Oct 2017: 1996 Comte de Vogue Musigny, 1982 Beychevelle, 2012 Peccavi chardonnay, 1982 Leo-Poyferre, 2013 Ridge Monte Bello…

2015 Donnhoff Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl Riesling Kabinett (courtesy of MH) at Mr Thu’s residence, 02 Oct 2017. Gentle aromas of peaches and melons with good presence on the palate, oozing controlled sweetness with a light touch, tapering to a long cool finish. Very fine.

1975 Macarini Brunate Barolo (courtesy of LF) at Otto Ristorante, 03 Oct 2017. Bouquet of gentle aged tangerines and soft rose petals, open and seamless, still retaining good acidity, fleshing out well though the fruit has begun to recede, still holding up pretty well but short. Time to drink up.

2006 Robert Arnoux Echezeaux (courtesy of Hsiang Sui) at Otto Ristorante, 03 Oct 2017. Delicious aromas of cherries, red fruits and strawberries with a deeper vein of darker fruit on the palate, opening up well with excellent presence amidst a tinge of saline minerals, never overbearing. Very fine.

2008 Domaine Coche-Dury Auxey-Duresses (courtesy of Vic) at Otto Ristorante, 03 Oct 2017. Good color with just a hint of evolution, rather reticent, though the palate is open with red fruits and light raspberries amidst a hint of clear citrus, producng some attractive deftness, very well balanced and fleshy with good tone but lacking in opulence. Very fine.

2004 Weingut Fritz Haag Brauneberger Wehlenur Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkap at Otto Ristorante, 03 Oct 2017. Intoxicating bouquet of diesel fumes amidst delicate tones of peaches, melons and other tropical fruits, highly aromatic, its outstanding concentration and sublime acidity producing superb mouthfeel. Delicious and lengthy. Still youthful. Outstanding.

1998 Gaja Barbaresco (courtesy of LF) at Otto Ristorante, 03 Oct 2017. Shy at first, becoming more profusely aromatic in dark cherries and redcurrants. Medium-full, still rather tight with crisp acidity, turning slightly stern towards the finish.

1996 Domaine Georges Comte de Vogue Musigny Grand Cru (courtesy of MH), at Otto Ristorante, 03 Oct 2017. Very correct in its pinot tint with intoxicating beauty, proffering ripe cherries and red fruits with earthy tones, opening up beautifully with fabulous intensity and great sublime acidity, producing further lifted plummy notes, displaying great balance and verve. A complete wine, still with decades of life ahead. Outstanding.

2011 Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St Jacques 1er, popped and poured at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on 05 Oct 2017. Very correct in its pinot tint, displaying an abundance of camphor, cherries and dark strawberries with a trace of earthiness from its saline minerals, showing good purity and intensity with lovely acidity, its lack of structure conferring a distinct feminity.

1982 Ch Branaire-Ducru (courtesy of LF) at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on 05 Oct 2017. Highly delicious aromas of mature dark berries, glowing with beautiful earthy tones, rounded and feminine, opening up well with attractive glowing pungency and subtle acidity though there was a distinct fade-off towards the back palate, ending short.

1982 Ch Leoville Poyferre (courtesy of LF) at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on 05 Oct 2017. Considerably broader and deeper in bouquet compared with the preceding Branaire-Ducru, glowing in red fruits with an attractive earthy pungency glowing red fruits, more minerally on the palate where it imparted a distinct ferric tone with lovely acidity, producing excellent mouthfeel.

1982 Ch Beychevelle (courtesy of LF) at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on 05 Oct 2017. Brilliant burst of violets, dark fruits, spice, menthol and vanilla on the bouquet led to a great deep vein of redcurrants and dark fruits on the palate, oozing with sweet dark tannins and fine acidity, well-evolved with further notes of tangerines, still holding well at its peak. Excellent.

2005 J P Belle-Terroir, at the Singapore Recreation Club, 11 Oct 2017. Made by the legendary Chris Ringland, it seems, with its characteristic rich smooth opulence, loaded with mocha, vanilla and dark ripe plummy fruit with mild overtones of prunes and licorice and an after note of ember, displaying good linearity all through to its lengthy finish.

2000 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er, courtesy of Kieron at his residence, 13 Oct 2017. Minerally, well-balanced and deft with an alluring lightness, displaying notes of aged citrus and some caramel, a bit short.

2008 Domaine Faiveley Latriceres-Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron at his residence, 13 Oct 2017. Lovely notes of fresh cherries and red fruits with a prominent base of earth and saline minerals, tinged with camphor. Drinking well, but I fancy Faiveley’s latter-day Latriceres is far better than those of last decade.

2013 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Goldkap, a half-bottle courtesy of Kieron at his residence, 13 Oct 2017. Great abundance of  tropical fruits and lychees with an after note of burnt cider, all laid out with lovely freshness and gorgeous supple acidity, yet to develop but I’d imagine this will turn out very well in another 7-8 years.

