Mar 2018: 2002 Coche-Dury Meursault, 2000 Palmer, 1974 Vega Sicilia Unico Risv, 1995 Pichon Lalande, 2013 Tenuta Ornellaia, 2014 Bernard Moreau Ch’sagne-Montrachet

2014 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet, popped from the list of Ma Cuisine, Singapore, 02 March 2018. Lovely glow of white flowers in bloom with overtones of vanillin, displaying fine concentration of fruit with crème and stony minerals that reflected well the terroir of Chassagne, growing in weight and expanse with fine detail and biting intensity though without the richness and layering of the best of Ramonet, finishing with echoes of white pepper amidst early complexity that produced excellent mouthfeel. Very fine.

2014 Otazu Bond, popped and poured at Asia Grand on 03 March 2018 to celebrate M’s great success. This limited edition magnum (only 150 bottles globally), blended by yours truly at Bodegas Otazu, boasts generous aromas of smoke and mocha tinged with licorice that matched very well with the broad savoury expanse of barbequed meat, sweet dark currants, ripe wild berries and mild cedary characters amidst spicy peppery tones on the palate, excellent in weight and concentration, supported by a rich earthy base without any heaviness, rounded with good balance, finishing with structured sweet tannins. This wine is only just beginning to turn the corner.

1994 Ch Leoville Las-Cases, popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 06 Mar 2018. After shaking off some bottle stink, this wine exudes a powerful earthy pungency with overtones of forest floor and cedar, carrying a deep streak of ripe raspberries and dark cherries with a rounded plummy tone on the palate. Medium-bodied, fleshy with fine intensity of fruit and sharply delineated acidity, displaying good transparency but lacking in opulence and charm which is quite typical of the vintage.

2001 Ch Sociando Mallet, decanted on-site at Braci, 8 Mar 2018. Tasted blind. Deep garnet red. Reticent at first, proffering only dark berries, graphite and bitter earth, utterly shorn of fat. It began putting on weight rapidly after some time, developing really excellent concentration with gentle biting intensity that grew in power and depth as it sat in the glass, showing good length and linearity although it remained rather tightly focused within a narrow spectrum of flavours, still youthful. I’d read somewhere that the 2001 Sociando Mallet resembled a First Growth in its youth in blinded tastings. Well…not quite, but it definitely belongs amongst the classified growths. Very fine.

2000 Ch Palmer, courtesy of Nicolas Laurent, decanted on-site at Braci, 8 Mar 2018. Tasted blind. Very deep dark core with just a hint of rim evolution, exuding a sharp earthy pungency that complements beautifully the great expanse of fleshy savoury palatal succulence, displaying superb integration between its well-defined acidity, tight svelte tannins and rich dark plummy fruit, rounding off with a dryish velvety feel as it finished with superb length and precision. Barely evolved, this is a wine for the ages. I guessed correctly. What a masterpiece!

2001 Ch Rauzan-Segla, courtesy of Alexandre Olmedo, decanted on-site at Braci, 8 Mar 2018. Tasted blind. Slight vegetal traces on the nose, but the palate displays lifted tones of ripe dark fruits of excellent depth and richness, quietly intense, structured with great opulence and length with finely-chiselled ferrous minerality that tapered towards its glowing finish with a hint of gunsmoke amidst sweet gentle tannins. Rauzan-Segla has seldom tasted so good. Superb!

2004 Ch Pichon Longueville Baron, popped and poured over dimsum at Imperial Treasure Teochew ION, 11 March 2018. Lifted Pauillac signature, glowing with aged plums and dried Chinese tea leaves. Expectedly opulent, opening up well to reveal rich deep tones of dark currants and blueberries, superbly ripe and delicious, seamlessly structured with highly detailed tannins and understated streak of bright minerals. Excellent.

1979 Domaine Louis Trapet Pete et Fils Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of Robert Kwok at La Cala, 12 Mar 2018. Pale vermilion, this wine has evolved most beautifully, evoking bright red fruits and sweet plums with traces of lychees and glycerin, still imbued with abundant fresh acidity that imparted great suppleness and tensile intensity, staying par for the course without fading away. Lovely!

1995 Domaine Robert Ampeau Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes 1er, courtesy of LF at La Cala, 12 Mar 2018. Lovely golden hue with a certain restraint on the nose though it is quite ample and well developed on the medium-full palate where aged creme and chalky minerals dominate in an easy laissez-faire manner before being gradually overwhelmed by a growing intensity of gentle tropical fruits, turning a little sappy and luscious. Probably at its best.

