June 2025: 1999 Anne Gros Richebourg, 1999 Bruno Paillard N.P.U., 2004 Palmer, 2022 Fernand & Laurent Pillot Vide-Bourse, 2022 Henri Gouges Clos Porrets St-Georges, 2015 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée, 2009 Montevertine Le Pergole Torte

1999 Champagne Bruno Paillard N.P.U., courtesy of Dr WKW at Imperial Treasure Great World, 03 Jun 2025. Dull golden, displaying a weighty presence of mature chalk and glorious autumnal fruit throughout. Still wonderfully fresh and crisp, developing a sharp yeasty tone with a distinct minerally shine amid a superb complex of lovely white tones. Truly nec plus ultra in every way. Superb!

1999 Domaine Anne Gros Richebourg Grand Cru, courtesy of Dr WKW at Imperial Treasure Great World, 03 Jun 2025. Still boasting a lovely deep ruby, proffering a gentle balsamic lift amid rose petals and dark cherries. Softly contoured by now, though the acidity is still glorious with an inner ferrous detail reminiscent of pochai pills that impart a slightly tensile presence, adding to its refined sophistication as it tapered to a lengthy glowing finish. Outstanding!

2014 Domaine A. P. de Villaine Saint-Aubin 1er Les Perrières. Aired in bottle ahead of dinner at Imperial Treasure Great World, 03 Jun 2025. Dryish bouquet of warm gravel with a bit of minerally shine, developing the classic St-Aubin signature of cool icing and white fruits with good presence and refinement.

2018 Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand Côte de Nuits-Village. Tasted after a brief aeration at Imperial Treasure Great World, 03 Jun 2025. Warm bouquet of rose petals and ripe red fruits. Quite open and supple, well-nuanced with subtle shades amid the generous darkish palate, turning a bit more savoury and smoky over time.

2018 St Hallett Old Block Shiraz. Semi-double decanted for two hours ahead of dinner at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 02 Jun 2025. Deep garnet, exuding deep dark plummy fruit with masculine proportions. Concentrated but balanced, imbued with subtle shades of mint, licorice and mandarins within a sheen of sweet velvety tannins, developing further notes of blackcurrants and tobacco snuff over time. Only SGD79 from the supermarket!!

2004 Château Palmer. Aired for almost three hours ahead of dinner at Gunther’s, 09 Jun 2025. Deep garnet. Fairly expressive in raspberries, mulberries, violets, sandalwood and subtle earth on the nose whilst the fleshy medium-weight palate displays a classic restraint of darkish fruit underscored by sleek refined acidity, boasting excellent balance, freshness and refinement with very subtly nuanced tannins, developing an enticing tertiary glow with increasing sweetness and supple intensity. Superb.

Champagne Veuve Clicquot Brut NV, courtesy of Shangri-la Singapore, 11 Jun 2025. Very pale greenish, opening with attractive yeasty hues with an earthy pungency. Medium-full with shades of pomelo, lime and longans that produce exciting intensity.

2022 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Clos des Porrets St-Georges monopole. Aired in bottle for ninety minutes ahead of our anniversary dinner at Shang Palace, 11 Jun 2025. Deeply coloured. This wine is more extracted than usual in darkish berries and ripe black cherries that permeate throughout the nose and fullish palate. The balance is quite impeccable, structured with well-defined supple tannins and refined acidity that impart tensile verve and power laced with subtle sweetness, developing a bit of the classic NSG sandiness over time. Plenty of potential here, and I expect it to be highly rewarding in another 7-8 years.

Champagne Philippe Lancelot Extra Brut NV, courtesy of LF at Otto Ristorante, 17 Jun 2025. Light golden. Highly inviting entry of rich creamy cool icing within a sheen of soft bubbles, leading to a fairly intense palate tinged with bitter lemon and pochai pills. Settled down with good character and growing intensity.

2022 Domaine Fernand et Laurent Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Vide-Bourse at Otto Ristorante, 17 Jun 2025. Light golden. Glazed white fruits dominate with a chamfered quality, very smoothly balanced, the fruit a tad backward initially. Fleshed out over time with a certain sleekness from the refined acidity, eventually developing a gleaming intensity of chromatic Chassagne white tones laced with traces of vanillin, nutmeg and tropical fruits. Excellent but not entirely surprising, for Vide-Bourse directly abuts Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru.

2014 Domaine Louis Latour Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru Les Quartre Journaux, courtesy of Vic at Otto Ristorante, 17 Jun 2025. Displaying a developed crimson, this wine proffers a good lift of red fruits and haw. Softly contoured and sleek with fairly lush textures, boasting very fine detailed tannins with orangey hues. Modest finish.

2015 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée, courtesy of Sir Bob at Otto Ristorante, 17 Jun 2025. Good colour, exuding lovely aromas of raspberries, mulberries and violets with cherries coming on later. Soft, open and lush, structured with sweet velvety tannins that yield darkish inner detail beneath the lovely tension imparted by terse acidity, boasting ripe warmth and great linearity throughout its length. A village, but superb!

2009 Montevertine Le Pergole Torte, courtesy of LF at Otto Ristorante, 17 Jun 2025. Evolved deep crimson. Considerably restrained on the nose though very beautifully nuanced on the medium-full palate with sublime acidity and a trace of sweetness within the tightly knit tannins. Still wonderfully youthful and vibrant.

Champagne Frerejean Freres Grande Reserve NV at Yan Ting, 20 Jun 2025. Slightly forward in green fruits and citrus with a hint of yeast. Medium-weight. Quite transparent at first before fleshing out with excellent fullness, exuding overtones of cordite and hot metal with brazen intensity.

2019 Le Comte de Malarctic Blanc at Yan Ting, 20 Jun 2025. Pale greenish. This wine opens with an understated earthy pungency that went well with the fine presence of fruit. Very silky smooth and slick to make up for its relative lack of density and detail compared with this estate’s highly esteemed grand vin.

2018 Esprit de Saint Pierre at Yan Ting, 20 Jun 2025. Very deep purple. Alluring warmth of raspberries, mulberries and violets. Very well-integrated, boasting lovely ripeness with balsamic elements amid intense biting tannins. Not far at all from its grand vin.

2019 Divin de Corbin at Yan Ting, 20 Jun 2025. Good colour. Considerably restrained on the nose, though the fleshy medium palate is slightly forward in purple fruit. Softly contoured with open sexy tannins. Good finish.

2020 Admiral de Beychevelle at Yan Ting, 20 Jun 2025. Deep garnet. Exotic spice and black currants dominate whilst the open medium-full palate boasts soft tannins, very subtly nuanced with fine detail, tinged with a dash of soy. Largely understated. Highly integral and sleek.

2016 Domaine Yvon Clerget Volnay 1er Les Caillerets. Aired for ninety minutes ahead of dinner at Crab At Bay, 24 Jun 2025. Classic pinot tint. Considerable restraint of raspberries and mulberries on the nose though the medium-full palate is fairly intense in supple plummy fruit, beautifully ripe with lovely tensile mouthfeel from the tightly knit tannins but somewhat attenuated in depth, laced with a bare hint of ferrous undertones. Good finish. This is so much better than a previous bottle from the same case tasted shortly after delivery; probably a case of bottle shock.