Dec 2020: 2010 Roulot Meursault Luchets, 2014 Château de Marsannay Chambertin, 2012 Joseph Drouhin Bâtard-Montrachet, 1998 Coriole Mary Kathleen Cab-Merlot, 1998 Ch Lafleur, 2008 Tertre Rotebouef, 1979 Emily Bouley Volnay Santenots 1er, 1988 Krug, 2002 & 2007 Cristal…

2016 Domaine Denis Mortet Mes Cinq Terroirs, aired for three hours prior to dinner at Rhubarb, 01 Dec 2020. Much darker than usual for pinot with a dominance of raspberries and mulberries that exude a dark rosy fragrance. Well extracted on the palate, shrouded initially by a thin sheen of paraffin that blew off to reveal gorgeous purity of intense dark cherries underscored by very fine acidity and traces of graphite minerals, yielding greater youthful intensity and acidity with time. Quite delicious but far from ready.

1988 Champagne Krug Collection, courtesy of Messrs Yu. Popped and poured at Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine, 02 Dec 2020. Light dull golden. Distinctly mature on the nose with a dominant lift of poached pear and peach reduction. The medium-bodied palate is imbued with Krug’s signature dry intensity of white citrus and brightly-lit minerals, eventually mellowing to reveal a greater expanse of mature chalk, boasting great balance, clarity and precision. Still remarkably fresh. Excellent.

2010 Domaine Roulot Meursault Luchets, courtesy of Messrs Yu. Popped and poured at Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine, 02 Dec 2020. Light golden. Shy at first, proffering just faint glimpses of cool icing before opening up with lovely clarity and balance, highly understated in its gentle presence of apricot and clear citrus that imparted lithe agility. Seamlessly integrated. Very refined and elegant. Excellent.

2017 Domaine Francois Mikulski Meursault Poruzots 1er, courtesy of Kieron at Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine, 02 Dec 2020. Pale. Effusive bouquet of smoky incense tinged with an exotic fragrance. Well layered, snapping into focus after ninety minutes with fine balance and relaxed inner detail, finishing with cool lingering flavours. Very fine.

2014 Château de Marsannay Chambertin Grand Cru. Aired for three hours prior at Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine, 02 Dec 2020. Rosy fragrance of soft red fruits, displaying lovely colour and purity. Rather full and rounded. Good concentration of fruit, tight at first with very fine acidity and intensity on a bed of saline minerals before evolving into an open seamless whole, exuding plummy red fruits that exert power and depth as it tapered to a glowing finish. Almost has that extra dimension of the best Chambertin.

2013 Domaine Cecile Tremblay Chambolle-Musigny Les Cabottes, courtesy of Tim. Tasted after some aeration at Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine, 02 Dec 2020. Distinctly darkish in colour and palatal tone from a higher extraction of dark fruits. Quite full and fleshy, beautifully integrated and rounded with good sophistication, finishing well amid traces of capsicum.

1998 Château Lafleur, courtesy of Tim. Tasted after some aeration at Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine, 02 Dec 2020. Deep crimson, exuding a classic glow of dark fruits, dried mushrooms, green capsicum and steamed bamboo leaves. Softly rounded and highly supple, displaying fine presence of mature fruit that is still wonderfully fresh along with complex subtle nuances infused with understated acidity. A confident, classy Lafleur that doesn’t call attention to itself. Superb.

2017 Domaine Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc. Popped and poured at Putien Kitchener Rd, 07 Dec 2020. Pale golden, displaying a light delicate clarity on the nose with fine presence on the palate, imbued with a crystalline quality on a subtle chalky base. Appreciably mellower than a previous bottle six months earlier. Quite lovely without trying too hard.

2007 Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal, courtesy of Vic at Kappo Shansui, 16 December 2020. Luminous gold. Forward bouquet of lovely floral aromas that exude enticing sweetness. Quite vivacious, displaying dry density with open detail and lively acidity, finishing with distinct ferrous tones. Excellent.

2008 Champagne Dom Pérignon, courtesy of Hock Foong at Kappo Shansui, 16 December 2020. Its pallor belies a lovely bouquet of light tropical fruits amid traces of incense and floral aromas while the palate is imbued with excellent presence of high-toned white citrus that exude a certain delicate lightness complemented by very fine acidity, displaying some early complexity as it gained weight in the glass, finishing with ferrous minerals. Far from ready but irresistible.

2006 Champagne Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Brut, courtesy of Sanjay at Kappo Shansui, 16 December 2020. Restrained reductive nose. Still fairly tight with a lovely rounded intensity. Very finely balanced, a tad more minerally over time whilst maintain good clarity of white fruits and clear citrus. Lingers on the palate with great persistence. Excellent.

2018 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay. Popped and poured at Ka Soh, 20 Dec 2020. Very refined white floral tones dominate with lithe agility and lovely delicate balance, displaying good clarity with subtle nuances of vanillin and icing, gaining a bit of sharp acidity over time. A real steal at SGD34.

