1995 Pichon Longueville Comtesse Lalande, 2010 Armand Rousseau Clos de Bèze

The great SC continued his annual tradition of hosting a New Year’s Eve lunch on 31 December 2025 at the one Michelin-starred Omakase@Stevens where Chef Kazuki Arimoto has customized a winter menu. The wines, carefully curated by SC and friends and all drinking superbly with plenty of life ahead, were beautifully paired to accompany the exquisite cuisine, avoiding any vulgar excesses. Many thanks, Sir, and good health to all in 2026.

2008 Champagne Dom Pérignon, courtesy of SC. Pale. Keen bouquet of fresh lemon and citrus. Medium presence. Highly integral, its subdued acidity imparting excellent clarity and refined precision, developing a tinge of austere minerality that veered towards a dryish finish.

2019 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clavoillon, courtesy of SC. Poured from magnum. Pale greenish, exuding a lifted floral density amid lime and citrus. Wonderfully refined, imbued with a distinct chalky edge, displaying understated verve and good resolution with a tinge of salinity. Very elegant.

2010 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru, courtesy of Boon. Poured from magnum. Deep crimson. Profusion of ripe plummy tones, baked apples, cherries and early cinnamon on the nose and fleshy palate, carried by supple tensile tannins that cut through subtle layers of dense fruit and sleek acidity. Moderate length. Perfectly balanced and proportioned, just a tad feminine in character.

1995 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, courtesy of Dr Heng Lee Kwang. Poured from magnum. Still deep garnet, exuding its unmistakable character of mature black fruits with a distinct note of capsicum and vegetal tinge with its Pauillac signature of tobacco snuff bringing up the rear. Beautifully open with a luxuriant darkish fleshy density, imbued with a ripe warmth that imparted a bit of spiciness towards its modest finish. Quite the quintessential Lalande at its best.