1996 Moulin Saint-Georges & 2006 Deux Montille Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru “Sous Fretille”

It’s good to see so many restaurants in Singapore participating in Restaurant Week, running from 21-27 March 2011, where full-course lunches and dinners are offered at SGD25 and SGD35, respectively. In the case of top venues, such as Il Lido at the Sentosa Golf Club, there is an additional surcharge of SGD20 but, even then, SGD55 for a generously-portioned 4-course dinner that included a wagyu beef cheek, on top of an amouse bouche and coffee/tea, is superb value.

We began with a 2006 Maison Deux Montille Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru “Sous Fretille”, a Burgundy blanc from the Cote de Beaune, bought off the restaurant list for SGD170, part of the restaurant’s one-for-one corkage policy. Dull yellow with an attractive but restrained nose of tropical fruits and pears supported by firm minerality with notes of vanilla, chalk and a hint of cream. Medium to full-bodied, layered with extended depth on the mid-palate, eventually developing a solid wall of stony minerality and a lasting finish of bitter-sweet pomelo fruit amidst some lively acidity. Well balanced, although it lacks the exuberance and opulence of the great Montrachet whites. I kept waiting for the bouquet to blossom handsomely but in spite of sitting in the glass for almost two hours, that didn’t quite materialise. Needs more time in bottle, but it is rather fine.

This set the stage nicely for the 1996 Ch Moulin Saint-Georges, which I’d brought. Decanted on site for about 90 minutes before tasting. Dubbed a “poor man’s Ausone“, as this estate adjoins Ch Ausone and is, indeed, made by the very same Alain Vauthier of Ch Ausone, this deep purple wine exuded a powerful nose of intense minerality (one could literally smell it) amidst some exotic earthy barnyard aromas which were very attractive, rather than off-putting. Soft and rounded with an excellent mix of red fruits and dark berries, displaying very good concentration and depth with emerging secondary nuances, as evidenced by the sweetness that engulfed the palate. It grew broader with time, becoming rather complex with other notes of mulberry and strawberries appearing, finishing with a touch of plum. This is doing much better than a previous bottle tasted some 3 years ago at Les Artistes Bistro. Excellent.