La Paulée de Singapour 2019

Time flies and, once again, the third edition of La Paulée de Singapour descended upon us on 25 January 2019, masterminded by Christophe Cazaux-Maleville and his wonderful people at the Vintage Club. It is to the latter’s credit that the ticket price has remained unchanged in spite of the event having been moved to the Shangri-la Singapore, distinctively a much better venue: much more spacious, excellent ambient temperature control and great service. It was good as well to have Mr & Mrs Bruno Clair in attendance, along with Stéphane Follin-Arbelet (of Chateau de Marsannay) while His Excellency Marc Abensour, the French ambassador, also made a welcome return. As usual, the evening began at 5.30 PM with an extensive tasting promenade. New producers have been added viz. Bruno Clair who was very generous in bringing a wide range of premium 2017 barrel samples, Lucien Muzard, Domaine Chanson and Domaine du Roc des Boutires, in addition to usual stalwarts Georges Noellat, Chateau de Meursault, Faiveley, Chateau de Chamirey, Domaine de Montille, Domaine des Perdrix and Vincent Bouzereau, inter alia. In spite of the alloted 150 minutes, I still couldn’t finish tasting through the entire promenade, an indication of the vast volume available. Most chose to present their 2016s but, regardless of vintage, almost every wine performed really well, a testament to the fantastic breadth and depth of talent and quality to be found at all price points in Burgundy. Things got off to a riotous start right away at dinner as the French community led the way in the shared camaraderie of wining, dining and laughter, punctuated by several rounds of the obligatory ban burguignon. Having already tasted 31 wines at the promenade, going through at least another 14 at dinner (at my table alone!) was a bit of struggle and, inevitably, a few were, regrettably, omitted here and there. The Burgundian cuisine served was excellent but, being true Asians, Kieron and company additionally ordered a huge serving of classic yangzhou fried rice plus crispy roast pork that truly hit the orgasmic spot. Outrageous. This has been absolutely the best La Paulée yet on local shores. Merci Christophe! We are already looking forward to 2020.

2015 Domaine Georges Noellat Vosne-Romanee. Bright tone of red plummy fruits, displaying sharp attack of concentrated fruit. Taut with lovely tension, finishing with good linearity.

2014 Domaine Georges Noellat Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru. Good depth with some early complexity predominantly red fruits and currants on the open palate, nicely rounded with pliant tannin structure. Distinctly feminine.

2016 Chateau de Meursault Bourgogne Clos du Chateau. Magnum. Nose of white pepper and rye. Good density. Quite plump with an attractive oiliness, laced with a tangy spiciness at the side without any jarring edges. Great acidity.

2016 Chateau de Meursault Les Charmes-Dessus 1er. Jeroboam. Rather quiet and reticent, proffering only glimpses of white pepper. Fleshy and well-balanced on the palate, structured with subtle acidity that imparted lovely freshness and detail, finishing with a bit of spicy lift.

2016 Chateau de Meursault Meursault-Perrieres 1er. Jeroboam. Expressive floral fragrance. Medium-bodied, open and subtly nuanced with very well integrated acidity. A touch more minerally than Les Charmes-Dessus. Very gentle and feminine. Charming.

2016 Chateau de Meursault Volnay Clos des Chenes 1er. Red fruits and raspberries dominate with slight steamy aromas. Quite fleshy with lovely concentration and freshness, exuding distinct feminine presence and great acidity. Not at all overwhelming. Great expression.

With M. Stéphane Follin-Arbelet who still remembers me

2017 Chateau de Marsannay Clos de Jeu. Earthy green elements. Fleshy with a darkish tone. Well crafted, displaying good presence and fine acidity. Not gruff but not distinctive either.

2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Vosne-Romanee Les Champs Perdrix. Barrel sample. Deep ruby. Lovely fresh bouquet of raspberries, violets and dark cherries, richly layered with excellent ripeness and concentration, rounded with soft supple tannins.

2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Savigny-les-Beaune La Dominode 1er. Barrel sample. Enticing bouquet of ripe raspberries and camphor with a lovely floral fragrance matched by a highly supple feminine presence, exuding some gentle sweetness without any vegetal greenness. Very lovely.

M. Bruno Clair

2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er. Barrel sample. Deep ruby, exuding a rich glow of raspberries, mulberries, dark cherries, camphor and paraffin. Very ripe and richly layered with excellent concentration within a pliant tannin structure, rounded with excellent precision. Good finish.

