2000 Léoville Las-Cases, 1986 Lynch Bages, 1990 Trotanoy, 1989 Palmer…

It’s back to Bordeaux again for the usual suspects at Hua Ting restaurant, 10 March 2026. It’s certainly true that one drinks the vintage as far as clarets are concerned, and one might add the older the better. Many thanks, gentlemen!

2008 Champagne De Saint-Gall Orpale Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, courtesy of LF. Luminous. Quite a glorious gleam of créme de la créme amid dense yeasty overtones from the richly imbued palate, boasting crisp precision and cutting acidity that went perfectly with the refined dry supple intensity. Crafted only in exceptional vintages.

2021 Domaine Gabriel et Paul Jouard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Vides Bourses. Luminous. Nose of white fruits, brioche and floral hues that cut through with chiseled definition. Rather tightly coiled, fleshing out with a bit of slick oily density, caressing the palate with understated tension and restrained power. Spicy length.

2004 Pavilion Blanc du Château Margaux, courtesy of Kieron. Dull golden. Effusive glazed tone of creamy white fruits with a resinous quality though the palate is only medium-weight, displaying good clarity with a refined spiciness, turning a little racier as it firmed up over time. Still wonderfully vibrant. Excellent.

1990 Château Trotanoy, courtesy of Sir Bob. Evolved crimson. There is a certain reductive funkiness amid cedar and capsicum with leathery undertones. Medium-full. Darkish and supple and beautifully integral, firming up with tensile presence. At its peak.

1989 Château Palmer, courtesy of Sir Bob. Still deeply coloured. Quite exuberant and expressive, proffering delicious tertiary characters with impressive complexity laced with a razor-thin ferrous undertone. Equally confident with fluid ease on the lush open palate, fleshing out with elegant intensity. At its best.

2006 Tertre Roteboeuf. Poured from magnum that had been opened for over a day, courtesy of LF. Very deep garnet. The nose is darkish with a cool vegetal hint whilst the darkish palate of ripe raspberries, currants and dark plums is fairly vibrant with its characteristic savoury verve.

1986 Château Lynch Bages, courtesy of Kieron. Deep garnet. Mildly reductive on the nose. Superbly harmonious and supple with a vegetal tinge, underscored by a deeper vein of dark fruits. Still fresh and energetic in spite of its forty years, imparting a lovely succulence with excellent linearity.

2000 Château Léoville Las-Cases, courtesy of Vic. Deep garnet. Some considerable age is evident from the overtones of capsicum, cedar and Chinese tea leaves but this wine is still imbued with youthful energy, the abundant fruit gloriously rich, ripe and darkish, structured within a sheen of tensile tannins. Far from maturity, and still probably has some way to go before entering tertiary development.

1994 Ridge Monte Bello, courtesy of LF. Deep garnet. Very generously proportioned with lively acidity that impart exciting tensile verve, the darkish fruit still wonderfully fresh and agile in great abundance. Distinctly masculine. May not yet have peaked.