2016 Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet 1er Le Caillerets. Aired ahead of dimsum at Imperial Treasure Great World, 02 Aug 2025. This wine boasts a crystalline clarity in spite of its minerally density, highly refined with cool glacial tones and understated acidity throughout its lovely length. Developed bit of oily texture over time. May be half a step behind the 2017 but it is still very fine.
2014 Domaine Dublère Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, courtesy of Kwine at Shang Palace, 04 Aug 2025. Luminous golden hue. Quite glorious with an immediacy of chromatic chalky tones seamlessly integrated with distilled white fruits and exquisite minerality that impart superb tension and density across its full expanse. Settled down with a refined rounded clarity where its initial richness is somewhat reined in, developing a lithe elegance with a tinge of vanillin sweetness throughout its lovely length.
2022 Domaine Fernand et Laurent Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Vide Bourse, at Shang Palace, 04 Aug 2025. Pale, exuding a cool glacial transparency with a delicate minerally presence before becoming gradually more intense with emerging notes of frangipani followed by the classic dense white tones of Chassagne. Plenty of promise here.
1997 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Clos du Château des Ducs monopole, courtesy of Roger at Shang Palace, 04 Aug 2025. Displaying an evolved pinot tint with a brownish core, this wine is simply quite brilliant on the nose, exuding a beguiling fragrance amid leathery autumnal aromas of mature red plums. Medium-weight. Still imbued with very fine acidity, the fruit a tad backward initially, becoming more agile and livelier as its layers unfurl to reveal a distinct feminine grace.
2009 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos Saint-Jacques, courtesy of Kieron at Shang Palace, 04 Aug 2025. Displaying some evolution with a deep crimson core, this wine is wonderfully nuanced with a supple density of cherries and red fruits underscored by sublime acidity that exert a clean tensile presence, though such is the degree of expert craftmanship that its exquisite intensity never spirals out of control, yielding great definition even as it turned more minerally over time. Outstanding.
2006 Champagne Dom Pérignon Rosé, courtesy of CJ at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Good colour, proffering shades of grapefruit and mandarins though surprisingly reticent. The fullish palate boasts a cool freshness of slick acidity and modest supple intensity with a faint layer of crème. Drinking well.
2015 Champagne Dom Pérignon, courtesy of Lui HF at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Rather reluctant on the nose. Gently nuanced with opaque green fruits, rather laidback, yielding fine clarity and modest intensity but it is somewhat underwhelming and lacklustre.
2010 Champagne Philipponnat Les Cintres Extra Brut, courtesy of Vic at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Pale greenish. Distant orchard fruit on the nose that belies the refined reductive intensity of concentrated clear citrus and ferrous undertones cushioned by very soft bubbles, producing a flinty lift of match-stick cinder. Drinking well.
2005 Aubert Chardonnay, courtesy of LF at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Dull golden. This wine exudes lovely tones of glazed caramel and rye from its refined layers of dense white fruit, evoking elegant complexity. Developed an understated glacial lift amid a trace of sweetness as it fanned out with delicate detail. Superb.
2017 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre, courtesy of Sanjay at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Pale. Cool glacial tones dominate from the superb layers of fruit and lithe acidity within its slender frame. Still primal in its terse supple intensity laced with traces of mint. Modest finish. Excellent.
2017 Hospices de Beaune Meursault-Charmes 1er Cuvée Bahezre de Lanlay, courtesy of Sanjay at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Pale. Green fruits and orchard dominate, producing a rounded teasing quality with attractive detailed intensity. Distinctly femininely. A little withdrawn at this stage compared with previous tastings, though it did flesh out later with balsamic elements. From a barrel with élevage by Bouchard, bottled into 150 magnums.
2015 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos Saint-Jacques, at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Good colour, exuding a rosy fragrance of ripe cherries and rose petals though the palate is only medium-weight, rather laidback with considerable restraint in spite of the relative density of fruit, laced with a dash of tea leaves.
2001 Williams Selyem Rochioli Riverblock Vineyard Pinot Noir, courtesy of LF at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Displaying a fairly deep crimson, this wine opens with distinct balsamic elements amid rosy tones, matched by sweet velvety tannins that produce keen attack in spite of its gentle roundedness. Shows great burgundian character.
2009 Domaine Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Richebourg Grand Cru, courtesy of MH. Classic pinot tint. Open with a minty plummy nose. Deliciously slick, boasting ample depth of fruit with early secondary traits of cinnamon within supple tannins.
2009 Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux Échezeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of CHS at San Shu Gong (New Bahru), 05 Aug 2025. Deeply coloured. Restrained bouquet of distant plums and tea leaves. Beautifully open and integral with subtle depth, underscored by sleek supple tannins. Gently aristocratic. Not showy.
2019 A.F. Gros Bourgogne Rouge, over dinner at Verandah on 08 Aug 2025. Very good presence of rose petals, cherries and haw, classically structured with understated acidity and refined tannins. Fleshy, rounded and elegant. Highly pleasurable.
2018 St Hallett Old Block Shiraz. Popped and poured over dinner at Verandah on 08 Aug 2025. Deep garnet. Dark cherries and ripe raspberries in equal measure laid on velvety tannins amid a dash of licorice, fairly soft and lush. Drinking surprisingly well.
1999 Domaine Robert Ampeau et Fils Auxey-Duresses 1er Eccuseaux. Aired in bottle ahead of dinner at Tonny, 14 Aug 2025. Good colour, proffering darkish plummy fruit with autumnal overtones. Rather slender with medium presence though the fruit is still wonderfully fresh, structured with sleek tannins underscored by a distinct sweetness that grew in stature and intensity over time. At its best.
2009 Goulée. Aired in bottle for four hours ahead of dinner at the in-laws, 17 Aug 2025. Deep purple. This Médoc made by Cos D’Estournel is richly layered in ripe raspberries, dark cherries, black currants and plums, supported by fresh lively acidity seamlessly integrated with rounded tensile tannins. Well extracted but not overdone, maintaining good balance and refinement all through its long minty finish of 14.5% abv.
2022 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay. Aired for two hours ahead of dimsum at Wah Lok, 24 Aug 2025. This wine opens with a note of white pepper on the nose matched by a deep vein of yellow citrus and pomelo imbued with a distinct salinity. Very cleanly delineated with a supple teasing quality, fleshing out with integral white tones and sublime acidity within a delicate sheen of crème. Highly burgundian.
