Ric's Wine Journal

2011 Bouchard  Pere et Fils Beaune Greves Vignes de L’enfant Jesus 1er (courtesy of Dr Ngoi), popped and poured over lunch on 02 Dec 2016 at Tunglok Signatures, Orchard Parade Hotel. This is certainly my best experience with this special wine from Bouchard, a monopole of 10 ha within the 32 ha plot of Greves, exuding a lovely rosy fragrance with traces of earth, camphor and burnt sugar, generous in depth and purity of fruit with plenty of finesse and elegance, finishing well. Positively glowing.

2004 Rockford Basket Press, two bottles decanted on-site at FOC, a very hip Spanish eatery along Hong Kong Street, Singapore, to celebrate Troy and Linsey’s promotion on 06 Dec 2016. This perennial favourite is drinking superbly on this occasion, displaying savoury tones, sweet meat and cedar on the nose with plenty of verve and vigour from the great body of ripe Barossa fruit, caressing the palate with svelte silky tannins, richly layered with overtones of gentle mocha and subtle licorice with understated acidity and later notes of red fruits and currants, very open and inviting, not at all overbearing. At its peak and will hold for many years to come. Outstanding.

2005 Ch Du Tertre, popped and poured at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 13 Dec 2016. This lesser-known estate from Margaux is showing very well, displaying secondary nuances of earth, cedar, lifted currants, plums and tea, surprisingly full with very good definition and subtle intensity coupled with silky tannins, finishing on a persistent note of olives with a slight vegetal trace. Very fine.

2011 Montevertine (courtesy of CJ), popped and poured at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 13, Dec 2016. Dark roses, cherries and raspberries dominate on the nose, gentle and feminine with a rich vein of fruit still tightly coiled within its soft outer body, yet to develop but this will turn out to be most lovely in another 5-7 years.

2005 Ch Rauzan-Gassies, popped and poured at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 13, Dec 2016. Compared with the Du Tertre, both from the same vintage and commune, this wine displays greater sophistication with an attractive bouquet of dark red fruits leading to an excellent concentration of ripe dark berries and plums, brimming with quiet intensity, subtly structured with velvety tannins, unashamedly masculine. Quite excellent.

2003 Ch Sociando Mallet, popped and poured at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 13 Dec 2016. This particular vintage marked the year that this estate voluntarily pulled out of the re-organisation of the Medoc classification, hence the need for a new label. In spite of its unclassified status, this wine is clearly in the league of classified growths. Displaying a deep dark red, this wine was relatively closed, but the palate is awashed with great concentration of dark fruits and currants, fairly dense with characters of soy with superb tobacco undertones that indicate its close proximity to the soils of Pauillac, structured with sweet subtle tannins. Excellent, but yet to hit its peak.

2006 D’Arenberg Dead Arm, popped and poured at Yan, National Gallery Singapore, on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 13, Dec 2016. Still very dark in color, this wine is saturated with dark chocolate with traces of licorice and black pepper, full-bodied with sweet medicinal tones, great concentration and  powerful intensity, structured with sweet well-integrated tannins. Drinking well now, but nowhere near its peak.

Guy Charlemagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut Reserve NV, bought off the list of Corner House for SGD190 at the Singapore Botanical Gardens, over lunch with Victor and Kieron, 16 Dec 2016. This wine opens with lifted aromas of deep toasty characetrs and nutmeg, quite full with  complex sweet citrus contrasted against mild bitter lemon and crystalline minerality that offered excellent definition, enhanced by understated acidity and superb length. Simply outstanding.

2001 Bass Phillip Premium (courtesy of Kieron), aired for 45 minutes prior to serving over lunch with Victor and Kieron at Corner House, Singapore Botanical Gardens, 16 Dec 2016. This top pinot noir from Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, appears fully evolved, open and inviting with deep bold characters of camphor, dark plums and incense with creamy overtones, displaying good concentration of red fruits supported by saline minerals with understated acidity, becoming broader and more Burgundian over time though it remained a tad short at the finish. Excellent.

2010 Louis Jadot Chambolle-Musigny (courtesy of KP Hui) over dinner at Jade Palace, 19 Dec 2016. The nose here is dominated by white flowers with overtones of creme and icing, with good presence of complex citrus on the palate, fairly intense and lifted and well-integrated. Louis Jadot is always reliable.

2014 Chateau de Mersault Les Charmes-Dessus 1er, poured after a brief aeration at Jade Palace, 19 Dec 2016. An estate run by Stephen Follin-Arlebet, this wine is broad with an abundance of white flowers and lime of subtle intensity balanced by attractive saline minerality, opening up with some early complexity. Very fine.

2010 Louis Boillot et Fils Pommard Les Fremiers 1er (courtesy of Kenny), poured after a brief aeration at Jade Palace, 19 Dec 2016. This wine is darker in tone for a pinot, offering sweet dark fruits and currants amidst dryish textures of earth and minerals. Not really memorable.

2010 Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la  Marechale 1er (courtesy of Hiok), poured after some aeration at Jade Palace, 19 Dec 2016. This perennial favourite offers an attractive bouquet of sweet dark roses, dark cherries, camphor and incense, quite understated on the palate with excellent depth of glorious red fruits displaying good definition. Very fine.

2009 De Bortoli Noble One (courtesy of Jonny), popped and poured at Jade Palace, 19 Dec 2016. Weighty with a great concentration of complex citrus and aged nectarine, layered with fresh acidity and petroleum characters that persist long after the wine has gone down the hatch. Surprisingly good.

Larnaudie-Hirault Fleur de Singapour NV (courtesy of Hsiang Sui), popped and poured at Otto Ristorante on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 22 Dec 2016. Made from premier cru 100% pinot noir from the village of Montagne de Reims, this interesting bottling exudes complex sweet citrus with a mild yeasty pungency and toasty notes, slightly dry, displaying very good concentration of fruit and minerals that imparted a slightly stern demeanour. Drinking well.

2005 Patrick Javilier Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (courtesy of Li Fern), aired in bottle for an hour at Otto Ristorante on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 22 Dec 2016. Subdued and somewhat closed and awkward, dominated by overtones of malt, wheat and icing with grainy textures and dull minerality, rather backward and reluctant. However, I have long noticed this to be a characteristic of the whites of this noted producer.

2012 Escaleras de Empedrado (courtesy of Hock Foong), aired in bottle at Otto Ristorante on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 22 Dec 2016. This Spanish pinot noir exudes earth, dark roses, cherries and medicinal tones with some camphor, displaying good concentration and soft subtle tannins with quiet intensity, producing a lovely mouthfeel.

2010 Henri Bonneau Chateauneuf du Pape (courtesy of Hsiang Sui), aired in bottle at Otto Ristorante on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 22 Dec 2016. Displaying a dark brownish red, this wine offers an interesting complex of dark cherries, licorice, peaches and bright fruits amidst some earthiness and vegetal traces, undoubtedly full, becoming more rosy and accessible over time. Good stuff, but needs further cellaring.

2005 Ch Montrose (courtesy of CJ), aired in bottle for an hour at Otto Ristorante on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 22 Dec 2016. Deep inky red, exuding a deep lovely fragrance, open and layered with glorious rich dark berries and redcurrants with a quiet intensity, highly supple with very well-integrated tannins. This will be great in time to come, but needs plenty of time. Excellent.

