Jan 2020: 1976 Ausone, 1989 Montrose, 1995 Domaine Louis Jadot Clos Saint-Denis, 1989 Domaine Lambrays Clos des Lambrays, 1990 Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny VV, 2009 Nicolas Rossignol-Trapet Chambertin, 2016 Penfolds Max’s The Promise…

2016 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Blanc, popped and poured over dimsum lunch at Asia Grand, 01 Jan 2020. Luminous light golden. Fairly dense minerally nose, displaying a clean chalky profile with sleek acidity whilst the light-medium palate is open with very fine presence and lovely deftness.

2015 Artadi Vinas di Gain Blanco, courtesy of Dr Ngoi at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Notes of gunmetal cordite and white citrus on the nose though the palate is dry with steely minerality. Bright and open with very good concentration of fruit, developing a mild salinity with time.

Champagne Krug Brut Rosé NV, courtesy of MH at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Magnum. Grapefruit, dates and aged tangerine skins dominate with an orangey bloom. Brightly lit and dry, subtly balanced with good concentration. Grew in sweet intensity over time with further tones of smouldering ember.

2017 Domaine Jean Chartron Saint-Aubin Murgers des Dents de Chien 1er, popped and poured from magnum at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Pale. Emerging notes of tropical fruits, highly attractive. Good open transparency and concentration with a deeper vein of white floral tone, highly subtle throughout as it tapered to a gentle expansive finish.

2014 Château Cos D’Estournel Blanc, courtesy of Dr Ngoi at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Notes of seared icing, vanillin and lychee on the nose with a powerful white floral sheen, displaying bold intensity with a marked salinity on the palate amid diesel overtones. Not ready.

2014 Kistler McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay, courtesy of LF at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Superb clear luminosity. Rather full and forward in chalky characters and crème amid traces of salinity. Excellent open intensity, finishing with distinct vanillin and white floral tones.

2008 Champagne Pol Roger cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, courtesy of CJ at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Lifted yeasty earthiness, open with very fine concentration of white fruits and grassy elements, displaying dry intensity though yet to develop true complexity.

1979 Emile Bouley Volnay Santenots, courtesy of Dr Ngoi at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Magnum. Lifted earthy pungency with mature tones of plums and orangery tangerines while the passage of time has left just enough of recessed red fruits on the palate though its acidity is still intact, still imbued with fair intensity.

1990 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru, courtesy of Dr Ngoi at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Still rather dark, proffering cedar, cinnamon and old leather on the nose. Deeply intense, fleshy and supple with vibrant plummy tones amid a very slight herbal trace, seamlessly integrated with very fine acidity, showing some early complexity though it still feels somewhat unresolved at the finish. Evolving at a glacial pace. May be a good idea to lay another ten years.

2003 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée Aux Brulées 1er, courtesy of Dr Ngoi at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Magnum. Dark with some early evolution. Sandy plummy medicinal nose with dryish overtones of malt and rye. Highly supple and fleshy palate, showing concentrated focus with very fine intensity amid earthy traces though a tad short, becoming more astringent with time.

2009 Domaine Nicolas Rossignol-Trapet Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of KG at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Dark with some evolution. Highly refined in delicate currants, mulberries and red fruits with a tangerine core, structured with understated elegant tannins that confer excellent open intensity with subtle feminine grace. Quite superb.

1998 Château Cheval Blanc, courtesy of Dr Ngoi at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Deep garnet core. This wine opens with a classic Bordeaux glow, promising maturing red fruits, raspberries, currants and haw that are delivered with excellent fullness on the palate, tinged with traces of graphite and bell pepper, structured with smooth rounded tannins. Still youthful.

1989 Château Suduiraut, courtesy of Dr Natalie Ngoi at Crystal Jade Takashimaya, 04 Jan 2020. Magnum. Clear golden hue. Fine density of apricot, nectarine, smoke and diesel fumes on the nose while the medium-bodied palate has a certain aged feel, showing good transparency and concentration of fruit.

Champagne Jacques Selosse Initial Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, courtesy of Vic, 08 Jan 2020 at Imperial Treasure Paragon. Good colour. Dense deep earthy and yeasty characters with a resinous tone. Brightly lit with excellent concentration and intensity, displaying plenty of zest within the sheen of very fine bubbles that teased the palate with infinite sparkle, finishing with a hint of ferrous minerals.

2001 Weingut Beucher Riesling Trocken, courtesy of Vic, 08 Jan 2020 at Imperial Treasure Paragon. Lovely luminosity. Poised elegant bouquet of complex tropical fruits with a very fine, lithe and supple quality. Good inner clarity in spite of its mild diesel overtones, revealing excellent depth of complex citrus, pomelo and grapefruit that conferred some degree of sternness.

