March 2020: Champagne Lallier Grand Reserve, 2018 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay, 2014 Ch de Meursault Charmes-Dessus 1er, 2017 Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc, 2017 Wirra Wirra Shiraz…

2018 Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir, popped and poured at home, 02 Mar 2020. Lighter tone of red. Slightly forward in red fruits, mulberries and cherries, opening up well with very good concentration and body. Fleshy and supple with very well-integrated acidity. Quite harmonious and correct in every way. Great value.

2018 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay, tasted on 03 Mar at Gattopardo and again on 30 Mar 2020. Clear luminosity. Lovely balance of white and yellow citrus, displaying very clean and clear definition on a gentle bed of subdued chalk. Very generously proportioned and highly harmonious. Grew in intensity of fruit and sleek acidity with emerging notes of green apples and pineapples, exuding a refined oily density. At only SGD30, this can take its place on any table. Excellent.

Champagne Aubert & Fils Brut NV, popped over dimsum lunch at Wah Lok, 07 Mar 2020. Light-medium, displaying gentle presence of clear and yellow citrus, softly textured with very fine bubbles that exude refined intensity. Fleshed out over time with more body and definition, developing further notes of crème and light minerals though remaining quintessentially feminine.

2014 Domaine du Château de Meursault Meursault Les Charmes-Dessus 1er, an ex-château bottle popped and poured over lunch at Gunther’s, 09 Mar 2020. Pale. Fairly sharp tone of clear citrus and fresh lemons on the nose and palate, fleshing out rather quickly with excellent depth and body, rounder and fuller with more white floral notes and crème though it still managed to maintain a delicate feel in the mouth. Highly harmonious with a poised elegance.

2017 Barramundi Chardonnay Viognier, tasted at the Krisflyer Gold Lounge of Changi Airport T3, 13 Mar 2020. Very light greenish hue, proffering very clean aromas of floral fragrance with a dash of crème, vanillin and light green fruits, showing good presence and acidity. Finished well with a lasting glow.

2017 D’Arenberg The Olive Grove, tasted at British Airways Club World Lounge of Heathrow T5, 15 Mar 2020. Nutmeg, wild flowers and traces of olive and crème dominate with fine presence, painting the palate with exotic tangy tones with a fair degree of rusticity before tapering to a lingering peppery persistence.

Champagne Canard-Duchêne Cuvée Léonie Brut NV, on board BA123 Business Class from LHR-DOH, 15 Mar 2020. Roasted almonds, walnuts and toast on the nose. Bright, full and dry, displaying white tones with plenty of zest that traverse the palate with good linearity but rather short on the finish and complexity.

Champagne Besserat de Bellefon Grande Tradition Rosé Brut NV, on board BA123 Business Class from LHR-DOH, 15 Mar 2020. Comprising 28% chardonnay with pinot noir and pinot meunier, this wine proffers a rosy fragrance of light cherries and haw while tangerines dominate on the dry palate, unable to cover the lack of complexity in spite of adequate presence.

2018 Spy Valley Sustainably Crafted Sauvignon Blanc, on board BA123 Business Class from LHR-DOH, 15 Mar 2020. Medium-bodied. Light grassy elements amid wild grass and a dash of nutmeg, rounded with good presence.

2018 Teanum Otre Primitivo, on board BA123 Business Class from LHR-DOH, 15 Mar 2020. From the region of Puglia, Italy. Earth, mulberries and raspberries dominate with a hint of licorice amid overtones of sweet incense. Medium-full, rounded with sweet tannins that oozed fine intensity.

Champagne Lallier Grand Reserve Brut NV, on board QR944 Business Class from DOH-SIN, 16 Mar 2020. Lovely luminosity. Superb lift of roasted almonds, toast and complex citrus with a trace of green fruits. Structured with a lovely depth of chiselled minerality and crisp acidity, exuding great intensity, balance and freshness that finished on a note of gentle teasing citrus. Really excellent.

2018 Chartron & Trébuchet Chablis 1er, on board QR944 Business Class from DOH-SIN, 16 Mar 2020. Some gentle vanillin and icing on the nose. Medium-bodied, imbued with dry wild flowers, some pomelo and a bit of tangy citrus within a narrow spectrum of acidity, tempered by a ferric mid-palate that conferred a certain sternness before finishing in a gentle glow.

2011 Château Marzelle, on board QR944 Business Class from DOH-SIN, 16 Mar 2020. This Médoc opens with dense, dark characters of mulberries and raspberries that display excellent body and presence on a floor of forest notes, framed within tannins that are slightly sweet. Serviceable.

2000 Henriot Cuvée des Enchanteleurs, on 17 Mar 2020 at Otto Ristorante. Pale greenish hue. Gentle yeasty depth of green fruits and citrus, showing fair complexity with a rounded subdued dryness. Imbued with intense chalky minerals that developed with further emerging acidity and graphite tones into a seamless complex. At its best though it isn’t the most profound of champagne.

2005 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon to go with pizza at home, 20 Mar 2020. Deep crimson. Rich effusive bouquet of dark cherries, strawberries, red fruits and plums. Beautifully ripe and aromatic. Rather full with lovely suppleness, structure and tension within a frame of svelte tannins, almost velvety in texture, delivering great energy, acidity and balance. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc VV to go with Hokkien noodles (from Geylang Lorong 29), 21 Mar 2020. Superb nose of fresh morning dew and gentle grassy elements matched by an abundance of clear citrus, ferrous minerals and sublime acidity that impart excellent presence and mouthfeel. Superbly integrated, fleshing out with fine complexity and vivacious intensity. Punches way above its weight. Quite outstanding. Jean-Philippe Fichet is a true star of Meursault.

2017 Wirra Wirra Shiraz, popped and poured on 23 Mar 2020. Very dark. Excellent concentration of blackberries and dark currants. Warm, ripe and fleshy but neither dense nor jammy, surprisingly supple with a lovely glow of delicious fruit within a subtle sheen of vanillin. Beautifully and naturally balanced with sweet unobtrusive tannins and understated acidity, finishing with distant trailing notes of chocolate and mocha. Doesn’t try too hard at all. Truly excellent. A real steal at SGD25, if you can find it.

2006 Château Malartic-Lagravière, popped and poured at home, 27 Mar 2020. Mulberries, wild berries, mocha and charcoal elements dominate with good density amid finely-grained earthy textures, quite open and harmonious, finishing with some lovely spicy intensity but lacks charm.

2005 Rockford Black Shiraz, popped and poured at home, 28 Mar 2020. Surprisingly unyielding on the nose, though the palate is classic Basket Press Shiraz through and through, layered with very good density of warm ripe Barossa shiraz amid overtones of licorice, iron fillings and herbal elements. Very well-integrated and balanced, laced with very fine subdued bubbles and understated acidity, finishing with a hint of that classic liqueured note though, surprisingly on the whole, there isn’t much complexity on show here.