2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er. Barrel sample. Lovely clear ruby, exuding an aromatic lift of red fruits and tropical exotica amid traces of tangerines. Highly supple and superbly integrated, open with a juicy succulence, showing fine definition and great linearity throughout its considerable length. Wonderful.

2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru. Barrel sample. Boldly aromatic, assaulting the senses with a deep delicious fragrance of red fruits, ripe cherries and bright rose petals. Medium-bodied, soft, rounded and fleshy, showing great focus and linearity with supple pliant tannins that culminated in a long glowing finish. Highly elegant. A feminine but daring Bonnes-Mares coming from the side of Morey-Saint-Denis. Superb.

2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambertin-Clos des Beze Grand Cru. Barrel sample. Deep ruby with a great effusive glow of red cherries and rose petals, showing immense concentration and depth of fruit with supple intensity, superbly nuanced in its acidity that imparted superb mouthfeel. Highly feminine, just a tad short.

2012 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambolle-Musigny Les Veroilles. This humble village steals the limelight with a lovely earthy glow tempered with red fruits and a dash of dark currants and malt, bright and sprightly with very fine acidity, rounded and fleshy. Excellent.

2014 Domaine Comte Senard Corton Blanc Grand Cru. Quite open with a quiet gentle lift of white citrus and floral fragrance, medium-full with crisp acidity amid traces of white pepper in background. Elegant but ait short, not revealing much detail. I’d expected more.

2016 Chateau de Chamirey Mercurey La Mission 1er monopole. Pale with overtones of rye on a slightly peppery nose that belies great concentration and intensity of fruit on the minerally palate, medium-bodied and open with traces of ferrous elements at the sides, just a tad short. This estate’s unforgettable 2014 remains king.

2016 Maison de Montille Saint-Romain. Gentle white citrus on the nose and palate, quite plump, showing very good presence and acidity with some early complexity amid white floral tones. Quite full, exuding a bit of old-fashioned rusticity that suits the wine really well. An over-achieving village. Excellent.

2016 Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet Saint-Aubin En Remilly 1er. Full floral bouquet. Quite rich and full, displaying great focus, precision and concentration supported by a superb depth of complex minerals topped with a creamy richness, exuding great definition and linearity. Excellent.

2014 Domaine de Montille Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. Lovely glow of dense white citrus, layered with excellent depth with some early complexity, superbly balanced, culminating in a long glowing finish that lasted with absolute persistence. Neither too creamy nor chalky. The epitome of power and elegance. Brilliant!

2017 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay VV. Clear ruby. Lovely glow of rosy red fruits. Well extracted but supple on the full open palate, displaying very fine intensity and weight on a minerally floor, finishing well.

2016 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay La Maladiere 1er Rouge. Lovely glow of warm red fruits. Richly layered and gently supple, superbly ripe, wonderfully bright and open, very well balanced with excellent integration and depth. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay La Maladiere 1er Blanc. Fresh morning dew on the nose, slightly grassy, with bright minerally tones, almost Chassagne-like in character. Well replicated on the palate, quite richly layered with lovely depth of stony minerals with traces of Asian spice. Excellent.

2014 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuisse. Glorious lift of white floral fragrance, densely layered with tremendous intensity of white citrus, lemons and complex tangerines amidst flinty minerals with excellent detail, finishing well. Excellent.

2016 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuisse Aux Bouthieres. Magnum. Dense morning dew and complex grassy tones on the nose. Rather full, rounded and fleshy, imbued with ground pepper amid chalky undertones, impeccably balanced and open with great presence and integration. Excellent.

2016 Domaine Chanson Chassagne-Montrachet. Lovely lift of white fruit and grassy tones with a lovely gentle fragrance, very well-layered and full on the palate with an abundance of wild grass and green fruits, displaying some attractive rustic integration with good subtle acidity and balance, finishing with fine intensity.

2016 Domaine Chanson Beaune Clos Des Mouches 1er Blanc. Great bouquet, exuding a profound earthy pungency with dense overtones of nutmeg and exotic spices. Rather full, layered with dense white citrus amidst ground pepper and gravelly tones, very Chassagne-like, cutting across the palate with great purity and precision. Highly extroverted and very successfully crafted. Superb.

2016 Domaine Chanson Corton Vergennes Grand Cru. Great purity of expression with a lovely bloom of floral tones, highly poised and elegant. Rounded and full with a great deal of of abundance beneath, exuding rich tones of nutmeg and wild flowers with some early complexity, finishing well. Excellent.

