1992 & 2007 Georges de Vogüé Musigny VV, 2009 Armand Rousseau Chambertin GC, 2004 JF Mugnier Musigny, 2009 Sapience, JC Ramonet Batard 2007 & Chevalier 2011, 2006 Anne Gros Richebourg…

Alvin pulled out all the stops for his big round number bash at Jade Palace on 17 November 2019, hosting three tables and providing all the wines as well. From a large pool of top wines, guests drew lots to decide which wines would be popped at their table. But, for my table, Alvin had taken care of things, arranging a line-up that was initially blinded with foil, but what a fabulous line-up it turned out to be when the wraps were removed at the start of dinner. In the face of such generosity and mouth-watering abundance, you don’t say what’s good and what wasn’t. One is simply thankful for having Alvin as a friend. Many happy returns, Alvin, and may the drops of God continue to nourish you always.

2007 Champagne Agrapart Minéral Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut. Closed. Faint notes of gun smoke and yeast. Great tone of clear and yellow citrus on the palate, richly layered with a sharp accentuated lift and fine acidity on a dry minerally floor, yielding good definition. Refreshing zest, finishing with bitter lemon and pomelo.

2009 Champagne Marguet Sapience Brut Nature, courtesy of Clarence. Gorgeous bouquet of highly developed oxidative characters that suggest deep yeasty pungency, spiced pear and toast with a sharp lift. Open, bright and minerally, its vivacious nature easily apparent through the sheen of very fine bubbles. Quite excellent.

2007 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru. Lovely luminosity. Lifted bouquet of mint, icing and vanillin. Great concentration of white fruits, carrying tremendous energy with sharp acidity, focus and definition without the plumpness. Finished with traces of white flowers, white pepper and minerals. Excellent.

2011 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru. Tasted blind (a clean skin bottle). Pale golden. Warm enticing bouquet of buttery creaminess and smouldering ember. Wonderfully layered with superb presence, freshness and sublime acidity, very evenly toned, revealing some early complexity as the classic Ramonet signature of mint and icing emerged after some time along with more minerally tones. Still youthful. I guessed its origin correctly although I’d thought it to be the 2013. Excellent.

2007 Domaine Georges Roumier Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er. Slightly darker shade of pinot, exuding an evolved tone of mulberries, raspberries, dark plums and currants with lovely purity and ripeness. Medium-full. Rather darkish in character. Very evenly-toned and supple, taking its time to reveal fine depth of highly detailed graphite minerals. Quite excellent.

2003 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees 1er. Good colour. Shy at first, proffering just glimpses of cherries, ash, red fruits and some earthiness. Became more pronounced over time, developing an almost savoury character within softly structured tannins, culminating in a sweet finish. Needs more time.

2004 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru. Opaque dull red with some evolution, proffering a bouquet of sweet wild berries and currants. Medium-bodied. Quite placid on the palate with subtle refined acidity but not yielding much detail, perhaps even slightly gruff. Took a really long time to open up with good expanse and layering, finally yielding fine detail with distant tones of tangerines. Not the greatest Musigny but I’ll happily drink it.

2006 Domaine Anne Gros Richebourg Grand Cru. Good colour. Dominant mentholic lift on the nose, giving way to very dark fruits with overtones of ash over time, becoming deeper and more effusive with a minerally note. Similar characters on a palate dominated by dark fruits, perhaps a tad more plummy but still rather tight and intense with a dry forward balance, structured with lithe supple tannins. Needs many more years of cellaring.

2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru. Classic pinot tone and colour. Rather reserved, exuding warm gravelly tones amid dark cherries and plums. Tight but supple, showing traces of early complexity but still largely primal. Very finely balanced with an even tone of subtle acidity and intensity, layered with minerally depth. Somewhat aloof at this stage, yet to develop.

2007 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru. Good colour. Imbued with remarkable density and concentration of dark plums and blackberries. Still tight with marked intensity, as if to make up for the vintage’s deficiency. Distinctly sullen, not yielding much detail. Best to lay down.

2010 Château De La Tour Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, poured from magnum. Slightly darker shade, proffering deep generous aromas of dark cherries and currants amid overtones of incense. Medium-bodied. Lovely fragrance, freshness and intensity of fruit. Delicious.

1992 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru, a magnum courtesy of Jade Palace’s Mr Ho from the restaurant’s library stock, literally popped and poured at the spur of the moment. Deep effusive bouquet of dark fruits currants with overtones of old leather. Forwardly balanced, displaying excellent presence of savoury characters that conferred great acidity and verve, structured with masculine tones. Highly attractive.

2010 Weingut Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Trockenbeerenauslese. Superb bouquet, exuding a classic diesel quality underscored by intense tropical fruits, pineapples and nectarines Quite full. Open with wonderful depth of intensity as it stretched out smoothly with great linearity all the way to its lasting finish.