1997 La Spinetta Barbaresco Gallina (courtesy of Li Fern), aired in bottle for an hour at Otto Ristorante on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 22 Dec 2016. True to its Barbaresco roots, this wine  is open and feminine with an excellent body of dark red fruits and blueberries, medium-bodied, framed by soft sweet chewy tannins and finishing well. Excellent.

2008 Mount Mary Quintet, a magnum decanted on-site at Otto Ristorante on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 22 Dec 2016. Consistent with a previous note a year ago, this wine is surprisingly mellow and open with soft feminine tones of rose petals amidst a lovely floral fragrance, displaying excellent acidity with some lovely intensity, finishing well. Excellent.

2001 Poggio Salvi di Montalcino Riserva (courtesy of Li Fern), . This wine opens with aromas of old wood and almonds, gradually evolving to a more complex bouquet recalling red fruits and rose petals, well-replicated on the palate where it is gently layered and open, cloaked in lithe supple refined tannins, finishing with a spicy trace. Excellent.

2008 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello di Montalcino (courtesy of Li Fern), aired in bottle for an hour at Otto Ristorante on the occasion of Vincent’s farewell, 22 Dec 2016. Great presence on the palate from a solid core of dark fruits, cedar, plums and grapefruit, exuding earthy forest floor characters with a lovely fragrance. Excellent.

Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV, popped and poured at Imperial Treasure Crowne Plaza, 24 Dec 2016. Somewhat reticent on the nose with notes of egg tart and some yeasty pungency while an intense concentration of lime, citrus and pomelo attack the palate with abrasive dryness, supported by stony minerals that lingered at the finish. One to go with food.

2012 Kalala Onkanangan Valley Pinot Gris, popped and poured at Dorothy’s Christmas Eve party. Forward with fresh green apples, pears and green melons, quite full with an easy presence from the subdued acidity, finishing with a bit of stern minerality. Drinking very well.

2000 Dom Perignon Rose, courtesy of Hsiang Sui at his Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. Open with gentle red fruits, grapefruit and tangerines, its feminine tone aided by the fine gentle bubbles, supported by mild ferrous minerality that imparted a slightly stern demeanour at the finish.

2010 AF Gros Richebourg Grand Cru, courtesy of Hsiang Sui at his Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. Very open with lovely deep notes, beautifully proportioned between the fragrant red fruits and saline minerals with a mild savoury dash without calling attention to itself, utterly seamless with a fine balance. Excellent.

2010 AF Gros Echezeaux Grand Cru, courtesy of Hsiang Sui at his Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. Broader and richer with a forward balance than the preceding Richebourg at this stage, still somewhat closed on the nose though its excellent concentration of glorious dark cherries and currants is apparent with good purity. Yet to unfurl its full glory but the potential is great. Excellent.

2010 AF Gros Vosne-Romanee Clos de la Fontaine, courtesy of Hsiang Sui at his Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. This monopole village exudes a lifted floral fragrance of camphor and red fruits, displaying  good concentration, depth and purity of fruit with a slight forward balance, structured with sweet subtle tannins. Very fine.

2005 Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St Jacques 1er, courtesy of Hsiang Sui at his Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. Notes of sandalwood with a good concentration of recessed fruits, strawberries and subtle saline minerals comb the palate, very correct in its balance and guise, gently structured with lovely integration. Excellent.

2006 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru, courtesy of Hsiang Sui at his Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. Tasted after more than three hours of aeration, this benchmark of the Cote d’ Or is open with great purity and immense complexity from a wonderful body of fruit that exudes nuances of camphor, red plums, cherries and redcurrants, cloaked in sweet supple tannins and lovely acidity that lingered with great persistence. Truly wonderful.

1998 Veritas Hanisch Vineyard Shiraz (courtesy of Chee Foong) at Hsiang Sui’s Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. This difficult-to-source wine opens with powerful deep dark tones of licorice and medicinal characters, big and bold on the palate, undoubtedly huge in proportion, yet well balanced without overwhelming the senses, saturating the palate with distinctive acidity and supple tannins that impart a biting intensity and persistent mouthfeel, mildly bitter at the finish. I am partial to these well-crafted robust Barossa reds but those who are less open-minded are advised to stay away.

1998 Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz, courtesy of Hsiang Sui at his Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. Aired in bottle for about 30 minutes prior to tasting, this cult Barossa displays all the hallmarks of Chris Ringland’s craftsmanship, a deep garnet red that opens with powerful tones of ripe dark berries and black fruits, saturating the palate with great concentration, acidity and depth, framed by sweet velvety tannins and held in exemplary balance in spite of its 16% alcohol. Compared with the Veritas of the same vintage (above), this wine is considerably more open and sophisticated in feel, more refined in its spectrum and layering of fruit. Excellent.

2014 Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenhur Auslese (courtesy of Li Fern) at Hsiang Sui’s Christmas party, 25 Dec 2016. This is a understated wine, highly enticing on the nose with notes of aged apples and tropical fruits whilst apricot and subtle nectarine tones dominate the palate, infused with subtle sweetness and acidity that belies its auslese classification. Excellent.

2002 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz, popped and poured at Huat Kee, renowned for its refined Teochew cuisine at RELC Singapore, 26 Dec 2016. I remember buying a case of this with Kieron back in 2006 when it was mispriced at only SGD58. Deep inky red, this wine opened initially with powerful medicinal aromas tinged with licorice, mushrooms and herbs leading to a full-bodied presence, though somewhat stiff and reticent. Over time, it transformed into a more open wine with better definition, recalling black fruits and dark plums on the nose while soy and black tea leaves dominate the palate with fleshy dryish textures, finishing with mild peppery tones. Drinking well but yet to hit its peak.

2003 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a bottle I’d cellared for many years, popped and poured at Perle Noire, 27 Dec 2016. Displaying an evolved tint of brownish red, this wine exudes gentle medicinal overtones amidst a complex of earth, undergrowth, sweet wild berries and briar with traces of licorice, medium-bodied, soft and open with good concentration and dryish textures that taper to a peppery spicy finish. At its best now.

Moet et Chandon Brut Imperial, at Shinzo (courtesy of Miah Hiang), 29 Dec 2016. Smoke incense and dry charcoal fill the nose with good presence of sweet citrus and lime characters on the palate, not too dry. Drinking well.

2004 Henri Abele, a champagne blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, popped and poured at Ming Kee Live Seafood, 31 Dec 2016, truly my last drop for the year. Generous aromas of smoke, earthy pungency, charcoal and yeasty tones fill the bouquet, exuding a gentle presence on the palate with soft bubbles amidst an attractive expanse of citrus and lime and subtle minerality, moderately complex but well-integrated and rounded, finishing with good length. Very fine.

2007 Domaine Valentin Zusslin Pfingstberg Grand Cru, popped and poured at Ming Kee Live Seafood, 05 Nov 2016. This blockbuster riesling is still very youthful, saturating the palate with massive full-bodied concentration and intensity of green fruits and complex citrus along with stern ferrous minerality, evoking a sense of dense petroleum fumes characteristic of top-notch riesling. Long life ahead.

2012 G D Vajra Albe Barolo (courtesy of Vincent), popped and poured at Glen after hours, 11 Nov 2016. Dusty red. Fairly deep bouquet of mint and red fruits, medium-full, fleshy with a clean feel, soft but slightly dry at the edges with subdued tannins tapering to a gentle finish.

