June 2023: 2022 Pikes Riesling Traditionale 2005 Domaine Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 2011 Taupenot-Merme La Combe d’Orveau, 2015 Bruno Clair Gevrey-Cham Cazetiers, 2016 Lucien Muzard Santenay La Maladière, 2018 Virginie de Valandraud Blanc

2012 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet Folatieres 1er. Aired for two hours ahead of dinner at Crab At Bay, 03 June 2023. Quite deeply coloured, exuding dense floral chalkiness with sweet undertones on the nose. Weighty medium palate of masculine proportions, imbued with excellent freshness of ripe citrus and crisp acidity, adding further notes of brioche and honeysuckle with a growing tangy intensity of mandarins. Good length.

Gérard Bertrand An 825 Crémant de Limoux Brut at the Star Alliance Lounge, Paris CDG T1, 09 June 2023. Fresh clean lift of distant green fruits and melons. Medium weight with dryish intensity. Very pleasant. Serves its purpose.

Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve, on board SQ335 CDG-SIN, 09 June 2023. Luminous gold. Intense nose of ripe citrus and pineapples against a backdrop of crisp chalky acidity. Straightforward finish.

2022 Pikes Riesling ‘Traditionale’, on board SQ335 CDG-SIN, 09 June 2023. Alluring floral fragrance along with nutmeg and olives, well-replicated on the soft medium palate with crisp well-defined acidity, infused with excellent minerality and tangy freshness. Excellent riesling character.

2021 Chartron et Trebuchet Pouilly-Fuissé, on board SQ335 CDG-SIN, 09 June 2023. Pale clarity. Gentle layers of olives, nutmeg, pomelo, lime and citrus. Medium weight. Very well-integrated with understated acidity. More rounded and plump than usual for Pouilly-Fuissé. Drinking well.

2019 Dandelion Lionness Shiraz McLaren Vale, on board SQ335 CDG-SIN, 09 June 2023. Medium weight Forward balance of fresh ripe plums amid overtones of sweet incense and enamel. Structured with fairly refined tannins that exude supple acidity and intensity. Moderate finish.

2011 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Chambolle Musigny La Combe d’Orveau 1er. Aired for two hours ahead of dinner at Imperial Treasure Great World, 11 Jun 2023. Mature tones of dark plums and wild berries, slightly medicinal, with a dash of mustiness but definitely not corked. Very good density of cool ripe fruit on the mid-palate with a distinct salinity, gradually gelling together with very fine acidity and minerally depth and emergent red fruits and dark rosy characters. Good balance and finish. From a plot directly abutting Musigny Grand Cru.

2018 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Hameau de Blagny. Aired for two hours ahead of dinner at Otto Ristorante, 12 June 2023. Luminous gold. Forward bouquet of ripe orchard fruit with a teasing floral fullness. Quite brightly lit on the medium palate with a bit of chamfered quality, the fruit set a little backwards, glowing with distant chalkiness.

2005 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru, courtesy of John. Popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 12 June 2023. Good colour. Effusive complexity of red fruits and rose petals that teased with lithe agility. Very generously layered with excellent freshness and fullness, structured with supple sophisticated tannins. Finished well with glowing length. Superb.

2019 Château de Béru Chablis Côte aux Prêtres, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 13 June 2023. Yellowish-green. Fairly deep nose of marine aromas and tangy shellfish. Slick sharply delineated profile of lively acidity and concentrated freshness.

2012 Château Phélan Ségur, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 13 June 2023. Deep garnet. Nose of mahogany, new oak, cigar box and dark fruits. Full warm rounded ripeness, structured with smooth sweet tannins, slightly velvety.

2019 Lieu Dit Winery Cabernet Franc, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 13 June 2023. Deep garnet. Fresh enamel on the nose, promising and delivering ample presence of dark roses, black cherries and ripe wild berries amid overtones of heated wet gravel and malt. Elegantly poised with good balance. Modest finish.

2017 Antinori Antica Chardonnay Block A26, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 19 June 2023. Deep yellowish greenish. Distant green fruits and floral notes on the nose. The fruit is set rather backwards in favour of a dryish chalky glow that blended seamlessly with well-integrated minerality, laced with refined acidity that exert good tension, eventually developing a high-toned oily density. Good balance. Modest finish. From Atlas Peak, Napa Valley.