2010 Château Chasse-Spleen. Aired in bottle followed by decanting on-site at Cook & Brew, 27 Aug 2025. Deep garnet. Intense warm gravel, dark plums and currants on the nose. Quite full. Well-layered with rounded soft tannins imbued with a touch of graphite minerals and vegetal undertones in the best manner, supported by firm acidity. Fine linearity and finish.
2017 Domaine Henri Richard Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Corvées, courtesy of Charlotte and David from the restaurant list of Pura Brasa, 29 Aug 2025. Bright crimson, proffering a generous rosy fragrance from the fleshy supple presence of cherries and red fruits underpinned by slick acidity and pliant tannins. Subtly layered with feminine intensity. Drinking beautifully.
2023 Jean-Pierre et Alexandre Ellevin Chablis, from the list of M&T Bistro, 30 Aug 2025. Pale. Green fruits and leafy mint on the nose. The fruit is rather backward, yielding fine clarity. An easy drink.
2005 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste. Semi-double decanted for three hours ahead of dinner at the in-laws, 31 Aug 2025. Deep garnet. Dark plums, black fruits, currants and herbal spice dominate on the nose, matched by a dense darkish palate underpinned by undertones of forest floor, the austerity offset to some extent by fresh acidity and pliant tannins.
Sir K marked his seminal round-number day with a sumptuous Cantonese cuisine at the Michelin-starred Summer Pavillion, Ritz-Carlton Singapore, 15 August 2025, matched by a stunning line-up, all singing beautifully in pristine condition. Great wines are meant to be shared, not kept as trophies. Many thanks to all for your immense generosity.
1990 Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal, courtesy of Kieron. Deep golden. The bubbles have largely dissipated at this stage, leaving behind a deep burnished tone on the nose whilst the full palate, still wonderfully fresh, exudes an exquisite intensity of lime and clear citrus on a bed of velvety minerally textures, taking on a distinct ferrous note over the evening. Excellent.
1995 J. F. Coche-Dury Meursault, courtesy of Sir Bob. Deep golden lustre. The bouquet here recalls marmalade and faint orange peel, far removed from the crisp definition of iron filings amidst the laidback chalkiness on the palate that is still very fresh, yielding refined inner detail as it gradually firmed up with structured golden hues with a hint of flinty match-stick smoke. Simply glorious.
2016 Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru La Cabotte. Pale greenish. This tiny monopole right within Montrachet Grand Cru exudes faint hues of orchard fruit on the nose that evolve quite rapidly into a white floral fragrance matched by a smooth ethereal density that is subtly nuanced with a teasing intensity, exuding sheer refinement and elegance all through its lengthy linearity, lingering with minty persistence.
2015 “Y” d’Yquem, courtesy of Vic. Light clear golden, proffering gleaming tones tinged with vanillin. Well layered with substantial depth of glorious white fruit that impart understated sweetish intensity with refined balance throughout its length. Still quite primal.
2003 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Clear golden. Somewhat distant and subdued at first. Turned more beguiling with a distilled clarity, displaying superb supple refinement with understated detail. Immaculately proportioned with a quiet ethereal elegance, boasting exquisite acidity with perfect integration, all misleadingly shrouded within its feminine guise. This is a complete wine, and more, for it possesses that elusive cerebral dimension that more than makes up for its moderate finish. Truly the unattainable beauty.
2003 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Bob. Displaying an evolved pinot tint with a crimson core, this wine exudes a delicious fragrance matched by a juicy succulence of mature raspberries, cherries and dark plums. Still amazingly fresh without any hint of the heat stress of that vintage, its tannins tempered by the passage of time to yield an understated supple intensity that stretched with moderate length. Rather demure for a Richebourg with none of the expected exuberance.
2005 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Fairly deep in pinot tint with a darkish core. The benefits of this excellent vintage are clear, the wine still full and fleshy, imbued with ample depth of darkish fruit and fresh acidity tinged with a dash of earthiness that impart lovely tension with elegant length and intensity. Superbly integrated, finishing with a hint of stems that would be consistent with the domaine’s preference for whole-bunch fermentation. Every bit a Richebourg, just entering its drinking window. One suspects it has even more to give over the next few decades.
2012 Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny, courtesy of LF. Captivating bouquet of darkish forest floor and effusive secondary characters from its rich layers of maturing cabernet franc laid on pliant supple tannins, imbued with overtones of tea leaves and elements of brilliant graphite that impart delicious lift and superb freshness.
2001 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto, courtesy of Vic. Displaying a deep garnet core, this wine remains generously proportioned and intense, highly exuberant and hedonistic in its funky splash of varnish, black fruits, currants, truffles and soy interspersed with brilliant graphite, packing considerable heft and power within its fleshy layers. Almost a dead ringer for Pomerol’s all-merlot bottlings. This has decades of life ahead.
1975 Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, courtesy of LF. Still deep garnet, this wine exudes a lovely fragrance from its suave layers of supple fruit structured within pliant tannins, still incredibly fresh and wonderfully nuanced with an understated stinging intensity. Distinctly masculine. May last another half century!
1982 Château Lafite Rothschild. Still rather deep garnet at the core, the 1982 proffers a lifted glow of tertiary characters amid an earthy reduction. The palate remains fullish, beautifully integral and rounded, its sublime acidity exerting a sleek teasing intensity amid lush textures tinged with savoury and balsamic elements that impart exquisite mouthfeel. Utterly feminine, as the quintessential Lafite ought to be. At its very best, though its modest finish may suggest that this wine may not remain at its zenith much longer.
A dinner at Chef Chan’s Private Dining, 07 July 2025, where the restaurant, normally closed on Mondays, was opened specially just for Vic on his special day. The wines were all singing beautifully. Many thanks!
Champagne Krug Grande Cuvée 160th Edition, courtesy of LF. Light golden. Effusive in yeasty tones, a perfect contrast to the intense concentrated citrus and crisp acidity that cut through with bold brilliance, making up for its modest dryish finish.
2015 Domaine Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. Pale. Highly inviting bouquet of cool glacial tones. Very delicately nuanced in its expansive presence of white flowers and orchard fruit tinged with a dash of vanillin, maintaining fine transparency and impeccable balance even as it gradually developed a subtle layered depth. Highly poised and elegant.
