Dinner at Tao Seafood

Our group discovered a new restaurant at Asia Square that serves decent Cantonese restaurant food at a reasonable price - a rarity in our part of town. It is no surprise that we have taken to it like ducks to water, with Kelvin being responsible by himself for multiple visits in the space of weeks. So it was no surprise that he mooted the idea of having a casual dinner there. I could not join the group from the very start, but was very glad to pop in halfway through the whites - the wines were very interesting on the night, full of "off-vintage" red Burgs.

• 2006 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  A nice wine, if just lacking in a bit of cut and precision. It had a really nice nose, very Meursault, with lashings of butter and sweet cream and a touch of oak alongside ripe apple aromas, all underlined with lots of minerally scents. The palate showed the ripeness of the vintage as well – I actually thought it was a 2005 – with sweet red apples and creamy butter notes scored with lots of chalky undertones. There was decent if not great acidity, with little juicy squeeze of lemons at the finish. A little bit on the plump side for a Lafon I thought, lacking some of the sleekness that usually accompanies the fat with his wines. Still though, a very well crafted wine. I do not think that this has the structure or balance to be a 10-20 years, but it is still rather primary, and will develop overt the next few years.

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• 1999 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Very nice indeed. This had a complex, challenging nose, showing a little cheesy funk and lots of strong, flinty, earth and mineral scents in the backdrop, alongside apples and melon flesh aromas, a little cream and some floral influences. It was interesting, but I was not sure it was actually that attractive a bouquet. I really liked the palate though. It was matured, mellow, with a soft, creamy texture, but it was also very complete, with a lovely fullness to its white-fruited flavours, showing mouthfilling tones of custard apple and powdery green pears and melons and just a hint of soursop on the midpalate, all layered with a dollop of fresh cream. It was not exactly fresh, reflecting the vintage, but it was still decently balanced. It ended nicely too, with a soft, creamy finish laced with a little stream of insistent minerality. Very nice. I usually like a bit more drive and energy in my white Burgs wines, maybe less fat, but this was very good indeed.

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• 1995 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  My favourite of the whites, this was lovely – lively, exciting, and full of character, it is what you wish every Joly Coulee de Serrant experience could be like (as opposed to the oxidative, difficult to drink stuff that one gets far too often). It smelt amazing, with lots of honeyed scents, a touch of lychee and dried longan and something that reminded me of almond tofu, all floating around a core of sweet, slightly musky apple cider aromas. The medium-bodied palate had a lovely, just very slightly off-dry tone, with a complex mélange of honeyed notes and red apple flavours and more of those musky cidery notes playing against more savoury, mushroomy tones and some nutty almond flavours. There was lots going on in there, yet it was all very nicely integrated, with lively enough acidity to keep it light on its feet all the way into a long finish, where smoky spice and mineral notes played alongside some ripe fruit and a little drift of Chenin lanolin. This was both intellectual engaging and very yummy at the same time – a really nice wine, drinking beautifully now.

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• 2003 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

  A good wine. I had completely forgotten having had this some 5 years back, and it was interesting to see how it had developed in the meantime. Served blind, we all figured that it was a middle-aged Burg from a warm, ripe vintage, but we could not quite place the exact year – something that has been happening for quite a few 2003s recently actually. The nose was on the riper side, with sweet smells of cranberries and wild berry fruit framed by fragrant morey spice and a touch of bramble, herb and earth. A very classic Morey character, if just a bit warmer and riper than normal. Same thing on the palate too – lots of ripe fruit, with red berries, cranberries and red currants, shading into a more blueberry-ish note on the midpalate. There was some surprising acidity. It was not a bright or zippy wine by any means, but was nicely structured and balanced all the way into a decent finish that showed another touch of those herby notes. The only sign of the vintage, apart from the heightened ripeness of the fruit, was really a little rustic, powdery feel to its tannins. Otherwise, there was no heat, no candy and no dried out woodiness. Pretty good, and starting to drink well. It should be even better in a couple of years. This was another step in rehabilitating the 2003 vintage for me. They have certainly come a long way from their initially over-the-top feel. The only that I do not like is the slight thickness of texture and less than refined tannins that most of the wines show. Otherwise, they should give a lot of drinking pleasure in the coming years.

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• 1997 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

  This was very advanced, with most people guessing 1980s or 1970s. Still quite alive and good fun to drink though. The nose showed pretty, perfumy notes of sweet dried cherries, haw flakes and cooked strawberries with a little floral lift, alongside funky sous bois notes of earth, herb and bramble. The palate was even more mature – completely soft and resolved and even a bit soupy and murky at first, it opened up with a bit of air to show fresher notes of stewed strawberries and dried cherries with a touch of cola at the edges. There was a lovely floral overhang and a gentle spiciness at the finish, just before an old Burg herbiness drifted out. It was quite a delicious wine, but this bottle at least was clearly on its last legs – high time to drink up.