2005 Ch Du Tertre, popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 17 Oct 2017. Dark cherries, raspberries and sweet dark currants dominate on the nose with good levels of ripeness, slightly assertive at first, gradually gaining in richness and velvety textures over time, developing supple tannins with lovely acidity, more plummy and feminine over time. Very fine.

2004 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, popped and poured over a dimsum lunch at Jade Palace, 18 Oct 2017. This wine exudes a deep minerally glow amidst luscious crisp citrus and exotic Asian spices, developing more chalky elements over time. I’ve not had Leeuwin Estate chardonnay aged beyond ten years but this wine is still remarkably youthful, displaying great vigour and verve, highly burgundian, not unlike a Chassagne-Montrachet.

2001 Ch Musar, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Well evolved in colour with prominent minty tones while red fruits and aged plums fill the palate with overtones of camphor, showing  very fine presence and acidity, still quite full. Very fine.

2012 Podernuovo A Palazzine, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Medium-full, oozing with deep dark fruits and black currants with fine acidity, very good in concentration, dryish with splashes of spice.

2010 Podernuovo A Palazzine, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. A 100% cabernet franc, this wine was closed, revealing only glimpses of blueberries and dark currants on the nose and palate, rounded with good acidity though streamlined in profile, slightly racy.

2013 Petrolo Galatrona, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. A wine of great concentration, acidity and intensity, loaded with fresh dark cherries though without much opulence, dryish in texture and finish.

2013 Petrolo Campo Lusso, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Dark, earthy and gravelly, quite full and spicy, structured with stern minerals that imparted a certain austerity at the finish.

2012 Peccavi chardonnay, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Not officially listed at this event but, knowing that Peccavi makes a gorgeous chardonnay, I asked for it and the rep duly reached below the table. I wasn’t disappointed. A lovely gentle floral bouquet of subtle complexity greeted the nose, opening up with generous tones of white flowers, delicate citrus, crème and earthy minerals amidst great acidity that produced superb tension and excellent mouthfeel, balanced with great ease and verve. Almost sublime. Buy.

2007 Avignonesi Desiderio Merlot, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Powerful medicinal tones with licorice and a hint of mint, almost port-like, rather full, displaying good weight and layering with subtle acidity.

2015 Two Hands Sexy Beast Cabernet Sauvignon, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Generous in sweet red fruits, currants and ripe wild berries of excellent concentration, intensity and structure, not overwhelming, surprisingly approachable, rounded with a deep minerally streak, finishing with splashes of spice.

2015 Cullen Diana Madeline, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Notes of plums and tea leaves with a fair degree of earthiness, medium-bodied, surprisingly open with good delicacy, displaying fine concentration, subtlety and acidity.

2014 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Big racy wine, displaying good levels of ripeness, cedar and earth, quite full with fine acidity, not too tight but unsettled at this early stage.

2013 Mas de Daumas Gassac rouge, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. This wine from Languedoc Rousillon has a delicious open bouquet of dark berries and mushrooms, medium-full, showing very good concentration and linearity with very fine acidity and attractive subtlety at the finish.

2006 Ch Nenin, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Delicious ripe berries, exuding lovely colour and freshness with good detailand some early complexity, plush and slightly racy, finishing wellon a minty note.

2016 Ch Valandraud, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Intense bouquet, leading to notes of dark berries, red fruits, dark plums and some earth on the palate, surprisingly open with subtle acidity and sophisticated tannins, very well-balanced.

2009 Ch Siran, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Generous aromas of dark fruits, earth and undergrowth, seamlessly rounded with ripe dark berries, subtly structured with smooth sweet tannins, superbly balanced. Good stuff.

2011 Ch Valandraud, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Dark inky red with a deep bouquet of ripe dark berries, rather full and rounded with earthy tones and sublime acidity that burned with lively intensity, finishing with just a hint of green.

2009 Les Trois Maria, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. From the Cotes de Rousillon Villages,  this wine exudes a glorious deep purple with a stunning brilliance, delicious in ripe wild berries and dark currants amidst attractive earthy tones, stuffed with great presence and acidity, finishing with exciting tannins. A great buy that would belong to any table.

2010 Casanova di Neri Pietra Donice, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Excellent fullness, minty with notes of licorice and stern earthy minerals.

2013 Tua Rita Redigraffi, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Deep in red fruits, rather intense and concentrated, stuffed with exciting tannins with traces of burnt and hot stones, a bit too assertive now. Good potential ahead for those who like their reds full on.

2013 Ridge Monte Bello, at the Matter Of Taste event, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 21 Oct 2017. Rich in redcurrants and ripe berries. Bright, open and plummy with a deeper streak of tangerines, quite open, finishing with overtones of tobacco leaves and cedar. Lovely potential.

2013 Brokenwood Wade Block 2 Shiraz, tasted at Wine Fiesta, 28 Oct 2017, in ambient temperatures that are far too warm. Very bright tones of red fruits and currants with fruit that is typically warm, ripe and assertive, almost astringent on the back palate, lacking depth, finishing with generous splashes of licorice, spice and mint.