3/19/2022 - Paul S wrote:

Red Cross Charity Dinner (Shangri-La, Singapore): There is some quality here, but it still felt really young, tight, and rather overly extracted. Amazingly, at 13 years of age, this is a village Gevrey that still needs a whole lot of time in the bottle. The nose was quite attractive, with deep dark notes of berries and black cherries, some plums, and then a twang of mineral and wood spice. The palate was very muscular and rather tighter though. There was an extracted extracted feel to it, with a background of woody notes, just starting to fade into the background to reveal clearer, purer tones of dark cherries and ripe berries, these playing against a savoury backdrop of meat and earth, some olive tapenade, and then a little sprinkle of spice at a long, powerful finish. A deep, powerful, masculine expression. Not something you would call elegant, but certainly well-balanced and long-lived. Not a style I favour,e even though there is some quality here. I certainly felt the Mornington Peninsula Pinot from Stonier we had alongside was more elegant and more "Burgundian" in feel. This should be better drinking in say 6-8 years down the road, but I am not sure it will ever take on that type of elegance.

11/27/2021 - Paul S wrote:

Grange Vertical with Peter Gago (Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore): Good but not great - this bottle was not in the best of shapes. Clearly the oldest, most developed of the flight - this had a savoury, earthy meatiness underlying notes of cassis, plums and earth, tossed together with some green herb and spice and a hint of eucalyptus that spoke to the high 13% Cabernet in the blend. A compelling bouquet. The palate was quite singular - a wine of real character, with a rasp of slightly powdery tannins and still fresh acidity wrapped around a softly charming mouthful of plums and blueberries, seasoned with notes of spice and eucalyptus, all this just traced by a bit of alcohol heat. I liked the nose rather more than the palate though. There was a lovely quiet authority and elegance to the wine, but something was missing on the midpalate. Perhaps it travelled badly, or it was not so good a bottle. A nice Grange at this age, but not quite mind blowing.

10/30/2021 - Paul S wrote:

Dinner at Sushi Kondo (Sushi Kondo, Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore): An unusual bottle. Very pleasant though. This wafted out of the glass with a real burst of cassis along with notes of fresh-cut roses and damp earth, maybe with a twist of green bramble herb at the sides. Such was the blackcurranty depth in the nose that this immediately brought to mind Ribena and Creme de Cassis. Very pleasant though. The palate was made of slightly sterner stuff than the nose, with a chew of tannins and bright acid framing a fresh mouthful of juicy cassis and sour cherries, these pulling into a long finish that filled the back-palate with a flowery linger of violets and roses, then earth and spice. There was a lovely clarity and briskness to this. Nice, but it definitely did not taste like a 50-year old wine.

8/6/2021 - Paul S wrote:

At Ivan and Michelle’s. A very enjoyable Oregon Pinot. Clearly new world, so not one for the Burg-only camp, but this was really delicious. It had a really pretty nose, with fragrant drifts of freshly stalked flowers and peppery spice curled around a core of sweet red berries and cherries, and a little touch of green bramble and earth at the sides. Very attractive. The palate was drinking really well even at its young age, with sweet, sunny notes of red cherries, strawberries and summer berries, all seasoned with a dash of spice and a hint of bramble. Really delicious stuff, plump and fleshy in a really nice way, yet punctuated too with seamless acidity and fine tannins that led the wine into a velvety finish just edged with a bit of earth and mushrooms. Sleek, polished and hedonistically delicious, this was drinking wonderfully even now. Such a super yummy wine. A great pairing with beef Wellington too.

12/14/2019 - Paul S wrote:

DRC vs Leroy Dinner (Kheam Hock Road): Solid and enjoyable. Took awhile to get going, but this was very pleasing when it did. It had a bit of a tight, slightly dusty nose at first, but the bouquet opened up to something rather attractive, with quiet layers of damp earth, lifted spice and dark blueberry and plum fruit, maybe even with a touch of dried violets. Really quite nice. The palate was a step behind the nose perhaps. Still nice, but a touch lean at first, with its structure of acidity and fine-boned tannins showing through fine transparent flavours of black cherries, blueberries and plums. There was a touch of meaty power in there though, opening up with them. It tightened up towards the end too, showing a bit more grippy structure and stony minerality, with notes of black tea along with a little sour cherry lift. Good length and really great persistence I must say. Not perfect, and probably better a few years back, but this was still very impressive for a 1970.