2000 Ch Cos Labory, served after a brief aeration at Wah Loke, Carlton Hotel Singapore, on 12 Nov 2016. This Saint-Estephe opened with an earthy pungency with overtones of bush, bramble and wild berries, turning very lovely after 45 minutes with a glorious glow of aged plums and dark currants, slightly gravelly in feel, displaying solid concentration of fruit with a firm tannic structure entirely consistent with its character, ending very well in a long minty finish. Cos Labory is often under the radar, thus representing excellent value but lengthy cellaring is required, a Saint-Estephe trait.

2006 Peccavi Chardonnay, popped and poured over dinner at Asia Grand, 17 Nov 2016. My last bottle from a half-case, and the best. Slightly unsettled at first, this Margaret River white morphed within 30 minutes into a medium-full proposition of generous proportions, stuffed with an alluring complex of floral fragrance and dense tropical citrus covered with broad swathes of chalky minerality, very well integrated and balanced with fine acidity and excellent depth, finishing very well. This has still some way to go before reaching its peak. Excellent.

2014 Cres Ricards, a 187 mL bottle served on board Silk Air flying home from Surabaya, 19 Nov 2016. This Pays d’Oc displays good concentration of wild berries, suitably ripe, with overtones of bush, earth and traces of vegetal elements framed by soft dusty tannins with dry textures. Nondescript but absolutely serviceable.

2006 Ch L’Evangile, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. Generously proportioned, this wine is showing very well ten years post-vintage, opening with a lovely floral fragrance and some earthiness, layered with excellent depth and concentration of glorious ripe fruit with nuances of cedar, rich and savoury with fabulous silky tannins and acidity to match. Excellent, and will become even better with further age.

2012 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. Closed at this stage, tight with stern bitter lemon on the palate with subdued minerality and acidity without much else. Awkward now. Best to lay off for another few more years.

2010 Dauvissat Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. Dominated by clear soft citrus and delicate minerality, exuding a gentle demeanour but, essentially, this wine is closed at this stage. Good potential, no doubt, but needs time.

2011 Sassicaia,tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016, and another bottle at Osteria Art, 26 Nov 2016. Earth, bush, dark roses and dark currants dominate on the nose, led by ripe dark berries on the palate underscored by graphite minerals and sweet silky tannins with excellent depth and concentration, quite fleshy with the fruit, lovely acidity and structure integrated in perfect balance, remarkably deft and already highly accessible, loosening up over time. This will turn out to be wonderful in another fifteen years. Excellent.

2005 Ch Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. In spite of the stellar vintage, this wine has garnered mixed opinions and I can see why. Dark cherries and black currants contribute to a dark muted tone with further notes of bellpepper, camphor and vegetal traces (a characteristic trait of Pichon Lalande), rather firm, finishing with stern tannins though layered with good concentration and acidity. This Comtesse isn’t really engaging right now and it may take another decade for her to turn around.

2004 Ch L’Evangile, tasted from magnum at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. The wine opens with a lovely aromatic glow, layered with an abundance of ripe red fruits and dark berries, very well-integrated and balanced, oozing with sweet tannins, great acidity and complexity. A classic claret, quite superb in fact, and still very much on the ascendancy. Great stuff.

2012 Domaine Meo Camuzet Vosne-Romanee Les Charmes 1er, tasted at Parkway Pantai’s Doctors’ Cocktail, Shangri-La Hotel, 21 Nov 2016. Glorious bouquet of lifted camphor, rose petals and bright red fruits of wonderful ripeness and purity with lovely acidity, intensity and concentration on the palate complemented by mild saline minerality. Very delicious now, but the potential ahead is huge.2004 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut (courtesy of Dr Wang KW), popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 29 Nov 2016. This lovely champagne exudes a lovely deep earthy pungency with a great concentration of citrus and lime with a sweet edge matched by a bright rich minerally tone, fabulously intense with a lovely bloom of floral elegance and other notes of toast, walnuts and almonds, finishing well. Excellent.

2012 Joseph Faiveley Bourgogne, served after a brief airing in bottle at Otto Ristorante, 29 Nov 2016. Gentle aromas of crème, morning dew and icing, restrained with a soft floral focus on the palate underscored by mild saline minerality. Rather shy at this stage and may be worth cellaring another 2-3 years.

2012 Domaine Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Issarts 1er, served after some aeration in bottle at Otto Ristorante, 29 Nov 2016. In spite of its youth, this monopole exudes a superb floral fragrance of rose petals and dark cherries of great purity, predominantly feminine in character and already highly accessible, displaying a rich vein of red fruits supported by mild saline minerals, finishing with traces of graphite and camphor. Very lovely.

This was the third and, probably, final gathering for Bacchus for this year, held on 03 Nov 2016 at Shang Palace, Shangri-La Singapore, a venue where the service is truly impeccable and the food entirely befitting of emperors. To up the ante further for Bacchus’ tenth anniversary, we introduced the pre-dinner promenade (in the style of FICOFI) and Shang Palace rose beautifully to the occasion by providing us with a luxurious adjoining room with an ample selection of small bites (thank you, Kieron) to go along before we eventually settled down for a private dinner. It was free-for-all for the inaugural mini-promenade and I’m glad members met up with expectations. For the promenade, we had…

2014 Chateau de Marsannay Chambertin Grand Cru. Gentle deep purple with intense characters of raspberries and camphor on the nose met by excellent concentration and purity of fruit on the palate, balanced by saline minerals and lovely acidity  with further notes of rose petals over time, displaying good linearity with subtle but sophisticated tannins. Beautifully crafted. Already highly accessible now but will age very well. Few have heard of this producer with important holdings throughout the Cote d’Or that makes wines of great sophistication at highly attractive prices.

2012 Bollinger La Cote aux Enfants (courtesy of Li Fern). This very uncommon red from Coteaux Champenois exudes great color with a deep floral bouquet, displaying excellent pinot character, acidity and balance, slightly lean with dryish textures and finishing a tad short. Nevertheless, still delicious. La Cote aux Enfants come from a small 70-acre plot in Ay, located in the heart of Champagne’s grand cru terroir, made from free-run juice only in exceptional years, aged in 3-5 year-old barrels.2014 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseigneres (courtesy of Li Fern). This is a named village, slightly restrained though some raw nutmeg and white pepper are discernible but absolutely glorious on the palate where it is beautifully open and balanced, layered with excellent concentration and delicate minerality. Excellent.

2000 Pierre Peters Les Chetillons Brut Cuvee Special (courtesy of Kieron). Deeply layered with rich tropical citrus and chalky minerality, exuding a full delicious complex of toast, yeasty overtones and malt. A superb champagne, perhaps not surprising at all as it abuts Salon in Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger.

1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage (courtesy of Andre). Tasted blind, displaying lovely color resembling a bright pinot tint with an arresting sharp fragrance of intense rose petals and camphor leading to a velvety palate of great concentration and acidity, yet beautifully balanced, tapering to a gentle finish. What a surprise it turned out to be when the wraps were removed. This is a great example of northern Rhone.Inspired by my recent visit to the Right Bank, Kieron and I came up with the theme of Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A to go with dinner and I’m grateful that members responded generously with their contributions. All wines were decanted on-site (with the exception of the sole Pavie which had been double-decanted earlier) and tasted simultaneously…

2001 Ch Pavie. Mild pungency with earthy medicinal characters. Medium-full, stuffed with a rich vein of ripe blueberries, dark currants, cedar and violets framed by subtle sweet tannins with a graphite tone, finishing with a minty trace. Still youthful.