2018 Peter Michael Cuvée Indigène, courtesy of Kieron. Light golden. Opening with a bare hint of oxidation amid its cool glacial tones, its pedigree shines through in every sip, wonderfully fresh and supple, boasting a deep subtle intensity of glorious fruit tinged with a dash of vanillin and paraffin that stretch out with lovely length and impeccable balance. You can’t tell apart from a Puligny Grand Cru.
2014 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Saint-Aubin 1er Les Murgers des Dents de Chien, courtesy of Vic. Pale. Medium-full, exuding the classic St-Aubin icing and coolness with subtle minerally undertones that impart a distinct salinity. Still rather tight but beautifully nuanced, developing chiseled tones over time.
2008 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru. Good colour, proffering a gentle bouquet of red fruits and haw. Classically balanced and proportioned with subtle layers of mature fruit supported by firm acidity and pliant tannins that exert quiet intensity, finishing with fine linearity.
2017 Comando G Las Umbrias, courtesy of LF. Seemingly evolved with an effusive fragrance of cherries and rose petals, leading one to think that this may be a mature burgundy. The fullish but slender palate is wonderfully fresh and incisive, imbued with subtle intensity. Made from 100% grenache, this wine is all about the nose.
2008 Domaine du Comte Liger Belair Échezeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of Vic. Classic pinot tint. Fairly effusive bouquet of balsamic elements amid light hues of mandarins and rose petals. The medium-weight palate is clearly mature with autumnal characters, well-structured with lively acidity and a subtle deeper vein of fruit that impart understated minty tones. Wonderfully balanced and fresh, gaining further supple intensity over time.
2001 Château Lafleur, courtesy of Kieron. Deep garnet, opening with a funky yeasty pungency amid overtones of tea leaves. Still quite full and supple with a lifted note of soy, the darkish fruit laid on velvety tannins with a focused subtle intensity. Quite integral and aristocratic. At its best.
2013 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Corton Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Bob. Good colour. Highly inviting in its generous expanse of red fruits and currants. Layered with refined acidity within supple tannins that impart subtle verve with a surprisingly relaxed charm not usually associated with Corton. Almost feminine. Drinking quite superbly and will hold for many years.
July 2025: 2021 Résonance Wines Pinot Noir 2005 Robert Arnoux Romanée-Saint-Vivant 2021 Roux Père et Fils Saint-Aubin
Penfolds Champagne Cuvée Brut NV at Shang Palace, 02 Jul 2025. Pale golden, exuding powerful yeasty tones to go with its dryish crisp intensity while the incisive palate boasts a bold presence of orchard fruit with distinct ferrous undertones. A collaborative effort with Champagne Thiénot.
2013 Champagne Dom Pérignon, courtesy of Harry at Shang Palace, 02 Jul 2025. Light golden. Open with a lovely sheen of fabulous tiny bubbles that exude a delicate glow of early secondary characters. Turned a little more stony as the initial rush of white fruits and frangipani took on a recessed tone, distinctly more minerally over time. Easily outshines the Penfolds with its class and sophistication.
2021 Domaine Roux Père et Fils Saint-Aubin at Shang Palace, 02 Jul 2025. Pale golden. Restrained nose of longans, matched by a superb clarity of cool glacial tones on the lively delicate palate, its acidity perfectly judged with just a hint of understatement, rendering crisp definition with lovely slender linearity. This is a gem.
2021 Résonance Pinot Noir at Shang Palace, 02 Jul 2025. Good colour. Effusive in cherries, red fruits and strawberries. Superbly layered with effortless grace, its imperceptible supple tannins giving way to a subtly nuanced and understated palate, quite impeccably balanced with a refined savouriness. Supremely elegant though a tad short. A revelation, nonetheless. Farmed by Louis Jadot in the Willamette Valley, Oregon.
2017 Château de Chamirey Mercurey 1er La Mission monopole. Aired for two hours ahead of dimsum at Imperial Treasure Great World, 06 Jul 2025. Light golden. Keen presence of lime and clear citrus. Very generously imbued with a warm ripeness, boasting fine clarity and lovely acidity. Settled down with cool subtle orangey overtones as the fruit turned slightly backwards, developing an understated glowing finish.
2014 Domaine A.-P. de Villaine Saint-Aubin 1er Les Perrières. Aired for ninety minutes ahead of dinner at Otto Ristorante, 09 Jul 2025. My second bottle in as many months from the same batch. Displaying a superb clear golden hue, this wine opens with crème and icing amid a chalky gleam. The fullish palate carries good weight and intensity of dense yellow citrus and spiced pear laced with suave acidity, yielding a further hint of tropical fruits within its cool glacial demeanour, eventually developing a distinct salinity. Showing better than before. Probably at its peak and likely to hold on for several more years.
2005 Domaine Robert Arnoux Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, courtesy of John at Otto Ristorante, 09 Jul 2025. Popped at the restaurant. Fairly deep crimson at its core, exuding an alluring fragrance of dark cherries, roses, blackberries and currants. Still wonderfully full and fresh, its sublime acidity exerting a supple tensile presence that broadens the expanse of glorious fruit on a bed of velvety tannins. Morphed together very well with understated plummy overtones. Very impeccably balanced and proportioned, coming across as traditional in the best sense of the word. A superb effort by Pascal Lachaux.
Champagne Piper Heidsieck Essentiel Brut NV at the Silver Kris Lounge, Changi T3, 12 Jul 2025. Pale golden. Dense acerbic intensity of lime and other citrus infused with minerally elements.
2022 Markus Huber Gruner Veltliner, on board Singapore Airlines Business Class SIN-LHR, 12 July 2025. Clear golden. Quite effusive in its distilled chalky clarity. Rounded with lithe suppleness. Very subtly nuanced. Modest finish.
2022 Maison Louis Latour Mâcon-Lugny Les Genièvres, on board Singapore Airlines Business Class SIN-LHR, 12 July 2025. Light golden. Clear chardonnay character with understated white tones and chalk. Quite fleshy, imbued with a distinct mid-palatal minerality that impart lovely freshness though it’s a little short.
2020 Pewsey Vale 1961 Block Eden Valley Riesling, on board Singapore Airlines Business Class SIN-LHR, 12 July 2025. Pale. Undertones of petroleum notes on the nose and cool rounded palate, tinged with a trace of saline glare that impart a bit of edginess.
