1990 Bouchard Volnay Caillerets Ancienne, 1988 Jayer-Gilles Échézeaux Grand Cru, 1961 Château Grand Corbin-Despagne & 1914 Château Pontet Canet, 1988 Trotanoy

This amazing line-up came from a dinner party generously hosted by the great Tristan Sjoberg at Tunglok Signatures, Singapore, on 14 September 2026 where he had dug deep into his extensive cellar. In my limited experience, the 1914 Pontet-Canet was the oldest claret I’d ever tasted. The wines were all showing well in spite of their age, in part a function of the vintage and producers’ expertise but, importantly as well, proving that large-format bottlings are the way to go for long-term cellaring. Many thanks, Tristan, and many happy returns!

2009 Champagne Dom Pérignon. Poured from magnum. Luminous light greenish. Exuberant notes of peaches, kiwi and clear citrus that impart tremendous zest and lovely density with further notes of pomelo, never at all acerbic, developing a distinct minerally base over time. Drinking superbly. A worthy successor to the 2008.

2009 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Genevrières. Poured from magnum. Deep greenish. Effusive nose of peaches, tropical fruits and lemon. Medium-weight, displaying fine density and lively acidity with a deeper tighter vein of fruit that impart subtle intensity, though increasingly taut over time. Still far from maturity. May turn out to be truly fabulous.

2020 Kistler Kistler Vineyard Chardonnay. Luminous greenish, expressing keen citrus, lemon peel and pomelo amid cool glacial overtones. Generously proportioned with a minerally density underscored by striking acidity, exerting controlled intensity with a bit of minty uplift as it tapered to a finish of exotic spices.

1990 Bouchard Père et Fils Domaines du Chateau de Beaune Volnay 1er Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot. Poured from magnum. Dull crimson with lighter rim. Very lovely nose of haw, cherries and rose petals. The fleshy medium-full palate is peppered with a certain spiciness, framed by supple tannins. Still astonishingly fresh and youthful.

1988 Jayer-Gilles Échézeaux Grand Cru, poured from magnum. Deep crimson. Autumnal fruit at full maturity on the nose, tinged with a note of soy. Still incredibly fresh on the medium palate, blazing with supple intensity amid overtones of mahogany and spices with a darkish backbone of blueberries, tinged with a hint of pochai. Still has the legs to go on for many more years.

1961 Château Grand Corbin-Despagne. Poured from magnum. This wine is a real revelation. Displaying a clear reddish brown, it proffered notes of mint, sago, gula melaka (without the sugar) and licorice, leading to a fleshy medium-full palate structured with refined creamy tannins. Still wonderfully fresh and energetic, boasting tangerines, red plums, apples and capsicum that grew with astonishing stature throughout the evening, never at all in danger of drying out even though it is only rather modest at the finish. Just a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé, but this has true class and sophistication.

1914 Château Pontet Canet. Poured from magnum. Opague darkish brown, opening with a whiff of bottle stink from the sur-maturite that, thankfully, blew off after thirty minutes. The fruit has largely receded, barely hanging on in a slightly sweetish medicinal tone, awash within the sea of dominant acidity. Elegant and feminine at this final leg of its life before fading off. Imagine this vintage was soon to be harvested at the point of time when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated at Sarajevo, triggering World War 1. What a privilege to have tasted it!

1988 Château Trotanoy. Poured from magnum. Deep crimson purple, exuding a very lovely fragrance of dark roses, cherries and red capsicum. Still rather fullish, generously endowed with darkish fruit that impart exciting verve and biting intensity on a bed of furred tannins, finishing with fabulous length. At its very best.

1994 Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Poured from magnum. Deep crimson. Raspberries and dark cherries dominate with a ripe warmth, delivering a full-bodied biting intensity of darkish plummy fruit infused with subtle minerals, its graphite tannins packing supple power and juicy succulence with earthy undertones.