2000 Ch Angelus (courtesy of Hiok). This wine exudes a lovely glow of dark fruits, plums and currants and other complex undefinable flavours, medium-bodied, rich but open and mellow on the palate where the lovely acidity and fine minerals are absolutely seamless and harmonious, drinking very well and finishing with wonderful length. Excellent.1999 Ch Cheval Blanc (courtesy of Kieron). Very lively and open with the distinctive note of camphor and a hint of vanilla from the predominant cabernet franc, highly harmonious with good concentration and subtle acidity, highly poised and composed. Beautiful.

1998 Ch Ausone (courtesy of David Ong). The last 1998 Ausone that I had was also at a Bacchus dinner at Iggy’s in 2010 where the wine was very full and richly layered, yet to open up. Now, another six years later, the 1998 Ausone, still displaying a deep color, has mellowed considerably, medium-bodied and superbly harmonious on the palate where it is most beautifully proportioned and unassuming, wonderfully subtle in structure with everything in place, enticing one to imbibe sip after sip, not at all showy. This has become quite the complete wine and will continue to hold for another three decades. Outstanding.1994 Ch Angelus (courtesy of Victor). This particular wine tends to invite polarizing views but I have a soft spot for the 1994 and, on this occasion, it was positively singing, opening with a highly attractive earthy pungency leading to a lovely complex of raspberries, wild berries, blueberries, cedar and cinnamon on the palate, gentle and mellow with a lovely glow. One of the definitive highlights of an under-rated vintage.

1983 Ch Cheval Blanc (courtesy of Andre). Fully mature but still showing good color with a lovely feminine fragrance of camphor and rose petals, very open with a great kaleidoscope of flavours that kept evolving in the glass with fabulous definition, depth and subtle intensity, displaying great linearity throughout its superb length. There is a special reason why Cheval Blanc favours cabernet franc as its predominant grape and it takes thirty years for its full potential to be appreciated in bottle. Outstanding.

1982 Ch Ausone (courtesy of Li Fern). This is a truly beautiful Ausone, delicious and open with a lovely plushed complex of blueberries and raspberries and full of other subtle nuances, beautifully proportioned, masculine yet absolutely harmonious and silky with great acidity, producing a wonderful thrill on the palate. This great Ausone, caught at its absolute peak and still going strong, was made during the time of internal squabbling between Alain Vauthier and his great-aunt Mlle Héylette Dubois-Challon but it is good to know that the winemaking remained unaffected.

1961 Ch La Gaffeliere Naudes (courtesy of KP). Okay, this wine isn’t really right on theme but, then, KP wasn’t obliged to do so and a 1961 anything is always welcome. 1961 was the last vintage under this old name, after which its name was shortened to Ch La Gaffeliere as we know it today. And it seems that 1961 was also the last great vintage of Ch La Gaffeliere Naudes before quality slipped for several years until Stephane Derencourt stepped in to turn things around. As if to prove the point, this wine was, amazingly, still very much alive, open and still quite full with a fabulous hallowed glow of aged claret, displaying an abundance of glorious fruit and sublime acidity, still going strong with plenty of verve and vigour. Cést magnifique!!

These notes come from a FICOFI event on 21 October 2016 at the China Club, Singapore, showcasing the whites of Joseph Drouhin and a vertical of Château Montrose. It was good to meet up, once again, with M. Jean-Paul Dumond, Sales Director of the former, who appeared absolutely at home here in Singapore. Representing the Bordeaux Super Second estate was M. Herve Berland, its CEO since 2012, who had previously spent many years at Ch Mouton Rothschild. Like most FICOFI events, the focus was on the free flow of wine while the five-course Chinese dinner was a relatively straightforward affair. The preceding promenade was hosted entirely by Joseph Drouhin where it was clear that 2014 is living up to its exalted promise: wines of true finesse, depth and potential complexity with 2012 being absolute rivals (if you can still find them), eclipsing those of 2013 which are themselves excellent but requiring more time to unravel.

Château Montrose, on the other hand, proved beyond doubt the special value of ex-cellar wines which had remained exceptionally fresh in spite of the many years of bottle age. The wines featured that evening, of course, were made before the new CEO came on board. When I spoke in person with M. Berland, he appeared intent on fashioning Montrose in a more accessible style from young, something I’m not sure would sit well with me. As I see it, the terroir of Ch Montrose translates into wines that can be tough, perhaps even hard, in their youth but which will reward handsomely with time and patience, as exemplified by the 1998 and 1976 that evening. To me, that is what makes Ch Montrose so special. I don’t wish to taste another international wine. A Montrose must speak about its Saint-Estèphe terroir and if that cannot be hurried, so be it.

M. Herve Berland making a point

At the promenade…

2013 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er. Gentle bouquet of morning dew, green fruits and crème de la crème, more minerally on the palate where it is delicious with good concentration and early complexity, but needs more time in bottle.

2013 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. Deeper on the nose than the preceding Les Pucelles with delicious aromas of pineapples and tropical citrus of fine intensity, quite full though surprisingly placid on the palate with gentle crème de la crème, turning quite minerally at its lasting finish. Everyone loved it. Excellent.

2010 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Meursault-Perrières 1er. Somewhat shut on the nose though some tropical fruits and green apples are discernible. Medium-bodied, quite lean though infused with good concentration of minerals with overtones of wheat, turning rather stern after some time as it tapered to an austere finish.

2014 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche Grand Cru. Beautiful lifted bouquet with rich luxuriant notes of crème de la crème and white flowers, yet ethereal with subdued minerality and acidity, displaying very lovely balance, gentle intensity, great elegance and concealed power, revealing greater detail and definition as it sat in the glass, infinitely persistent in its finish. Outstanding.

2014 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot Marquis de Laguiche 1er. Forward balance with good concentration of clear citrus and green fruits with overtones of briar supported by saline minerals, fairly open but still a tad unresolved.

And for dinner…

2013 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. This wine opens with gentle fruity aromas, blossoming well into yellow citrus, rounded on the palate, gaining a bit of mild intensity amidst distinct notes of raw nutmeg before settling down again to a gentle finish. Very fine but it lacks the expression of a Bonneau du Martray.

2012 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche Grand Cru. As with the 2014, the Montrachet of 2012 is absolutely lifted with an effortless grace, excellent in concentration and definition, detailed with finely etched minerals on both the nose and palate, beautifully balanced with great harmony and elegance, highly persistent, finishing with a mild ferrous trace. Outstanding.

2010 Château Montrose. Shut initially, gradually opening up to reveal a very lovely bouquet, promising an abundance of dark berries and black fruits, potentially delicious. On the palate, the wine is rounded and beautifully proportioned and harmonious, positively glowing after some time though a distinct alcoholic wake is evident at this stage, yet to gain weight, finishing with good length amidst a tinge of green, austere graphite and dryish tannins. Great potential.

2005 Château Montrose. Lovely earthy pungency with very good depth of fruit, quite glorious, rounded and harmonious with good tannin structure, preserving the dryish texture of Saint-Estèphe, still youthful, ending on a minty note. Montrose has never been voluptuous. Technically very fine but it felt somewhat detached.

1998 Château Montrose. I still remember seeing bottles of this wine on the shelf of Carrefour going for only SGD79 back in 2003. This wine is showing very well with an attractive earthy pungency on the nose matched by a solid core of dark plums and blackcurrants with soy-like density, quite fleshy, finishing well with good acidity. Not profoundly complex but highly reliable and delicious. Very fine indeed.

