1988 Cristal, 1999 Mugnier Bonnes-Mares, 1986 Mouton Rothschild, 1958 d’Yquem, 2000 ‘Y’ Ygrec, 2006 Drouhin Montrachet, 1996 Robert Ampeau Volnay-Santenots 1er

I enjoyed the privilege of another outstanding dinner hosted by Messrs Yu père et fils with the usual suspects on 22 February 2021 at Imperial Treasure Great World, now most certainly the best restaurant in Singapore for outstanding Cantonese cuisine and impeccable wine service. All wines were also generously supplied by my hosts, unless otherwise stated. Thank you, Sirs!

1988 Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal. Superb luminosity. Deeply perfumed bouquet of yeast, clear citrus and graphite minerals amidst a chalky density, exuding tremendous allure and complexity, developing further traces of medicinal powder over time. The palate has an equally refined intensity of citrus and longans, oozing suave acidity with seamless depth and layering in an amazing display of astonishing freshness and clarity in spite of its thirty-three years. Outstanding.

2000 Château d’Yquem ‘Y’ Ygrec, courtesy of Sir Bob. Dense perfumed aromas of orchard fruit and pears. Very well concentrated on the palate, topped with crème de la crème and vanillin. Open with sublime acidity, revealing seamless depth and lovely intensity as it finished with great linearity in a fabulous complex of diesel, earth and mint. Still yet to peak. Excellent.

1996 Domaine Robert Ampeau et Fils Volnay-Santenots 1er. Aired in bottle for three hours prior. Displaying a mature murky crimson, this wine is amazingly fresh with a very clean feel, somewhat lean at first even though it exudes a very fine presence of mature raspberries, strawberries and currants with lively intensity. Became more rounded over time, developing plummy tones with a bit of velvety trace without any attenuation of its high-toned acidity.

2009 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Chambolle-Musigny Les Feusselottes 1er, courtesy of Andre. Lovely evolved pinot tint, exuding a gentle glow of red fruits, ripe berries and currants. Open with rounded supple tannins, showing excellent definition and refinement. Poised with quiet confidence and understated intensity, its innate feminine character still quite discernible in spite of the masculine nature of the terroir. Excellent.

1999 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru. Bright translucent ruby, exuding an understated delicious fragrance that led to a lively medium-bodied palate imbued with bright red fruits, mulberries and raspberries underpinned by a ferrous earthiness. Quite beautifully open and supple. Morphed into a rounded whole over time, very well-proportioned yet effortlessly balanced, maintaining its confident understated poise throughout the evening. An introspective Bonnes-Mares, very much like the man himself who once said to me: “I only look after the garden. I don’t shape the flowers”. Truly.

2003 Tertre Roteboeuf. Decanted on-site. Deep crimson, proffering rich layers of dark fruit with a savoury hint amid sweet overtones of glycerin. Showed a distinct acidic edge initially that betrayed the searing heat of that vintage before morphing into a more seamless whole with fine intensity and minty tones, just a little short at the finish.

1986 Château Mouton Rothschild. Still very dark at its deep garnet core, showing just a dash of crimson at the rim while rich swathes of dark fruit and black currants leap from the glass with a luxurious glow that hinted strongly of velvety depth. Medium-bodied. Very lively and open with supple tannins and ripe plummy tones imbued with a deeper core of understated minerals. Rather slender, displaying fine precision and slick acidity. Very well-proportioned and balanced. Quite the complete wine even though I’d tasted previous examples that were on even better form.

2006 Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche Grand Cru. Dull golden. In spite of having been decanted for nine hours prior, this wine was still quite reticent on the whole, opening with an expansive bouquet of recessed chalky white tones and tropical fruits whilst the medium-full palate is amply endowed with refined fruit and acidity on a dryish floor of stony minerals that gained greater prominence over time, imparting a shade of austerity and heaviness in its structured density. No doubt still a classic Montrachet in the Drouhin mould, but best to lay down for another decade, at least.

1958 Château d’Yquem. This is the darkest hue (above) of d’Yquem that I have encountered, exuding a superb lift of mint, apricot and sweet incense. Still astonishingly fresh and intense after sixty-three years, retaining excellent structure, acidity and definition that imparted great verve and supple mouthfeel. Still has decades of life ahead. Superb!