Final blowout at Iggy’s

How does one move on after two highly successful dinners at Iggy’s, the best restaurant in Singapore and rated amongst the world’s best, especially as the last dinner had been hailed as well-nigh perfect? (see entries in Sept 2009 & Dec 2009). But there was unfinished business at hand, for Danny and I have yet to take our turn in providing the wines for dinner. And so, as incontrovertible as the night that follows day, we knew that a third dinner at Iggy’s was inevitable, which eventually took place on 7 July 2010. The question was: what could we drink after having had Petrus, DRC Grands Echezeaux, Le Pin, Harlan, Armand Rousseau Chambertin and various Montrachet Grand Cru? The answer was obvious after some reflection. Something highly desirable, but untried before. That would be the theme. The lineup was planned independently. We’d go for quality, not quantity. Ouch…I’ve never spent that much on just a couple of bottles of wine, but once that boundary had been crossed, all my other past purchases seemed cheap. Terrible. I knew not what Danny would bring and, save for the champagne and sticky, everything was blinded.

We started with a 1990 Dom Perignon (courtesy of Daniel). Pure liquid gold, displaying a deep twang of lovely citrus and minerality with a toasty character, stuffed with smoke, ash, and tobacco. Deeply complex with a burnished tone, weighty, possessing dry biscuity notes rather than the usual yeasty overtone, developing great acidity with time with emerging notes of caramel. Just lasts and lasts. A superb start.

The blinded white burgundy that was poured (courtesy of Daniel) was clearly a well-aged wine, judging by the fabulous liquid gold, yet remaining crystal clear in spite of the years. There was a hint of lemongrass, fig and grapefruit with a faint aroma of orange peel (from Uncle Hsu…I agree). Medium-bodied, deep, almost honeyed, remarkably transparent on the palate without much fat, the acidity already threatening to dip. However, it gained greater minerality with time, almost veering towards a Sauternes on the nose, with an emerging note of apricot, growing in stature with each sip. Great stuff. Clearly a Burgundian Grand Cru, but from where, and by whom? Thoughts of an aged Chablis were also briefly entertained, but Kieron ventured aloud the possibility of a Chevalier-Montrachet, which we’ve never had. And on hindsight, the signature grassy overtone was a giveaway on the producer: Domaine Louis Latour, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru from 1986.

We moved on to the first red (courtesy of Daniel), undoubtedly a Burgundy. A very pure pinot tone, with immediate suggestion of power, finesse and elegance amidst the wonderful bouquet of cherries, redcurrant and raspberries at just the right level of ripeness, possessing a broad sweep across the palate, slightly salty in the middle with plenty of depth, leading to a highly complex finish, maintaining great balance and poise effortlessly.  It gained more power with each pour, exuding wild exuberance, yet never out of control at any time, like a supreme driver in an F1 car. Not even Armand Rousseau can attain such heights. Surely, such sublimity must mean DRC, with every hallmark in place. A ’96 Richebourg? We were almost spot-on: 1995 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru. C’est magnifique!

The next two reds were double-decanted inside the fridge for close to 4 hours to maintain temperature integrity, with further airing in bottle at the restaurant. The first was deep red, almost dark, revealing a dense mixture of dark and red fruits, beautifully intertwined with rich intense minerality and a touch of earth. The initial impression was that it was more developed on the nose than palate, where it was appreciably soft, with just the right level of extraction, the predominant merlot component already beginning to develop secondary characteristics. Less of structure, but totally seamless and complex, showing perfect delineation from start to finish, ending with sexy velvety tannins, becoming quite mellow with time. Clearly a Bordeaux, but nobody could quite place it, being an early modern-era style of Ch Ausone from 1998, a stellar Right Bank vintage.

The final red, showing a deep dense inky purple, was still rather muted in spite of all that decanting and airing, revealing only a glimpse of blackberries with emerging sweet oak. A huge wine of immense concentration, yet quite soft, not the monolithic sort of monster that knocks your palate out. Almost hedonistic but in a tightly controlled manner, medium-full with notes of plum and glycerin, finishing with a bit of menthol. Doesn’t strike one as outright New World in style. Most concluded a Californian cult wine…Araujo? Heitz Martha’s Vineyard? It took everyone by surprise when it was revealed to be a 2003 Pingus, the actual thing.

We concluded with a 2006 Kracher No. 10 chardonnay trocken beerenauslese that I’d hand-carried back from Vienna last year. Clear golden. Rather resinous with concentrated flavours of apricot, revealing excellent depth and intensity without any overbearing sweetness. That also brought our trilogy of terribly expensive blowout dinners at Iggy’s, spanning more than nine months, to a most satisfying conclusion. I don’t suppose I could possibly say which one of the three was the best. They were all wonderful but, most importantly, I enjoyed every minute of the company, without which the wines wouldn’t have tasted so good.