2016 Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay La Maladière 1er Rouge. Popped and poured over dinner at Crab At Bay, 20 June 2023. Deep ruby. Darkish in tone at first, more of dark plums, wild berries and bramble. Well-endowed on the palate, gradually opening up to reveal more of red fruits and ripe cherries with refined chewy tannins, turning sweeter and more delicious whilst maintaining its general elegance. Label-drinkers usually wouldn’t bother with its plain un-sexy label. A connoisseur’s drop.

2018 Vagabond Chardonnay, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 21 June 2023. Clear luminosity. Clean lift of light chalky elements, fig and distant citrus. Good concentration of fruit, exerting a high-toned delicate medium presence, sharply delineated with good definition and clarity. Finished with a bit of tangy spice.

2018 Domaine Louis Jadot Beaune Grèves 1er Le Clos, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 21 June 2023. Classic color. Nose of gentle floral elements and fresh citrus. Medium-bodied. Fleshy with refreshing acidity and well-integrated minerals that culminate in a glowing finish. Good Côte de Beaune character. Settled down with elegant clarity.

2011 Château L’if, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 21 June 2023. Very deep garnet. Whiffs of fresh enamel and deep plummy fruit, delivering a distinctly modern, full, well-extracted and darkish palate supported by a gravelly base. Ultra-ripe and glossy, even for this moderate vintage.

2016 Domaine Thibert Père et Fils Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Longeays. Aired briefly ahead of dinner at Eastern House of Seafood, 24 June 2023. Melons and honeysuckle dominate with a high-toned acidity. The full palate is well-layered in clear and yellow citrus, yielding plenty of inner detail. Modest finish of pomelo and bitter lemon.

2019 Domaine Larue Saint-Aubin Montceau 1er. Popped and poured over lunch at Imperial Treasure Great World, 25 June 2023. Pale greenish. Lifted notes of paraffin, summer hay and morning dew. Strong presence of lemon and tangy yellow citrus laced with crisp acidity. Developed a more effusive note of tropical fruits on the nose though, paradoxically, it started receding on the palate, turning lighter, backward and more delicate.

2002 Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal, courtesy of Dr WKW. Popped and poured over lunch at Imperial Treasure Great World, 25 June 2023. Good color. Notes of grape skins and icing with early characters of maturity. Still imbued with excellent fullness and freshness, open with fairly intense characters of toast and yeast amid attractive reductive elements. Lovely.

2015 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er. Aired for ninety minutes prior at Imperial Treasure Great World, 25 June 2023. Good color. Elegant bouquet of fragrant rose petals leading to a gentle supple intensity, displaying good clarity and subdued tannin structure, developing greater intensity of fresh ripe cherries over time. Drinking well.

2018 Virginie de Valandraud Blanc, courtesy of Kieron at his residence, 29 June 2023. Tasted blind. Pale. Highly attractive nose of peaches and orchard fruit, proffering great clarity. Fairly plump on the palate, imbued with ripe greenish fruit laced with refined acidity, turning slightly darkish, displaying moderate depth and layering. Got better and better in the glass, eventually fanning out with blazing intensity.

2018 Vintage Tunina, courtesy of Kieron at his residence, 29 June 2023. Tasted blind. Pale. Delicate lifted of perfumed floral notes, leading to a moderate presence of white tones, clear citrus and some orchard. Quite seamlessly structured with subtle acidity, revealing emerging layers of fruit with good integration and recessed chalkiness.

2017 Le Petit Haut Lafitte, courtesy of Kieron at his residence, 29 June 2023. Tasted blind. Deep garnet. Pronounced earthy barnyard funk with overtones of wet gravel, green capsicum and wild berries that is unmistakably Pessac-Leognan. Excellent presence, open with moderate supple intensity, consistently darkish and earthy throughout its length with a distant note of malt and rye, finishing on a spicy note. I nailed it. One of my favourite second wines of all time.

2017 Virginie de Valandraud Rouge, courtesy of Kieron at his residence, 29 June 2023. Tasted blind. Very deep garnet. Delicious lift of red fruits and currants. Medium-full. More savoury over time with excellent acidity and intensity, displaying lovely balance and finish. I nailed it.