Sep 2023: 2016 Château Prieuré-Lichine, 2018 Chandon de Briailles Île Vergelesses, 1994 Pichon Longueville Comtesse Lalande, Champagne La Closerie “&” Extra Brut LC20 2007 Ch Rayas, 2018 Kumeu River Mate’s, 1982 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge

SanMartino 99 Prosecco Treviso DOC NV, from the list of restaurant GEMMA, 01 Sep 2023. Quite effusive in green fruits, melons and peaches. Medium-full. Rather sweetish at first before taking on an increasing dryness with cool structured intensity matched by a moderate depth of ripe fruit. Drinking well.

2020 Albert Bichot Mercurey Blanc, on board SQ392 Business Class from SIN-IST, 03 Sep 2023. Rather muted on the nose though the medium palate exudes a very fine chalky presence with floral accents, yielding good clarity with traces of salinity.

2005 Château Calon Ségur. Aired in bottle for three hours ahead of dinner at Jia He, 09 Sep 2023. Deep garnet. Austere darkish characters on the nose and full palate, concentrated with a deep intensity of black fruits framed by structured tannins and crisp acidity almost to the point of astringency before giving way to cool black berries and dark plums against the dryish backdrop of northern Médoc, fanning out with a spicy ripeness. Good balance.

2016 Claire Naudin (Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand) Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Clematis Vitalba, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 12 Sep 2023. Opaque yellowish-greenish hue, proffering yellow citrus and kumquat on the nose. The highly-strung palate is tightly gripped by vivid acidity that impart fleeting intensity, giving way eventually to characters of lemon peel and emergent medicinal tones before gelling together in a structured harmonious presence with darker shades. Very highly rated by critics (is it because her husband is Jean-Yves Bizot?) though I think this wine is likely to polarise opinions. Either you like it or you don’t.

2018 Domaine Henri Rebourseau Gevrey-Chambertin La Brunelle, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, on 12 Sep 2023. Deep purple. Nose of mahogany, varnish, wild berries and raspberries. Medium weight. Relaxed presence, though there is some intrusive varnish that lead to traces of mint. Gelled very well with an open high-toned intensity, seamlessly integrated.

2016 Château Prieuré-Lichine. Aired in bottle for 90 minutes ahead of dinner at Summer Hill, 14 Sep 2023. Deep garnet. Appears to be much more developed than before, proffering attractive notes of dark berries, raspberries and currants amid leafy capsicum and early cedary characters while its tannins are appreciably softer and finer, carrying decent weight with a balanced fleshy presence. A no-brainer at only SGD99 all-in.

2019 Domaine Larue Saint-Aubin En Montceau 1er. Aired for two hours ahead of dinner at Crab At Bay, 16 Sep 2023. Pale, proffering icing, green melons and fig with floral scents. Excellent fullness of citrus fruit that shone with fine clarity and just the right degree of acidity amid subtle ferrous elements that exert superb tensile presence and freshness, turning a tad creamier over time. Gelled together with harmonious warmth, developing a tinge of olives.

Champagne Gosset Grand Rosé Brut NV, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 19 Sep 2023. Burnished golden hue, exuding gentle aromas of mandarins whilst grapefruit and pomelo dominate on the full palate with dry intensity, almost brash, before fleshing out with a rounded body of emerging citrus and bitter lemon laced with a trace of sweetness.

2018 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Île des Vergelesses, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 19 Sep 2023. Darker tint of pinot, proffering a ripe warmth of raisins and sweet dried berries on the nose. Very well-integrated sleek medium presence with the right level of acidity, displaying a bit of waxiness before fleshing out with seamless layers of fruit, acidity and persuasive tannins, all impeccably proportioned with superb cohesion. Delicious finish. Outstanding value.

2021 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay, tasted over 19-20 Sep 2023. Pale. Attractive bouquet of melons, fig, green fruits and lychees. Structured with clean precision though distinctly reductive, dominated by an austere ferrous floor that gradually gave way to tropical white fruits of growing intensity, culminating in a glowing complex.