Champagne Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs Brut NV at Claridge’s, London, 18 Jul 2025. Pale. Refined clarity with cool shades of green fruits and orchard, displaying a soft gentle intensity with fine delineation amid understated overtones, pampering the palate with a touch of velvet. Great balance.
2020 Domaine Pierrick Bouley Monthelie 1er Les Clous at Claridge’s, London, 18 Jul 2025. Deeply coloured. Raspberries, blackberries and currants dominate with a tinge of varnish on the nose. Rather savoury and fleshy, developing striking acidity with an attractive tannin structure over time, becoming more delicious and integral with emerging notes of chocolate.
2023 Sirmontagu Côtes de Provence Rosé at L’Epicerie Georges in Nice, 19 Jul 2025. Pale rosy orangey hues. Fairly crisp and clean with a bright intensity of grapefruit. Perfect for summer.
2024 Rapiteau Chardonnay Les Plants Nobles at Cafe de Turin in Nice, 20 Jul 2025. Pale greenish. Fine density of fruit and floral notes in equal measure, supported by a firm minerally line with a bit of biting intensity. Modest finish.
2023 Estoublon La Reserve Blanc at restaurant La Pinede, Aix-en-Provence, 22 Jul 2025. Pale. Fig, some mint and green fruits dominate, showing fine intensity with a firm minerally undertow. Fleshed out quite quickly with refreshing freshness and fullness.
2024 Domaine de Castlenau Les Ronces Chardonnay at the Silver Kris Lounge, Heathrow T2, 26 Jul 2025. Rather greenish in colour, exuding summer hay, green fruits and leafy mint. Medium-weight with a distinct trace of salinity amid its smooth acidity. Decent finish.
2019 Evening Land Seven Springs Pinot Noir. Aired for ninety minutes ahead of dinner at Crab At Bay, 28 Jul 2025. Good colour. This wine opens with ripe darkish plummy fruit laced with traces of sweetness, structured with supple tannins. Quite subtly nuanced with gentle inner detail of tea leaves. Good refinement.
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.
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2022
These are short notes from an afternoon tasting of the 2022 vintage hosted by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux as part of Vinexpo Asia 2025 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, 27 May 2025. Consistent with general opinion of 2022 being an exceptional vintage, I found the wines, particularly those of the Left Bank, to be uniformly excellent, highly integral in structure and integration with lovely ripeness and acidity. Langoa Barton and Gloria were standouts, along with much of Pauillac and Pessac-Leognan. These are the modern incarnation of 1996. There is no need to bust your wallet; many of the smaller estates will offer plenty of top-notch quality.
2022 Château Langoa Barton. Deep purple. Expansive palate of ripe raspberries dressed in svelte sexy tannins, underscored by sublime acidity. Superbly integrated with plummy overtones. Highly successful.
2022 Château Léoville Barton. Purplish, exuding a gentle fragrance of light varnish. Sleek medium presence, highly integral. Balanced with refined acidity.
2022 Château Lagrange. Good colour. Medium-bodied. Distinctly ferrous and minerally. Well integrated with understated acidity. Drinking well.
2022 Château Talbot. Deep purple. Restrained bouquet of ripe berries. Medium-weight. Quite easy on the palate, structured with supple unobtrusive tannins though a tad austere at sides.
2022 Château Gloria. Deep purple. Restrained nose of dark berries with a vegetal tinge. Medium-full, imbued with crisp acidity that impart teasing intensity and lovely tension. Again, there is that bit of mint and vegetal note, but I was assured the grapes are fully de-stemmed. Good balance and refinement. Punches above its weight.
2022 Château Branaire-Ducru. Good colour. Highly integral with a relaxed charm. Very subtly nuanced throughout almost to the point of being nondescript.
2022 Château Gruaud Larose. Deep purple. Raspberries and dark berries dominate, imparting a generously layered darkish palate. Impeccably balanced with refined acidity and supple intensity. Modest finish.
2022 Château Beychevelle. Opaque purple. The fruit here is highly refined but just a tad backward, structured with terse tannins that impart lovely tension.
2022 Château Phélan Ségur. Impenetrable deep purple. Full presence of dark fruits and black berries, though somewhat restrained with understated acidity in spite of its terse dryish tannins, displaying good tension and balanced. Vinified in a mix of wood and stainless steel.
2022 Château Rauzan-Segla. Deep purple. Enamel, raspberries and currants dominate. Full-bodied, ripe and boldly structured with striking acidity that impart a dash of spice though it is somewhat austere at the sides.
2022 Château Kirwan. Deep purple. Lovely perfumed bouquet. Medium-full. Well-structured with plenty of stuffing, tinged with a dash of balsamic elements. Integral. Good length.
2022 Château Giscours. Purplish. Considerable restraint. Lightly perfumed. Medium presence. Rather understated and relaxed with unobtrusive tannins. Modest finish.
2022 Château Clerc Milon. Deeply coloured. Predominant purple fruits, tinged with olives. Quite full but well balanced and integral, structured with spicy tannins.
2022 Château Duhart Milon. Purplish. Inviting bouquet of ripe raspberries and violets, maintaining a poised open elegance in spite of its terse fullness. Balanced with considerable charm.
2022 Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse. Deep purple. Quite perfumed with a tinge of malt and rye. Well balanced with a lovely dryish intensity that exert controlled tension amid overtones of warm gravel. Modest finish.
2022 Château Lynch-Bages. Deep purple. Quite alluring in purple fruits on the perfumed nose. Medium presence. Open with considerable restraint, the wine beautifully integrated and impeccably proportioned, exuding the signature dryness of Pauillac with unobtrusive tannins. This is classic Lynch-Bages, perhaps a modern incarnation of the 1996. Excellent.
2022 Château Pichon Longueville Baron. Brilliant deep purple, imbued with an abundance of small ripe berries. Only medium weight yet wonderfully open and expressive, very subtly nuanced with great transparency. Impeccably balanced but unexpectedly understated. Not the usual extrovert. Superb.
2022 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Deep purple. Considerably restrained on the nose though the lush palate boasts superb detail and layering of gorgeous red fruits cushioned by chewy tannins that impart refined verve and elegant power. A wine with real character. Outstanding.
2022 Château de Pez. This Saint-Estephe is deeply coloured with a profusion of sweet alluring fragrance and floral hues, imbued with lovely minerally detail and intensity. Highly integral. Good finish. Very successful.
