Aug 2016: 1990 Penley cabernet sauvignon, 2014 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Spatlese, 2012 Gaja Barbaresco, 2014 Wynns shiraz, 1969 Remoissenet Chevaliers L’Arquebuse, 1962 Marchesi di Barolo…

2014 Wynns Shiraz, at the Silver Kris lounge of Adelaide airport, 07 Aug 2016. Ripe dark berries, redcurrants, mocha and chocolate coat the palate with a creamy smoothness, fleshy, oozing with great acidity and sweet tannins, superbly balanced, ending smoothly in a spicy finish. This is simply quite outstanding. One would have thought this was a far more expensive wine had it been blinded.

Philipponnat Royale Reserve Non-Dose Brut NV. Popped and poured over dimsum at Jade Palace, 09 Aug 2016. Tasted thrice in two months, this champagne was showing very well on this occasion, displaying excellent concentration of lime and green citrus, supported by rich chalky minerality topped with delicate crème and further notes of yeast and toast, laced with a dash of sweetness that complemented the minerally balance, rounded with fine intensity that tapered to a lasting finish. Excellent stuff.

2009 Ch Marsau, popped and poured over dinner at home, 10 Aug 2016. Somewhat reticent on the nose, but the palate is awashed with an abundance of black fruits and dark currants, rich and weighty with a touch of graphite towards the finish, structured with fine supple tannins. A good drop.

1990 Penley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, a bottle carried back from the cellars of Penley in Coonawarra, popped and poured at Trattoria, 313 Orchard, 15 Aug 2016. Still dark at its core, this wine opens with dominant medicinal and herbal notes tinged with licorice and dark chocolate amidst some earthy tones, still carrying excellent concentration of dark fruits and currants on the palate with lovely tension arising from the lively acidity and firm tannins, slightly tarry, with further notes of red plums emerging after an hour, rising to an accentuated finish. Very fine indeed, considering this was only the second vintage from this estate. May be cellared for another decade.

2010 Denis Berthaut Fixin Les Crais (courtesy of KP), popped and poured at his residence on 16 Aug 2016. Predominant plummy tone with further notes of roses and cherries, medium-full and rounded with gravelly textures and darker tones on the palate, slightly stern with unresolved tannins though the finish is robust. Would go well with food.

2014 E Guigal La Doriane Condrieu, at Catch Seafood (courtesy of LCW), 25 Aug 2016. Quite a delicate bouquet of floral notes, quite crisp on the palate with flinty minerals and firm citrus, displaying very good concentration and intensity. Perfect for summer.

2014 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Spatlese (courtesy of LCW) at Catch Seafood, 25 Aug 2016. Fabulous notes of peaches, melons and tropical fruits endlessly teasing the palate with fine detail, racy with lovely acidity and a core of sweet tangerines layered with a tone of burnished nectarine, providing superb mouthfeel and finish. Superb, in spite of its youth. 

2011 J J Prum Kabinett (magnum) at Catch Seafood, 25 Aug 2016. Compared with the preceding Egon Muller, this wine is less exuberant and perhaps a tad more reserved with characters of diesel fumes, slightly drier, smoky and understated which contributed to a sense of austerity, rounded but yet to develop complexity. It fleshed out more over time, becoming fuller and more complex at the finish.

2013 Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle-Musigny at Catch Seafood, 25 Aug 2016 (courtesy of LCW). Rounded with a lovely bouquet of gentle rose petals and earth, quite plummy with a tangy core complemented by crisp acidity. Very fine.

1962 Marchesi di Barolo (courtesy of Dr Liang TS) at Catch Seafood, 25 Aug 2016. This wine is still going strong at 54 years, producing powerful aromas of aged madeira with other medicinal port-like characters, medium-bodied and open, still carrying great acidity with an excellent concentration of warm ripe fruit with nuances of tangerines and cinnamon without any hint of drying out. Amazing stuff.

