2011 Casual Session - 21 @ Jade Palace

Few of us gather in our favorite Chinese restaurant that served consistently good food as well as provide all type of stemware and allows free BYO. Theme was French and as always, all wines served blind except both Champagne. This is a very nice little dinner with wines spread across the region (white and red burg, champer, sauternes) with some top notch Bordeauxs stood out for the line up along. Where is my Rhone?

• 2005 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Premier Cru Gastronome Blanc de Blancs Brut 85 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Alcohol :: 12.5%
  Popped and poured. Refreshing aromas of mineral, lemon, light spice coated with honey that intermixed with nutty, yeasty and yellow flower, not bad to start the dinner with this easy going champer. Bright and focus though a bit lean and simple. This friendly champer refreshes the palate with its juicy green apple, lime, grape fruits, white floral with the grippy, round acidity that leads to the equally focus finish. Very good for the price (after discount)!

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• 2007 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne 92 Points

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

  Alcohol :: 13.5%
  Opened 4.5hrs in the bottle and decanted for about 60mins. Light golden. The preparation timing was just about perfect, while this is absolutely a baby, the long aeration does open this up and express well. Highly perfume and focus with really complex aromas of peppery spice, candied ginger, green apple, pear, lemon, white flower with huge refreshing mineral at the background, also with hint of honey. Very elegance for a Corton Charlie. I can sniff this all day! In the palate this is well balance, delineated with razor sharp precision and very bright, elegance profile. Good depth and complex. While this is expressive, this is not a showy wine as this has the sense of restraint, which I really like. Bright mineral and ripe acidity glide thru the palate with long finish that lingered with pear, green apple, spices and trace of honey. Charming. Will keep the last bottle for another 5yrs. 92-93+

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• 1996 Henri Giraud Champagne Grand Cru Fût De Chêne Brut Vintage Aÿ 91 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Alcohol :: 12%
  Popped and poured, no surprise that this is still very tight for this super powerful champagne. Honey, heavy oxidative note, nut, blood, red apple and red cherry that highlighted the highly intense, powerful and complex aromatic profile, with time, red floral scent emerged. We decided to decanted half of the bottle after the 1st round, as the Champagne was expressive on the entry and mid palate, the finish is a little bit disjointed, so we hope that decanting can make the connection and length better. No doubt, with another 30mins of decanting, the finish finally connected smoothly with the mid palate. Very intense, with layer of salinity, salted plum, orange, iron, though not as complex as the nose, this does possess tremendous power yet perfectly balance with wonderful detail and lightness. The medium-long finish that seem not fully open yet and a little bit shy but with good persistent and drive. Another 5-7yrs? 91-93

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• 2001 Château Pontet-Canet 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Decanted for about 90mins. This is the most ready Bordeaux tonight, drinking really well. The bouquet is soft, with creme de cassis, blackcurrant in the core that surrounded by mint, pepper, capsicum, earth, ink and touch of alcohol. This is matured quite well for a 10yrs old Pontet, the tannin has mellowed down quite a bit and almost fully integrated to the firm structured that balance by good concentration of sweet berry fruits. Bitter cocoa, graphite, a bit powdery mouth feel that leads to the very powerful, long finish with mineral. Not bad.

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• 1982 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Popped and poured. Still pretty dark in the core with brick rim. Pungent, this was really expressive but a tad alcohol poke out. However, the alcohol disappeared after sometime in the glass and reveal beautiful aromas of creme de cassis, leather, pencil shaving, cedar, crushed rock and a little bit of graphite that wrapped in a powerful package. Was this a 29yrs old GPL? Very powerful, intense, focus and lively, this has plenty of depth and concentration to flirt around. Layers of pencil shaving, capsicum, cedar, blackcurrant, creme de cassis with sweet but little rough medium level of tannin stained the palate with massive power that move on to the spicy infused juicy finish that seem a tad disjointed. With time, though not really seamless, the connection is getting better between the powerful mid palate and finish, hence the longer finish with better precision. I'm really interested to drink this in another 5yrs time from a perfect bottle, which I believe will be the best GPL that I have had. 90-92

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• 1998 Château Trotanoy 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Alcohol :: 13.5%
  Decanted for about 2hrs. This is definitely younger than the GPL, while not as powerful, this does offer better lushness and sense of elegance. Quite sweet on the nose that is highly intense and focus, with sweet plum, blackcurrant on the core that extended to the outer layer with violet, mineral, spices, leather and earth with underlying power. Entry with bitter sweet cocoa, fresh mineral that continue to show the detail layer of complex flavors with sweet currant fruits, dark chocolate and a little touch of herbs. The juice gained more weight toward the mid palate and continue to show the very refine, polished texture, solid structured and fine-grained tannin with no hard edge. Everything is in the right place for the harmony. While the finish is long and lingering, this doesn't possess the explosive power, and a little bit less intense from the previous bottle. Nonetheless, this is still a great Trotanoy that shouting for additional bottle edge in order to develop more. Delicious! 92-93+

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• 2008 Domaine Rossignol Trapet Latricières-Chambertin 90 Points

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

  Alcohol :: 13.5%
  The lonely red Burg but definitely a good one. Bright ruby red. Opened for 3.5hrs in the bottle and decanted for 2.5hrs. Very chalky on the nose, with seductive floral scents and pure sweet raspberry and black cherry, very elegance that all my friend thought this was impossible to be a Gevrey! With time there is a little bit brown sugar, earth and wood spices appeared and added better complexity and depth to it. Perhaps with the long aeration, the power, structured that stood out right out of the bottle, has mellow down and show great delineation and lots of sweet fruits. While expressive, there is this restraint that always exist in the wines of Rossignol Trapet, which highlighted the focus, which again, this is my type of wine. The detail finished is long and detail, with good verve. This maker produce very good wines across the range that wouldn't break the bank even for their Grand Cru red yet remained modestly price, great qpr here. 90-91+

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• 2003 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 85 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Alcohol :: 13%
  Opened for 2.5hrs. This medium golden liquid boosted very sweet aromas of orange marmalade, honey coated peaches and apricot, a little touch of mushroom and bortrytis spice which had me guessed this was from a very hot vintage but not necessary deep bortrytis. Powerful and viscous on the palate with good concentration of sweet tropical fruits, quite fleshy as the acidity is merely sufficient to keep the wine in shape and focus. Finished with medium length with a little bit of dried tea leaves aftertaste. Perhaps additional bottle age will help to achieve better sugar/acid balance? I'm not sure....

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