2022 Château d’Armailhac. Purplish. Fairly effusive in fragrant dark currants, berries and rose petals. Generously endowed and intense but the tannin structure is somewhat assertive, not helped by pointed acidity.
2022 Château Cantermerle. Deep garnet. Generous darkish density of cool ripe fruit on the nose and medium-full palate, boasting refined verve and tension with excellent understated tannin structure. Great balance. Runs the 2018 close.
2022 Château Le Bon Pasteur. Deep purple. Quite generous and full with a brooding darkish intensity, structured with dryish pointed tannins and a leafy tinge that impart a tad of austerity.
2022 Château Le Gay. Opaque purple, exuding dense purple fruits amid assertive dryish tannins. Quite minerally, oozing tight tension and intensity.
2022 Château Gazin. Good colour. Effusive in dense plummy fruit tinged with soy. Fleshy and well-integrated with refined tannins and slick acidity, producing dryish intensity with a glimpse of inner detail.
2022 Château Dassault. Deep purple. Restrained on the nose, though the firm brightly-lit palate boasts warm gravel and soy, structured with detailed tannins that exert fair intensity.
2022 Château La Dominique. Deep purple. Abundant in dark berries and currants that exert supple intensity amid a refined tannin structure, displaying good length and lovely integration.
2022 Château Canon la-Gaffelière. Opaque purple. Exudes a lovely sweet fragrance, matching the cool ripeness of ample density and intensity of dark fruits that impart a certain austerity. For the long haul.
2022 Château Valandraud. Deep purple. Effusive in beeswax and varnish while the darkish palate is generously imbued with black fruits, soy and dark currants that exert spicy intensity, finishing with great linearity.
2022 Château La Tour Figeac. Good colour. Sleek bouquet of citrus and currants. Generously layered with overtones of exotic spice and balsamic elements. Fine linearity.
2022 Château La Gaffelière. Purplish, exuding a lovely perfumed fragrance to match the full presence of dense dark fruit, underscored by pronounced acidity.
2022 Château Malarctic Lagravière Rouge. Deep purple. Quite effusive with a gravelly warmth tinged with rye. Fleshy with good refinement in spite of the intense fruit and detailed tannins tinged with a dash of coffee and vegetal tone.
2022 Château L’Arrivet Haut-Brion. Clear purple, showing considerable restraint in spite of its fullness, imbued with lovely tension and fine tannin structure.
2022 Château Haut-Bailly. Great colour. Clear purplish crimson. Restrained nose of small dark berries. The medium-full palate is open with sleek minerally depth and gravelly detail. Well-structured with controlled verve and intensity. An excellent effort, very Pessac-Leognan in character.
2022 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge. Good colour. Red fruits and dark cherries dominate on a bed of luxurious velvety tannins, producing lush cushioned textures with excellent definition. Beautifully integral. One of the estate’s best efforts.
2022 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc. Pale. Gentle presence of cool clear, pears and citrus. Rounded with medium weight. Rather teasing on the nose, matched by a restrained intensity of nutmeg and olives with understated acidity. Excellent refinement.
2022 Château Carbonnieux Blanc. Pale. Somewhat distant on the nose, though the rounded medium palate sports a concentrated racy freshness of predominant nutmeg with a tinge of salinity.
2022 Château Guiraud. Light golden. Enticing bouquet of nectarine, honey and cinnamon. Very cleanly delineated with understated acidity, not cloying at all. Highly integral.
These are wines from a couple of dinners with the boss of Crurated, Alfonso de Gaetano of Napoli (he’d even played football with Maradona), and his top-level management, Paolo Sforza and Ivy Lim at the Michelin-starred Buona Terra, Singapore, on 7th and 28th May, 2025. Started in 2021, Crurated sells wine directly to you from the chateau or domaine, cutting out all middlemen. Several top estates have already consigned volumes of wine to Crurated, including Groffier, Charles Lachaux, Dujac, Camuzet, Cathiard and Clerget, not to mention a whole range of Bordeaux as well. Crurated’s app is dangerously addictive. Everything is at your fingertips: browsing, ordering, one-stop payment, cellaring and delivery. The utilisation of blockchain technology ensures that the movement and provenance of every bottle, with its own unique non-fungible token (NFT), is known to everyone concerned. Another unique feature is that you can even just buy 750 mL from a barrel and customise the bottling as you wish. You can store your wines with them or take delivery, and you are kept informed about the movement of your bottles every step of the way right down to the hour of delivery. Crurated also plans to link up with restaurants such that these NFT-tagged wines can be despatched on an on-demand basis to restaurants without the latter having to bear the cost of stocking up expensive cellars. Once a bottled is purchased, Crurated as well as the estate owner get paid immediately, thanks to blockchain. With such an innovative business model, Crurated is set to disrupt the conventional wine business in a big way. Do yourself a favour and get on board.
2006 Champagne Pierre Peters L’Esprit Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, courtesy of LF. Light golden, proffering lovely dryish density of toast, almonds and wafer that exploded with exquisite intensity and sublime acidity in the mouth, imparting superb energy and aristocratic balance throughout its impressive length.
2022 Charles Lachaux Bourgogne Aligoté Les Champs d’Argent, courtesy of Ivy and Paolo. Pale golden. The cool lift of delicate orchard fruit and morning dew belies its structured racy intensity, boasting very fine definition and seamless integration with excellent length and linearity. Settled down with great clarity amid a certain waxy stoniness that betrayed its non-chardonnay identity.
2015 Maison Leroy Auxey-Duresses, courtesy of Kieron. Light golden. Very lovely bouquet of dense floral hues. Equally generous in delicate citrus with a rounded warmth underpinned by sublime acidity, boasting lithe elegance amid shades of bitter pomelo, firming up with a chamfered chalkiness over time. Superb.
2021 Domaine Jean Chartron Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clos de la Pucelle monopole. Pale. Surprisingly reticent on the nose in spite of the sharp presence of delicate citrus laced with pointed acidity, turning more reductive over time as emerging notes of juicy nutmeg and distinct salinity took hold with fine density and linearity.
2017 Domaine Benoit Ente Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clos de la Truffière. Pale luminosity, exuding a cool delicate lift of concentrated clear citrus and refined chalkiness with considerable restraint. Equally enticing on the medium-full palate, the fruit just a tad backward in favour of sleek acidity, yielding great clarity before turning more highly expressive with glowing tones of white fruits and nutmeg. Excellent.
