Notes in brief (November 2010): 2004 Ducru Beaucaillou, 2000 Les Ormes de Pez …

2002 Fox Creek Reserve shiraz, at a happy hour for all medical Registrars at the office on 4 Nov 2010. Decanted for almost 4 hours. Expectedly, a big wine with loads of plum, spice, leather and licorice, laden with a heavy medicinal aroma and other supporting notes of bush, bramble and balsam. Rather dense, but it managed to avoid any excess of alcohol, remarkably balanced with tannins kept firmly in check, possessing little of the rusticity of McLaren Vale shiraz, being more sophisticated instead. It’s a good drop, but not quite distinguishable from other big Aussie reds.

2007 Muller-Catoir riesling, 14.5% alcohol. Light yellow. Dry riesling. Light medium initially, slightly flat. Gaining in body after an hour. Medium-bodied, rounded, clean dry minerality, excellent purity without oily texture. Reasonable depth. Crisp finish.

2000 Les Ormes de Pez, poured from magnum at the annual Dinner & Dance on 6 Nov 2010. Dark red. A classic Medoc nose of old leather, cassis and dark berries with a hint of dew and forest floor. Soft on the palate, rather mellow, but it seemed to lacking in concentration and verve with a predominance of leafy overtones, ending in a stern finish, improving only slightly over time. Fatty came over and lauded it with superlatives, grabbing the bottle away in preference over the 2004 Ducru Beaucaillou (below), but we know better.

2004 Ch Ducru Beaucaillou, popped and poured midway through the annual Dinner & Dance when Hiok came over. A deep garnet red. The bouquet is immediately richer with greater depth, the superior fruit quality at once apparent. Medium-full on the palate, but its entry is ever so gentle with classic notes of dried herbs, wild mushrooms, excellent minerality and a hint of graphite, displaying excellent focus and delineation from start to finish. The body has fleshed out much more than when I first had it in 2007 when it was first released, when it was simply all fruit coated with oaky vanilla. This has turned out to be highy elegant. A classic claret in every sense.

2009 Grosset Polish Hill riesing, at Ming Kee with the wifey on 16 Nov 2010, over its signature crab beehoon. Light faded yellow. Open on the nose with notes of tangy citrus, grapefruit and stony minerality, very rich on the palate with discernible vanilla, somewhat flinty, with none of the petroleum texture often encountered in rieslings. Compared to a previous bottle several months back, this has less cutting acidity and crispiness, all for the better as it made the wine much more homogenous, with a greater feel for depth. Excellent.

2009 Bouldevines Estate sauvignon blanc, at a formal dinner at Equinox private dining (69th floor of the Swissotel Singapore) on 26 November 2010. Rather pale. Light-medium. A predominance of green notes and lemongrass, filled with just adequate minerality, uneven at the finish,lacking in real concentration.

2007 Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas, at a formal dinner at Equinox private dining (69th floor of the Swissotel Singapore) on 26 November 2010. A darker hue of pinot. Notes of cherries and other red berries with a raspberry sheen. Lacking in real depth and concentration, but admittedly a decent effort and rather pleasant. Went well with the fillet mignon.