2014 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard, 2015 Bonneau Martray Corton-Charlemagne 2019 Morey-Coffinet Blanchot Dessus 1er, 2005 Domaine Romanée-Conti Échézeaux, 1978 Robert Sirigue Grands Échézeaux, 2006 Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares

Sir K very kindly hosted dinner at Shang Palace on 31 October 2023 with an outstanding line-up on a loose theme of Burgundy. As usual, all bottles were blinded except the champagne. Thank you all for your kind generosity.

2002 Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal, courtesy of Kieron. Dull golden lustre. Flinty nose of reasonable depth amid yeasty overtones, lighting up the weighty but rounded palate with excellent precision and dry intensity of complex minerals and white fruits, gaining further crystalline clarity over time.

2014 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Andrew. Pale, opening with glowing vanillin and icing in soft focus. Medium-full. Slightly buttery, its predominant white fruits beautifully balanced against slick acidity, displaying excellent precision and definition. Developed further stoniness and salinity over time yet retaining its sense of ethereal lightness. Drinking superbly without the usual Leflaive weightiness.

2015 Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Pale. This wine opens with a distinct note of fluoride amid dense orchard fruit. Very well-structured with chiseled white tones, displaying great freshness, cohesion and clarity with undertones of nutmeg, developing a bit of delicate chalkiness even as it gained further traction and energy. Finished well. Not the kind of plump Bonneau du Martray of old. Superb.

2019 Domaine Morey-Coffinet Chassagne-Montrachet Blanchot Dessus 1er. Wax seal. Displaying a golden luminosity, this wine opens with a quiet lift of soft floral scents, taking its time to blossom with silky smooth contours matched by a restrained ethereal intensity. Distinctly feminine, opening up with greater clarity even as it developed further white tones with a bit of creaminess, seducing the palate with beguiling complexity and subtle precision. Practically a Montrachet, since this tiny 1.1 ha plot directly abuts both Montrachet Grand Cru as well as Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru at the south-west corner (not to be confused with Blanchot Dessous (ie. from lower ground) which is village). Outstanding.

1978 Domaine Robert Sirigue Grands Échézeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of Dennis. Dull crimson. Obviously well matured, though the medium-full palate is still remarkably fresh and ample in autumnal red fruits, grapefruit and mandarins, imbued with striking acidity above its glowing minerally presence.

1999 Domaine Louis Jadot Échezeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Bob. Lovely color. Distilled nose of dark plums and cherries. Medium-bodied. Open with a bright supple presence of red cherries and raspberries on a minerally base, exuding excellent intensity that belies its slightly lean structure, just entering its mature phase with early notes of cinnamon.

2005 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Bob. Lovely crimson, appearing to be more evolved than the preceding 1999 Louis Jadot of the same plot, proffering a superb lift of delicious red fruits tinged with haw and cedar. Softly contoured with subtle depth and definition beneath its veneer of sleek acidity and tension, finishing with fine linearity and understated complexity.

2015 Domaine Georges Lignier Gevrey-Chambertin Les Combottes 1er. Strawberries and haw dominate on the nose and medium palate. Softly contoured with fine inner detail, considerably sharper in definition at the base where a slight minerally presence is evident, boasting excellent fruit intensity, finishing well though yet to develop true secondary characters. One can see why it is almost within reach of grand cru, just missing in layered depth. Its name indicates that the vines are situated in a combe (hollow) on the hillside (ie. a fault in the land); hence, it can never be grand cru even though it is smack within that fabulous longitudinal strip that extends all the way from Mazis-Chambertin down to Bonnes-Mares. An application to be upgraded to grand cru was thrown out in 1932.

2006 Domaine Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Good colour. Just entering early maturity where plummy brightness and a splash of mandarins are discernible. Softly contoured. Open with supple understated verve, boasting sharp definition throughout its layered depth. Highly integral.