1996 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny, courtesy of Sir Robert, 08 Jan 2020 at Imperial Treasure Paragon. Still deep ruby in colour, displaying deep dark plummy tones, red currants and cherries. Fleshy and supple, open with very fine intensity and acidity within a slim defined profile, a tad short. Excellent village.

1995 Domaine Louis Jadot Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru, courtesy of LF, 08 Jan 2020 at Imperial Treasure Paragon. Classic evolved pinot tint, exuding delicious soft aromas of red fruits and currants, highly enticing, matched by an open relaxed tone on the palate, displaying mild intensity and gentle depth with gritty earthy undertones. Excellent.

1989 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Robert, 08 Jan 2020 at Imperial Treasure Paragon. Effusive bouquet of mature dark currants and berries. Still imbued with fleshy concentration of fruit and stern complex minerals, displaying fairly tight intensity that gradually opened up over time to reveal soft gentle aromas of sour plums. Caught at its peak. Excellent.

1989 Château Montrose, decanted on-site at Imperial Treasure Paragon, 08 Jan 2020. Brilliant deep garnet red with a lifted teasing earthy pungency, very lovely. Open and fleshy, displaying supple depth of cool ripe fruit caught at its prime amid overtones of cedar and cinnamon. Utterly seamless. Almost delicate. Excellent.

1976 Château Ausone, courtesy of Kieron, 08 Jan 2020 at Imperial Treasure Paragon. Still deep crimson in colour, proffering a very gentle earthy pungency on the nose with deeper notes of black berries and dark currants. Medium-bodied. Fleshy with good concentration of fruit with a lovely maturity, displaying complex characters amid tertiary tones of capsicum. Finished well with good linearity though it turned slightly dryish.

2002 Château Cos D’Estournel, decanted on-site at Peach Garden, OCBC Centre, 11 Jan 2020. Deep garnet red with some evolution, exuding a deep glowing bouquet of dark plums and mulberries with traces of licorice. Excellent fullness and ripeness, underscored by dryish textures tea leaves, structured with smooth tannins. Very well integrated, turning more plummy over time with more blackcurrants to the fore, developing superb lively acidity that added exciting biting intensity. Quite excellent. Peach Garden now charges SGD30++ for corkage while food is fairly ordinary – not recommended.

2003 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz, decanted on-site at Pasta Brava, 18 Jan 2020. Opaque purple. Effusive in menthol and liquorice with traces of graphite and smoky elements whilst the palate is imbued with dark plummy tones, tangerines, dried mushrooms and ferrous elements, open with fleshy suppleness and intensity on a cedary floor. Still youthful.

2009 Carpineto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, popped and poured at an early reunion dinner at Mak Hong Kee, 21 Jan 2020. Opaque dark purple, featuring dusty tones, dark wood and bramble. The initial gruffness gave way to a sweeter note after an hour with a greater intensity of emerging ripe fruits, laced with lively acidity. Needs plenty of time.

2000 Champagne Dom Pérignon P2, popped and poured over Lunar New Year Eve lunch at Otto Ristorante, 24 Jan 2020. Lovely luminosity. Dense aromas of complex citrus, green fruits, melons and pomelo intertwined with a delicate chalkiness and understated crème. Quite full. Rounded and open with fine detail on a base of ferrous undertones. Not the most profound of Dom but this wine is very lively and well balanced, gaining a bit of biting intensity towards the end as it finished with a minerally tinge.

2016 Château Peyrabon Lagravette, popped and poured from magnum (only SGD90!) at home on Lunar New Year, 25 Jan 2020. Red fruits, cherries and mulberries dominate with darkish tones, excellent in ripeness with a supple presence. Rounded with fine intensity and understated acidity amid ferrous undertones, tempered with a trace of minerally glare. Very good value.

2016 Penfolds Max’s The Promise, popped and poured at Dorothy’s place, 26 Jan 2020. Very dark. Excellent ripeness and concentration of blackcurrants and dark fruits tinged with early cedar amid subtle layers of liquorice and medicinal characters, displaying superb depth and lovely supple intensity. Great refinement, sophistication and balance, structured with rounded sweet tannins. Excellent, really.

2003 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge, decanted on-site over lunch at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 27 Jan 2020. Deep red with some evolution. Distinctly rosy on the nose though dark fruits, blackberries, briar and wild berries dominate on the palate, its ripeness tempered with stern saline minerals. Opened up with lovely suppleness, developing gentle sweet structured tannins with a minty glow.