Morey Saint-Denis Grand Cru

These are faint recollections of a most memorable outing of Bacchus on 23 March 2017 at Tunglok Signatures, Orchard Parade Hotel, for all the wrong reasons. Thinking that we should set the bar higher henceforth, we decided to precede dinner with a free-for-all promenade a la FICOFI style. Packed into a tiny private room (in spite of me having borrowed Dr Ngoi’s name), we decided to walk around the table tasting every wine available, the restaurant offering only miserable plates of appetitisers. In no time at all, we were hopelessly inebriated such that even those sitting outside in the main hall could hear the mayhem within. By the time we sat down for dinner proper with an outstanding set of wines based on the theme of Morey-Saint-Denis Grand Cru, we were already terribly drunk. A few of us began deconstructing their main courses and dessert eaten earlier right on the table itself, whilst another few just barely  managed to keep the lid down until they had staggered to the toilet. The rest couldn’t remember how they reached home. Not surprisingly, my recollection of the wines drunk was vague. But here’s the lot…

2010 Valentin Zusslin Pfingstberg Grand Cru. Bouquet of classic diesel fumes, absolutely intoxicating, quite full and generous in green fruits and yellow citrus stuffed with chalky minerals, developing fine tension across the palate. Excellent.

2012 Joseph Drouhin Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. Great nose of pineapples and tropical fruits, medium-bodied and soft, dry and resinous, displaying good presence and acidity, finishing well with subdued intensity. Lovely.

2002 Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal. Luscious golden hue with lovely tones of earth and some yeasty pungency, generous in tangerines and yellow citrus against a backdrop of dry ferrous minerals, finishing well with traces of sweet.

2011 William Fevre Le Clos Chablis Grand Cru. Closed, proffering only faint traces of raw nutmeg, similarly underwhelming on the medium palate where chalky tones dominate with a bit of mint and creaminess. Going through an awkward stage.

2012 Aubert. Good concentration of white fruits amidst stern minerals with overtones of creme de la crème and paraffin, medium-bodied, nicely rounded with quiet intensity, a little short at its finish. Would have been difficult to place if tasted blind.

2012 Ch Pape Clement blanc. Generous in icing, licorice and vanilla, displaying good concentration and depth but unresolved on the mid-palate, finishing a little short.

2014 Beaux Freres Willamette Valley pinot noir. Intense bouquet of rose petals, quite lovely, suffused with raspberries and bright cherries on the palate, rather full with subtle acidity, coming across with a very clean feel, finishing with stern minerals. Very attractive.

2012 Cristom Vineyards Eola-Amity Hills Willamette Valley “Eileen Vineyard” pinot noir. Deep red with an abundance of raspberries, dark roses and redcurrants with traces of earth and vanilla, very fine in depth and acidity, displaying good linearity through to its finish. Excellent.

Dinner of Morey Saint-Denis Grand Cru:

2002 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru (courtesy of Pipin). Fairly evolved in color, evoking lovely concentration of red fruits with a delicate core of tangerines, open and elegant, just a tad short but its feminine poise is quite irresistible.

2005 Domaine Georges Comtes De Vogue Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru (courtesy of Victor). Notably darker in tone and colour which is a hallmark of this esteemed producer, displaying wonderful depth of glorious fruit with a delicate pungency, nicely open, layered with complex tangerines at its core, exuding complex wondrous aromas throughout the whole evening. Superb!

1996 Domaine Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche Grand Cru (courtesy of Andre). Well evolved, very open and highly seamless, still showing superbly with good concentration of ripe strawberries and red fruits with overtones of grapefruit that produced a lovely tensile tone across the palate. Excellent.

1999 Domaine Hubert Lignier Clos de La Roche Grand Cru (courtesy of David Tan). Showing good evolution as well though clearly a wine that is richer and deeper than the preceding 1996, proffering vanilla with lovely red fruits, currants and tangerines, notably darker in tone with a quiet intensity, finishing with great linearity and persistence. Excellent.

2006 Louis Jadot Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru (courtesy of KP). Good color, very correct in its pinot tone (as always with great domaine/negociant), displaying great acidity and concentration of fruit with a lovely subtle intensity, still youthful with traces of vanilla, very clean and crisp in its finish. Excellent.

2006 Domaine Dujac Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru (courtesy of Kieron). Lovely gentle nose., very beautiful in its presentation of glorious rose petals and raspberries with rich tones of camphor, poised with subtle intensity and concentration, still showing traces of vanilla, yet to peak.

2002 Domaine Dujac Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru (courtesy of LF). Beautifully crafted, utterly seamless and beguiling in its gentle intensity with lovely complex of ripe red cherries, strawberries and rose floral, absolutely elegant, developing seemingly at a glacial pace. Great stuff.

2001 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart Grand Cru (courtesy of David Ong). Showing some vermillion, this wine is beautifully poised with an elegant spread of evolved red fruits and cherries with a deep core of orangey fruit, slightly plummy, seamless with excellent acidity, producing good tone and tension across the palate, utterly feminine. Excellent.

2002 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart Grand Cru. Very similar in character to the 2001 but reaping the advantages of a stellar vintage, showing better ripeness and definition of red fruits and cherries with a much deeper core of delicate tangerines, equally seamless and highly elegant as well but clearly more opulent and delicious. Superb, and will hold for many more years.