Jun 2021: 1998 Domaine du Pegau Réservée, 2018 Domaine Roc Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé, 2014 Jean-Marc Pillot Bourgogne Blanc, 2005 Mount Mary Quintet…

2018 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé, tasted 1-2 June 2021. Displaying bright luminous hues, this wine opens with a profusion of clear citrus, lime and distant green fruits, marking its entry onto the palate with a minerally warmth that never threatened to overwhelm the classic delicate poise of a Pouilly-Fuissé, growing in fullness and intensity that culminated in powerful yet transparent glowing tones. Excellent.

2012 Champagne Roger Coulon Blanc de Noirs. Tasted on 03 June 2021. Gentle attractive lift of green fruits, lime and yellow citrus tinged with earth, cedar and elements of dark berries. Fleshed out with excellent rounded presence, displaying good clarity and definition amid some dry intensity. Another bottle tasted on 30 June 2021 at Otto Ristorante was appreciably more effusive in toasted oak and yeasty pungency, imbued with brilliant concentration of intense citrus but the 2012 doesn’t quite possess the same mesmerizing depth and complexity of its most memorable 2008.

2009 Rockford Black Shiraz, tasted over 05 June 2021. Deep purple. At eleven years, this wine is still imbued with vibrant ripe Barossa shiraz, layering the palate with lovely shades of raspberries, black currants, licorice and ferrous elements tinged with a trace of liquered sweetness towards the finish, subtly structured with very fine gentle intensity within its luxurious sheen of soft bubbles. Absolutely delightful. At its best.

1998 Domaine du Pegau Cuvée Réservée. Tasted after a brief aeration on 07 June 2021. Opaque dull crimson. The nose is wonderfully beguiling in its lifted fragrant plummy tone along with other notes of haw, dried fruits and cinnamon, matched by a soft fully mature palate that is still fresh, carrying subtle intensity and verve. Absolutely feminine. This has none of that gruff herbaceous character that CdP may, at times, impart. At its drinking best. Very very lovely.

2014 Jean-Marc Pillot Bourgogne Blanc. Popped and poured, 08 June 2021. This wine opens with an excellent controlled intensity of pears, peaches and clear citrus. Very evenly toned. Mellowed after some time to reveal some minerally elements in the mid-body, morphing into a seamless whole with good weight and refined chalky detail. Finished well with superb linearity amidst a glowing intensity of lime. My second bottle in as many months. A real steal at SGD45.

2000 Château Prieuré-Lichine. Popped and poured, 09 June 2021. Dull crimson, proffering dark plummy tones and currants with a distinct mentholic note on the nose. Medium-bodied. Subtly structured with a relaxed composure, the fruit is somewhat backward and undistinctive amid overtones of dried mushrooms, snuff and bramble. It took another three hours of aeration to flesh out seamlessly with quite a superb presence of fresh red plums and ripe wild berries, fuller and more evenly toned. At its best but make sure it has had plenty of aeration.

Champagne Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs. Popped and poured for our anniversary dinner, 11 June 2021. Luminous hues. Brilliant attack of yellow citrus, pomelo and grapefruit infused with chalky minerals that saturate the palate with ripe intensity and fine detail, dry and structured but beautifully balanced with a sense of velvety fullness, lingering with a trace of sweetness long after leaving the palate. Whereas I’d previously found this wine to be too acerbic, it appears to have snapped together after a few years of cellaring.

2005 Winemaker’s Collection No.1 (Michel Rolland). Tasted after an hour’s aeration, 14 June 2021. Quite promising on the nose, opening with swathes of fragrant dark fruits, currants and raspberries that led to a medium-full supple presence on the palate. However, it receded quite quickly thereafter, giving way to stern ferrous minerals that impart a certain austerity against a backdrop of dusty tannins amid overtones of wild vegetation, refusing to budge even after another three hours. Rather sullen compared with a previous bottle from the same case tasted last month.

2018 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay. Popped at home on 20 June 2021. This wine opens with a sustained intensity of clear citrus, green fruits and bitter lemon on a delicate chalky base that imparted a sense of lightness in spite of its bold presence. Remarkably similar in character to a Pouilly-Fuissé.

2007 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Clos des Mouches 1er Rouge. Popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 21 June 2021. Evolved dusky red, proffering a gently perfumed nose of camphor, red fruits and herbaceous elements while mature ripe plummy tones tinged with mandarins dominate on the medium-bodied palate, still imbued with good freshness and acidity, turning darker as it developed a certain ferric earthiness amid effusive overtones of haw, incense and mint.

2009 Carpineto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva. Aired in bottle for two hours prior to dinner at Corner Grill, 22 June 2021. Fairly deep in color. Generously layered with well extracted dark currants and black fruits on the nose and palate. Medium-full. Still pretty tight and intense but harmonious, structured with pliant tannins and sleek acidity on a minerally floor that conferred a certain austerity before gaining in power and supple intensity after another ninety minutes, developing notes of red currants with plummy tones. Yet to peak but that’s my last bottle.

2017 Meerlust Rubicon. Aired in bottle for 90 minutes prior to dinner at Ka Soh, 26 June 2021. Deep garnet. Good lift of mulberries, dark plums and black currants that is faintly delicious, still tinged with enamel. Full presence in the mouth, displaying rounded supple intensity with excellent weight, balance and refined acidity. Very much in character with a classic Médoc. Quite excellent. Likely to flesh out more in bottle over time.

2005 Mount Mary Quintet. Decanted at home for three hours prior to dinner, 27 June 2021. Deep garnet red, exuding delicious currants and dark fruits with a feminine grace. Superbly rounded and supple but surprisingly only medium weight, rather brightly lit with a predominance of red fruits that enhanced its delicate demeanour, imbued with very finely-grained ferrous elements. Probably at its drinking best.

2005 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge. Aired in bottle for an hour prior to dinner on 29 June 2021. In spite of its lifted deep purple with fresh raspberries and dark currants on the nose, this wine is only medium-bodied on the palate, surprisingly polite with fruit that is too recessed and understated in acidity and intensity, robbing it of its Pessac character. Took quite some time to flesh out with increasing power and seamless integration, developing subtle detail of haw and finely-grained dark cherries without abandoning its gentle guise. A feminine chevalier (if ever there is one) but do allow plenty of time and space.