Dec 2015: 2006 Fleury Cepages, 2011 Alion, 2011 La Colombina Rosso di Montalcino, 2012 La Grave-a-Pomerol…

2012 Claude Dugat Bourgogne rouge, popped and poured with FICOFI’s Chee Wei at Glen, 03 Dec 2015. We couldn’t help finishing the entire bottle in 30 minutes, for the wine was imbued with lovely aromas of fresh pink and red roses, its fragrance complementing the predominant red cherries, raspberries and saline minerals on the palate that held a certain richness and concentration above most regional Bourgogne with tannins that are sweet, rounded and smooth.

2007 Saintsbury Carneros pinot noir (courtesy of Li Fern), popped and poured after hours at S S ENT, 04 Dec 2015. Considerably darker in tone for a pinot with an earthy bouquet complemented by dark roses, bramble, briar and cedar, medium-bodied, somewhat unresolved on the mid-palate with a metallic finish.

2006 Domaine Ponsot Nuits-Saint-Georges Cuvee des Alouttes 1er (courtesy of Vic), popped and poured after hours at S S ENT, 04 Dec 2015. Having had the 2011 recently, I had high hopes for this wine, opening with notes of earth, nutmeg and sunflowers, medium-bodied, warm and fleshy with fair intensity but missing in layering and sophistication, ending with a vegetal trace. Somewhat disjointed and certainly a disappointment.

2011 Domaine des Heritiers du Comte Lafon Macon-Uchizy Les Maranches at Vinum’s 20th Anniversary tasting, 08 Dec 2015. Grassy elements, minerally, good presence with generous proportions, as always from this producer, brimming with quiet intensity. Good.

2011 Jean Marie Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny Aux Exchanges 1er Vieilles Vignes, at Vinum’s 20th Anniversary tasting, 08 Dec 2015. Floral fragrance of red roses and red cherries, gentle on the palate with understated saline minerality, a tad short at the finish. Good.

2013 Jean Marie Fourrier Vosne-Romanee Aux Reas Vieilles Vignes, at Vinum’s 20th Anniversary tasting, 08 Dec 2015. Dominated by a funky pungency, dry and backward on the palate. Where’s the fruit?

2013 Jean Jacques Confuron Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Fleurieres at Vinum’s 20th Anniversary tasting, 08 Dec 2015. Red fruits with traces of dark cherries, harmonious but lean, with a firm attack on the palate. Not quite balanced.

2012 Follin-Arbelet Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru at Vinum’s 20th Anniversary tasting, 08 Dec 2015. Notes of recessed citrus, sweet incense, morning dew and yellow melons. Medium-bodied with a trace of steeliness at the edges. Gentle finish, but lacking intensity and richness.

2012 Follin Arbelet Aloxe-Corton Les Vercots 1er at Vinum’s 20th Anniversary tasting, 08 Dec 2015. An abundance of dark red fruits veiled by vegetal notes and forest floor. Disjointed and unconvincing.

2012 Follin Arbelet Pernand-Verglesses Les Bichots 1er at Vinum’s 20th Anniversary tasting, 08 Dec 2015. Promising nose of red fruits and strawberries, radiant with attractive aromatics. Medium-bodied, dominated by saline minerality equally matched by plummy fruit to the fore. Just a tad short.

2005 William Fevre Bougrots les Bougerots Grand Cru (courtesy of WCY) at Jade Palace, 08 Dec 2015. Full-bodied with an abundance of crème and buttery notes supported by chalky minerality, supple with good intensity, turning slightly austere towards the finish. Needs more time.

2006 Ch Carbonnieux rouge (courtesy of F) at Jade Palace, 08 Dec 2015. Deep garnet red with nuances of mocha, dark currants and a graphite tone, excellent in concentration but becoming lean after some time. Still primal.

1996 Ch Pape Clement (courtesy of Hiok) at Jade Palace, 08 Dec 2015. Open and relaxed, full of secondary nuances amidst raspberries and redcurrants with a hint of dried mushrooms in its texture. Somewhat too predictable.

1990 Ch Leoville Poyferre (courtesy of John) at Jade Palace, 08 Dec 2015. Substantial bottle stink here, almost bordering on being corked, obscuring underlying notes of soy, peaches, plums and cedar. A pity.

2011 La Colombina Rosso di Montalcino, two identical bottles decanted on-site at Marini’s on 57, Malaysia’s highest rooftop bar and restaurant at the peak of Menara Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, 11 Dec 2015. Beautiful clear red with aromas of smoke, sweet incense, red plums and tangerine. Soft, rounded and open, medium-bodied, very good concentration and layered, yet gentle with lithe tannins, finishing with good length. Priced below MYR300 from the restaurant list, which means it ought to be even cheaper from retail. Excellent value.