5/29/2020 - Paul S wrote:

From a half bottle paired perfectly with some Spanish food, this was young, but delectable. It had a lovely Rioja nose, with some of the fragrant ashy smoke that is so typical of traditional Tempranillo, this wreathed around a lovely sweet glow of red cherries, sour plums and some savoury earth and fig peel bites, all just sprinkled with a little sweet spicy twist of American oak. Lovely stuff. The palate was still very youthfully structure, with a chew of nicely round tannins and bright, juicy acidity shaping a succulent mouthful of dark cherries and red berries, these again seasoned with a nice little bit of savoury earth and smoky spice, and then some typical dill and menthol notes, especially as the wine unfolded into a surprisingly long and wide finish. Such a yummy drop - clearly with its best years 5-10 years ahead of it, but it was so delicious even now. Great with food too.

1/8/2020 - Paul S wrote:

2014 Burgundy Dinner (Yan, National Gallery, Singapore): This was quite brilliant - showing off how good 2014 was as a white Burg vintage. The nose was just lovely - classic Corton-Charlie, with notes of butter and cream, a bite of white chocolate, some white meat and button mushrooms, all these floating around a core of rich white fruited aromas, and then just a little lick of oak and mineral. A brilliant nose. The palate was very fine indeed, with plenty of power and depth wed to a real sense of clarity and elegance showing through its white fruited flavours on the attack. Another touch of white chocolate, and some savoury white meat and earth notes, and a little hit of citrus, then made up a midpalate with a lot of flesh and intensity. Great long finish too, juicy clinging on to the backpalate with tons of strength and length, with just a twist of bittersweet minerality to it. Clearly a Grand Cru even when tasted blind, and a good one at that. This will age well for many, many years yet, but it was really good even at this young age.

8/25/2016 - Paul S wrote:

Epic Champagne dinner (Taberna, Bukit Merah): Wow. This was the best bottle in a flight that comprised 3 bottles of Substance and 3 bottles of VO, all from different disgorgment dates. I am just putting down my notes of my favourite bottle each (of the Substance and the VO). It had such a lovely nose, with stone fruit and chalk aromas wed to oxidative shades of white meat, smoked herbs, and exotic wood spices, like cardammon and cloves. A very bright, attractive bouquet. The palate was at a very nice place, with a nicely rounded, but still very fresh expression of lemons and limes dancing over a deeper base of stone fruit flavous. There was a superb sense of intensity, and plenty of power here, but as with the best of the Selosse wines in the flight, it was the clarity and transperancy of the wine that stood out. This was just beautiful deep, round and matured, yet weightless and transparent. A wonderfully satsifying drink.

10/5/2019 - Paul S wrote:

Chris' Birthday Dinner (Summer Palace, Regent Hotel): Very nice indeed - this was better than the last bottle I had a couple of weeks back. What a lovely nose it had, with drifts of fragrant Vosne spice wafting around a core of sweet dark cherries and plums, dried violets and slightly funky, meaty sous bois. A beautiful RSV bouquet. It was delicious on the palate. So elegant, with fine, velvety tannins and wonderfully defined acidity framing deliciously transparent flavours of dark cherries, red berries and plums, all infused with a lovely mouthful of Vosne spice, and just that little kiss of florals tracing its way into a lovely long finish. Maybe lacking a touch of Grand a Cru authority and power, but it was very delicious - this was a truly seductive mouthful drinking at a rather advanced peak.

4/27/2018 - Paul S wrote:

In the office. Surprisingly good for a Camus. This had a sweet nose of sweet red cherries, earth and some florals. The palate had a soft, round, easy feel to it, with fresh, juicy acidity and velvety tannins lapping against fleshy flavours of dark cherries, earth and spice. A touch simple maybe, but delicious, with a growing depth as it sat in the glass. Nice long finish too, with a lock of cloves and mineral at the back-palate.