2015 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Pucelles, courtesy of Kieron. Pale. This stalwart opens with an effusive bouquet of tropical fruits and intense white tones laced with vanillin, matched by a sleek fullness from its glorious layers of fruit and acidity that teased with great agility. Almost reductive in feel, leading to an initial impression of Meursault until it began fleshing out with superb inner definition, announcing its class and pedigree with a lush velvetiness. This is a distinct change from the traditional style of Leflaive, more contemporaneous than ever. Outstanding.
2021 Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis, courtesy of Anthony. Seemingly more evolved in appearance than it really is, proffering a lifted velvety fragrance from the ample presence of supple red fruits dashed with mandarins. Wonderfully fresh and agile and impeccably balanced, imparting exquisite mouthfeel with unmistakable pedigree. A village, but truly a complete wine.
2021 Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux Chambolle-Musigny, courtesy of Alfonso. Bright crimson, proffering a highly enticing exuberance of mandarins, orange peel and red fruits with a deeper vein of dark currants that convey lovely verve and excitement throughout the sleek integral palate. One can understand the appeal of Charles Lachaux in spite of the prohibitive pricing.
2017 Domaine Prieuré Roch Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Vieille Vignes, courtesy of Anthony. Cloudy opaque crimson. Stunning lift of perfumed plummy fragrance amid overtones of icing and nail varnish on the nose that contrasted sharply against a palate of distinct salinity and rustic earthiness with pronounced ferrous undertones, laced with assertive acidity. This is certainly NSG on steroids with plenty of promise, but probably best to give it another 5-6 years.
2012 Domaine de L’Arlot Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Clos des Forêts monopole, courtesy of Vic. Good colour, proffering haw, red fruits and rose petals. Still imbued with youthful freshness and vibrant intensity, yielding fine detail even though it is not the lush weighty sort, finishing with good persistence.
2017 Domaine Yvon Clerget Pommard 1er Les Rugiens. Some early bricking with a sense of elusiveness on the nose, although the palate is almost exuberant in its structured lithe intensity, unmistakably masculine with clean acidity. Came together quite well after more than four hours, a little more lean over time.
2013 Domaine Meo Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Aux Brulées, courtesy of Ivy and Paolo. Deep crimson core, exuding a profusion of perfumed red fruits, rose petals, haw and cherries with a haunting fragrance. Highly integral and fleshy, the darkish plummy fruit a little chamfered in structure amid the pronounced acidity, leading to some degree of astringency in spite of its lengthy persistence. Probably a function of the vintage.
2010 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Les Champeaux, courtesy of Vic. Displaying an evolved crimson with leathery textures amid an enticing velvety rosiness, this wine is caught at peak maturity, boating layers of warm ripe plummy red fruits supported by fine acidity and ferrous undertones, picking up some verve over time. Excellent.
2009 Domaine Georges Roumier Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Clos de la Boussière, courtesy of Kieron. Bright crimson with a darker core, exuding the signature fragrance of Roumier from the lovely layered expanse of blackberries, currants and cherries and refined acidity that convey youthful verve with effortless grace. Superbly integrated and proportioned. Modest finish.
2021 Domaine Poisot Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Bob. Good colour. Rather alluring in rose petals and effusive floral fragrance. Medium weight. Brightly lit with refined detail, its supple tannins exerting terse tension. Modest finish.
2017 Domaine Tawse Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of LF. Displaying an evolved crimson, this wine sports a highly exuberant bouquet, positively glowing with orangey tones and a dash of leafiness. Equally energetic and tense in the mouth, richly imbued with ripe red fruits within structured tannins that impart a certain spicy sweetness. Racy and delicious.
1995 Domaine Jacques Cacheaux Échezeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of Sir Bob. Clearly well-aged from its mature crimson, proffering sweetish bouquet of red fruits with a warm ripeness amid notes of heated gravel. Still fairly full and youthful with a concentrated teasing verve, structured with well-defined tannins and ferrous undertones. This domaine is famous for its tiny 0.16 ha of the 0.6 ha Vosne-Romanée 1er La Croix Rameau.
2013 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Good colour, boasting a deep vein of delicious blackberries, currants and raspberries that exude the distinctive rich luxuriant sheen of a classic Dujac. Equally classy on the fresh exuberant palate, sharply delineated with lean definition that gave off an illusion of fizz, finishing with a dash of sweetness.
2013 Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of Anthony. Displaying an evolved crimson, the fruit comes across as mature with plummy and orangey hues, deliciously fresh and full with supple intensity and structured definition from unobtrusive tannins. One would have imagined this to be an older wine, but its brilliant pedigree comes through in this awkward vintage. Very expertly crafted.
2000 Cappellano Otin Fiorin, courtesy of Alfonso. Made from nebbiolo, this Barolo is beautifully expressive with glorious hues of complex red fruits tinged with varnish from its ruby depth. Equally extroverted and delicious on the palate, impeccably balanced and integral in spite of its masculine proportions, gaining in power and intensity in the glass. Almost Burgundian.
Quite an impromptu gathering amongst friends old and new at Shang Palace, Shangri-la Singapore, on 14 April 2025, generously hosted by Sanjay. Many thanks!
2008 Champagne Dom Pérignon. Light golden. Predominance of lemongrass, delicate green fruits and clear citrus within a highly refined sheen of soft bubbles. Whereas the 2008 was drinking superbly some years ago, it is now much leaner and reductive with crisp cutting acidity, proffering good detail and supple intensity with controlled verve, finishing with traces of bitter lemon. Best to lay down for another decade, at least. Truly for the long haul.
2015 Maison Leroy Côteaux Bourguignons, courtesy of Mr Wira. Fairly deep golden. A tad heavy on the nose in apple essence, already showing substantial development. Quite fleshy on the medium-full palate, imbued with a dash of earthiness amid the minerally shine of crushed stones. Good acidity.
2016 Domaine Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Les Perrières, courtesy of Dr Ngoi. Displaying a transparent golden luminosity with a glowing minty nose, this lovely proposition of white fruits and clear citrus is layered with seamless verve, teasing the fullish palate with fleeting intensity of tangy spice tinged with vanillin, boasting great refinement throughout its moderate length. Very elegant.
2017 Domaine des Comte Lafon Meursault, courtesy of LCW. Pale golden luminosity. Fairly effusive in citrus fruit and frangipani with a faint note of vanillin. Beautifully rounded and integral with suave agility, finishing well.