2006 Fleury Cepages Blancs (courtesy of Dr Wang), popped and poured at the newly relocated Otto Ristorante (Maxwell Chambers, just a stone’s throw from its previous location at Red Dot Building), 15 Dec 2015. Known amongst insiders as a grower’s champagne and farmed biodynamically, this wine features accentuated notes of lime, fresh citrus and yeasty overtones, lightly oaked on the palate where it was open with further notes of pomelo, displaying excellent balance, intensity and depth of fruit, slightly minty at the finish. Excellent.

2012 Ch La Grave-a-Pomerol Trigant de Boisset, popped and poured from magnum after airing for 45 minutes and drunk over the next 4 hours at Otto Ristorante, 15 Dec 2015. Bright purplish, this wine opened with an attractive earthy pungency amidst dominant red fruits and cherries, surprisingly soft and highly accessible for such a youthful wine bottled in large format, medium-bodied, still shrouded with overtones of enamel from new oak but open with emerging plums of good intensity, oozing with sweet tannins. An excellent buy at SGD90 from the recent Caveau sale.

2012 Rivers Marie Sonoma Coast Silver Eagle vineyard (courtesy of Li Fern), popped and poured at Glen after hours, 16 Dec 2015. Powerful aromas of plums, cherries and olives with added notes of camphor on the palate, medium-bodied, well-balanced and linear, ticking all the right boxes for pinot noir though missing in layering and real complexity.

2005 Lan Rioja Gran Reserva (courtesy Li Fern), popped and poured at Glen after hours, 16 Dec 2015. Highly promising on the nose where sweet incense and dark currants dominate, slightly pruny with early nuances of cedar, surprisingly lean and distinctly medium-bodied with traces of vanilla amidst its dry finish.

1996 Maison Roche de Bellene Chambolle-Musigny 1er Derriere La Grange (courtesy of CJ), popped and poured at Glen after hours, 16 Dec 2015. Open and well-evolved with significant sweetness swelling from the quality fruit, imbued with other characters of roasted nuts and sandalwood, medium-full with good intensity and bright saline. Unlikely to improve further.

2004 Ch Leoville-Poyferre (courtesy of Hsiang Sui), popped and poured at Glen after hours, 16 Dec 2015. A reliable workhorse that is maturing faster compared with more outstanding vintages, now displaying notes of cedar, fig and sweet pines with graphite undertones, medium-bodied but vibrant and fleshy.

2010 Wolf Blass Grey Label, popped and poured at Ben’s BBQ, 18 Dec 2015. A 50-50 blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz, this Barossa red is bold and big, dominated by medicinal overtones, huge doses of licorice and savoury characters of cooked meat and dark plums with marked tannins on the mid-palate.

Louis Roederer Premier Brut NV, popped and poured over dimsum at Imperial Treasure T3, 20 Dec 2015. Forward notes of lime and citrus zest, excellent in concentration and depth to match the dryness on the palate, buzzing with great intensity, supported by flinty minerality, balanced and attractive.

2009 Le Carillon de L’Angelus, popped and poured at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 21 Dec 2015. Forward balance of fruit with notes of raisins, prunes and early nuances of cedar with an attractive spine of intense red fruits and currants that is still quite unresolved on the mid-palate, soft, fairly rounded and slightly lean towards the finish. Not really distinctive but will not offend any palate.

2011 Alion, popped and poured from the restaurant list of La Taperia, 22 Dec 2015. Surprisingly accessible, medium-bodied and rounded with good concentration of red fruits and raspberries of reasonable depth and fragrance without any jarring edges, finishing with recessed tannins and understated minerality. Quite lovely.

2004 Ch Latour-a-Pomerol, decanted on-site at Otto Ristorante (still maintaining the same prices in spite of its upmarket makeover at its new premises at Maxwell Chambers), 30 Dec 2015. This staple wine of mine has softened considerably, its fruit of raspberries and blueberries having gained some secondary nuances of cedar, sandalwood and briar with recessed sweet tannins. Very fine.

Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose NV, popped and poured after hours at S S ENT on New Year’s Eve, 31 Dec 2015. Highly attractive with forward notes of plums and peaches with overtones of toast and yeast to match the dryness on the palate, rounded and generous in body with a smooth finish, ending the year on a high.