Nov 2016: 2011 Sassicaia, 2000 Cos Labory, 2007 Zusslin Pfingstberg, 2006 Peccavi chardonnay, 2004/2006 L’Evangile…

2007 Domaine Valentin Zusslin Pfingstberg Grand Cru, popped and poured at Ming Kee Live Seafood, 05 Nov 2016. This blockbuster riesling is still very youthful, saturating the palate with massive full-bodied concentration and intensity of green fruits and complex citrus along with stern ferrous minerality, evoking a sense of dense petroleum fumes characteristic of top-notch riesling. Long life ahead.

2012 G D Vajra Albe Barolo (courtesy of Vincent), popped and poured at Glen after hours, 11 Nov 2016. Dusty red. Fairly deep bouquet of mint and red fruits, medium-full, fleshy with a clean feel, soft but slightly dry at the edges with subdued tannins tapering to a gentle finish.

2000 Ch Cos Labory, served after a brief aeration at Wah Loke, Carlton Hotel Singapore, on 12 Nov 2016. This Saint-Estephe opened with an earthy pungency with overtones of bush, bramble and wild berries, turning very lovely after 45 minutes with a glorious glow of aged plums and dark currants, slightly gravelly in feel, displaying solid concentration of fruit with a firm tannic structure entirely consistent with its character, ending very well in a long minty finish. Cos Labory is often under the radar, thus representing excellent value but lengthy cellaring is required, a Saint-Estephe trait.

2006 Peccavi Chardonnay, popped and poured over dinner at Asia Grand, 17 Nov 2016. My last bottle from a half-case, and the best. Slightly unsettled at first, this Margaret River white morphed within 30 minutes into a medium-full proposition of generous proportions, stuffed with an alluring complex of floral fragrance and dense tropical citrus covered with broad swathes of chalky minerality, very well integrated and balanced with fine acidity and excellent depth, finishing very well. This has still some way to go before reaching its peak. Excellent.

2014 Cres Ricards, a 187 mL bottle served on board Silk Air flying home from Surabaya, 19 Nov 2016. This Pays d’Oc displays good concentration of wild berries, suitably ripe, with overtones of bush, earth and traces of vegetal elements framed by soft dusty tannins with dry textures. Nondescript but absolutely serviceable.

2006 Ch L’Evangile, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. Generously proportioned, this wine is showing very well ten years post-vintage, opening with a lovely floral fragrance and some earthiness, layered with excellent depth and concentration of glorious ripe fruit with nuances of cedar, rich and savoury with fabulous silky tannins and acidity to match. Excellent, and will become even better with further age.

2012 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. Closed at this stage, tight with stern bitter lemon on the palate with subdued minerality and acidity without much else. Awkward now. Best to lay off for another few more years.

2010 Dauvissat Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. Dominated by clear soft citrus and delicate minerality, exuding a gentle demeanour but, essentially, this wine is closed at this stage. Good potential, no doubt, but needs time.

2011 Sassicaia,tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016, and another bottle at Osteria Art, 26 Nov 2016. Earth, bush, dark roses and dark currants dominate on the nose, led by ripe dark berries on the palate underscored by graphite minerals and sweet silky tannins with excellent depth and concentration, quite fleshy with the fruit, lovely acidity and structure integrated in perfect balance, remarkably deft and already highly accessible, loosening up over time. This will turn out to be wonderful in another fifteen years. Excellent.

2005 Ch Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. In spite of the stellar vintage, this wine has garnered mixed opinions and I can see why. Dark cherries and black currants contribute to a dark muted tone with further notes of bellpepper, camphor and vegetal traces (a characteristic trait of Pichon Lalande), rather firm, finishing with stern tannins though layered with good concentration and acidity. This Comtesse isn’t really engaging right now and it may take another decade for her to turn around.

2004 Ch L’Evangile, tasted from magnum at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. The wine opens with a lovely aromatic glow, layered with an abundance of ripe red fruits and dark berries, very well-integrated and balanced, oozing with sweet tannins, great acidity and complexity. A classic claret, quite superb in fact, and still very much on the ascendancy. Great stuff.

2012 Domaine Meo Camuzet Vosne-Romanee Les Charmes 1er, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. Glorious bouquet of lifted camphor, rose petals and bright red fruits of wonderful ripeness and purity with lovely acidity, intensity and concentration on the palate complemented by mild saline minerality. Very delicious now, but the potential ahead is huge.2004 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut (courtesy of Dr Wang KW), popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 29 Nov 2016. This lovely champagne exudes a lovely deep earthy pungency with a great concentration of citrus and lime with a sweet edge matched by a bright rich minerally tone, fabulously intense with a lovely bloom of floral elegance and other notes of toast, walnuts and almonds, finishing well. Excellent.

2012 Joseph Faiveley Bourgogne, served after a brief airing in bottle at Otto Ristorante, 29 Nov 2016. Gentle aromas of crème, morning dew and icing, restrained with a soft floral focus on the palate underscored by mild saline minerality. Rather shy at this stage and may be worth cellaring another 2-3 years.

2012 Domaine Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Issarts 1er, served after some aeration in bottle at Otto Ristorante, 29 Nov 2016. In spite of its youth, this monopole exudes a superb floral fragrance of rose petals and dark cherries of great purity, predominantly feminine in character and already highly accessible, displaying a rich vein of red fruits supported by mild saline minerals, finishing with traces of graphite and camphor. Very lovely.