2020 Beau Paysage Tsugane Chardonnay, courtesy of LCW at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Unusual nose, dominated by cool flavours amid weighty tones of chalk and white fruits. Similarly styled on the medium palate, bright and pebbly, showing white floral tones tinged with saline and vanillin that shone with fresh acidity though there is a certain attenuation to its depth. Reminded me very much of Rhône varietals, but this is a straight chardonnay from the prefecture of Yamanashi in Japan, just south of Tokyo.

2018 Kumeu River Mate’s Vineyard Chardonnay, courtesy of Sung Lin at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Luminous. Clean chalky nose with floral scents. Very well integrated and defined presence, structured with chiseled precision and refined intensity, developing further detail of chamfered white tones. Very Puligny-like.

1994 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Aired overnight in bottle, courtesy of HY Lau at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Opaque crimson. Classic Pauillac nose of dried tobacco, wood shavings and tea leaves that leapt from the glass. Open and highly supple, seamlessly layered with darkish fruit laced with crisp acidity that bathed the medium-weight palate in a lovely glow. Distinctly feminine, and still beautifully fresh.

1998 Château Certan de May de Certan. Aired overnight in bottle, courtesy of HY Lau at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Opaque brownish tint. Weighty bouquet of rye and mature dark plummy fruit tinged with medicinal overtones though the palate is only medium weight, displaying supple intensity with receding fruit.

2010 Champagne Dom Pérignon, courtesy of Tan Ying-Hsien, MW, at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Pale, proffering icing and other glacial tones amidst a perfumed floral fragrance. Medium-bodied. Bright and distinctly reductive, displaying dry cutting intensity that confer immediate freshness though it is neither plump nor outright lean, developing a base of austere minerals over time. Unable to disguise its short finish, probably a function of the vintage.

Champagne La Closerie “&” Extra Brut LC20 NV (élevage by Jérôme Prévost), courtesy of Jonathan Chan at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Lovely luminosity. This super-exclusive 100% pinot meunier opens with a reductive pungency amid some yeasty overtones, beautifully layered with crisp citrus and exotic white fruits with rounded darkish tones that fan out with medium intensity within a sheen of delicate bubbles, developing a deeper vein of minerally elements after some time that impart austere undertones.

2013 Bénédicte & Stéphane Tissot Arbois Trousseau Singuiler, courtesy of Juliette at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Opaque red, most deceptively brickened and mature-looking though the wine is undoubtedly youthful, exuding a beguiling red plummy fragrance, highly perfumed, imbued with fresh acidity amid a rounded plump velvetiness within resolved tannins, displaying an attractive juiciness tough the fruit is a little distant. Just a tad short. From the Jura region.

1993 Domaine Robert Ampeau et Fils Auxey-Duresses Les Ecusseaux 1er, courtesy of Tan Ying-Hsien, MW, at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. This bottle opened with a bit of cork taint from its opaque brownish red that, thankfully, blew off to reveal supple autumnal fruit imbued with pronounced acidity. Still holding on, but only just.

2019 Egly-Ouriet Coteaux Champenois Cuvée des Grands Côtes Ambonnay Rouge Vieilles Vignes, courtesy of LCW at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Good color. Opens with some funkiness amid wet gravel, laced with minty tones that spilled over onto an intense medium-full palate of red fruits and cherries imbued with cutting acidity.

2015 Pilliterri Riserva Famiglia Appassimento Cabernet Franc, courtesy of HY Lau at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Deep garnet. Ample depth of dark fruits and currants that exude minty licorice with masculine proportions, structured with tight tannins that exert controlled intensity. Good balance and sophistication.

2007 Château Rayas, courtesy of Alex at Imperial Treasure Great World, 23 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Displaying an evolved crimson, this wine proffered enticing notes of haw and red plums with a chamfered quality, tinged with sweet savoury characters that carried well onto the medium-full palate with excellent vigour and balance, structured with detailed tannins. Quite generously proportioned, finishing with a medicinal dash.

