraction, lack of refinement and finesse but this does offer Grand Cru depth and palate staining intensity that’s move on to the super long finished with some sweet fruits, caramel undertone with bitter aftertaste. This does show better elegance with Riedel burg sommelier glass, though the bitterness still exists. Similar to Jadot, I’m pretty curious on how’s the evolution, especially the bitter tannin. Buy - Maybe

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We decided to slot in the Rayas before the flight of Bonne Mares, trying to confuse our friends. However, almost everyone got the Rayas right and hey, here we have our WOTN too. Surprised.

• 1999 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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

  Alcohol :: 14%
  Bottle breath for 90mins. Served with Riedel Bordeaux Sommelier. Dark brick red, light hue, slightly milky. Hey, no joke, this is a serious wine that is absolutely haunting. The aromas are focus, intense and captivating. So pure, highly fragrance with its complex floral scents, mainly rose petal intermixed with seductive sweet red and dark fruits, exotic spices and sweet dried fig paste completed this stunning aromas therapy that keep you indulge, relax and ask for more! This is clearly a class on its own. I’m kinda worry if the palate able to match up with the nose. The palate is definitely dancing and seamless, though not as gorgeous as the nose. Soft, pure and quite light on the entry, but slowly expands with medium weight flavors that dominated by pure, sweet red and dark fruits that coated the palate with super grip, so intense yet so light, such finesse and harmonious! The low level but very fine silky tannin bite just added more dimension to it and move on to the long persistent creamy finish that linger with earth, game and mineral nuances. This is absolutely first class CDP though the palate is slightly less intense and complex than the 2000, but the nose is a clear winner today. This wine still on its way up, hold it for another 3yrs if you can, though I doubt you can resist the erotic call from this sexy beauty! Unmistakably WOTN for everyone. Buy - A must!

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Drouhin steal the showed, again, just like the flight of Griotte! Moulin-A-Vent has many ppl guessed it was either Vosne or Gevrey and when unveil, everyone impressed by how good it was and that's say something to this Beaujolais.....

• 2000 Joseph Drouhin Bonnes Mares

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Bottle breath for 90mins. Deep core light rim. Very tight on the nose with underlying red and blue fruits. Medium bodied, highly concentrated mid palate that is very seductive with its stunning purity of sweet red and dark fruits that gently glide through and caressing the palate. Some light forest floor and wild tones too. I really like the silky tannin grip and firm acidity backbone as they are so fine and blended so well together with the fruits which mark the refinement and finesse of this wine and not being heavy in spite of the almost palate staining intensity and the underlying power. This wine is gaining in depth with time and continues to expand on the palate which drifts through to the mineral infused complex finish that goes on and on with the mineral enhanced the freshness and transparency of this wine. This power but elegance Bonne Mares possesses some upside potential. I would give this another 5yrs to develop more secondary nuances and depth. Buy - Maybe - Yes.

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• 2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Breath for 90mins. I heard a many said the nose is close for this, but it does show some perfume aromas of rose petal and violet breathing with fresh air in a wet forest and braced by sweet and sour cherry in my Riedel Sommelier Burgundy glass, I would say is much expressive and complex that the tightly wound Drouhin BM 2000. Show casing lots of lively, fresh, lush sweet cherry fruits that flow on to the intense, powerful palate along with fresh mineral, lovely sweet floral tones that underpinned by firm, ripe acid and medium level of solid, slightly rough tannin. This does possess a bit of finesse but not truly classy nor refinement today. Worth to mention is that this has lots of verve, poise and energy. The finish is long, but not really complex and detail. That’s being said, I expect more complexity and class given the price tag and reputation of this producer. Young for sure and it might be able to gain more complexity and depth in the bottle, but I’m not sure about the refinement nor class. Buy - Maybe.