2012 Gaja Barbaresco (courtesy of LCW) at Catch Seafood, 25 Aug 2016. This wine opens with a superb display of red fruits and red currants with an aristocratic burnished tone, open with excellent concentration and gorgeous acidity, superbly balanced, finishing with mild medicinal overtones. Drinking very well now but will be absolutely fabulous in another decade.

2011 Poderi Aldo Conterno Colonello Bussia (courtesy of LCW) at Catch Seafood, 25 Aug 2016. Big, ripe, almost raisiny with a generous concentration and depth of dark currants and black fruits, quite forward in balance with a sheen of enamel, with further notes of dried leaves coming on later. I’d have thought New World if I’d been blinded. Excellent but needs time to unfurl properly.

1969 Remoissenet Beaune Chevaliers De L’Arquebuse 1er (courtesy of Dr Liang TS) at Catch Seafood, 25 Aug 2016. This old burgundy, most astonishingly, is still very much alive, exuding an earthy pungency with mellow characters of longans, dark plums and incense, still displaying excellent depth of fruit and fresh acidity, very harmonious, finishing well. Excellent.

2015 Cesare Pinot Grigio, at Aura, National Gallery Singapore, at a Parkway event on 26 Aug 2016. Notes of lemongrass and morning dew, somewhat muted, with white flowers and nutmeg on the palate, slightly veiled, soft with subdued acidity, dominated later by grassy elements, finishing with saline minerals.

2009 Potiron L’Or de Vin Blanc Sec, popped and poured at Prive Grill, 29 Aug 2016. A blend of sauvignon blanc, sauvignon gris and semillon. Somewhat reticent on the nose where one discerns green apples and light citrus. More impressive on the palate which is quite minerally with a good concentration of green fruits, lime and mint with pretty good depth and acidity, finishing on a slightly spicy note.

1998 Penley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, decanted on-site at Portico Prime Dempsey, 31 Aug 2016. Powerful aromas of leather with a medicinal and herbal glow on the nose coupled with an equally powerful tone of red plums on the palate, very bright and open with notes of other red fruits, fleshy and solid in concentration with firm tannins that hasn’t quite gelled with the vibrant acidity, particularly at the finish. I’m not sure whether this is the result of a very warm ambient temperature, in spite of air-conditioning, at this dining venue that is simply not conducive at all for wine appreciation.

2011 Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er (courtesy of MH), popped and poured at Brazil Churrasco, 31 Aug 2016. Predominant notes of red fruits and red plums, youthful in disposition with fine concentration and intensity, developing further characters of cherries and camphor but not quite structured as higher-tier premiere cru, finishing with a ferrous trace.

2000 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, popped and poured at Brazil Churrasco, 31 Aug 2016. The cork was dry and fractured but the wine showed up well, rich in dark currants, black fruits and soy, quite full and open on the palate with good intensity and concentration and lively acidity.

2003 Barossa Valley E&E Black Pepper Shiraz, popped and poured at Brazil Churrasco, 31 Aug 2016. Another case of splintered cork but the wine was excellent, very deep in color with great acidity and intense notes of licorice, dark chocolates and dark plums with a sweet tangy core, refined and quite harmonious in spite of limited aeration, living up to its name with a fine peppery finish. Very good stuff.

2005 Ch D’Aiguilhe, popped and poured at Brazil Churrasco, 31 Aug 2016. Compared with a previous tasting some three years ago, this modern Right Bank has mellowed considerably, far more approachable without any harshness though it is still generously proportioned and fullish, layered with fine concentration of dark fruits and wild berries and early nuances of cinnamon, quite rounded with well-managed tannins but still far from peaking.

2008  La Conseillante (courtesy of Sanjay), aired in bottle for 90 minutes prior to tasting at Brazil Churrasco, 31 Aug 2016. Dominant notes of soy and ripe dark berries, medium-full, opening up quite well on the palate with great concentration and intensity, well-integrated with supple tannins and some early complexity. Very fine, and should be excellent in another decade.