May 2023: 2020 Kumeu River Hunting Hill, 1982 Cheval Blanc, 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé 1990 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny, 2020 Sébastien Dampt Chablis Beauroy, 2019 Jean Féry Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas, 2018 PYCM Puligny Les Champs Gains 1er, 2017 Arlaud Charmes-Chambertin

2021 Domaine Ellevin Chablis 1er Vaucoupin, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 06 May 2023. Light greenish. Clean bouquet. Delicate high-toned palate imbued with refined acidity and tension amid grassy floral elements on a subtle minerally floor, displaying crisp freshness. Slightly narrow in body but quite integral. Modest finish.

2020 Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 06 May 2023. Light greenish. Very lovely nose of complex citrus and olives with a dash of flinty smoke. Medium-full, displaying exciting depth and layering with excellent clarity, trailed by that same afternote of gun smoke. More reductive over time, revealing structured chiseled tones with a chamfered edge. Excellent.

2020 Domaine Jean Fournier Marsannay Les Longeroies Rouge, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 06 May 2023. Deep dark ruby, exuding ripe dark fruits, black cherries and currants with considerable restraint. Well-extracted medium-full presence of cool darkish tones, fleshing out with open supple intensity and clean precision with a glowing warmth. Good finish.

2020 Domaine Sébastien Dampt Chablis 1er Beauroy, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 09 May 2023. Malt, rye and wet gravel on the nose, followed by tensile clean floral tones with boiled nuts. The palate displays abundant green fruits with a twang of tropical fruit that dance with agile supple intensity before turning somewhat reductive with chromatic tones. Lingering finish. Great value.

2019 Domaine Maratray Dubreuil Pernand Vergelesses 1er Les Fichots, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 09 May 2023. Restrained darkish tones belie a dominance of minty medicinal spices underpinned by excellent acidity on the fullish palate, laid on a distinct earthy floor with some vegetal tint. Cleanly structured. Still rather tight.

2005 Château Duhart-Milon. Aired in bottle for ninety minutes ahead of dinner at Summer Hill, 11 May 2023. Deep garnet. Dark ripe berries, black fruits and currants, well into secondary development with further notes of cinnamon, cedar, truffle and star anise. Fleshy and open with delicious savoury characters, very lively in its supple intensity and exciting acidity. Can’t believe it only cost SGD98 all-in during en primeur back then.

Ridgeview Bloomsbury Brut NV, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 13 May 2023. Very pale light greenish. Gentle nose of floral aromas, distant green fruits and honeysuckle. Excellent presence of citrus and lime that sparkle with dry intensity, cushioned by streamlined acidity that merge seamlessly with a subtle chalky glow. Lovely.

2018 Freemark Abbey Merlot, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 13 May 2023. Deep purple. Aromas of bush, bramble, dark cherries and ripe wild berries. Medium-full, displaying cohesive presence of dense velvety fruit laced with understated acidity amid overtones of earth and enamel. Gelled together with chewy red fruits and gritty detail.

2017 Varvaglione Papale Primitivo di Manduria. Popped and poured at Eastern House of Seafood, 13 May 2023. Dark crimson. Robust presence of well-extracted dark fruit with characters of roast and barbecued sweet meat, fairly well-balanced and rounded without any pretentiousness.

Rockford Black Shiraz (2012 disgorgement). Popped and poured over dinner at home, 16 May 2023. Deep purple. The fizz is there but I’m afraid this has just passed its prime, missing entirely its fabled liquored finish though the raspberries and dark cherries are present with a dash of savouriness but the complexity isn’t quite there, coming across as a tad too simple and straightforward. From a freshly opened carton carried all the way from Rockford’s cellar door in 2012.

1996 Champagne Dom Pérignon Rosé, courtesy of Mr Oei HL at The Pines, 18 May 2023. Deep orangey hue, proffering grapefruit and tangerines amid soft red fruits. Open with refreshing zest, still imbued with bubbly freshness and energy, caressing the palate with refined youthful intensity without the cutting dryness that sometimes tend to characterise rosé. Excellent. I had the dubious benefit of being served a second glass filled with cut strawberries; definitely not my idea.

1990 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru, courtesy of Mr Oei HL at The Pines, 18 May 2023. Aged crimson. There is just that bare whiff of cork taint amid distinct mature tones of leather, cherries and tangerines topped with a bit of mustiness but the palate is still undeniably fresh and energetic, highly supple in red fruits, mandarins and sauteed mushrooms. Gelled together with excellent tension and cohesion, turning a little darkish and introspective after some time, yielding fine definition as it finished with a minerally splash.

1982 Château Cheval Blanc, courtesy of Mr Oei HL at The Pines, 18 May 2023. Deep garnet with some bricking at the rim. Rather restrained though the open palate is well-layered with supple depth and intensity of darkish fruit, very well-integrated with tertiary tannins glowing in graphite brilliance tinged with a dash of cedary sweetness. Gained in stature over time, becoming bigger and tighter, giving the impression of a predominance of merlot even though this vintage contained 60% cabernet franc. May not actually have peaked.

2020 Domaine Vincent Dampt Chablis Vaillons 1er, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 19 May 2023. Light greenish. Attractive nose of green fruits with floral grassy elements. Medium palate of dryish structured intensity laced with a splash of oily density and spicy acidity, imbued with a distinct minerally austerity throughout.

