May 2017: 1999 Palmer, 2002 Louis Latour Batard-Montrachet

2003 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, popped and poured at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 01 May 2017. This is a bottle that I’ve cellared since purchasing it from Carrefour in 2006. This wine opens with an abundance of chocolate, mocha, dark cherries and black berries on the nose, displaying excellent presence and fresh acidity with plenty of brio, structured with subtle minerality, fleshing out further with a gentle earthy pungency, finishing well with a lasting glow. Quite gorgeous, on par with classified growths but yet to peak. Excellent.

2002 Louis Latour Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru, popped and poured at Famous Kitchen, 06 May 2017. Generous in peaches and yellow citrus on the nose, rather  recessed and backward on the palate which is typical of this producer with a tone of aged honey, developing crisp acidity amidst a powerful minerally glow over time. Very fine but lacks ultimate distinction.

1999 Ch Palmer, decanted on-site at Iggy’s, 09 May 2017, to celebrate the wifey’s big round number. Deep purple, this wine exuded ample aromas of ash, ember, plums, redcurrants and ripe dark berries with a lovely glow of dry tobacco and incense. Medium-full with a fleshy mouthfeel, it opened up rapidly, revealing excellent definition and gorgeous acidity with discrete supple tannins, culminating in fine intensity and lovely refinement. Still yet to peak. Superb.

2004 Carpineto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Vigneto di Poggio Sant’ Enrico, decanted on-site at Pasta Brava, 13 May 2017. An abundance of ripe raspberries and dark fruits coupled with gentle aromas of earthy minerals on the nose with supple biting tannins, subtle intensity and fine definition that produced a very lovely mouthfeel, slightly stern towards the finish. More settled and developed compared with a previous tasting two years ago.

1982 Jean Bourdy A Arlay (courtesy of Hiok), popped and poured at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 15 May 2017. Very light in color, a transluscent vermilion. Generous complex aromas of gunsmoke, ferric minerals and tangerines. Medium-bodied, highly supple and open with good concentration without plumbing the depths, still laced with good acidity but not overtly complex on the palate in spite of its age.

2010 Hacienda Monastero (courtesy of KP) popped and poured at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 15 May 2017. Deep dark brooding, a wine of large proportions. Full-bodied and tight with an abundance of dark plums, prunes and dark currants, finishing with firm tannins marked by an alcoholic trail.

2011 La Pouisse d’Or Volnay En Caillerets 1er, a glass from the list of Corner House, Singapore, 18 May 2017 over lunch. Effusive aromas here with a deeper tone of red fruits, dark cherries and dark roses. Bold with substantial proportions on the palate, displaying crisp cutting acidity and stern minerals. Not quite settled.

2014 Domaine du Pelican Arbois chardonnay (courtesy of LF), drunk at the opening party of Oncocare’s new clinic, 20 May 2017. Generous bouquet of crème, vanilla and chalk with some icing. Gentle on its entry onto the palate, quite full with good acidity and mouthfeel, finishing well. I enjoyed it.

2014 Domaine du Pelican Arbois poulsard (courtesy of LF), drunk at the opening party of Oncocare’s new clinic, 20 May 2017. The nose is gamay-like, light in colour and tone with a nod towards red fruits, slightly bright, but straightforward and uninspiring.

2012 Bollinger La Cote Aux Enfants (courtesy of LF), drunk at the opening party of Oncocare’s new clinic, 20 May 2017. Second time that I’ve had the chance to taste this unusual red of Bollinger from a 70-ha plot in the heart of the Cote aux Champenois, produced only in exceptional years. The nose is rather shy with subdued aromas of dark roses but it is really singing on the palate, seamless with gorgeous acidity and lovely concentration of bright red fruits and dark berries. Even finer than the 2008. Excellent.

2009 Farnito Camponibbio, drunk at the opening party of Oncocare’s new clinic, 20 May 2017. Made by Carpineto. Bright with a hint of ripe dark berries on the nose, excellent in concentration and acidity with stern minerals that are well integrated, rounded and fleshy. Very fine.

2014 Henri Bourgeois Pouilly-Fume En Travertin, drunk at the opening party of Oncocare’s new clinic, 20 May 2017. Light grassy tones with morning dew. Light-medium, open with good acidity and detail, finishing with a dominant note of sour citrus.

1981 Contino Rioja (courtesy of LF), drunk at the opening party of Oncocare’s new clinic, 20 May 2017. Marked by a lovely complex of tangerines, raspberries and blueberries on the nose, most alluring. Still retaining excellent concentration and acidity, finishing with very fine supple tannins. Excellent.

1991 Domaine Paul Aine Jaboulet Domaine de Thalabert, decanted on-site at Bistrot du Sommelier, Singapore, 24 May 2017. Wild berries and tangerines with gentle sweetness, still retaining excellent concentration and biting intensity. Structured, masculine and fleshy. More delicious as it sat in the glass, developing traces of ferrous minerals.

2001 Fery Meunier Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru (courtesy of KP), popped and poured at Bistrot du Sommelier, Singapore, 24 May 2017. Gentle tones of malt, beeswax aged crème and dried flowers on the nose. Ample with good concentration and understated chalky minerals, more minerally over time, well-structured at the finish with gentle minty overtones. Excellent.

1983 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano D’Abruzzo (courtesy of Jonny), popped and poured at Bistrot du Sommelier, Singapore, 24 May 2017. Sweet aged medicinal tones with some tangerines, quite masculine, still fresh with good acidity with good linearity right up to its powerful finish.

1990 Ch Gazin (courtesy of John), popped and poured at Bistrot du Sommelier, Singapore, 24 May 2017. Last tasted 4 years ago, this wine is still inky dark, dense with a firm impression of soy, dark plums and blackberries, very good in concentration, rounded and full, finishing with understated structure and lithe supple tannins.

2009 Clos Saint-Jean La Combs des Fous Chateauneuf-du-Pape (courtesy of Kenny), popped and poured at Bistrot du Sommelier, Singapore, 24 May 2017. Deep dark red. Not too much on nose save for some dark currants and dark cherries that exuded mild medicinal sweetness. Quite full and substantial on the palate but rounded and accessible, layered with gorgeous acidity, finely structured. Not ready, but excellent potential.

1970 Vina Albina Bodegas Riojanas Cenicero Gran Riserva (courtesy of Hiok), popped and poured at Bistrot du Sommelier, Singapore, 24 May 2017. Sweet medicinal tones, quite effusive, medium-bodied with receding fruit, held together by dominant acidity with fine tension but over the hill.

2010 Sant’ Emiliano Barbera D’Asti (courtesy of Tom King) at the NUSS Guild House at Suntec City, 26 May 2017. Deep dark red, generous in sweet aromas of black berries, dark cherries and raspberries. Fleshy with good concentration, firm tannins and crisp acidity but fruit quality is hollow, generic in feel, lacking real succulence.

2014 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc at the Krisflyer lounge, Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2, 27 May 2017. Loaded with crisp citrus amidst delicious creamy tones, exuding sweet aromas with a hint of tropical fruits, good in concentration, slightly dry.