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• 2009 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Moulin-à-Vent

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent

  Alcohol :: 12%
  Bright purplish in color, youthful. This has unusual perfume aromas of violet and red floral tones and lovely cherry cola and fresh strawberry that almost come across as new world, really expressive. The palate is equally perfume with good energy, bright fruits profile. Medium level of ripe tannin is slightly rough, but not at all a distraction. Rich and complex with touch of lightness to it. The finish is complex and intense too. This is a real stunner of wine by Beaujolais standard. Who said Beaujolais can’t produce wine that will benefit with age? Buy - Maybe.

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- La Conseillante drinking superbly well
- Cos'd is my 3rd WOTN, so complete and class.
- L'evangile approachable, a strong effort.

• 1994 Château La Conseillante

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Alcohol :: 12.7%
  Bottle breath for 90mins. Mature, perfume with secondary aromas of leather, earth, tobacco intermixed with blueberry and blackberry. Focus but also display hint of alcohol tone. Very enjoyable with the tannin fully resolved and integrated, remain remarkably fresh with lots of pure dark fruits and dried herbs nuances. Feminine and quite elegance. Finish is smooth with decent length. This claret is drinking perfectly now and I like this, though this is quite a straight forward wine. Buy - Maybe.

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• 1990 Château Cos d'Estournel

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Served in Riedel Bordeaux Sommelier. Home sweet home, that’s my first impression for the first sniff. Really focus, expressive on the nose with it’s complex and elegance aromas of cedar, cigar box, tobacco blended with sweet plum, blackcurrant and blueberry with touch of wildness and spice box, really pretty. Still possess lots of grip on the palate, with fullish, rounded and harmonious mouth feel that formed by the good concentration of sweet dark fruits that giving perfect balance and lift by the good acid backbone as well as silky, low-medium level of fine tannin. Compared to the last bottle, this is so much better with its liveliness and class. I really like the super long finish with touch of savory aftertaste. This is a complete wine that I can’t seem to resist to have my lips off the glass. Excellent. Buy - Yes.

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• 1995 Château L'Evangile

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Pop and decant for 1.5-2hrs. Deep ruby in color. This is quite shy compared to the highly expressive Cos’d, aromas of tobacco leaf, cigar and spice box along with sweet plum. Very smooth and rounded palate with relatively soft texture along with fresh sweet fruits that is approachable which is completely different compared to the real powerful 1998 version which still tight and tannic after 6hrs of double decanting. Some tannin kick in at back for extra grip but not intrusive and leads to the long juicy mineral finish with slight alcohol, herbish and musky aftertaste. This is a very good effort as it shows good sense of elegance, harmonious and intensity, but not really complex in flavors. Buy - Maybe.

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I really enjoyed the Fargues, silky smooth, harmonious and utterly delicious compared to the tightly wound Fonseca which need many more years to hit its peaks!

• 1980 Château de Fargues

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Alcohol :: NA
  Deep bright golden. Nice sweet aromas of coconut candy with honey coated peaches and apricot, light Bortrytis spices too and complex with chalk, almond and dried fig paste. I have limited experiences with Sauternes, especially the old one. Young Sauternes often being heavy and slight alcoholic no matter how good it is. However, this wine shows quite differently, still remarkable fresh, elegance, light on its feet and so freaking smooth. Most importantly, pure. Some spicy, greenish tone over mineral with medium length finish. Very good and complete, if wanted to nail, it would be this actually lacks a bit of flavors complexity and intensity, but that’s being fussy for a lesser vintage. Buy - No.

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• 1977 Fonseca Porto Vintage

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Alcohol :: 21%
  Pretty, expressive aromas of red floral scents along with red cherry liquor, earth and alcohol spice, the depth of the aromas is remarkable. The palate is definitely a WOW. Super rich with pure complex flavors of sweet orange, red cherry liquor, salted plum and spices all wrapped in highly focus, precise package, intense but never come across heavy and show some finesse even with its 21% alcohol content. Loads of fine tannin provided grip and extra dimension, with quite powerful, long finish. Still young and when the tannin resolved, this will be even better. Excellent. Buy - Maybe - Yes.

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