1976 Château Montrose. Amazingly for its age, this wine still displays a lovely deep earthy pungency with a tangerine core on the nose, very open on the palate with excellent presence where it is still quite full-bodied with a plummy tone and good complexity with acidity that’s still quite lively, not in danger of drying out though short at the finish. Somehow, wines that are ex-chateau do keep very well.

2005 Château d’Yquem. A perennial favourite of M. Jean-Paul Dumond, this d’Yquem exudes an effortless bouquet of sweet smoky incense and complex nectarine, fabulous in intensity and concentration with further notes of vanilla and malt, made all the more exalted with its precision, controlled sweetness and superb understated acidity. Outstanding.

What’s that? Never heard this name before? Well, neither have I, until I visited this winery (“bodega” being equivalent to “chateau” or “domaine” in France although, strictly, the word means “cellar”) on 20 September 2016 and was totally blown away by its uniqueness, attention to quality and passion in winemaking.

Located 8 km from Pamplona in the vast country of the Navarra region of Spain, bounded by the mountain ranges of Sierra del Perdón and Sierra del Sarbil and the Arga River, Bodega Otazu does not have a long history behind it. In fact, it was established less than three decades ago by its founder Patxi, although wine has been made in the Navarra region since the 15th century. Yet, in this short period since its establishment, its efforts have been recognised and Bodega Otazu was elevated to the status of Pago Appellation in 2009 (equivalent to highest cru in the Spanish wine classification system), awarded only to just a few wineries in Spain.

Still, I haven’t the faintest clue what to expect. We spent a good hour driving there from San Sebastian and when we arrived past 1000h, we were warmly received by Guillermo, a dashing young Spaniard in his 30s who speaks excellent English and who had taken over the reins from his father Patxi a few years ago. Sited about 400m above sea-level, Bodega Otazu enjoys the mild temperate climate of the Atlantic and cooler winds blowing down from the northern Pyrenees, both of which contribute to optimal ripeness of the grapes. As Guillermo proudly points out, the 115 ha of Bodega Otazu enjoys its own micro-climate. Four grape varietals – chardonnay, tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon and merlot – are grown on soil consisting largely of clay with pebbles and gravel which facilitates excellent drainage and root penetration.The first thing that caught our eyes when we arrived were large open-air modern sculptures adorning the lawn and various parts of the estate. That’s right, this is a winemaking estate that is hugely interested in music and the arts as well. Which winery in the world would name its various plots after its favourite composers? And so their signature tempranillo, divided into five plots, are named Beethoven, Mahler, Haydn, Strauss and Massenet, as are subplots of merlot named Wagner, Mozart and Bach. I have absolutely no issues with that; in fact, I am absolutely delighted in their choice of composers. Literary greats like Goethe, Shakespeare, Cervantes and Nietzsche (to name but a few) are not spared either. These are not some arty-farty B.S. done for the sake of publicity. Both Patxi and Guillermo breathe art and wine in equal measure. Talking to Guillermo, I realised he knew his music thoroughly and I found myself in deep conversation with him right away about Wagner, the Bayreuth Festival (he just attended The Ring there last month and didn’t like the production) and who sang Brunhilde best.

We were shown first to a museum showcasing its range of wines as well as (yes, you guessed it) a vast collection of modern artworks occupying every floor and corner of what used to be its old cellar. Patxi supports promising artists from all over the world and even Ai Weiwei has an installation there. We moved on to its new purpose-built cellar, plunged in total darkness at first, where one is only aware of Bach’s organ music being played in the background. Slowly, some imaginative back-lighting came on, revealing a vast spacious facility with high arch ceilings, gradually illuminating the multiple long rows of barrels lying quietly with their precious content. If the wine being cultivated in barrel listens to Bach, it can only be good.

Bodega Otazu also practice what several other wineries around the world are beginning to do, releasing a vintage onto the market only after the wine has had 4-5 years of bottle age, as Guillermo figured that there is no point releasing a wine straight after bottling when it is not yet ready to be drunk. Of course, as a marketing tool, this effectively raises market anticipation and pricing if the vintage is excellent and the wine highly sought-after. The wine being aged in bottle are all housed within the estate and, yes, they listen to more Bach while lying undisturbed. Bodega Otazu certainly has the space and financial clout to do this but I cannot imagine smaller estates forking out money to hold back their own wines. We were hosted by Patxi and his family to a superb lunch overlooking the cellars, where more of the 2007 Vitral was drunk. Bodega Otazu also regularly invites its guests to make their own wines. Thinking that this must be some sort of gimmick, I was surprised when, after lunch had been cleared, three tables were set up, each laden with numerous stemware, burettes and measuring cylinders together with 3 full flasks of red wine marked cabernet sauvignon, merlot and tempranillo. We were split into three teams, each supposed to experiment with various blends of the three grape varietals whilst taking note of the exact proportion of each. We got down to some serious work and I was surprised that small variations in blend proportions actually do result in discernible changes on the palate. When we were done, the three different blends were duly noted by the cellar master who then produced a bottle of each blend. We were made to taste the three blends blind and vote for our favourite. It turned out everyone’s unanimous favourite was a blend of 85% tempranillo with 10% merlot and 5% cabernet (Dr Ngoi’s !!).We then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring various parts of the estate. There was the Romanian Church of San Esteban from the 12th Century, located in the heart of the Señorío de Otazu, part of the original St James´s Way. It was the first building in this spectacular natural scenery and inside the church there is a magnificent altarpiece in plateresque style from the 16th Century. Also of interest was the Defense Tower from the 14th Century, one amongst many other medieval defence towers in Sierra of Etxauri and in the surroundings of Pamplona. And, of course, there was the Palace of Otazu from the 16th Century that was the residence of Gil García de Yániz, señor de Otazu, lieutenant of the Governor of Navarra in 1351, now the living quarters of Patxi and family. In its courtyard was a grand old tree trunk that would do very well as the World Ash Tree in Wagner’s Die Valkyrie.

We spent the rest of the lazy afternoon yakking over coffee with Patxi before trudging back to the cellar in the main building, where some unfinished business awaited us. It turned out an entire barrel of Dr Ngoi’s winning wine had been made, to be aged for 12 months in French oak before it would be bottled and shipped to us!! We were asked which kind of bottling we preferred (magnum, of course) and to design our own label. Well, I’m absolutely flabbergasted.

2015 100% Grenarche tasted from barrel, displaying earthy tones, undergrowth and dark red fruits with great concentration and acidity.

2015 100% Merlot tasted from barrel, exuding powerful notes of dark berries and black fruits, a wine of immense concentration and intensity, framed by sophisticated sweet silky tannins with some graphite overtones.2015 Bodega Otazu Chardonnay. Unwooded at 13.5% alcohol. Absolutely delicious with notes of delicate citrus and gentle pineapples, medium-bodied but beautifully intense, very well balanced between fruit and acidity with understated minerals showing up towards the sparkling finish. Very fine indeed. Excellent.

2015 Bodega Otazu Merlot Rosado. Essentially a rose, delicious with a rosy fragrance, very easy on the palate with good acidity and just the right concentration of fruit, finishing well. Deceptively simple but highly satisfying.2013 Pago de Otazu Chardonnay Con Crianza. Aged 7 months in 60% new French oak, this wine exuded a beautiful complex bouquet of tropical fruits, rich in complex citrus and crème de la crème, rounded and highly aromatic with understated minerals, displaying excellent balance and mouthfeel. Excellent stuff.