1/15/2019 - Paul S wrote:

Old Barolo Night (Bar-a-Thym, Singapore): What a great start to dinner. This was superb. It had a lovely nose, masculine and strong, with notes of meat and mineral, dark plums and dusty earth, a twist of spice and just that classic kiss of tar and roses. What a knockout bouquet that was. With a quick decant, the palate was starting to drink beautifully, even though its was still very youthful, and very classically structured. Firm, sinewy tannins and bright acidity formed a noble frame for beautifully pure, clear flavours of dark cherries, blueberries and plums, seasoned on the midpalate with a lovely mouthful of peppery, smoky spice, and then trailing away with a minerally, earthy tail into a deliciously long, detailed finish. It tasted just a touch bittersweet at the very end at first, but this cleared quickly to be replaced by a lovely glow of red fruit and florals in the back-palate. This was perfectly balanced, brilliantly poised, and had a real effortless strength to it. Wonderful, ethereal stuff, that will continue to improve over the decades. Fabulous. This bested a brilliant bottle 2001 Aldo Conterno Colonello on the same flight by a whisker for me, by virtue of it being just a bit more elegant and transparent. To be fair though, a good half of the table preferred the more voluptuous Aldo Conterno.

4/21/2018 - Paul S wrote:

Still too young, but there was certainly quality on this - it went well with BBQ, but surprisingly even better with a lovely chocolate cake. The nose was still sharper and younger than the 1997 Mt Edelstone that we had alongside, with wafts of plums and blueberries alongside smoky herb and spice notes, a twist of eucalyptus and just that remnant of creamy oak. The palate was just starting to round up and even out, but there was still a streak of bright, youthful acidity running through a rich core of warm plum and sweet cassis flavours infused with a gentle drifts of earthy spice and savoury herb. There was a lovely sense of purity and balance to this in spite of an obvious power and weight. Delicious. Great long finish too - powerful, insistent, yet quiet rather than shoutingly so. Still a bundle of potential and strength, just starting to open up nicely, but this will only really hit its stride in 5-10 years’ time.

10/23/2009 - Paul S wrote:

WFA German Varietal Tasting (Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore): The first really good wine of the tasting, and I thought this was rather an outstanding Pinot Gris. Started off good, but just got stronger and stronger in the glass. Deep yellow colour. Rather sticky on the nose, with nice yellow fruit, crushed flowers, some tangerines and orange zest, apricots and funky earthy notes replete with chalky mineral. Very complex, especially when compared with the first few wines we had. Palate was a world away from the acidic thinness of those wines as well. This was rich, almost oily textured, with layers of honeyed flavours, some nectarines, some papaya and plenty of spice, all balanced out by nice acidity. Finish was similarly long and textured with pretty good length in its spicey tail. Very nice, and quite age worthy too. Would love to try this in 5 years' time.

4/10/2010 - Paul S wrote:

Hitting the Big 3-0. (Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, Paragon): Fresh, elegant Champagne. Very pleasant. Sweet nose showed ripe lemons, red apples and apple rind, along with some toasty spice, a bit of earth and just that touch of umami. There were little scents of herb and pepper floating around on top as well. Palate was crisp, clean and balance, with a nice sense of fruity sweetness and clean, crystallined fruit flavours - green apple shading into pineapple notes. Finish was mid-length, with touches of spice. Nice, almost too "nice", so that it almost lack a sense of personality. Still though, great elegance and very nice balance. Yummy start to the meal.

4/4/2009 - Paul S wrote:

