Dec 2022: 1990 Bruno Paillard Les Mesnil, 1999 Ampeau Auxey-Duresses Ecusseaux, 2009 Gouges NSG Clos Porrets St-Georges, 2015 Roagna Pira, 2010 Chasse-Spleen & Hamamoto 7

Champagne Ruinart Blanc de Blancs NV, courtesy of Mr Tay WB at Jade Palace, 02 Dec 2022. Light golden. A little muted on the nose though there is a lively presence of white fruits and golden citrus tinged with brilliant graphite that exert a fragrant balanced intensity on the palate, not too dry. Excellent.

2018 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Karia Chardonnay at Jade Palace, 02 Dec 2022. Creamy white tones dominate. Medium-full, almost Chassagne-like in tonal quality. Displays excellent clarity with a relaxed charm, subtly layered with a tinge of capsicum. Fleshed out with even depth. Drinking well.

2010 Château Malescot Saint-Exupery at Jade Palace, 02 Dec 2022. Rather dark in colour and tone. Fairly full, imbued with a predominance of black fruits that have evolved with early characters of cedar and licorice. A tad woody but supple enough, structured with subtle dusty tannins that turn a little austere towards its finish, laced with spicy vegetal overtones.

2019 Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages. Tasted at home over 4-5 Dec 2022. Fairly full, generously endowed with crisp citrus and green melons that exude overtones of brioche with a high-toned clarity contrasted against a firm ferrous minerality, turning more austere over time.

1990 Champagne Bruno Paillard Les Mesnil, courtesy of CHS at Hamamoto, 07 Dec 2022. Deep golden. Very lovely on the nose where mature citrus, yeast and smouldering ember combine to produce a superb aromatic lift with a deep burnished tone. Still amazingly fresh and full with a solid expanse of mandarins and clear citrus that cut through the palate with cold incisive precision, yielding refined detail and sleek acidity with impeccable balance. Seemingly good for another thirty years. Outstanding.

Hamamoto 7, from the list of Hamamoto, 07 Dec 2022. This is a sake from the Yamagata prefecture of Japan where the rice has been polished down to 7%. Such severe reduction often sacrifices complexity for ultra-smooth textures but, here, it still manages to display both qualities. This wine opens with a nose of cool distant mist, beautifully clean and rounded on the palate, imbued with dense minerally elements that yield sharp definition with chiseled precision. It fleshed out further with excellent presence and depth, proffering subtle detail and layering with a splash of minerally intensity before developing a full velvety warmth, delivering its distilled essence with considerable power and refined elegance that lingered with a sweet glowing persistence. Outstanding.

2019 Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aîné Le Chevalier de Sterimberg Hermitage Blanc, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 08 Dec 2022. Golden greenish, imbued with dense white tones that intone frangipani, enamel and petroleum. Rather full but somewhat elusive in character, evolving further notes of pineapples and distant lychees that produce slick intensity, finishing with lengthy glow. Good value.

2018 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvée Pinot Noir, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 08 Dec 2022. Heavier tint of pinot, proffering a deep fragrance of dark roses and black cherries. Amply endowed with a warm ripeness on the medium-full palate, displaying very good balance and refinement with decent depth. Subtle glowing finish. Very fine.

2015 Roagna Barolo Pira. Decanted on-site at Origin Grill, 10 Dec 2022. Very pinot-like tint, exuding lifted red fruits and strawberries with sharp delineation. Medium-full. Soft and fleshy, surprisingly mellow, yielding good detail on a ferrous minerally base with superb slick acidity, opening up further with attractive intensity. Drinking well.

2010 Château Chasse-Spleen. Popped and poured at home, 15 Dec 2022. Deep purple. Surprising wealth of dark fruits and currants that offer supple fleshy depth with delicious overtones of ripe plummy tones, structured with understated tannins that yield good inner detail. Very fine.

2010 L’Hospitalet de Gazin. Popped and poured at Asia Grand, 19 Dec 2022. Deep crimson. Rich expressive bouquet of cherries and dark plums. Medium-full. Fleshy and highly supple, lifted with excellent ripeness and freshness, yielding spicy elements with delightful soft inner detail. Good finish.

2018 Domaine Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé Aux Bouthires. Popped and poured at Eastern House of Seafood, 20 Dec 2022. Intensely floral with an enticing delicate sweetness. Quite richly layered with excellent fullness, fanning out over time with a slightly austere chalkiness underscored by tense acidity.

2006 Château Pontet-Canet. Decanted for ninety minutes prior to stuffed turkey at home, 22 Dec 2022. Distant dark plums, currants and raspberries dominate on the nose while the medium-bodied wine has mellowed considerably, fairly supple and fleshy with fine acidity and structured presence, displaying enough of Pauillac character matched by a slightly forward fruit balance.

Domaine de Montille Saint-Aubin En Remilly 1er. Popped and poured at Crab At Bay, 23 Dec 2022. Clear golden hue. Excellent expanse of incisive pomelo, green fruits and yellow citrus matched by dense ferrous elements that confer at once lively acidity with a distinct dash of austerity against a backdrop of distant chalk.

2016 Château Peyredon Lagravette. Poured from magnum at the in-laws, 24 Dec 2022. Medium-full. Somewhat darkish and nondescript initially but it fleshed out very well after ninety minutes, fuller in mulberries, and wild berries with supple intensity and decent depth, showing early secondary development.

2016 Laurent Ponsot Chambolle-Musigny Cuvée de la Violette. Popped and poured at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 26 Dec 2022. Red plums and dark roses on the nose, somewhat restrained. Medium-bodied. Rounded with sleek smooth tannins, subtly layered with good depth and balance, developing a sweet intensity of crushed red fruits after some time. Correctly nuanced with good refinement.

2009 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Porrets St-Georges 1er monopole to go with lunch at Otto Ristorante, 27 Dec 2022, after a brief aeration. Darkish in colour, fleshing out well with a fairly luxurious sheen of red fruits, cherries and dark rosy hues that exude cool ripeness with a highly refined presence and acidity, displaying just a trace of the NSG earthiness as it tapers to a slightly minty finish with very good length and linearity. At its best.

1999 Domaine Robert Ampeau et Fils Auxey-Duresses Ecusseaux 1er. Popped and poured at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 Dec 2022. Rosy hues with a soft fragrance. Medium-full. Well-layered with a darker vein of fruit on a distinct base of earthy ferrous elements, displaying a refined intensity of sun-dried cherries. Slightly sweeter over time, developing further complexity with overtones of paraffin, still laced with very fine acidity.

2003 Château Leoville-Poyferre, courtesy of Sir Bob at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 Dec 2022. Very deep purple, proffering whiffs of enamel and vanillin over a dense weighty palate ample in dark fruits, black currants and soy, revealing only glimpses of a softer inner detail of Chinese tea leaves after much coaxing. Still quite primal.