1990 Ch Montrose, 1982 Joseph Perrier, 1990 Les Forts de Latour

These are short notes from a dinner at Chef Kang’s on 26 Jan 2016 with all wines generously supplied by SKY (don’t we all aspire to be like him?), all aired in advance on-site, paired with Chef Kang’s unique creations plus another whole lot of crab beehoon and oyster omelette from Sin Huat.

1982 Joseph Perrier Brut. Poured from magnum. Second time within a year that I am privileged to have tasted this champagne that was served at William and Kate’s wedding. This wine carries an abundance of apricot, peaches and plums, fabulously intense on the palate with toasty characters, yeast and lime in a rich complex, yet lithe without any heaviness, displaying excellent acidity and definition, just a tad stern at the finish. Beautiful.

2003 Ch Brane Cantenac. Aromatic with attractive floral fragrance and red plums, medium-bodied, displaying cedary and raisiny characters that have turned slightly medicinal, rounded and soft, firming up very well on the palate although, like many 2003s of the Left Bank, a tad short. A classic example where the wine is better on the nose than on the palate.

1986 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut. Poured from magnum. Restrained with notes of toast and pomelo that went very well with the ultra-fine gentle bubbles, seemingly dipping in acidity on the mid-body but redeeming itself very well after some time, establishing a certain richness coupled with excellent concentration of firm citrus and chalky minerality that led to a sweet finish. Excellent.

1990 Les Forts de Latour. This wine is beautifully evolved, exuding powerful aromas of red plums, red fruits, dates and cinnamon, rounded and absolutely harmonious, velvety in layering with overtones of camphor in its hallowed glow. More feminine compared with the grand vin but all the better as it exudes a distinct identity in its own right. Superb.

1990 Ch Montrose. Still deep garnet red with barely a vermilion rim after 25 years, this wine possesses an attractive earthy pungency well-matched with dry tobacco characters on the nose. A complex of ripe dark and red fruits saturates the palate, imparting a fabulous intensity and richness with an abundance of soy and concentrated tea leaves, voluptuous and alluring, yet still youthful and seemingly a long way from its peak. Outstanding, and no wonder why it’s labelled a 100-pointer. A complete wine.

My heartfelt thanks, once again, to SKY for the generous line-up.