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• 2000 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  I somehow find it difficult to fall in love with Girardin wines. At the top-end, like this bottle and say the Bonnes Mares or Corton-Charlie, they are clearly very good, well-crafted examples, but they sometimes come across a bit over-wrought, lacking some of the effortless character that marks the very best of Burgundy for me. This particular bottle was really enjoyable though, with the slimmer lines of the 2000 vintage perhaps marrying well with the more extracted tones of Girardin’s winemaking. It had a lovely nose, very red-fruited, with cherries and raspberries packed together with earth tones, little meat accents and sweet toasty spice. A classic Close de Beze bouquet. The palate was really quite good. It was still rather youthful, still with a primary edge to it, but there was a very pleasing sense of clarity, even purity to its rich tones of red cherries and berries. There was solid depth to this, clearly Grand Cru quality, and it was nice and very fresh too, finishing with a little bite of juicy acidity and some tannins. There was a slight shade of oaky woodiness right at the end, but it was barely a distraction. I actually found this very enjoyable, more so than many of the other wines on the night. It has some way to go as well, and should be quite lovely in another 2-3 years or so.

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• 2003 Pascal Lachaux Griotte-Chambertin 90 Points

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

  After having had a few really top-notch Griotte-Chambertins in previous weeks, this brought me back down to earth with a shuddering thud. It was not bad really, quite clearly a Gevrey, quite clearly decent quality, but most of us guessed 1er Cru rather than Grand Cru. It had a big, funky nose - very earthy, with a certain wet muddiness underlying sweeter, very ripe aromas of maraschino cherries and sweetly melting floral scents, all sprinkled with a little spice and a whiff of roasted herbs. The palate had a tough, muscular feel to it, with solid tannins making their presence felt even through the nicely layered depth of the wine, giving a rather powdery mouthfeel its flavours of cherries backed up by more savoury tones of meat, earth and spice at the lengthy finish. Unlike the 2003 Clos des Lambrays that came earlier in the evening, this was quite clearly a child of the 2003 vintage. Even though the balance was okay overall, the acidity felt a little low at points, and there was a slightly over-bright, acidified feel at others. All in all, a decent enough wine, but lacking some elegance. It may improve over time, but I am not sure how many years this needs to soften up. My guess is another 6-8 at least.

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• 1995 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Best red wine on the night. It was quite lovely - a very elegant Cote Rotie. In fact, most of us actually thought it was yet another Pinot Noir, coming as it did after a long line of red Burgundies. On reflection though, this was a lovely expression of its terroir. The nose showed a nice lift of red fruit, orange peel and little floral tones married to wilder aromas of garrigue and ginseng herbs and angelica root, all topped up with dashes of white pepper, tobacco smoke and a little meaty bass note. In time, there was a whiff of something that reminded me of almond powder on the sides of the bouquet. It was quite attractive really, but I thought the palate was even better than nose. It had a very complete feel, with a nice depth without carrying any excess fat or thickness, showing deliciously clear and focused flavours in plummy fruit and black cherries – a darker expression than on the nose – yet all pierced with stirring grapefruity acidity. On the midpalate, the fruit was laced with weightier tones of beef broth, graphite and iron mineral. While mid-bodied rather than powerful, there was a really nice sense of light and shade in the depth of the wine in spite of the beautifully bright transparency that it had. Good finish too, with a seasoning of white pepper, powdered herb and tobacco nestling amidst smoky burnt ends. This is just starting to take on a nice complexity and was certainly showing very pleasantly on the night. Its lovely, silky tannins also helped to make it really easy to drink. There is something still a bit tight around the core of the wine though – I think it needs another 3-4 years at least to show its best. Great stuff.

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• 2005 Château de Fieuzal 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  The restaurant was closing by the time we came to this wine, so we had to rush through it. It was quite impressive, although in a rather nondescript way – still, a very solid young Bordeaux, with many, many years ahead of it. The palate smelt like something that you would expect from a far younger wine, with primary notes of blackberries and plums wed to sweet oak shades of coconut and cookie dough and spice. It was only a touch of earth and a little meatiness that hinted at a bit of development. Pleasant, but really not giving much. The palate was really decent too, with plump, juicy flavours of dark cherries and cassis on the attack, structured with fine, powdery tannins and great acidity. Past the midpalate, there were intriguing notes of exotic spice that brought to mind cinnamon and cumin and nutmeg, all ringed with a little smokiness and another hit of sweet oak towards the finish. This was a very good testament to the wonderful strength and depth or the 2005 vintage. It certainly punched above its class, showing a nicely complete feel, with depth, length, structure and balance all in place. While it is never going to be a great wine, I think it has the potential to be a pretty good one in time. All it needs now is time – and I am thinking in terms of decades rather than years.

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