Jul 2017: 2001 Mt Mary Quintet, 1999 VCC, 2014 Bouchard Montrachet, 1996 Margaux, 1996 Pichon Lalande, 2012 Y d’Yquem…

1999 Vieux Chateau Certan (courtesy of Vic), popped and poured at Glen after hours, 03 Jul 2017. Tasted blind but its Pomerol character is quite unmistakable. Deep garnet red with a hint of evolution at the rim, exuding deep dark plums, sandalwood and dark fruits with good lift, generous and fleshy with savoury overtones, displaying lovely acidity and excellent linearity, less complex than the best vintages, missing in charm and structure, slightly short. Still very fine, nonetheless.

Rockford Black Shiraz 2009 disgorgement, popped and poured over dimsum at Asia Grand, 09 Jul 2017. Lifted tone of rich dark chocolate with mint, licorice, black fruits, dark currants and dark cherries, rich in detail and layering, delightfully smooth with its fine bubbles adding a bit of welcome frisson, building up towards a lifted intensity with a characteristic liquered finish amidst developing complexity. Quite lovely, but will be even better in another 3-4 years.

Philipponnat Brut Royale Reserve NV, popped and poured over a late dinner at Otto Ristorante, 11 Jul 2017. This wine exudes a lovely yeasty pungency, not overwhelming, gentle with creamy textures, rich in yellow citrus, lime and ferrous elements, becoming more intense over time as it tapered to a dry minerally finish.

1996 Ch Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (courtesy of John), decanted on-site at Otto Ristorante, 11 Jul 2017. Still deep in colour, exuding a very lovely earthy pungency with aromas of dark roses, dark currants and other savoury characters, fleshy and succulent, totally seamless between its high-toned minerals and sublime acidity. Distinctly feminine with absolute grace and elegance. At its best and will hold for many more years. Outstanding.

2015 Domaine Chatelain Pouilly-Fume, tasted at Crystal Wines Annual Sale, 15 Jul 2017. Nicely lifted on the nose with grassy elements and some beeswax, displaying crisp acidity and good concentration of citrus flavours with lovely intensity, slightly dry, finishing well. Very fine.

2014 Muller-Catoir Haardt Kabinett Riesling, tasted at Crystal Wines Annual Sale, 15 Jul 2017. The bouquet here is distinctly feminine with a soft focus, hinting at white flowers and citrus, quite alluring but not showing much. True to its usual character, this Muller-Catoir is much more revealing on the palate where strong overtones of tropical fruit dominate, medium-bodied, supple with good definition, just a tad short.

2011 Ch Grand-Puy-Lacoste, tasted at Crystal Wines Annual Sale, 15 Jul 2017. Raspberries and dark fruits dominate on the nose with mild earthiness and a dash of wood. Medium-bodied and fleshy but dryish, missing in layering, charm and opulence, betraying the lacklustre vintage. Not distinctive.

Mini-burgers at Iggy’s

2010 Parveil de Luze, tasted at Crystal Wines Annual Sale, 15 Jul 2017. Quite promising on the nose with aromas of earth and dark roses, quite full with good intensity and dryish textures but spoilt by acidity that’s too pronounced, falling off the palate. Not distinctive.

2002 Ch Du Tertre, tasted at Crystal Wines Annual Sale, 15 Jul 2017. Dark red, boasting red plums and wild berries, medium-bodied, structured with mild sweet tannins but short. Lacks distinction.

Iggy’s: absolutely mouth-watering

2015 Talenti Rosso di Montalcino, tasted at Crystal Wines Annual Sale, 15 Jul 2017. Deep red, packed with an abundance of distilled red fruits. Medium-bodied, displaying good concentration of ripe berries with mild intensity but far from being developed.

2009 Ch Bernadotte, popped and poured at South Union Park, 15 Jul 2017. Deep purple, exuding a weighty bouquet of licorice, powerful medicinal tones and ripe wild berries, gelling well after 30 minutes more seamless, displaying good body and depth of dark berries with gentle sweet tannins, though there isn’t much development.

Yen Yakiniku: charcoal grill

2001 Mount Mary Quintet, decanted onsite at Yen Yakiniku, 18 Jul 2017. Dark red, this wine exuded a generous rounded bouquet of dark berries and floral characters with a hint of bramble that was entirely Bordeaux-like though still tight on the palate with excellent concentration and fine intensity with a bit of high-toned acidity that provided some verve and exuberance. It gradually settled down, opening up well, more fleshy and seamless, taking on a plummy tone with traces of tangerine at its core supported by understated minerals. Yet to really peak though drinking very well, but make sure you give it a couple of hours at least to unfurl properly.

2004 Louis Roederer Cristal, courtesy of Sanjay at his residence, 22 Jul 2017. Full-bodied with excellent concentration of lime, pomelo and other citrus characters, supported by finely etched minerals with dryish textures that create firm tone throughout, finishing with overtones of red dates. Good stuff but it lacks definition of terroir.

