Jan 2024: 2020 Louis Jadot Clos des Ursules 1999 Jacques Prieur Corton Bressandes, 2008 Ch Maurac, 1976 Château La Croix 2014 Sine Qua Non Grenache

2021 Domaine Sylvain Cathiard Bourgogne Aligoté, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 5 Jan 2024. Translucent greenish. Preserved pineapples and mangoes on the sweetish nose, developing further notes of dried plums. Medium fruit presence with predominance of slick acidity that impart teasing intensity, displaying fine clarity and crisp freshness. More lean and acidic over time.

2020 Domaine du Mont Épin Mâcon-Péronne L’Etoile, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 5 Jan 2024. Clear greenish-golden hue. Highly reticent on the nose, matched by an unresolved medium-full palate of recessed lemongrass and distant apricot, not helped by a measured acidity that produced a distinct hardness.

2021 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay, tasted over 6-7 Jan 2024 at Eastern House of Seafood. Popped and poured. Clean, fresh, deliciously floral and full with a fairly reductive quality, imbued with intense delicate citrus and crisp acidity supported by understated minerally elements.

2008 Château Maurac, popped and poured at home over 8-9 Jan 2024. Still showing a fairly deep garnet, this Haut-Médoc exudes aromas of dark plums and wild berries with a trace of licorice. Medium-full, imbued with fine acidity and well-managed tannins that fill the palate with rounded smoothness, displaying good balance, the persistent trace of mint and licorice trailing the fruit all the way to its moderate finish. Another bottle tasted at KP’s residence on 22 Jan 2024 showed distinct ferrous elements amidst ripe wild berries and well-integrated tannins, imparting cool darkish characters. Highly integral. Tasted blind, but its Médoc character came through easily. A real steal at SGD34 all in.

2017 Domaine de Montille Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, aired for two hours ahead of dinner at GEMMA, 10 Jan 2024. Pale golden, exuding delicate floral scents and clear citrus with cool rounded vanillin. Quite regal on the palate, developing an attractive controlled intensity of tropical fruits superbly integrated with sublime acidity and saline minerals, maintaining a reserved demeanour throughout the evening.

1999 Domaine Jacques Prieur Corton Bressandes Grand Cru, courtesy of KP at GEMMA, 10 Jan 2024. Deep purple. Delicious bouquet of dark rose petals and cherries. Quite integral and fleshy, the fruit wonderfully fresh and vibrant, beautifully balanced against elegant tannins and understated acidity with traces of graphite, exuding gentle intensity. Rather feminine for Corton. Excellent.

2013 Ceretto Barbaresco Vernadot, courtesy of Hiok at GEMMA, 10 Jan 2024. Clear ruby. Rather shut on the nose though the elegant medium palate is imbued with a cool ripeness of predominant red fruits, displaying lean textures. Feminine.

2020 Domaine Bruno Colin Saint-Aubin 1er Sur le Sentier du Clou, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 11 Jan 2024. Deep greenish gold. Cool floral scents amid an understated chalkiness, tinged with a distinct note of saline. Medium-full. Good even presence and acidity with a restrained intensity, not too crisp, developing more cinnamon on the nose with time.

2017 Domaine Dubois Bernard et Fils Aloxe-Corton Les Brunettes, by the glass at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 11 Jan 2024. Darkish pinot tone. A little racy, laced with a hint of warm gravel. Somewhat lean in definition for a Corton, displaying fine purity and verve with a delicious dark rosy fragrance, structured with refined tannins.

2021 Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Vaillons, courtesy of Alan at Kyoten, 20 Jan 2024. Pale. Resolutely shut though the lean palate is imbued with high-toned acidity from the intense concentration of clear citrus, structured with minerally elements that lend a reductive quality.

2018 Domaine Robert Sirigue Bourgogne Aligoté, courtesy of Dr Ngoi at Kyoten, 20 Jan 2024. Very pale. Way too backward on the nose and palate, resulting in a rather empty palate.

2016 Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchere 1er monopole, courtesy of Sanjay at Kyoten, 20 Jan 2024. Pale. Nose of muted tangerines. The palate is too lean and backward in yellow citrus, giving way to a pronounced acidity. Not quite on par with Boillot’s high standards.

Champagne Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, courtesy of KP at his residence, 22 Jan 2024. Pale. Distant green fruits and clear citrus on the nose. Rather lean with dry tight intensity.

2014 Sine Qua Non Grenache, courtesy of Hiok at KP’s residence, 22 Jan 2024. Tasted blind. Deep purple. Hint of warm gravel tinged with saline on the nose, boasting ample presence of crushed cherries, raspberries and red currants with a dash of juicy succulence that impart lovely freshness and energy. Very well crafted, but still identifiably American.

1976 Château La Croix, courtesy of KP at his residence, 22 Jan 2024. Very well aged, displaying an evolved crimson that threw a sharp perky pungency. Very open, utterly seamless and integral with subtle sweet melted tannins.

2000 Kalin Cellars Sonoma County Pinot Noir, courtesy of Chris at KP’s residence, 22 Jan 2024. Tasted blind. Brownish red. Obviously well-evolved, proffering a distinct sweetness with a pronounced plummy tone. Turning autumnal, showing more acidity than fruit. We all thought Spanish. Past its prime.

2014 Domaine Paul Pillot Saint-Aubin Les Chamois 1er, courtesy of KP at his residence, 22 Jan 2024. Pale. Backward at first, fleshing out gradually with a rounded moderate presence, displaying cool glacial tones with a distant minerally glow, proffering a glimpse of inner detail.

2020 Vincent Bachelet Maranges La Fussière 1er, from the list of Atout, 25 Jan 2024. Dark purple. Restrained darkish tones on the nose tinged with saline that belies the structured masculine presence on the palate. Well balanced but a little stemmy.

2012 Château de Fieuzal, from the list of Atout, 24 Jan 2024. Deep purple. Surprisingly restrained, displaying dusky tones with characters of forest floor from the darkish fruit.

2020 Domaine Louis Jadot Beaune Clos des Ursules 1er, 375 ml at 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 26 Jan 2024. Fairly deep purple, exuding an enticing bouquet of fresh raspberries, rose petals and cherries. Softly contoured and supple with a fair degree of detail and verve, structured with understated tannins and well-integrated minerals. Drinking beautifully.