Lunch at Asia Grand

Fabulous lunch with Elsa, Edmund, Joyce, Simon, Gary, Edwin and Brenda. Food was great as usual, but the wines were pretty outstanding for what was supposed to be a casual Thursday lunch.

• 2002 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  WOTD for me, just about shading the Deiss and the couple of red Burgs. Good at first, but it took awhile to warm up from the ice-bucket and to open up. When it came around, it was gorgeous. The complex nose showed rich, savoury mushroom notes, along a toss of Chinese herbs, white fruits and very Chablisienne minerality of saline-flecked oyster-shell, slate and wet stones. Palate was a little tight at first, all clean acid and primary, but very neutral white fruit. When it warmed up though, it showed lovely richness, with ripe lemons, lots of ripe, sweet pears and a rather astounding grip on the palate. What really marked this wine apart though was a tremendous sense of precision and focus that hit the palate on the attack and carried it all the way into the finish, where the fruit lingered very nicely with buttery oak and plenty of slatey, stoney minerality. It went quite brilliantly with our cod-based dim sum as well.

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• 2006 Clos du Val Chardonnay Carneros 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  I actually thought this was really decent. Like chalk and cheese when compared with the Chablis Grand Cru, but this was a very drinkable new world Chard, with plenty of Calfornian fruit, but also balanced with some elegance. Nose was clearly oaked, with butter, cream and popcorm overlaid over sweet white fruit and melons with a tropical twist. Palate was oily, buttery and rich, yet with just enough acidity to keep it from being flabby. Lots of fat yellow fruit, peachy tones, sweet melons spiked with just a little disctrating bit of alcohol. Finish even had a nice does of slatey mineral with time. Pretty enjoyable, with the oak and fat pretty much under control.

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• 1998 Jacques Cacheux & Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Not quite as nice as the last bottle, but this opened up over the course of lunch to make a beautiful wine. Lush, gorgeous nose. Dark plums, slightly liquered cherries, lots of wet earth and meaty, sous bois notes, a touch of vine stems and some wood spice. Palate was just a step behind. A little lean at first, all clean cherries and slightly woody structure, it opened up to show a plush richness (especially for a 1998), with sappy cherry fruit, stewed prunes and plums, mushrooms, some earth and moving across the midpalate, orange peel and wood spice moving into a decent finish. Pretty dense, with a nice weightiness. Not the longest, but again, not a hint of 1998 hardness or meaness here. Little flecks of alcohol that marred the wine slightly at first faded away after a little time, allowing the wine to show its natural richness very nicely. An extremely enjoyable bottle. Most people pegged it somewhere between 1er Cru and Grand Cru, which is where a good wine from Suchots should be.

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• 1994 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs 93 Points

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

  So much for 1994 being a mean year, this was really nice. Beautiful nose, perhaps the most charming of any wine I had this year. Beautiful, with tons of crushed rose petals, sappy cherries, a touch of liquer, a touch of wood spice, some boiled herbs... sweet, rich, dense and absolutely seductive. Palate was slightly poorer, but still immensely giving and drinkable, with sweet, sappy cherries and orange peel notes held up by slightly drying tannins and lots of lovely, fresh acidity. Still full of brightness and verve here, and all seasoned with wood spice and a little ginseng note. Finish was not prodigous, but had some susprising length, with a surprising amount of grip from dry tannins. Very much enjoyed.

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• 1999 Marcel Deiss Altenberg de Bergheim 93 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Just gorgeous. Golden yellow in colour. Lovely Riesling dominated nose showed drops of petroleum, rich apricot-led fruit, plenty of honeyed and flowery tones along with flinty mineral notes. Superb balance on the palate, with great acidity holding up nice rich flavours. Again, I got apricot and flint, along with notes of apple and plenty of tropical notes like pinepapple and longan, all spiked with a touch of ripe lemon and orange peel. Lots of weight here, but all laced with a lovely freshness. Finish was longish too, with that same impeccable sense of balance carrying the wine into a flinty, minerally tail. This went beautifully with a whole host of dishes.

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• 2006 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  Got a nice pour of this courtesy to Dad, who just happened to be eating at the same restaurant. A very well-made wine, clearly Aussie, tons of quality fruit, but way, way too young to drink. The American oak influence was abundantly clear on the nose, which showed some similarity to the Grange in its coconut and vanilla tones, along with spicy licorice, a touch of varnished wood and a whole rush of plum and cassis fruit. Palate was, as one would expect from the nose, really rich and powerful, with concentrated plums, prunes and cassis flavours filling the mouth. Still, this was by no way an inbalanced monster, with good freshness, tight, but very plush and fine-grained tannins and a rather sleek sense of balance holding up all that fruit. Plenty of oak all round though, with more vanillin tones carrying the wine into its long, juicy finish. Still a baby, but this will be really nice in 10 years time.

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