JL 40th birthday dinner at One Thirty One

A privileged few of us were herded onto a school bus by the lovely Ms H and driven to the delightful One Thirty One in the rural HK heartland of Sai Kung to celebrate JL's 40th birthday. Birthday girl herself brought 2 very interesting specimens from her birth year and the rest of us pitched in with various bottles. Terrific food and setting, and while I thought some of the wines (including my own contribution) disappointing, happily it didn't seem to get in the way of people's enjoyment of the evening!

• 1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Bright lemon zesty character, vivacious, with some creamy toasty floral notes in the background, this champagne showed beautifully despite the fairly high speed at which our bus was traveling. I keep waiting for this to mellow out but so far it shows little sign of aging

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• 1974 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosché 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  This is the sort of specimen that makes wine drinking a fun hobby -- a totally unexpected, off the path unknown bottle that throws up pleasant surprises. Aromas of dried spices, old leather and ripe fig on the nose, with an additional hint of what some said to be butterscotch, or caramel, something of that sort. But importantly the fruit was dark red and much alive, richly topped up up with the usual dusty broom cupboard, mushroomy (in a pleasant way) aromas that surround this fine old wine, I have to say it all made for a most interesting and enjoyable drinking experience

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• 1974 Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Clos Vougeot 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  What a pleasant surprise, definitely old, somewhat musty at first, but signs of life (and fruit, not to mention very interesting aromatics) abound in this very interesting and probably well stored bottle! Happy 40th birthday old chap

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• 1995 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds 92 Points

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

  From magnum. Vibrant in the typically Volnay red-fruit style, delicious, still quite young

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• 1990 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux 88 Points

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

  Bright ruby with faint amber round the edges but otherwise this smells like a young burg. Nice red berry and floral aromatics, but it's a bit disappointing on the palate. A bit sour for my taste, and with not much follow-through into the rather tannic finish, I think this isn't a wine worth storing for much longer if you've still got a few bottles hidden away

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• 1999 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve 87 Points

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

  Yep, this vintage will not make old bones. In fact it seems to be on its way downhill. The nose was a delight initially with rich strawberry, cigar and dried plum notes but this proved temporary. Afterwards, wet underbrush became the dominant flavor, and the wine plunged swiftly on the enjoyment scale. A disappointment..

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