2012 Bodega Otazu Premium Cuvee, a blend of mostly cabernet with 35% merlot and a bit of tempranillo. Selling for only EUR15, this wine carries dark red fruits, dark currants and wild berries, remarkably balanced with excellent acidity, great concentration and fabulous intensity all the way to its lastng finish. Superb value.2009 Bodega Otazu Senorio. A blend of 75% cabernet, 20% merlot and a tiny bit of tempranillo. Quite lovely on the nose with bright red fruits, darker in tone on the palate with a spicy edge, displaying good complexity from the excellent depth and concentration of fruit along with fabulous acidity amidst traces of enamel, finishing well. Excellent.

2007 Bodega Otazu Altar. Only 20 barrels made annually, comprising 95% cabernet with the rest merlot and tempranillo. Deep and dark with a quiet brooding character. Big and bold on the palate with an abundance of dark currants, surprisingly gentle and beautifully balanced, layered with red fruits, displaying great definition and linearity all the way to its finish. There’s plenty going on here. Clearly one for the long haul. Excellent.2007 Bodega Otazu Vitral. This is the absolute top cru of Bodega Otazu with only a few barrels made per year. In a promotional video, workers could be seen carefully selecting the grapes and handling them gingerly, each berry being uniformly rounded, pristine and full. Comprising 95% cabernet that is de-stemmed, the Vitral exudes a beautiful bouquet with a  rounded complex red fruits and currants, open on the palate with great presence and fresh acidity, layered with sweet chewy succulence and  superb tannin structure. A superb wine with huge potential. Outstanding.2013 Bodega Otazu Vitral, tasted from barrel. This wine possesses a superb depth of dark red fruits and black currants along with some briar and deep violets, rounded with excellent body, acidity and layering, colored by some spice at the edge.The shadows had grown lengthy by the time we took our leave. This surely has to be one of the most memorable visits ever to a winery. Throughout my time there, I was struck by the absolute passion, zest, energy, attention to detail, discipline and organisation in the work of Guillermo and his staff . Wherever you are, be sure to look out for Bodega Otazu, an estate where its values and ethos translate into outstanding wines at every price point.

2001 Elderton Command Shiraz, popped and poured at the Marriott Hotel, Singapore, 03 Oct 2016. Dark red with a hint of bricking at the rim, this wine exudes a bright bouquet of red and dark plums, licorice, camphor and red cherries, still rather full on the palate in spite of its 15 years although it is more open than before, its layers of rich velvety fruit more discernible now with overtones of earth, cinnamon, bramble and wild berries supported by lively acidity and good tannin structure, leaving a lasting impression on the palate. Subtlety isn’t part of its grand design. Very fine but, still, I think this is a wine principally for aficionados of Australian shiraz.

2005 Ch Haut Marbuzet, popped and poured at Beng Thin Hoon Kee, 07 Oct 2016. This wine is showing much better than previously several months ago from the same case, now considerably more open and delicious, quite succulent with notes of raspberries, blueberries and dark cherries with traces of earth amidst dryish textures of its St-Estephe terroir, fairly robust and full with a hint of rusticity though still a tad congested towards the finish. Requires further cellaring but it is developing very well.

1991 Penley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, popped and poured at Jade Palace, 09 Oct 2016. This is a bottle sourced directly from the museum collection when I visited Penley in August. Sporting an opaque brownish red, this wine exudes powerful aromas of soy and herbal and medicinal elements, medium-full with excellent concentration and depth of fruit, displaying notes of ripe wild berries, bramble, raspberries and dark plums, laced with fine gritty tannins and acidity that’s still fresh and lively, becoming more earthy with further notes of chocolate, ferrous elements and dried mushrooms over time, growing in intensity as well as it built up a tannic spine. This robust cabernet may not actually have peaked in spite of its 25 years. Worth cellaring further.

2010 Francis Cossy L’Instant Nature champagne (courtesy of John Law), popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 11 Oct 2016. An abundance of brilliant citrus, quite intense and sweet, well-blended with green apples and chalky minerality, quite full, slightly creamy and not too dry. Drinking well.

2009 Ch Le Doyenne, popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 11 Oct 2016. This wine offers a truly fabulous and deep bouquet of dark berries and blackcurrants where the fruit is gorgeously ripe with more red fruits emerging over time amidst dryish textures on the palate, succulent and airy enough but somewhat attenuated in breadth with persistent graphite elements all the way to its finish. Still a fabulous drop at less than SGD45 on the shelf.

2011 Bouchard Pere et Fils Pommard Rugiens 1er (courtesy of Chee Wee), after hours at Glen, 12 Oct 2016. Popped and poured. This wine displays a classic pinot tint with characters of rose petals, cinnamon, ash and a dash of earth, medium-bodied and slightly dryish on the palate, rather polite though its tannins are surprisingly robust. Not really memorable, but very decent if you have nothing better to go with dinner.

2013 Bouchard Pere et Fils Mersault Genevrieres 1er (courtesy of Chee Wee), after hours at Glen, 12 Oct 2016. I much prefer Bouchard’s whites, this being a classic example. The bouquet of this wine is lovely, rich in crème, complex minerals and exotic citrus, alluring and persistent, well replicated on the palate where the complexity is even greater with a seamless blend between minerals and fruit with overtones of incense, excellent in concentration and depth with just the right degree of acidity, not exactly lengthy but here is a classic case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Excellent.

2009 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, popped and poured over dinner at Ming Kee Live Seafood, 15 Oct 2016. Compared with the 2008 (see last month), this wine is far more open on the palate where the blend of lime, clear citrus and traces of pomelo is excellent in concentration and layering with just the right degree of acidity, combining seamlessly with the flinty minerality and contrasting very well with the dense bouquet of intoxicating diesel fumes. This is a top-notch riesling by any standard.

Billecart Salmon Brut NV, over lunch at Aura, 16 Oct 2016. Notes of morning dew and clear citrus dominate on the nose, missing the usual yeasty tones of champagne, quite gentle on the palate where it was more minerally, finishing well.

2012 Therra Podernuova A Palazzone, over lunch at Aura, 16 Oct 2016. This is a very fine Toscana, opening with notes of enamel and ripe wild berries and dark currants, slightly earthy on the palate, vigorous with excellent concentration and intensity, structured with open gritty tannins that turned sweeter over time, developing further layering. Harmonious and well-balanced, just a tad dry at the finish. Very fine.

2011 Louis Jadot Saint-Aubin Les Murgers des Dents de Chien 1er, popped and poured at Otto Ristorante, 18 Oct 2016. A bottle from the same batch tasted at Garibaldi two days before, this wine offers notes of creme de la creme with a hint of perfumed white flowers, quite attractive but fleeting on the nose, leading to a slim profile on the palate dominated by icy minerality and a slightly sharp concentration of clear citrus, well fleshed out but could do with greater verve and complexity.

2005 Penley Estate Special Select Shiraz, decanted on-site at Otto Ristorante, 18 Oct 2016. This medium-full Coonawarra shiraz is quite open, laden with succulent ripe red fruits and currants, layered with structured sweet tannins, excellent in concentration and depth but never overwhelming, gaining in intensity at the finish. Clearly yet to peak. Very attractive.

2012 Jacques Frederic Mugnier Nuits Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale 1er, popped and poured after hours at Glen, 20 Oct 2016. Deep gorgeous bouquet of dark cherries and dark roses with a hint of saline minerals and ripe plums. Rich, satiny smooth and layered with structured tannins and understated acidity on the palate, quite open, though it attained a stern and austere demeanour after some time, shrouding the fruit beneath. Good stuff, but needs more time to develop.