2017 Domaine Jacques-Frédèric Mugnier Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Clos de la Marechale Rouge. Lovely pinot tint. Effusive in cherries and red plums with overtones of haw. Only medium-weight, but highly integral and succulent with a gentle suppleness, boasting very well integrated subtle tannins and acidity. Decent finish.
2017 Domaine Meo Camuzet Clos De Vougeot Pres Le Cellier Grand Cru, courtesy of Soo Kian. Lovely pinot tint. Effusive in delicious red fruits, cherries and haw that impart gentle suppleness with a racy illusion of fizziness. Well balanced with fleshy verve, veering towards feminine character.
2016 Olivier Bernstein Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Lavrottes, courtesy of Dr Ngoi. Predominance of red fruits on the nose and medium-weight palate, cushioned by soft tannins that impart a relaxed feel. Drinking well but not remarkable.
2013 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart Grand Cru, courtesy of Sanjay. Lovely pinot tint. Ripe mandarins, peaches and haw dominate with lovely succulence, its tightly knit tannins and svelte acidity imparting pinpoint precision within its lush layers, fleshing out with superb intensity.
2015 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 1er Aux Brûlées, courtesy of Vic. Good colour. Effusive in shades of darkish fruit though the medium palate is distinctly brighter, lit by delicious swathes of red fruits, strawberries and rose petals that impart suave supple intensity. Quite impeccably balanced.
1998 Château d’Yquem, courtesy of Sanjay. Displaying gorgeous golden hues, this wine opens with a profusion of apricot, cinnamon and nectarine with its luscious density, tinged with a dash of orange peel. Superbly fresh and precise, exerting focused intensity that impart superb mouthfeel. Impeccably balanced and proportioned.
2019 A.-F. Gros Bourgogne Rouge, aired in bottle for two hours prior to dinner at Imperial Treasure Great World, 07 Apr 2025. Good colour. In spite of its “lowly” classification, this wine is quite excellent in every way, opening with a lovely bouquet of savoury sweet meat, red plums and haw, matched by a medium-full tensile palate stuffed with quality raspberries and blackberries that exert exquisite acidity and intensity. Impeccably balanced with unobtrusive tannins, becoming more placid after some time before fleshing out further with greater weight and layering, finishing well. This is easily village quality. It’s really true that the producer matters most for burgundy. A steal at SGD58…from the supermarket!
Champagne Jacquesson 742, courtesy of South Bridge Reserve, 11 Apr 2025. Pale golden. Good presence of citrus, olives and nutmeg underscored by crisp acidity and yeasty undertones, tapering to a tight minerally finish.
2012 Gilbert et Christine Felettig Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes, courtesy of South Bridge Reserve, 11 Apr 2025. Poured from magnum. Lovely pinot tint. Gentle hues of baked apples and red plums on the nose that belie its racy fullness and exciting intensity. Wonderfully fresh and succulent, imbued with lively acidity that settled with controlled verve. Excellent.
2020 Domaine Morey-Coffinet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Clos Saint-Jean Rouge. Popped and poured at Asia Grand, 15 Apr 2025. Rather darkish for pinot. Very fine density of ripe raspberries and mulberries, structured with assertive tannins and firm acidity that exert focused intensity though somewhat one-dimensional.
Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut NV, on board SQ318 SIN-LHR, 17 Apr 2025. Clear golden luminosity, proffering creamy overtones of almond, buttery notes and grapefruit matched by a lovely dry chalky intensity on the medium-full palate, tinged with green fruits and crisp yellow citrus without being abrasive. Decent finish of bitter lemon.
2023 Craggy Range Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc, on board SQ318 SIN-LHR, 17 Apr 2025. Displaying a gentle luminosity, this Marlborough white opens with a predominance of diesel, earthy tones and morning dew. Surprisingly lean, though it makes up for its medium weight with a focused concentration of olives and nutmeg that stretched with lithe agility all through to its glowing finish of exotic spices.
2023 Deep Woods Chardonnay, on board SQ318 SIN-LHR, 17 Apr 2025. Pale luminosity. Morning dew, white notes and chalk dominate with enticing presence, the fruit just a tad backward in favour of crisp dryish acidity.
2021 Sons of Eden Marschall Shiraz, on board SQ318 SIN-LHR, 17 Apr 2025. Deep garnet, exuding a classic shiraz warmth laced with vanillin and licorice. Medium-full, imbued with excellent fleshy ripe fruit without being overly dense, boasting lithe vibrancy and refined balance with a supple tensile mouthfeel. A good choice.
2018 Le Château Loudenne, on board SQ318 SIN-LHR, 17 Apr 2025. The first bottle was distinctly corked (my first such encounter at 40,000 feet !!). The second bottle boasts restrained dark berries from its impenetrable deep garnet, displaying remarkable balance between its excellent concentration of fruit and pliant tannin structure, turning more darkly delicious over time with controlled verve. Drinking well.
2022 Domaine Michel Bouzereau et Fils Meursault Les Grands Charrons, courtesy of Mr Thio from the list of UMU, London, 18 Apr 2025. Displaying a clear golden luminosity, this wine exudes delicious cool glacial tones topped with créme de la créme, subtly nuanced with refined precision and understated intensity in spite of its generous proportions. Very lovely.
2002 M Chapoutier Ermitage L’Ermite, courtesy of Mr Thio from the list of UMU, London, 18 Apr 2025. Deep crimson, delivering deep leathery and velvety textures from the copious presence of red fruits well into their secondary development, structured with silky smooth tannins that fleshed out well with refined detail and proportion.
Champagne Laurent Perrier Brut NV, courtesy of Mr Thio at Claridge’s, London, 19 Apr 2025. Pale luminosity. Very cleanly focused and refreshing with incisive cutting acidity amid distant orchard fruit. Fanned out well.
2019 Domaine Pascale Martrot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Combettes, courtesy of Mr Thio at Claridge’s, London, 19 Apr 2025. Pale with a rounded elegance. A little restrained initially, proffering just a hint of pineapples before opening up with more effusive chromatic tones whilst the usual chalkiness is reined in with lovely subtlety, blossoming into a classic Puligny. Drinking beautifully.
