Aug 2024: 2002 Roumier MSD Clos Bussière 2017 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne Morgeot, 2010 Domaine L’Arlot Vosne-Rom Suchots, 1998 La Gomerie, 2020 Xi Ge (西鴿) N.609, 2003 & 2004 Dom Pérignon P2

2019 Domaine William Fevre Chablis Montmains 1er, from the list of 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 06 Aug 2024. Delicious lift of cool icing and floral fragrance. The fullish palate carries huge potential, still rather tightly coiled but there’s no denying the exquisite intensity of dense citrus laced with sublime acidity, displaying superb refinement amid some sweetish overtones. Excellent.

2018 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er, from the list of 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 06 Aug 2024. Dark crimson. Superb lift of red fruits and ripe dark cherries. Beautifully rounded and integrated, imbued with ample fruit that impart subtle intensity. Darkly delicious and wonderfully ripe, underscored by a slight earthy trace that became more prominent over time. A brilliant effort.

2020 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Chambolle-Musigny 1er La Combe d’Orveau, from the list of 67 Pall Mall, Singapore, 06 Aug 2024. Darkish tint of ripe dark berries that exude subtle fragrance. Beautifully rounded, richly layered with copious black fruits that gleamed with a hint of brilliant graphite beneath its rounded sheen of smooth tannins.

2022 La Vieille Ferme, at Changi Airport T2 Krisflyer Gold Lounge, 8 Aug 2024. Deep purple. Restrained nose of blueberries and dark currants. Medium-full. Good intensity of fruit, a little forwardly balanced, carrying lively acidity. Straightforward though.

2008 Château Maucamps. Aired for two hours ahead of dinner at the in-laws, 11 Aug 2024. Opaque purple. Earthy woody overtones dominate amid a fine concentration of darkish fruit imbued with vegetal elements. Good balance, though it misses the fleshy layering of the best Médoc wines.

2008 Château Larcis-Ducasse. Partially double-decanted at home followed by further decanting on-site at Cook & Brew, 19 Aug 2024. Deep garnet, proffering ripe plummy tones with mandarins amid delicious savoury overtones. Rather full and fleshy initially, the supple elegant tannins and sublime acidity exerting a very lovely taut tension that imparted excellent mouthfeel. Settled down after some time with cool intensity and emerging ferrous elements that lent a trace of austerity, morphing well with seamless integration. Approaching its peak.

2022 Stone Bay South Island Pinot Noir, from the list of Vineyard restaurant, 21 Aug 2024. Good colour. Classic nose of red plums, strawberries and cherries. Medium-full. Good balance and density ripe fruit, offering plenty of freshness and clean vibrancy without trying too hard, laced with refined tannins and acidity just bordering on terse tension.

2003 Champagne Dom Pérignon P2, courtesy of Dr WKW. Popped and poured at Jade Palace, 24 Aug 2024. Tasted blind. Pale golden. Fig, green fruits and pears dominate on the nose. The medium palate is dryish, proffering early notes of yellow citrus and pineapples with a crisp intensity, settling down eventually with fine clarity and precision, underpinned by a minerally tinge. Still wonderfully fresh and vibrant.

2017 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot 1er Marquis de Laguiche. Aired in bottle for four hours ahead of dinner at Jade Palace, 24 Aug 2024. Pale golden hue. Seemingly reticent at first, taking its time to develop a glacial coolness followed by emerging creamy white tones that speak of Chassagne before unfurling a full integral palate of nutmeg, complex white fruits and slick acidity that teased with elegant intensity. Almost aristocratic.

2002 Domaine Georges Roumier Morey-Saint-Denis Clos de la Bussière 1er, courtesy of Dr WKW at Jade Palace, 24 Aug 2024. Tasted blind. Opaque crimson. Some age is evident from the slight bricking at the rim. This wine opens with deep dark plummy tones that exert a perfumed lift. The medium-full palate suggests a much younger wine, only into early secondary development where overtones of orange peel and cinnamon are seamlessly integrated with the subdued intensity of ripe dark berries, framed by elegant tannins that exude sleek acidity. Modest finish. Wonderfully harmonious.

2020 Xi Ge (西鴿) Estate No. 609, courtesy of George Wei at Jade Palace, 24 Aug 2024. Decanted on-site. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec and cabernet gernischt (genetically identical to carménère) from the Helan highlands of Ningxia, China, and purportedly the preferred wine of President Xi Jinping. Deep purple, proffering a generous bouquet of raspberries and black fruits with overtones of damp pebble. Medium-full. Well crafted with warm supple intensity tinged with a bit of vegetal sternness and earthy undertones, showing good harmony and delineation. Delicious, though one would not mistake this for a Médoc. This estate, styled after Penfolds, owns a massive 2,000 hectares of vines.

2019 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia, courtesy of George Wei at Jade Palace, 24 Aug 2024. Decanted on-site. Deep purple, proffering a generous bouquet of blueberries, violets and dark currants. Fleshy with rounded contours, imbued with ample fruit and sublime acidity that produced superb fleeting intensity with exquisite mouthfeel. Well balanced, just a tad more fruit-forward, settling down after some time with soft velvety tannins. Very expertly crafted.

1998 Château La Gomerie. Aired in bottle for four hours ahead of dinner at Jade Palace, 24 Aug 2024. Darkish purple. Dark currants and ripe wild berries dominate with an open suppleness, tinged with a dash of capsicum. Quite fleshy and generously proportioned, maintaining a darkish tone throughout its moderate length with a poised understated intensity. At its best but far from fading.

2016 Laurent Ponsot Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée de l’Aulhe. Popped and poured over lunch at Imperial Treasure Great World, 25 Aug 2024. Displaying a very lovely ruby crimson, this wine exudes dark cherries, red fruits and ashes amid earthy balsamic elements. The medium palate is marked initially by a distinct salinity, giving way to cool elegant tones from the refined body of fruit dressed in rounded understated tannins. Totally unpretentious. Drinking well.

2019 Château de Fontenille. Aired briefly in bottle prior to dinner at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 26 Aug 2024. Deep purple. Quite generously endowed in dark fruits and ripe wild berries with overtones of mahogany and forest characters, though the mid-palate is somewhat unresolved due to its attenuated depth.

2004 Champagne Dom Pérignon P2, courtesy of CJ at Morsels, 27 Aug 2024. Pale. Delicate lift of high-toned lemon and citrus fruit. Barely evolved on the palate, still wonderfully fresh and youthful, revealing excellent clarity as it fleshed out beautifully with a brilliant tone of elegant intensity underscored by faint ferrous elements.

2010 Domaine de L ‘Arlot Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots 1er. Aired in bottle for 150 minutes ahead of dinner at Morsels, 27 Aug 2024. Displaying an evolved pinot tint, this wine boasts an open minty tone on the nose well into its secondary development. The sleek medium palate is dominated by red plums and cherries tinged with paraffin, beautifully integral with elegant restraint and intensity within a sheen of silky smooth tannins throughout its superb length. Doesn’t quite plumb the depths but it is immensely satisfying.

2009 Domaine Pierre Damoy Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of John at Morsels, 27 Aug 2024. Very heavily coloured for pinot, delivering a darkish bouquet of black fruits and currants. Well extracted with a warm full ripeness though it doesn’t overwhelm the palate, exerting a supple restrained intensity of dark cherries underpinned by a minerally dash. Fairly harmonious after two hours in the glass but this is far from ready.