2005 Ch Bernadotte, popped and poured from magnum at Marina Bay Sands on the occasion of CGH’s Dinner & Dance, 22 Oct 2016. Retrieved from the cellar where it had been lying for quite a few years, this wine has evolved faster than I anticipated, displaying open and rounded plummy tones, gaining in weight and concentration of red and dark fruits over time with secondary nuances of cinnamon and cedar supported by fine acidity and understated minerality. Very reliable but do start drinking up.

Moet & Chandon Brut NV, served at the Racquet Club of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, 26 Oct 2016. Bone dry with notes of green apples and crisp citrus, quite generous with some yeasty overtones but turning rather steely and metallic with stony minerals towards the finish.

2014 Beringer Chardonnay, served at the Racquet Club of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, 26 Oct 2016. Rather shut initially, gradually revealing some creamy tone with white flowers in bloom. Good concentration on the palate with attractive minerality, developing further notes of melons and morning dew after some time, gaining some mild attractive intensity with a bit of ferrous edge..

2013 Beringer Sauvignon Blanc, served at the Racquet Club of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, 26 Oct 2016. Quite lifted some attractive pungency and abundant citrus with traces of chiku, displaying good concentration with dryish textures, quite open with a certain deftness. Very attractive.

2014 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, served at the Racquet Club of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, 26 Oct 2016. Fruit forward with generous concentration of briar, forest floor, dark green elements and dark fruits with sweet tannins. Easy but unmemorable.

These notes stem from a memorable party hosted by the great Dr Ngoi Sing Shang at Garibaldi, 16 Oct 2016, where we had the entire hall to ourselves for 16 persons. The occasion was to honour the visit (again) of M. Jean-Paul Dumond, Sales Director of Domaine Joseph Drouhin, to Singapore though the greater purpose was just simply to enjoy an evening of fine wine and great food amongst great company. Philippe Capdouze of FICOFI had joined us as well and Roberto, owner and chef at Garibaldi, had prepared several large chunks of white truffles (from Alba, of course) to be liberally shaved. A simple 4-course menu had been prepared, each course covered almost entirely with white truffles, including the dessert. Utterly decadent. As with these famous dinners of Dr Ngoi, there was far too much wine without any particular structured theme, though with the trio of 1989s courtesy of Philippe, we managed to conjure up a progression.

2005 Dom Perignon (courtesy of Dr Ngoi). Aromas of peaches and tropical fruit tease the senses, coupled with fresh citrus on the palate, gently caressed by fine bubbles, displaying good linearity but a tad short.

2011 Louis Jadot Saint-Aubin Les Murgers des Dents de Chien 1er (courtesy of Dr Ngoi). Slightly pungent aromas with a hint of ripe mangoes, gentle and undeniably attractive, leading to a medium-bodied proposition characterised by clear citrus with traces of bitter lemon and icing, understated in acidity, turning a bit more minerally over time. Saint-Aubin has remained good value for money but I fancy the same wine from Hubert Lamy may be even better.

2008 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (courtesy of Victor). Somewhat shut at this stage (or perhaps there wasn’t adequate aeration) but some racy nutmeg and white flowers are discernible, quite tight with a spicy tone on the palate, medium-bodied with good concentration though a bit short. Deserves more bottle age and proper aeration.

2009 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches Rouge 1er (courtesy of Philippe). Tight with lovely concentration of red fruits and rose petals of excellent intensity and purity, quite exciting, ending with a spicy trace. Yet to develop but the potential is enormous.

2009 Domaine Jacques Prieur Beaune Greves 1er (courtesy of Miah Hiang), served from magnum. Lovely aromas of rose petals and red cherries, very fragrant and gentle, very harmonious with good concentration and purity along with understated tannins and acidity that combine very well into a highly graceful feminine elegance. Lovely.

2009 Bouchard Pere et Fils Beaune Greves Vigne de L’Enfant Jesus 1er (courtesy of Dr Ngoi). Similar in color and character to the preceding Jacques Prieur Beaune Greve 1er from the same vintage, producing a beautiful bouquet of raspberries and roses with a hint of incense and sweet tannins, displaying very  good concentration and linearity, slightly racy with some lovely tension at the edge but could do with greater fullness and purity.

2008 Ch Figeac (courtesy of Dr Ngoi), poured from magnum. Aired since early afternoon, this wine is rounded and soft with rosy tones redcurrants on the nose and further notes of soy, earth, ripe black berries and briar on the palate, harmonious with very good concentration and weight, matched by silky tannins but yet to evolve. Way too young to drink, in my opinion.

1989 Ch Tertre Roteboeuf (courtesy of Philippe). The benefits of ageing are exemplified in this wine, vermilion at the rim but still dark at its core, gorgeous, ripe and succulent with great acidity, concentration and layering, just a tad stern with characters of grapefruit and cherries, nicely rounded but understated in structure. Excellent.

1989 Ch Gazin (courtesy of Philippe). Fully mature, exuding lovely earthy pungency with good concentration of red and dark fruits with overtones of cashews and charcoal embers, slightly dryish in texture. Very fine, but appreciably a notch below the Tertre Roteboeuf.

1989 Ch De Fieuzal (courtesy of Philippe). This wine is a great case study in terroir, opening with a superb earthy pungency with a core of tangerines that can only mean Pessac-Leognan (until proven otherwise), very open on the palate, still displaying great acidity and concentration of blackcurrants and dark red fruits with excellent depth and layering, finishing very well. Not a big name estate but, very often, these smaller estates are those that come up very well in vintages that favour that particular commune.

1996 Ch D’Yquem (courtesy of Sanjay). As expected, this D’Yquem possesses lovely concentration of nectarine amidst a hint of apricot, displaying good intensity, linearity and acidity, poised and quite elegant, though it felt a little too complacent compared with the truly great Sauternes of 1990, 1997 and 2001, missing in verve and completeness.

We decided to end our Spanish tour with a bang at the three-Michelin starred establishment Martin Berasategui, its name eponymous with its chef, arriving precisely at 1300h on 22 Sep 2016 for lunch. Like most 3-star restaurants in Europe, it’s a little out of the way, tucked away in Lasarte-Oria outside of San Sebastian, though it is not difficult to locate. Martin holds the most number of Michelin stars amongst all Spanish chefs and this flagship restaurant has held its third star since 2001. The restaurant and its environment exudes a very clean and neat feel with an interior décor that is modern, functional yet sophisticated. Yet that can, sometimes, work against it as the restaurant may tend to resemble other two- or three-starred establishments and one wished that the whole place could be more individualistic in design and feel. The staff is attentive, knowledgeable (when we thought a bottle of white didn’t feel cold enough to touch, the reply came straight away that it had been cellared at 6 degree C) and friendly enough to avoid creating a stuffy atmosphere. We went for its full degustation, a 13-course affair that stretches 3-4 hours. The food, when it came, was masterfully crafted with real sophistication and imagination, each a visual delight, quite sublime, exuding real flavours and textures in the mouth.

The wine selection, on the other hand, is excellent at low prices, if one knows how to select Spanish wines.Here, Jimmy Lim’s expert knowledge proved to be most useful and the wines we had complemented the food very well:

2007 Pago de Cirsus Navarro Chardonnay. Powerful aromas of lime, preserved tropical fruit and chalk with a hint of nutmeg and wild flowers, displaying good concentration and quiet intensity on the palate, more minerally and minty at the finish with further notes of honeysuckle emerging

2005 Finca Allende Rioja. This Rioja white has a tone of glazed creme with aromas of white flowers and a whiff of apricot, quite lovely, starting off gently, becoming more pronounced over time, though its gentleness on the palate remains most beguiling with no shortage of fruit, depth and structure, very harmonious with a sense of icing in its finish.