Sasi's farewell tasting (Richfield, Lam Soon Building, Singapore): Absolutely profound. This must be the best red wine I have had this year. Orange and garnet all over. Just an amazing mature Burg nose. At once pretty, lush and fragrant, with wet matted earth, mushrooms and truffles, lots of floral notes reminiscent of crushed flower petals, rich blackcurrant and cherry. With time, a savoury chicken stock tone weaved its way through these rich secondary flavours and the fruits took on the sweet tone that is so beautiful in aged Burgundy. No artificial confected stuff here, just honest to goodness accents of stewed cherries and kirsch. Beautiful. I was just hoping the palate would not let down, and it absolutely did not. Lots of clean acid still, wed to a silky lightness – this wine was definitely alive and kicking. I got cherries, strawberries, fresh cut flowers and more of the lovely natural sweetness, if only a little more restrained than the nose. At first, the wine was marred by a hollowness that sounded at the mid-palate, where a submerged metallic note rang out in spots. We were afraid that the wine was beginning to collapse. However, as it took on air and the nose started singing in sweeter notes, the palate also filled up with an incredible rush of cherries, preserved strawberries and sweet dates and just started showing better and better. My written notes say “Complex!! Singing!! Opened!! Profund… ecstactic… LONG!!!” The finish was superb – with cherry compote, almost candied, hisbiscus notes and orange peel just swirling around the mouth. This is one wine I am going to remember for a long, long time.

10/31/2014 - Paul S wrote:

Welcome Home Peter! (Park Palace, Grand Park Hotel): I don't quite know how to place this bottle. While still clearly very good indeed, it was so marked by Brett that I could not quite enjoy it completely. Served blind, some on the table adored it, voting it wine of the night, others were less thrilled. Personally, I thought it was perhaps the poorest of the few smashing bottles of the 1990 I have had over the years. The Brett just hit you on first pour - with lots of funky smells, reminiscent of barnyard and gym sock, floating over more pleasant tones of dark plums and black cherries laced with a lovely fragrant spice - cumin and menthol and cloves - and then a nice interplay of savoury mushrooms and sweet violet florals. The palate was clearly Brett influenced as well, but was thankfully less funky than on the nose. While there were savoury, meaty notes and a little sauvage edge, these were in the background rather than dominating the palate. Beyond that, the wine was actually very fine indeed, with the brilliant balance and fine, silky tannins that have always given this vintage an almost Burgundian feel. There were lovely flavours in there too, with a pure expression of sweet dark fruit - black cherries again, and blackberries - mid-bodied at first, then opening up and taking on depth and a subtle power. Lovely stuff. Very strong, very complete, and while the Brett came out rather distractingly again after time, very long on the finish too, with black fruit was kissed by savoury meat and earth and a long trial of white peppery spice. I should have decanted this rather than popping and pouring, and I wish there wasn't that much Brett, but it is a testament to how good the wine is that it still showed this well even with all that going on.

12/4/2013 - Paul S wrote:

5 Decades of Aged Barolo with White Truffles (Absinthe, Boat Quay, Singapore): An old vine Barolo from the "vintage of the century", this was a rather special wine – it is telling that in the midst of some really strong contenders, it was almost universal hailed as the WOTN. It was so youthful that I am quite sure it has been topped up with younger, fresher vintages over time, but there was still a beautifully developed quality to it that only extreme age can bring. The nose started off with a large dose of bottle funk, with whiffs of wet mud, fermented soy, drain water and a barnyardy pong all round. One sniff and you could really believe that the wine has been cooped up in the bottle for the last 66 years. Thankfully, all that muddy funk cleared off significantly with a bit of time to show much more pleasant scents of beef broth, smoke and spice on a backdrop of dark fruit and wilted flowers. Actually really nice. However, while the nose smelt like a really old wine, the palate tasted like something decades younger, so that most of us guessed it was from the 1970s or 80s when blind. This was still sharply cut, beautifully fresh and balanced, with beautiful flavours of dark berries and cherries laced with yummy tones of savoury beef broth and earthy, mushroomy, undergrowth notes on the midpalate. Really juicy and very pure I thought, yet with a nice fullness and complexity to it - wonderful stuff. Great little finish too, with little bits of spice and earth and meat lingering away in the back palate. A truly excellent wine, not perfect, but full of character and drinking very nicely indeed. Bravo.

