Oct-Nov 2025: 2005 Aubert Chardonnay, 2009 Domaine Baron Thenard Montrachet, 2004 Marcassin Blue-Slide Ridge Pinot Noir, 2014 Drouhin Montrachet Marq de Laguiche 1995/1989 Troplong Mondot, 2000 Margaux

2019 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Les Vergelesses Rouge, at Imperial Treasure Great World, 06 Oct 2025. Semi double-decanted for four hours prior. Opaque brownish-red. Nose of dominant plummy tones with a deeper vein of ripe dark berries. Medium-full. Somewhat unsettled due to its jarring acidity producing an acerbic edge that didn’t quite gel with its distinct undertones of spice and earthy ferrous minerals. Not ready.

2014 Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Grand Cru Marquis de Laguiche at Imperial Treasure Great World, 04 Nov 2025. Light golden. Lively nose of fresh tangy citrus amid emerging apricot and cinnamon. The fullish palate veers towards some reduction, producing a ferrous minerally glow with a flinty hint that the overlying crème de la crème doesn’t quite conceal, conferring refined precision and intensity all through to its finish of lemon bitters. Barely evolved. For the long haul.

2004 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, courtesy of Sir Bob at Imperial Treasure Great World, 04 Nov 2025. Luminous golden hue, exuding a distant gleam of chalky white tones. Rather intense with a reductive dryish detail. Still surprisingly zesty, gelling together very well after three hours. One wouldn’t have guessed this is Leflaive. My second bottle in three months, tasted with consistent notes.

2022 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Porusot, courtesy of Sir Bob at Imperial Treasure Great World, 04 Nov 2025. Displaying a lovely golden luminosity, this wine is rather reticent on the nose though the supple medium-full palate is highly agile, boasting refined clarity with a smooth placid elegance, just a tad reductive at the sides, becoming a little crispier over time.

2016 Comando G La Breña, courtesy of LF at Imperial Treasure Great World, 04 Nov 2025. The colour and nose here are exactly similar to classic pinot noir except this is 100% grenache, boasting a highly aromatic fragrance of rose petals and red fruits with a hint of paraffin, matched by a tensile presence of ferrous elements and smouldering ember laid on forest floor, cushioned by soft tannins. But it’s all about the nose. A poor man’s Rayas? Perhaps no longer, as Comando G is beginning to command a premium.

2005 Domaine Louis Jadot Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Fuees, courtesy of LF at Imperial Treasure Great World, 04 Nov 2025. Rather dark and distant on the nose though it is surprisingly full and spicy in the mouth, very generously proportioned with sweetish tannins that impart supple intensity with a bit of mid-palatal glare that ends in a bitter acidic finish. Not for the faint-hearted.

1995 Château Troplong Mondot, courtesy of Kieron at Imperial Treasure Great World, 04 Nov 2025. Deep garnet. This wine opens with a distinct funkiness, rather reductive and musty with dominant overtones of dried mushrooms. Quite massively proportioned as well on the palate, marked by enamel, exotic spice, iron filings and dusty tannins that lend wild exuberance as well as austere tones in equal measure.

1989 Château Troplong Mondot, courtesy of Kieron at Imperial Treasure Great World, 04 Nov 2025. Still rather dark. Fairly well-evolved, imbued with soft tannins that impart a soothing verve, tinged with herbal overtones of aniseed and pochai.

2009 Champagne Dom Pérignon Rosé, courtesy of CJ at Hua Ting, 10 Nov 2025. Deep orangey hues, proffering an alluring fragrance of soft red fruits, cherries, tangerines, and grapefruit with a lovely cool presence within a sheen of refined tiny bubbles, imparting dryish precision with a gentle supple intensity, tinged with a dash of ferrous ash. Quite remarkably different from a previous encounter eight months ago where it was brutally incisive.

2017 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Caillerets, at Hua Ting, 10 Nov 2025. Pale yellowish-greenish. Somewhat reluctant, requiring quite a bit of coaxing before some frangipani and white citrus became apparent. Medium-full, displaying a crystalline clarity amid cool glacial tones with a bare hint of salinity within its subtle layers. Doesn’t quite show the classic whiteness of Chassagne. May just be emerging from a period of shutdown.

2005 Aubert Chardonnay, courtesy of LF at Hua Ting, 10 Nov 2025. Luminous gold. Lovely burnished bouquet of crème, lacquer and paraffin. Surprisingly bold and masculine, imparting fine precision and controlled intensity on the fullish palate with a distinct note of liquor, finally developing a rounded velvetiness.

2009 Domaine Baron Thenard Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Vic at Hua Ting, 10 Nov 2025. Luminous gold. Very classy, imbued with crème de la crème and a chiseled chalkiness that gleamed with impressive richness, painting the medium-weight palate in subtle minerally shades that fan out with excellent length and linearity towards a glowing finish. This is excellent stuff.

2011 Domaine Pierre-Yvés Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, courtesy of MH at Hua Ting, 10 Nov 2025. Clear luminosity, proffering a keen detail of citrus and other yellow fruits on the nose while the high-toned palate is layered with an oily density, laced with slick acidity amid a hint of petroleum.

2019 Domaine Arlaud Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of CHS at Hua Ting, 10 Nov 2025. Good colour. Highly integral presence of intense dark cherries, raspberries and violets that fan out with a warm supple succulence. Very ripe and generously proportioned with refined acidity though the finish is surprisingly restrained.

2004 Marcassin Blue-Slide Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, courtesy of LF at Hua Ting, 10 Nov 2025. Good colour. This difficult-to-find bottling boasts an alluring bouquet of haw, rose petals red fruits, hinting at an elusive velvetiness. Medium-bodied. Highly supple and integral, still wonderfully fresh and agile, imbued with a tonal presence of tea leaves. Utterly convincing.

2015 Roagna Pajè Barbaresco. Aired in bottle for four hours prior to dinner at The Tavern, Tanglin Club, 21 Nov 2025. This wine exudes a modest rosy fragrance on a backdrop of dusty tannins, framed by dryish textures that add precision to its measured depth and feminine intensity, developing a gentle minerally earthy glow over time.

2003 Domaine Hubert Lignier Morey-Saint-Denis, courtesy of Vic at The Tavern, Tanglin Club, 21 Nov 2025. Purplish. Quite dark. Raspberries and blueberries dominate with a warm ripeness. Highly supple and integral with a feminine roundness, imbued with subtle depth and power, finishing with lovely length and linearity.

2000 Château Margaux, courtesy of Sir Bob at The Tavern, Tanglin Club, 21 Nov 2025. Popped and decanted on-site. Still deep garnet, proffering a herbal bouquet of mentholic and balsamic elements. Highly sleek and agile, the darkish fruit having developed distinct notes of capsicum with a spicy tinge, teasing the medium-weight palate with lithe fleeting intensity that impart supple tension and elegant precision. Quite impeccably balanced, though one senses it still has quite a bit more to unfurl. Needs another 8-10 years to hit peak maturity.

Champagne Devaux Coeur des Bar Rosé, courtesy of Wine Clique at its HQ on 25 Nov 2025. Very attractive bouquet of grapefruit, orange peel and must. Wonderfully fresh, delivering excellent presence and crystalline clarity with a light touch of yeast, boasting crisp precision.