2014 Bouchard Pere et Fils Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Sanjay at his residence, 22 Jul 2017. Shy at first, displaying some icing, some floral notes and yellow citrus with gentle traces of nutmeg and lime with stern minerals, then opening up, developing greater fullness, rounded with fine intensity of flavours yet maintaining a certain deftness, finishing with great persistence. Yet to exude true elegance and finesse of a Montrachet Grand Cru, for I certainly wouldn’t have known if blinded.

Iggy’s

2012 Y d’Yquem, courtesy of Sanjay at his residence, 22 Jul 2017. Very beautiful bouquet of white flowers and floral fragrances with a dash of paraffin, highly enticing. Full-bodied, cloaked in lovely acidity, absolutely glowing with great clarity and detail with understated minerals that are slightly stern, finishing with overtones of ripe tropical fruit and spice. Delicious.

1996 Ch Margaux, courtesy of Sanjay at his residence, 22 Jul 2017. Still dark at its core with traces of vermilion, exuding ash, tea leaves, cedar and cinnamon on the alluring bouquet, fleshy and supple with lovely concentration of dark plums and other secondary characters, seamlessly structured, finishing on a minty note. Nevertheless, it seemed to me less expressive than another bottle tasted at FICOFI’s event in Bali in May 2017, for this wine had not been adequately chilled.

Iggy’s

2014 The Otazu Bond, courtesy of Sanjay at his residence, 22 Jul 2017. Poured from magnum. This is a blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot and 25% tempranillo that you will never find anywhere, for it was created by a group of us (including yours truly) when we visited Bodega Otazu last year, limited to only 150 magnums, the fruit derived from the best of Otazu’s D.O.P. parcels, aged for 18 months in French barrels. Deep purple, this wine displays bright fleshy tones with a forward balance of ripe raisiny fruit with a deeper balance of dark currants, displaying very good presence on the palate but obviously yet to gel together. Will reserve judgement.

2013 Domaine Guillerault-Fargette Sancerre Facetie, from the list of 13% Gastro Bar, 25 Jul 2017. Quite attractive the nose, displaying mild tropical fruits with a nod towards lychees and a hint of nectarine, almost Alsatian in character. Rather full on the palate, displaying some lovely earthy pungency with bright tones of bold citrus and crisp acidity, finishing with vibrant intensity.

2014 Domaine du Clos Salomon Montagny Blanc Le Clou, from the list of 13% Gastro Bar, 25 Jul 2017. From the Cote Chalonnais, displaying some earthy characters with saline minerals and savoury tones on the nose. Medium-full. Rather bright and minerally with overtones of icing, quite crisp, displaying lovely intensity without being quite as layered as a Cote de Beaune. Very fine, nonetheless.

2013 Francois Gaunoux Pommard Les Rugiens 1er, from the list of 13% Gastro Bar, 25 Jul 2017. This wine opens with a lovely teasing earthy pungency, quite rich on the palate with a glorious streak of concentrated raspberries and other ripe berries of excellent depth with a hint of paraffin, displaying good purity, albeit a shade darker with some cedar and lovely dry intensity from the sweet tannins. Excellent.

2011 Albert Mann Pinot Gris SGN Altenbourg Le Tri, from the list of 13% Gastro Bar, 25 Jul 2017. Notes of apricot, nectarine, cider and aged tangerines abound with controlled sweetness and velvety intensity, just ever so slightly unctuous, promising great complexity towards its finish that should materialise with further ageing. Excellent.

2003 Ch Phelan Segur, popped and poured at Fort Canning Hotel, Singapore, 26 Jul 2017. Dark deep garnet red, exuding notes of dark currants and ripe blackberries with a slight tarry quality. Medium-full, quite fleshy and rounded with good acidity, turning more plummy over time with further notes of charcoal and ash. Drinking well.

2011 Patrick Javillier Meursault Clos du Cromin, a half bottle from the list of Iggy’s, 27 Jul 2017. From a producer well established in Meursault, this wine is relatively closed on the nose, though it is clearly imbued with very good concentration of gentle citrus and green fruit with traces of paraffin, displaying quite a lovely intensity of flavours.

2008 Domaine Dujac Morey Saint-Denis 1er, a half bottle from the list of Iggy’s, 27 Jul 2017. Deep in colour, this wine exuded great purity and intensity of red fruits and cherries with a lovely brilliance right from the first pour, supported by understated acidity and minerality. However, it turned a tad assertive and tough after some time, seemingly losing focus. Probably needs more time to sort itself out.

2004 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Duc 1er, a glass from the list of Iggy’s, 27 Jul 2017. True to its Volnay roots, this wine is rather dark in tone, displaying dark fruit with some bright spots on the nose and palate, quite full with good tannin structure and acidity, masculine with fine acidity. Still has the legs to carry on.

2009 Ch Le Doyenne, decanted on-site at Osteria Art (only fine dining establishment in town that’s BYO on Saturdays), 27 Jul 2017. Attractive notes of earth, cedar and some lovely pungency arise from its deep inky darkness, medium-bodied, rounded and fleshy with copious notes of dark currants and blackberries, its limestone minerals and graphite elements imparting good tone with fresh acidity though it’s body is somewhat narrow in spectrum, slightly dryish at the finish. Tasted many times over the past 3-4 years and getting better on each occasion but still yet to peak. An over-achiever. Excellent.

Osteria Art: prawn salad