Sep 2020: 2018 Château Roulerie Terrasses, 2017 Bernard Moreau Chassgn-Montrachet, 2017 Domaine Roc Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé, 2014 Domaine Villaine St-Aubin Perrières, 1983 Château Margaux…

Champagne Leon Launois Cuvée Réservée Brut NV, popped and poured at Lou Sang (formerly known as Mak Hong Kee), 05 Sept 2020. Brightly coloured. Dense body of yellow citrus, lime and bitter lemon that exerted dry cutting intensity before developing a hint of smoky depth towards the finish, appearing somewhat two-dimensional. However, another bottle tasted at Otto Ristorante on 29 Sept 2020 showed excellent chalky expanse with better depth and detail. Perhaps not quite as sophisticated as the best maisons but at less than SGD40, it is highly serviceable.

2009 Goulée, popped and poured at the in-laws on 06 Sept 2020. Dark plums, black currants and spicy licorice dominate with fine depth and concentration. Settled down quite rapidly into a medium-bodied proposition, opening up with true Médoc character that is slightly stern and darkish. By Cos D’Estournel.

2018 Château de la Roulerie Les Terrasses Anjou Blanc, popped and poured at Putien Kitchener Rd, 07 Sept 2020. Luminous light golden. Fairly full presence of lemon and oyster essence tinged with salty minerals on a fine sandy floor. Snapped into sharp focus after 30 minutes, revealing some inner detail of icing with fine clarity as it morphed into a harmonious whole with a lovely deep chalky glow. Quite excellent. Don’t under-estimate chenin blanc.

2003 Château Duhart-Milon, aired in bottle for 3 hours prior at Summer Hill, 08 Sept 2020. Highly attractive bouquet of truffles, ember, roast and earth matched by dark plums, currants and ripe wild berries on the medium-full palate. Very fine in concentration and intensity. Highly supple and harmonious, revealing a deeper vein of delicious currants. Took on a bit of tarry quality as it warmed up in the glass but doesn’t possess the opulence nor succulence of the best estates.

2018 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay, popped and poured at home, 13 Sept 2020. Youthful complex of citrus and white floral tones that exert tight gentle intensity, very well balanced with a lively controlled acidity.

2018 Maison A-F Gros Bourgogne Rouge, popped and poured at the in-laws, 16 Sept 2020. Gentle fresh floral fragrance of rose petals, haw and light cherries leading to a medium-full palate, displaying good concentration of fruit with understated intensity.

2017 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé. Popped and poured at Ka Soh, 18 Sept 2020. Light golden. Broad expanse of chalky white tones amidst greenish hues on the nose. Amply-layered on the palate with an initial delicate fleeting presence that fleshed out with glorious gleaming tones and intense acidity, revealing excellent inner detail amid subtle graphite elements with further notes of lime, bitter lemon and pomelo as it finished with a bit of minty velvetiness. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Bernard Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet at Imperial Treasure Great World, 21 Sept 2020. Distilled white floral glow amid placid cool white tones. Excellent concentration of fruit laid on a broad expanse of classic Chassagne chalkiness, revealing gritty detail and definition with striking presence and intensity, developing a lovely rich creaminess over time as it finished with a trace of austere minerals. Only a village but thoroughly superb.

2016 Domaine Francois Raveneau Chablis, courtesy of Kieron at Imperial Treasure Great World, 21 Sept 2020. Rather coy with just a gravelly hint on the nose. The palate is well rounded with fine concentration of yellow citrus with a suggestion of tropical fruit that imparted some fleeting flinty intensity with a trace of austerity. Yet to differentiate.

2016 Domaine Arlaud Morey-Saint-Denis at Imperial Treasure Great World, 21 Sept 2020. Purplish ruby, exuding a lovely glow of red fruits, rose petals and haw. Good concentration, freshness and purity of fruit that shone with bright intensity, mellowing after some time with softer rounded tones and some earthiness although there is a discernible attenuation of depth that remained throughout the evening.

2014 Domaine de Villaine Saint-Aubin Les Perrières 1er, courtesy of Vic at Imperial Treasure Great World, 21 Sept 2020. Lighter toned. A little shy at first, gradually revealing delicate crème, icing and vanillin, very well layered with smooth textures and fine clarity that evoked a cool controlled intensity. Almost aristocratic. Very lovely.

1983 Château Margaux, courtesy of Sir Bob at Imperial Treasure Great World, 21 Sept 2020. Deep garnet red, proffering an effusive intense glow of a mature claret with tertiary characters of dried tea leaves, wood shavings and exotic fragrances amidst a deep core of red fruits and currants immediately recognizable as Left Bank. Soft, fleshy and still remarkably full in spite of its thirty-seven years, imbued with understated sweet velvety tannins and mandarins that finished with excellent length and regal elegance. Much fresher than another bottle tasted earlier this month. Outstanding.

1993 Domaine Robert Ampeau et Fils Volnay Santenots 1er, courtesy of Kieron at Imperial Treasure Great World, 21 Sept 2020. Well-evolved crimson, proffering camphor and plummy tones with restraint. Quite full and fleshy, imbued with abundant warm bright fruit that is still wonderfully fresh with plenty of life in them. Became more open and earthy in the glass with further notes of ripe raspberries, yielding fine detail. Excellent.

2008 Domaine Forey Vosne-Romanée Les Gaudichots 1er, courtesy of LF at Imperial Treasure Great World, 21 Sept 2020. Early crimson hue, exuding copious red fruits with great clarity. Full, fleshy. Very well layered and seamlessly integrated. Highly graceful in its subtle nuances and power, displaying lovely lift and purity. Directly abuts La Tâche but lacks the nth dimension of that great monopole.

1993 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée Les Beaux Monts 1er, courtesy of Sir Bob at Imperial Treasure Great World, 21 Sept 2020. Displaying a mature vermilion, this wine proffers a lifted complex of red fruits on the nose coupled with fine concentration and purity of fruit that exert striking intensity. Highly attractive. Tasted blind but Kieron was absolutely spot-on!

2006 Fontanafredda Barolo La Rosa, popped and poured at the in-laws, 24 Sept 2020. Dark plummy tones dominate with a dash of burliness, showing very good concentration and intensity of fruit with fine acidity. Slightly medicinal in quality. Not distinctive.

2018 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé Aux Bouthires. Popped and poured at Jade Palace, 27 Sept 2020. Pale. Delicate highly intense citrus at the open. Settled quite quickly with a more relaxed feel, displaying good clarity and fine inner detail with a gentle chalkiness before fleshing out with greater presence amid overtones of cool icing though it remains distinctly leaner and more introspective than the 2016. Consistent with a previous tasting from magnum last month.

2009 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Porrets St-Georges 1er. Popped and poured at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 28 Sep 2020. This monopole opens with delicious ripe cherries and red fruits on the nose, showing fine concentration and purity of fruit on the gentle medium-bodied palate. Quite fleshy, structured with smooth understated tannins that enhance its delicate intensity, becoming highly supple and seamless though somewhat attenuated in depth, finishing with a minerally trace. Drinking well.