2017 Domaine Bertrand Bachelet Maranges 1er La Fussière, courtesy of Mr Thio at Claridge’s, London, 19 Apr 2025. Good colour. Rounded with subtle shades of top-notch raspberries and dark plums dressed in smooth tannins. Darkly delicious at just the right level of extraction with understated intensity and cool ripeness. An absolute gem for the discerning connoisseur.
2021 Domaine Dureuil-Janthial Rully, courtesy of Mr Thio at Canton Blue, The Peninsula London, 20 Apr 2025. Luminous gold, opening with a restrained chalkiness tinged with saline minerals that carried well onto the palate with refreshing crispness, displaying controlled verve and intensity, veering towards a reductive precision as its distinct salinity took hold of the palate.
2020 Domaine Pierre-Yvés Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Les Champiots, courtesy of Mr Thio at Canton Blue, The Peninsula London, 20 Apr 2025. Pale luminosity. There is a very slight reductive pungency amid cool glacial notes that blew off to reveal restrained layers of saline minerals within its fullish rounded elegance, fleshing out eventually with gleaming tones.
2022 Thomas Morey Chassagne-Montrachet, courtesy of Mr Thio at Scott’s Mayfair, London, 21 Apr 2025. Displaying luminous golden hues, this wine opens with some restraint amid stony overtones tinged with a dash of salinity. The creamy smooth palate boasts an almost luxuriant feel where every element of fruit, acidity and minerals is precisely in place, stretching out with understated glowing intensity.
2023 Tamellini Soave Veneto at The Vault, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, 21 Apr 2025. Pale luminosity. Sharp lift of flint and crisp citrus. Quite engaging on the medium-full palate. Refreshing and lively.
Champagne Moët Chandon Imperial Brut NV at The Vault, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, 21 Apr 2025. Pale. Full presence of lime and citrus fruit that cut through with incisive acidity and brazen intensity.
2015 Hattingley Valley Blanc de Blancs at The Vault, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, 21 Apr 2025. Pale. This Hampshire sparkling wine is full-bodied, a little forward in lime and clear citrus but well balanced with good refinement, traversing the palate with even intensity.
2022 Monteleccio Castello di Argiano Sesti at The Vault, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, 21 Apr 2025. Good colour. Predominance of supple red fruits within sweetish smooth tannins, proffering chamfered detail with subdued intensity. Evenly proportioned. Drinking well.
2020 Peller Estate Vidal Blanc Icewine at The Vault, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, 21 Apr 2025. Deep golden. Effusive fragrance of apricot cinnamon and honey. Good acidity and intensity though offering much in terms of potential complexity. Canadian.
2019 Domaine de Montille Saint-Aubin 1er En Remilly. Aired for two hours ahead of dinner at home, 28 Apr 2025. Pale greenish. Fairly effusive in white flowers and orchard fruit. Still rather tight on the medium-full palate, turning more reductive and minerally over time, yielding some inner detail of green fruits and icing.
1990 Château Léoville Las-Cases. Aired in bottle ahead of dinner at Otto Ristorante, 30 Apr 2025. Deep purple. Accentuated lift of red roses, dark cherries, blueberries and earthy balsamic elements. Medium-full. Still amazingly fresh and lively, boasting slick acidity and structured tannins smoothened through the passage of time. Slightly velvety with a tinge of exotic spice, developing the classic Saint-Julien glow of dry cassis and iron filings throughout its moderate length. Far from drying out. Excellent.
2011 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clavoillon. Pale golden luminosity, proffering clear citrus and floral bloom with a hint of morning dew on the nose. Utterly delicate and agile, boasting sublime acidity underpinned by fleeting ferrous minerals and balsamic spice though one would be hard-pressed to call it Puligny; more like a lean reductive Meursault. Is it because the fruit has begun to recede? Nevertheless, this wine is beautifully poised and elegant, still wonderfully fresh, finishing with a lasting understated glow. An atypical Clavoillon, for sure; certainly not the style of Anne-Claude Leflaive. The only way to ascertain would be to pop another bottle.
2019 Caroline Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Vergers, courtesy of LF. Pale luminosity, opening with a mild reduction amid its lovely floral lift. Medium-full. Rounded with refined clarity, laced with a dash of enamel that imparted some racy sweetness before firming up to a steely finish.
2017 Domaine Roulot Meursault, courtesy of Kieron. Pale luminosity. This straight village proffers restrained white tones from its delicate chalkiness, delivering a rounded fullish palate with lean detail and lithe agility that fleshed out with glacial coolness and emerging delicate complexity. Very classy.
2020 Domaine Bachelet-Monnot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Folatières, courtesy of Vic. Pale luminosity. Classic Puligny nose, exuding distant floral and minerally notes in equal measure. Very classy on the rounded palate, boasting exquisite intensity from the faultless integration of distilled green fruit, lithe acidity and pronounced minerally base, imparting exciting verve and mouthfeel.
2005 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Clos Saint-Jean, courtesy of LF. Classic pinot tint. The enticing bouquet here is wonderfully fragrant in its dense rosy hues, leading to a medium-full focused concentration of fresh red fruits tinged with haw and vanillin. Utterly seamless, not drying out at all. A good reminder that Ramonet makes excellent Chassagne reds.
2015 Lucien Le Moine Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru, courtesy of Kieron. Displaying an opaque pinot tint that hinted at some age, this medium-bodied proposition is imbued with good concentration of velvety fruit shorn of excesses, imparting distilled notes of rose petals supported by a certain earthiness. A convincing effort from this négociant.
2013 Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux Échezeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of Vic. Very deep tint of pinot. Big and structured, infinitely masculine with a certain rustic minerally detail, cushioned by a rounded velvetiness bordering on gruffness. Snapped together with better focus after some time though its darkish demeanour remained rather unyielding.
2007 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru. Classic pinot tint. Delicately poised with a certain restraint of haw and rose petals. The fleshy medium-full palate features decent depth of fruit imbued with a distinct salinity, perfectly integral with lithe elegant tannins and fresh acidity. Not showy at all. Drinking the vintage, probably at its best.
2000 Château Pavie, courtesy of Sir Bob. Decanted on-site. Deep purple, proffering exuberant swathes of delicious black fruits amid the hallowed glow of a maturing claret. Expectedly masculine but well-proportioned, cushioned by pliant chewy tannins that produced a degree of lushness within its fleshy seamless layers, the enamel from new oak still discernible with a tint of cigar box. Still far from peak maturity.
Ric's Wine Journal 