2/9/2014 - Paul S wrote:

CNY Lo Hei at Alex's (Alex's place): I have been lucky enough to drink this twice in the space of a few months, and this bottle very much confirmed the positive impressions I had from the previous outing. If anything though, itwas rather more forward and expressive this time round. Indeed, I found the nose unusually ripe for a CFE, with a light drizzle of petrol scents over initially tight notes of lemons and mineral that opened up into a pretty floral sweetness with nice orange blossoms scents around the sides. The palate too seemed weightier than the last bottle, coming across unusually round and ripe, with fruitier notes of sweet lemons married to critus yuzu and kumquat peel notes and a very orangey midpalate. Where the bottles were very similar though was the lighter feel of the wine, with it coming across less solidly built and substantial than on the greatest vintages, but still having a decent depth for all that. The fleshy fruit then receded at the finish to show-off a nicely steely core, with more restrained grapefruit tones wrapped around a long, lacy tail of lovely mineral. A surprisingly pleasing, forward CFE, yet one that has the bones to age nicely over the medium term. This was very good.

1/6/2014 - Paul S wrote:

Bonneau du Martray, Ghislaine Barthod, Clos des Lambrays and other Auction Steals (Alex's place): One of the strangest and worst wines I have had in a long time. We thought it was flawed, but we could not figure out with what - most likely a particularly Dettol-smelling dose Brett - but the wine just stank, with a potent mixture of hospital disinfectant, iodine and band-aid rising out of the glass, more or less obscuring more conventional aromas of dark fruit, meat and some smoky ash. Yuck. I can think of some metaphors to describe this, but they are all rather impolite. Thankfully, the palate was more decent than the nose would lead one to expect (after we were brave / foolish / drunk enough to actually take sips out of the glass even after that almighty pong). There was actually a nice fleshy depth and good balance on the wine, with cherries and raspberry flavours tinged with a smoky, meaty tang. Very unfortunately, there was also always a suspicion of taint alongside the fruit, with that nasty antiseptic smell lingering in the nooks and crannies of the midpalate, and rising to the fore more perceptibly towards the finish. Horrid – this is something I hope I will never have to taste again. A Chambertin too – a real waste.

9/27/2013 - Paul S wrote:

Welcome Back Kelvin! (Kelvin and Joyce's Place, Bishan): This was truly excellent. Still a bit young for my tastes, but it was such an impressive wine - one of the best of the night in fact, even though it was the only new world in the midst of a nice French and Italian line-up. It had a big nose that left not one in any doubt that this was a Barossa Shiraz, with deep draws of ripe plums, cassis and blackberries seasoned with earth, eucalyptus and mint. Still rather primary, and the same thing could be said about the palate as well. The wine was very substantial, very rich in the mouth, with big black-fruited notes of cassis and blackberries at the forefront - tons of flesh and depth and power throughout. Yet what really set this apart from your run-of-the-mill big, modern Barossa was the remarkable sense of balance and purity that that had the wine practically glowing with energy in spite of its weight - not a hint of confected sweetness or cloying viscosity here. In fact, this is one of those rare modern Shirazes where one sip actually invited another and then another. There were signs of nascent complexity starting to show up on the midpalate as well, with the dark fruit being met with earth and eucalyptus, and then into the long, muscular finish, were sour plums and menthol, spice and a light puff of cigarette smoke drifted off on a bed of slightly chewy, but very ripe, pleasing tannins. Very impressive indeed. This will take a few years yet to lose it puppy fat, take on more complexity and fully form, but it is getting there - I would love to try it again say at the turn of the decade. 93+

9/20/2013 - Paul S wrote:

Dinner with Fellow Counsel (New Ubin Seafood): This continues to impress. While drank in less than ideal conditions (too warm without proper glasses), it was still really enjoyable. The nose was classic Bolly, with yeasty, biscuity notes hovering over white fruited apple aromas and a sprinkle of lemon zest. The palate was still young and primary, but already approchable, with fine, creamy mousse and very bright, fresh acidity forming a fine frame for zippy flavours of sweet lemons and green apples drifting into a round, creamy finish. A very whole, complete Champagne. Nice stuff. I am not sure this will be the longest lasting vintage Bollinger, but it sure is a good one.

2/26/2010 - Brady D Likes this wine:

Medium purple. A great nose of mixed fruit and spices. The tertiary CdP characteristics are coming out to play. Full bodied and concentrated but not over the top. Developed over the course of the night. Intended to drink only half a bottle, but finished the whole thing.