2016 Domaine des Perdrix Nuits-Saints-Georges Aux Perdrix 1er. Darkish in colour and tone, open with cleanly-defined fruit and tangerines that glowed with superb suppleness and succulence, almost opulent, that seemed to overwhelm the very subtle minerality. Distinctly feminine.

2016 Domaine des Perdrix Vosne-Romanee. Unusual minty glow on the nose, replete with dark currants and tangerines though, surprisingly, the bright and lighter palate results in quite a bit of disjoint. Lacks distinction.

2016 Domaine Faiveley Nuits-Saints-Georges Les Porets 1er. Bright sheen of emulsion on a backdrop of cleanly-defined supple red fruits, layered with a narrower deep vein of darker fruit, lifted with a certain deftness.

2016 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau Corton Clos des Fietres Grand Cru. Chalky tones with an abundance of glorious ripe fruit, exuding cool elegance with great balance.

2007 Domaine Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, courtesy of Natalie Ngoi. Golden hue. Highly attractive bouquet hinting at rich buttery creaminess, appropriately full on the palate, showing fine detail, superb balance and subtle acidity. Hasn’t quite fleshed out with secondary nuances.

FICOFI CEO Philippe Capdouze turns sommelier

2011 Domaine Ponsot Morey-Saint-Denis Les Monts Luisants 1er, courtesy of Kieron. Magnum. Great bouquet of longans and peaches, layered with dense fruit and minerals and sharp acidity that impart great detail and intensity on the palate, displaying wonderful freshness, complexity and deftness. Excellent.

2009 Domaine Dugat Py Vosne-Romanee VV, courtesy of Sanjay. Very dark, exuding smoke and ember, revealing great suppleness on the full and fleshy palate, wonderfully fresh with great acidity and layering, finishing with traces of iron fillings. Very fine.

2003 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, courtesy of Dr Ngoi. Magnum. This wine opens with a great earthy pungency, underscored with intense raspberries, red currants and dark cherries with overtones of gun smoke, displaying excellent definition and razor-sharp precision within its tannin structure. Full-bodied, and still youthful. Huge potential.

2001 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saints-Georges Clos des Porrets St Georges 1er, courtesy of LF. Magnum. Great lovely earthiness cloaked in velvety textures, displaying lush presence of red fruits and dark currants, layered with tangerines and wonderful acidity that confered good linearity and freshness, finishing well.

2009 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, courtesy of Vic. Very clean in feel, imbued with wonderful depth and richness of ripe raspberries and dark currants laced with sublime acidity that impart fabulous intensity, detail and precision throughout its length, highly agile and supple. Still youthful. Excellent.

2013 Charles Van Canneyt Corton-Renardes Grand Cru. Open with a generous spread of bright red fruits and rose petals, softly rounded with overtones of sweet incense, displaying fine intensity and linearity but short.

2014 Domaine Faiveley Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. Surprisingly open for such a young grand cru, proffering lifted aromas of ash and incense amid red currants and dark berries, displaying lovely fullness and concentration with a note of gunmetal flint. Promising.

1966 Daniel Senard Corton Clos des Meix, courtesy of Christophe. A rare bottling before this producer became Domaine Comte Senard and before this plot became its monopole grand cru. Still remarkably dark and richly layered with deep medicinal tones on both nose and palate, slightly sweet with overtones of ripe bananas, mainly fruit driven at this stage as its minerals have long been resorbed. What a privilege!

2009 Domaine Perrot-Minot Clos Vougeot Grand Cru. Lifted tones of bright tangerines. Supple with excellent concentration, presence and intensity, still layered with some emulsion but the acidity here is absolutely sublime.

2009 Domaine Francois Lamarche La Grand Rue Grand Cru. Fleshy and rounded, exuding great color, layered with gorgeous ripe berries and dark currants with some early complexity, structured with velvety tannins that deliver fine power and elegance. Very lovely. Wonderful.

2012 Domaine Anne Gros Echezeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Lovely balance. Ample expanse of cool ripe fruit and mulberries, very well integrated with great subtlety. Excellent.

2014 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Cinq Terroirs, courtesy of Caroline. Magnum. Opague ruby. Excellent concentration of ripe raspberries, dark currants and mulberries supported by fine acidity with traces of ember. Fairly lush and sophisticated.

1989 Domaines Rolet Cotes Du Jura, courtesy of Christopher. Distinctively aged and mature, proffering lifted aromas of aged cheese but its balance has been disrupted by fruit that has receded into the far distance, leaving behind substantial sharp acidity.

Fried rice !!

Photo: Vintage Club