Sunday dinner at Liang Kee Teochew Restaurant

Impromptu Sunday night meal with Alex, Fiona and Lionel. Really enjoyed this, good Teochew food with some decent wines, served blind as usual. We had braised duck to go with the CdP and pinot. Egg foo yong for the pinot. Fried prawn rolls and steamed fish to go with the rose and the white.

• 2007 Caves d'Esclans Whispering Angel 90 Points

  France, Provence, Côtes de Provence

  Lovely rose gold colour. This was one step down from the Chateau D'Esclans bottling, both in terms of price and quality. I must say that it was still pretty good though. The nose opened with really expressive strawberry, rose petals and a little sticky cotton candy scent, along with a spine of mineral and grass. The palate was noticeably big, creamy and luscious and at points, a little sticky and sweetish. There were points when it went slightly alcoholic, with some heat showing when served cold. There was still a nice cleaness to it though, with a minerally backbone underlying flavours of honeydew and rock melon along with rose and hibiscus petals. Nice long finish, with a lingering stoniness and a ferrous touch. Very versatile with the food, it went well with almost everything.

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• 2007 Guy Bocard Bourgogne-Aligoté Vieilles Vignes 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne-Aligoté

  This was strangely like a creamy Sauvignon Blanc. Grassy nose with a little yeasty undertones and top notes of gooseberries, guava and a touch og mineral. Rather alchy on the palate, which was creamily textured (malolactic fermentation surely) with more of the fresh fruit flavours and limey acidity. It became sweeter when paired with steamed fish with ginger. Decent finish with a nice minerality. Okay, but not one I would rebuy

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• 2006 Guy Bocard Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru

  This was not half bad, especially when paired with Egg Foo Yong with Chinese Sausage - these went together perfectly. Served blind, this was clearly Burg and clearly 2006, but we could not guess the commune. Purple colour with a pink rim, the nose was rather sweetly candied and, with time, reminiscent of maple syrup. These was some waxed meat, dust and mineral underlying that though, along with some floral tones, all of which added a layer of interest to the wine. On the palate, there was spritzy cola, sweet cherries, a little cough syrupy and a really minerally, stoney backbone. There was just a litte touch of vanilla-laced oak. Lots on action the front of the mouth, and a little linger of minerals at the back along with grainy tannins. It finished with flavours of burnt caramel and butterscotch and just the smallest hint of greenish grape stems and orange peel. Very modernly styled, but pretty nicely balanced overall, with decent complexity. While nothing to shout about, this was an enjoyable wine.

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• 2004 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 92 Points

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

  This 375 ml was popped as part of the Cellartracker Virtual Community Tasting II on Saturday, and I brought the remainder down to dinner to go with the duck, and it certainly went really well. Served blind, everyone on the table spotted this as a wine of some breeding, but it has really shut down quite a bit from the last time I tried it about a year back. It is now super-tight. The nose was all hot stones and bramble when I first popped it, with underlying dark berries and some savoury meat - very complex and challenging, but in a lurking subdued way, nowehere near as expressive as older Beaucastels or even the last bottle of 2004 that I had. On the second day, it began to show a little perfumed flowers, dark berries, and more bramble. The palate was dense and concentrated as expected but, refecting its vintage, clean as a whistle, with bright, juicy acidity bringing a really nice sense of elegance. As with the nose, there was lots of hot stones and other minerally notes, along with savoury meatiness and some underlying dark fruits undergirded by a layering of really fine tannins. On the second day, the intense brooding flavours and slight edginess integrated to reveal some licorice, more berries and meat - almost a touch of light blackberry jam here. Acid had dropped quite a bit though. Typically long Beaucastel finish, with bittersweet minerals and liberal dash of pepper and just the lightest touch of heat. All in all, this showed as a classy wine, full and concentrated, but perhaps lacking the richness of better vintages. I would not approach another bottle for a good half a decade at least.

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