Poker and Wine

Kat and Yuwen host the best late night gatherings in Singapore, and this poker, supper and wine night was great fun. Lovely wines all round. I was a bit too distracted by the cards and the great bottle of Mascerallo Monprivato to taste all the blind wines that we BYO’ed, but the few bottles that I enjoyed were really nice.

• 2006 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 94 Points

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

  A great young Corton-Charlemagne. The nose showed lots of smoky oak and flinty mineral notes mixed together with ripe white-fruited aromas and creamy accents - rich and full of character, even if the oak stood out quite a bit. The palate packed a real punch - it had the rich, ripe fullness of the 2006 vintage and the characteristic power of the Corton-Charlemagne terroir running through its creamy, white-fruited veins. However, the pedigree of the wine really shone through in its fresh, juicy balance and wonderful cut and precision. I loved the great long finish too, tailing away with a fine streak of filigreed minerality and a gentle spiciness. Wonderful stuff – this has really taken on weight and authority since I last tried it in 2009. It is still way too young, needing plenty of time and patience, but it should be absolutely lovely 10 years or so down the road.

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• 2008 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  I nursed glasses of this all night. This was infanticide of course, even if the wine drank remarkably well for such a young Monprivato, but it provided really nice glimpse of its tremendous potential. There was just such a beautiful classic quality to it. A bit tight and rather dominated by simple scents of red cherry at first, the nose opened up with time to show beautiful little notes of spice and smoke, orange peel and menthol, and then gentle floral notes floating around a lifted core of blueberry and red fruit aromas. Very pretty. The palate was finesse personified. This had the finest, silkiest tannins and lovely precise acidity delicately draped over wonderfully pure notes of dark berries and black cherries. It was amazingly soft and melting for a young Barolo, yet full of presence and a gentle intensity that just rang through the wine's crystal clear depth. It was wonderfully integrated too, wound together beautifully all the way through into an effortlessly long finish infused with gentle floral and spice hints. Beautiful, understated and elegant, yet with the bones to last just about forever – this is a top class Barolo. While I found it surprisingly complex and engaging even it its extreme youth, it will probably hit peak only in some 15-20 years from now. 94+

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• 1998 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux Vieille Vigne 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  Older Fourrier wines have been a bit hit and miss for me. This was great though. It had a wonderful nose, flushed with a floral, red-fruited perfume, with cherries and roses, earth and spice – wonderful. The palate was absolutely singing. Soft, velvety, with just that little kick of fine tannins, it showed lovely juicy flavours of red cherries and sour plums kissed by warm spice and then a gentle mushroomy earthiness as it trailed into a lovely warm finish. This was Gevrey the way I like it, marrying the savoury earthiness and strength of the terroir with a lovely elegance and purity - really enjoyable and quite at peak, I really liked this wine.

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• 1988 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  With our group’s move towards drinking more and more Burgundy in recent years, Bordeaux has been rather neglected, with bottles often collecting dust at the back of our cellars. Every now and then though, a nicely matured one like this Ducru pops up, and I am reminded of how much pleasure a nicely aged Bordeaux can give. This had a lovely left bank nose, with lots of cassis, capsicums and earth littered with fragrant Ducru-Beaucaillou notes of tea and dried flowers. A vibrant, youthful bouquet. The palate had a more clearly matured character, but it was still every bit as lively as the nose, with bright, juicy flavours of cassis seasoned with fragrant notes of sweet spice, tobacco and black tea stretching into a nicely lingering finish. Fine tannins that still gave a little bite and a lovely balance rounded the wine off very nicely. There was still a sense of 1988 structure on this and enough fruit to last some time yet, but it was drinking very pleasurably on the night. My only criticism may be that it lacked a bit of depth, but that aside, this was very nice indeed.

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