2018 Domaine Rapet Pernand-Vergelesses Sous Frétille 1er. Aired ahead of dinner at Otto Ristorante, 25 Sep 2023. Expansive glow of tropical fruits, particularly jackfruit, amid chamfered white tones. The concentrated palate has a certain crystalline quality, yielding fine clarity and excellent refinement, fleshing out with further chalkiness approaching that of Puligny without the usual plumpness. Excellent value.

1982 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge, courtesy of Kieron at Otto Ristorante, 25 Sep 2023. Popped and poured. Tasted blind. Still displaying an impressive darkish purple, this wine seduces with beguiling red fruits amid some slick earthy pungency that I simply love, leading to a layered palate of crushed cherries and strawberries dressed in soft velvety tannins tinged with a dash of saline, still exuding lovely freshness and tension. Absolutely delicious. Drinking most beautifully at forty-one years and will continue to hold. Outstanding!

2015 Domaine François Lamarche Vosne-Romanée La Croix Rameau 1er, courtesy of Vic at Otto Ristorante, 25 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Purplish hue, exuding a bright sweet fragrance. Quite generously proportioned with intense supple red fruits, structured with detailed tannins, settling down eventually with rounded refinement. Lamarche was one of only three owners of this 0.6 ha premier cru (along with Coudray-Bizot and Cacheaux) but has sold off to Comte Liger-Belair.

2010 Isole e Olena Cepparello, courtesy of Kieron at Otto Ristorante, 25 Sep 2023. Tasted blind. Deep garnet. Quite masculine, layered with delicious red fruits and mandarins, rather forwardly balanced with a distinct graphite minerality that initially had me thinking of Saint-Julien. Shed its minerally base after some time, allowing more red fruit to develop with growing supple warmth, laced with a tinge of sweetness entirely consistent with sangiovese. Excellent.

2005 Roc De Cambes, aired in bottle for ninety minutes ahead of dinner at Klara Bistro & Charcoal Bar, 27 Sep 2023. Deep garnet. Excellent density of black fruits and currants, filling the medium-full palate with inky depth. Structured with expertly managed tannins imbued with a dash of graphite minerals, oozing a little savoury sweetness. Took on a luxuriant velvety fullness over time, exerting superb intensity with some early secondary development tinged with mocha and cedar. This François Mitjavile effort has all the hallmarks of a classified growth. Excellent.

2018 Maison Lejeune Pernand-Vergelesses, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 29 Sep 2023. Light greenish hue, exuding morning dew and delicate citrus with a floral lift. Medium-weight. Good density of fruit, subtly layered with lime, kumquat and distant melons coupled with briar, displaying a bit of rustic intensity. Drinking well.

2012 Piero Busso Barbaresco Albesani Riserva, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 29 Sep 2023. Poured from magnum. Clear reddish-brown. Effusive glow of dark fruits, olives and plums laced with traces of mint. Soft, fleshy and rounded, seamlessly structured with silky smooth tannins, gliding very elegantly with restrained power and intensity across the medium palate against a backdrop of mahogany.

2020 Domaine Lafouge Auxey-Duresses 1er Les Duresses, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 29 Sep 2023. Deep ruby. Attractive bouquet of ripe raspberries dark cherries tinged with sweet vanillin. Rounded, fleshy. Darkish. Somewhat austere, introspective. Brightened up. Slick. Excellent mid body. Lovely Beaune character. Darkish undergrowth, Excellent fullness intensity. Bit of minty sweetness. Fanned out with even presence, tad short.

2018 Mondot, aired ninety minutes ahead of dinner at Jia He, 30 Sep 2023. Fairly deep garnet. Bright rosy hues of ripe raspberries and cherries which dominate with lovely freshness. Medium weight. Slightly forward, lightly varnished, structured with soft tannins. Delicious.