2002 Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault, courtesy of Robert Kwok at La Cala, 12 Mar 2018. This wine bears all the classic hallmarks of a Coche-Dury: reticent at first, eventually developing more of crystalline tones on the nose and palate with a soft focus, rather gentle and delicate in spite of its fullness, proffering superb definition, depth and detail, gently layered with understated intensity, finishing with great linearity and persistence. Brilliant.

1976 Domaine Robert Ampeau Volnay-Santenots, courtesy of LF at La Cala, 12 Mar 2018. Showing a well-evolved vermilion, this medium-full wine is still oozing with bright plummy fruit underscored by a deeper streak of dark fruit with herbal tones and licorice, utterly seamless, exuding brilliant intensity from its fresh acidity. Quite amazing.

1993 Domaine Leroy Nuits-Saint-Georges, courtesy of Robert Kwok at La Cala, 12 Mar 2018. This wine is imbued with excellent tone and purity of fruit that exude great aromatic fragrance, layered with earthy textures and tangerines at its core, producing fine gritty detailed tannins that shouts out the unique terroir character of this under-rated commune, very open and lovely in its suppleness and controlled intensity, finishing with great persistence. Outstanding.

2004 Ch Bernadotte, popped and poured at Ka Soh. Full-bodied, exuding dark plums and fresh black currants, expressing supple tannins with excellent presence and intensity marked by earthy minerals and great acidity without any burliness or vegetal tones, becoming softer and more feminine over the course of dinner. This is the best bottle of 2004 Bernadotte thus far, and I’ve gone through quite a number over the years. Excellent.

1987 R Lopez Heredias Vina Tondonia, at La Barca, 21 Mar 2018. Dark murky red with pungent musty old medicinal aromas, distinctly faded on the palate where only bare traces of old plums and tangerines remain.

2009 Maison Roche de Bellene Richebourg Grand Cru at La Barca, 21 Mar 2018, courtesy of Kenny. Red fruits and cherries dominate on the nose and palate, showing good purity. Medium-full, rounded and supple with crisp acidity, quite rich and forward in balance but lacking in real depth and layering, turning a tad spicy at the finish.

2001 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve at La Barca, 21 Mar 2018. Deep garnet red, exuding a rich bouquet of black currants, dark plums and dark cherries. Nicely rounded with warm ripe fruit, highly supple, showing good detail amidst seamless structured tannins against a backdrop of slight dusty textures, positively glowing at the finish. Excellent.

2013 Ornellaia, courtesy of Hiok at La Barca, 21 Mar 2018. This cabernet-based Bordeaux blend cultivated in Tuscan soils exudes a powerful earthy pungency amidst overtones of ripe dark berries and blackcurrants, distinctly masculine in its stern uncompromising structure that inevitably lends an air of aloofness before mellowing to some degree over time as its tannins took on sweet velvety textures with peppery tones topped with traces of graphite, finishing strongly. Excellent, but best to lay down for another decade.

1995 Ch Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (courtesy of John) at La Barca, 21 Mar 2018. Deep crimson, exuding a superb glowing pungency and lovely earthiness in its complex bouquet, medium-full, stuffed with excellent concentration of ripe dark berries laced with very fine subtle tannins and seamless supple acidity that produced near-opulent textures, imbued with a bit of the classic Pauillac dryness as it turned more feminine over time. Highly seductive. Quite outstanding, yet nowhere near its peak.

1988 Ch Calon Segur, courtesy of KP at La Barca, 21 Mar 2018. This wine exudes red fruits with some lovely earthy pungency, medium-bodied, displaying good transparency and purity with great suppleness though the fruit is set a little backward, developing a deeper minerally streak over time that imparted a darker overall tone. Could do with greater fullness, though. Very, very fine, nonetheless.

1974 Vega Sicilia Unico Riserva, courtesy of Kenny at La Barca, 21 Mar 2018. Still remarkably dark in color, proffering a nose of sweet dark fruit and small ripe wild berries, still amazingly good on the palate where the fruit is still very lively with good presence, great transparency and deftness, enhanced by crisp acidity that enhanced further detail and delineation, finishing with a spicy minty trail. Excellent. What a privilege!

2010 Weingut Vollenweider Wolfer Goldgrube, courtesy of Jonny at La Barca, 21 Mar 2018. Highly attractive bouquet of faint diesel tones and nectarine, saturated with dense tropical fruits on the open palate that boasts truly gorgeous acidity and fabulous intensity of ripe pineapples and lychees, beautifully layered, lingering with great persistence long after its finish. Superb.

2014 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet, popped and poured on 29 Mar 2018 at Famous Kitchen. Shy at first, revealing only restrained notes of cool icing and vanilla. Took an hour to blossom with floral notes complemented by delicate chalky tones amidst traces of white pepper, excellent in concentration and intensity, finishing with sharp precision. A gross over-achiever. Great buy.