1979 Domaine Emile Bouley Volnay-Santenots 1er, courtesy of Sanjay at Putien, 25 May 2023. Poured from magnum. Well evolved. Dusky but still amazingly clear, exuding a powerful reductive bouquet of over-ripe plumminess, earth and sweet incense. Gelled together very well with great presence, highly seamless with bright orangey tones laced with slick acidity. Modest finish.

2019 Jean Féry et Fil Vosne-Romanee Aux Réas at Putien, 25 May 2023. Bright crimson. Very lovely bouquet of deep rosy fragrance, red fruits and haw. Rounded with superb presence and depth of fruit, very well integrated with smooth tannins on a discernible base of subtle ferrous elements, displaying very fine purity. A tad forward but perfectly appropriate. Modest finish. Shows true Vosne character.

2006 Champagne Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Brut, courtesy of Jimmy at Putien, 25 May 2023. Luminous golden hue. Nose of dense citrus amidst a gleaming chalky glow. Open with delicate detail and excellent dry intensity, tinged with a trail of gun smoke. Modest finish.

2018 Domaine Pierre Yves Colin-Morey Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Champs Gains, courtesy of CHS at Putien, 25 May 2023. Pale, proffering faint floral tones with a fair opulence of dense citrus on the rounded palate. Surprisingly neither chiseled nor reductive, displaying fine precision with a distinct note of saline, vanillin and cool icing topped with emerging lychees. Excellent.

2018 Domaine Comtesse de Cherisey Meursault-Blagny Le Genelotte monopole at Putien, 25 May 2023. Pale. Effusive in citrus and lime with dense floral characters. Richly layered with rounded depth of cool fruit, displaying refined acidity with a slightly chamfered quality. Good finish.

2006 Domaine Hubert Lignier Morey-Saint-Denis 1er at Putien, 25 May 2023. Evolved crimson. Plummy red fruits dominate with mature tones on the medium-full palate laced with high-toned sleek acidity, exuding lovely fragrance.

2015 Domaine Faiveley Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er, courtesy of Hock Foong at Putien, 25 May 2023. Opaque darkish crimson. Raspberries, briar and red fruits on the nose, matching the darkish expanse of cool ripe fruit and currants on the palate, displaying fine acidity and good purity with some early secondary development.

2016 Clos Saint Vincent, by the glass at Joséphine, 26 May 2023. Full-on nose of blueberries, dark plums, bramble and earth. Weighty with tight intensity, structured with tannins that are slightly angular though it fared much better with food, proving to be quite an excellent accompaniment. Lingering minty finish.

2019 Wasenhaus Spätburgunder, drunk with dinner at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 29 May 2023. Classic pale pinot tint. Effusive deep rosy fragrance, boasting very fine concentration of fruit imbued with an oily density, exuding fresh gentle intensity of red roses and cherries that shone with excellent purity, just a tad forward. Fanned out with rich rounded tones, developing further notes of sweet incense with an emerging sandy base. Good sophistication. Very burgundian.

2007 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, courtesy of LF at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 May 2023. Pale. Lifted white citrus with powdery textures amidst the density of incense and floral characters. Dryish with subtle supple intensity within a sheen of very soft refined bubbles. A little more accentuated over time with emerging notes of pomelo.

2019 Domaine Bernard Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 May 2023. Pale. Rather restrained initially, eventually yielding subtle tropical fruits, bananas and creamy white tones. Developed more layering with a hint of oily density and salinity, displaying excellent clarity with understated acidity and elegance as it took on a brightish hue.

2018 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet Les Chaumees 1er, courtesy of Raymond at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 May 2023. Faint white powdery tones. Subtly layered medium palate, showing fine clarity with a hint of oiliness. More rich and creamy after some time with a dash of nutmeg.

2018 Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy Gevrey-Chambertin Les Bossiere 1er, courtesy of Raymond at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 May 2023. Good colour. Classic pinot tint, displaying fresh plummy fruit with fresh supple intensity. Good balance.

2006 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er, courtesy of Sir Bob at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 May 2023. Good colour. Delicious nose of black currants, ripe raspberries and cherries with a discernible trace of vanillin still. Quite voluptuous. A tad forward but this is so open and enticing, boasting silky smooth tannins and intense purity of fruit. Moves across the palate with great ease and fluidity.

2006 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Monthelie Les Duresses 1er, courtesy of Sir Bob at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 May 2023. Evolved red, displaying a certain restraint though the soft medium palate is decidedly feminine in intensity. Open and beautifully supple with lovely depth and purity, finishing in a cool minty glow though it began fading after an hour.

2015 Cristom Vineyards Willamette Valley Eola-Amity Hills Jessie Vineyard, courtesy of LF at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 May 2023. Classic pinot tint, looking like a much older wine though betrayed by the forward balance of delicious red fruits on the palate. Excellent in concentration with a supple youthful intensity, yielding great detail with traces of sweet incense, finishing with a splash of earthy minerals.

2017 Domaine Arlaud Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of Alvin at Imperial Treasure Great World, 31 May 2023. Evolved purple. Lifted bouquet of red fruits. Quite full and fairly open, structured with svelte tannins imbued with an oily density that impart fleeting intensity underpinned with austere minerals. More powerful and pure over time, rounded and seamlessly integrated. Shows real class and sophistication.