Dinner at home with the family and a few friends

Jerming was back from Australia, so it was a good excuse for the wife and I to get him over to continue the education in Burg and German Rieslings. Mum and I cooked a simple dinner with some leftovers, Zhi came over with her coffee maker and some drunken pork dish. Jerms and Chern Wern joined us layer.

• 2005 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 92 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Not the most complex of Kabinett's or the most exciting, not even as good as the stupendous 2007, but in terms of sheer quality, balance and deliciousness, this must be somewhere near the top of the pile. Nose was a tad restrained, but still lovely, with accents of tangerine, nectar, soft white flower notes and a touch of guava, along with just the lightest whiff of rubbery petroleum. The petrol came out a little more on the wine's attack on the palate, which then unfolded into more white fruit flavours, guavas, maybe longans, and a really nice citrus undercurrent of mandarin orange and lemon zest along with little bittersweet fruit pips. Finish was round, but ultimately rather short. This was one of the things that set the 2007 apart. What really impressed the table though was the huge amount of weight and grippiness - there must have been tons of dry extract in the wine. Jerms commented that it was almost chewable. As would be expected, it went beautifully with our home-cooked Chinese meal which included chili crab, ngoh hiang, sauteed mushrooms in oyster sauce and drunken pork belly.

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• 2001 Hubert Lignier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Baudes 93 Points

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

  Still very young, but this still superb on the night with the makings of a fantastic wine in the not-so-distant future. The colour was just bricking a bit on the rim. This wine just an absolutely gorgeous nose that got all of us going ga-ga. Ever so complex and layered, it had high, perfumed tones of flowers and spice like cloves and cinamon, rich mid-tones full of petit fruits noir - dark cherries, berries, after time, preserved strawberries - and then low, persistent bass notes of savoury duck confit, earth, warm herbs, umami and a touch of Burgundy funk. Fantastic. The palate was a little less developed, but everything was already starting to integrate, so that the accents caught on the nose just flowed into attack which showed beautiful balance, with fresh acidity and great clarity in its fresh-cut flower notes wed to quite a bit of power. This was especially apparent when the wine moved into a mid-palate just choked full of cherries, berries and the ripest of strawberries. Again, the savoury low notes were there, beautifully complementing the higher-toned flavours. Very focused, very complete, all the way into a really long finish which showed bits of orange peel and just the lightest hint of bittersweet minerals and herbs along with a dusting of fine tannins that showed a little grip. It is still rather young, with some of the harshness of youth still showing in the brightness of the acid and the shape of the tannins, but there is already a great expression of terroir here, all wrapped in a package that was at once seductive and intellectual at the same time. I have not been this excited over a bottle of 1er Cru Burg for awhile now. This was one of the very talented Romain Lignier's last few vintages in what was very much a rising-star domaine before his untimely passing - long may his legacy continue.

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