2007 Champagne Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé, courtesy of CJ at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Lovely lift of light cherries and rose petals with some gentle yeasty reductive tones. Open textures on the palate, characterised by very fine bubbles lit with a bright minerally shine, displaying fine intensity of dry tangerines at the finish. Excellent.

Champagne Ruinart Rosé NV, courtesy of Hock Foong at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Effusive delicate nose of light rosy characters and grapefruit. Rounded with youthful intensity, displaying excellent freshness and crisp acidity. Fairly tight but accessible.

1993 Champagne Dom Pérignon, courtesy of Sanjay at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Effusive bouquet of reductive yeasty tones amidst a polished chalky expanse, displaying excellent fullness with mature secondary nuances and distinct ferrous minerals. Very finely balanced with lovely intensity and acidity, attaining a distilled clarity after some time. Very impressive. Still has decades ahead.

2012 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Sanjay at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Dull golden. Lovely bouquet of honeysuckle, frangipani and mature tropical fruit tinged with paraffin. Medium-bodied, displaying superb seamless integration within a well-defined body laced with very fine acidity. Developed more of vanillin and intense white tones over time. Youthful but irresistible.

1998 Coriole Mary Kathleen Reserve Cabernet Merlot at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Deep dark garnet red. Rich ripe black plummy fruit with understated licorice on the nose and palate. Subtly structured with good density and robust sophistication, fleshing out with sweet rounded tannins. Excellent.

1979 Emily Bouley Volnay Les Santenots 1er, courtesy of Sanjay at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Poured from magnum. Fully evolved pinot tone, evoking a lovely feminine floral fragrance of light red fruits with great purity and superb lift on the medium-full palate, still imbued with sweet intensity of fruit and subdued minerals that exude understated complexity.

2009 Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils Le Corton Grand Cru, courtesy of Sanjay at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Lovely hint of warm pebbles and floral tones on the nose. Rounded, fleshy and seamless whole, imbued with lovely proportions and sleek acidity, displaying excellent purity of fruit with quiet intensity. Just a tad rustic. Drinking well.

2006 Weingüt Markus Molitor House Klosterberg Beerenauslese, courtesy of CHS at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Luminous gold. Medium-bodied, imbued with profound depth of diesel characters and tropical fruits. Almost luscious, though its sweetness is always understated sweetness. Excellent.

2014 Château Rieussec, courtesy of Sanjay at Shang Palace, 22 Dec 2020. Effusive in vanillin and frangipani that imparted a whitish sheen, underscored by a prominence of diesel petroleum, exerting a deep understated intensity. Highly attractive.

2005 Château Sociando-Mallet. Popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 24 Dec 2020. Deep purple, proffering lifted floral fragrances amid deep dark plummy tones and currants. Medium-bodied. Fairly supple, imbued with distinct ferrous elements amid gentle intensity of fruit. Drinking well.

Champagne Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru (disgorged May 2017), popped and poured at Asia Grand, 25 Dec 2020. Deep bouquet of dense citrus and yeasty overtones amid oily textures and chalky undertones. Medium-bodied. Excellent concentration and agility with very fine understated bubbles, seamlessly structured with lovely subtle nuances, light on its feet with refined acidity and intensity, taking on a dash of brightness that, somehow, resulted in a bit of attenuated depth. Drinking well.

2017 Koyle Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, courtesy of Borneo Motors Singapore. Popped and poured at home, 28 Dec 2020. Quite deeply coloured, this Chilean wine displays dark plums, currants and tangerines with a distinct note of malt, rye and heated gravel. Rounded with fine presence and understated intensity, structured with well-managed tannins. Drinking well.

2002 Château Cos D’Estournel, decanted on-site at Origin Grill, 30 Dec 2020. Deep garnet red. Opens with secondary nuances of cedar, cinnamon, dark currants and ripe wild berries in abundance, showing a very fine rounded presence with structured tannins that exert a certain dark intensity, slightly tarry on the floor. Almost stern at the finish. Not the lush velvety sort.

2002 Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal, courtesy of Shirley Goh at Art, 30 Dec 2020. Wonderful depth of lovely yeasty overtones amidst ferrous minerals on the nose, producing some attractive complexity with a deep rounded chalkiness. Open with great sophistication and agility, displaying excellent concentration with superb crystalline clarity. Very beautifully balanced and integrated. Excellent.

2008 Tertre Roteboeuf, from the list of Art, 30 Dec 2020. Decanted on-site. Full bouquet of rosy floral fragrance tinged with vanillin and graphite elements. Medium-full. Rather fleshy, generously layered lovely ripe fruit and currants that exude warm savoury tones with velvety textures amid traces of earthy elements. Excellent, but still yet to peak.

Champagne Jean Vesselle Prestige Brut NV, from the list of restaurant L’Angelus, 31 Dec 2020. A blend of 30% pinot noir and 70% chardonnay from Bouzy, part of the Montagne de Reims, classified as Grand Cru. Somewhat pale. Attractive bouquet of marine air, saline minerals, subtle ferrous elements and yeast. Very good presence, fullness and depth of lemon citrus and tangerines within a coat of dense fine bubbles, open with fresh warm structured intensity, not too dry. Good finish.