2011 Abel Mendoza Rioja. This wine opens with earthy tones and an abundance of raspberries and wild berries, displaying excellent ripeness, full-bodied with tight but unobtrusive tannins, finishing in blaze of spice and peppery tones. Reminds me of syrah.

2012 Preludio de Sei Solo. From Ribera del Duero, this wine exudes warm ripe wild berries, dark plums and dark currants, tight with structured tannins amidst spicy and earthy tones, still somewhat unresolved. Needs plenty of time.

Somehow though, on the whole, the food didn’t move the earth. Our palates must have been too jaded from all that intensive wining and dining over the past few days to fully appreciate the genius of Martin Berasategui. For sure though, the beef, good as it was, doesn’t surpass what we had at Etxebarri. Nevertheless, I can whole-heartedly recommend Martin Berasetegui if you are prepared to splurge EUR 220 for a 4-hour lunch. Make sure you arrive hungry.

2000 Hollick Wilgha Shiraz, popped and tasted over 3 hours at the inaugural Chapter of Physicians dinner, Grand Copthorne, Singapore, 02 Sep 2016. This shiraz opens quite unusually with aromatic sweet red fruits, red plums and rose cordial, quite perfumed with floral characters on the palate along with subtle notes of licorice and earth and a bit of medicinal trace without the usual peppery quality common in shiraz, probably reflecting the cool climate terroir of Coonawarra where this wine comes from. Sufficiently mellow now with significant bottle age and glowing brightly after some time, still imbued with good acidity and tannin structure, somewhat robust at the edges though it tapered to a relatively gentle finish. Quite fine.

1986 Leoville Poyferre, decanted on-site over dinner at Otto Ristorante, 06 Sep 2016. This wine opens with robust notes of bright red plums, tangerines and earth with the faintest trace of graphite, its acidity still vibrant on the palate where tertiary nuances of violets, blueberries, cinnamon and old leather combine to produce a sweet fragrant glow on the nose that belies its 30 years. Leoville Poyferre may not quite possess the masculinity and power of the other Leovilles but this beauty is absolutely singing without any sign of drying out. My best encounter thus far from this case purchased from Bordeaux Index some years ago. Excellent.

2008 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, popped and poured over pasta at home, 08 Sep 2016. This stalwart of Clare Valley has barely aged, coming on strong with generous proportions of lime, pomelo and other clear citrus with a prominent diesel overtone supported by chunky minerals with crisp cutting acidity, very full, finishing on a stern note with ferric traces, yet to evolve. There is plenty going for it but it needs plenty of time to settle down. Don’t touch for another 5 years, at least.

2005 Clos du Marquis, decanted on-site at Bedrock Bar & Grill, 313 Orchard, 12 Sep 2016. Always mistaken as the second wine of Ch Leoville-Las-Cases when it isn’t; it actually comes from a defined plot within the clos of Las-Cases. Compared with a previous tasting note a couple of years back, this wine has mellowed considerably, now soft and rounded with fragrant aromas of violets, raspberries and blueberries, gently earthy on the palate where it is distinctly medium-bodied, quite fleshy and succulent though without the outright depth nor power of Las-Cases, developing a mild plummy tone after some time, finishing with mild tannins. Very fine, quite perfect for lunch.

Foie gras and wagyu beef tagliatelle. Only at Otto Ristorante.

2012 Sainte Claire Chablis, over dinner at the restaurant of Chateau La Dominique, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, on 16 Sep 2016. There’s an attractive earthy pungency with overtones of sea salt on the nose. On the palate, this Chablis is appropriately crisp with good concentration of lime and citrus coupled with cutting acidity and flinty minerality, gelling well in a bold intense finish that went very well with the several dozen oysters.

2010 Ch La Dominique, from the restaurant list of Chateau La Dominique, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, on 16 Sep 2016, over dinner. This is a huge wine even six years post-vintage, saturated with black fruits, soy, dark currants and enamel from the oak, highly extracted with bold tannins and graphite elements amidst saline minerals, finishing in a spicy alcoholic wake. Truly a bruising encounter. I noticed hardly anyone touched their wine.

2009 Ch Haut Bernasse, a Begerac AOC wine at EUR34 popped and poured over lunch from the list of L’Imparfait, a charming bistro recommended by the Michelin guide in Begerac, France, 17 Sep 2016. Attractive notes of dark and red plums with some earthy minerals dominate on the nose and palate, quite extracted, resulted in a slight jammy tone, finishing with an alcoholic trail. The first impressions were good, but it wears your palate early.

2001 Domaine de Combet Cuvee Lena, tasted at Monbazillac, just outside Begerac, France, 17 Sep 2016. Monbazillac is an AOC specialising in sweet wines that gives Sauternes a good run for its money. A blend of 70% semillon and 30% sauvignon gris, this wine with a burnished golden hue exudes attractive notes of nectarine and aged apricot, quite minerally on the palate where the understated sweetness imparts a somewhat stern demeanour with some degree of complexity. This is good stuff, and inexpensive as well.

2009 Domaine de Combet Grand Reserve, tasted at Monbazillac, just outside Begerac, France, 17 Sep 2016. Smoky incense with a lighter tone of nectarine, displaying fine acidity and understated sweetness.

2011 Domaine de Combet L’exception, tasted at Monbazillac, just outside Begerac, France, 17 Sep 2016. Great nose with very attractive notes of tropical fruits, displaying light textures but excellent depth and acidity on the palate with notes of pears and apricot with a medicinal trace, finishing with tangerines. We had a full bottle of this again later in the evening after the 2004 Montrose below. Very satisfying, proving to be an excellent alternative to Sauternes.

2004 Ch Montrose, picked from the restaurant list of La Table du Catusseau, Saint Emilion, 17 Sep 2016 at EUR 160 and decanted on-site. This St-Estephe produced an attractive earthy pungency with notes of dark currants and black fruits, excellent in concentration and depth on the palate, gently structured with sweet tannins. True to Montrose’s nature, it took quite some time to loosen up, eventually producing a lovely plummy tone, moving on to develop further intensity and complexity as it sat in the glass. This is a classically structured claret that is drinking very well now but yet to peak.

2014 Moreau-Naudet Chablis, a pair popped over a fabulous seafood lunch at the legendary Chez Hortense at Cap Ferret just across from Arcachon, an hour’s drive from Bordeaux, 18 Sep 2016. The only Chablis available from the restaurant list, a wine with an easy floral fragrance and sweetness, displaying good depth and concentration of citrus fruits with a forward balance matched by lively acidity, less flinty, slightly stern finish but well balanced. Not a profound Chablis but a perfect match with the several dozens of succulent oysters.

2015 Ch Landereau, popped and poured over dinner at Ch Franc Grace-Dieu, Saint Emilion, 18 Sep 2016. From Entre-deux-Mers, a region smacked between Bordeaux city and Saint Emilion, this wine displayed notes of red apple cider and mild sweet citrus, quite gentle, but it is short of fruit to match the acidity. Unconvincing.

2009 Ch Franc Grace-Dieu, drunk after a brief aeration in bottle over dinner at Ch Franc Grace-Dieu itself in Saint Emilion, 18 Sep 2016. Shy and reticent on the nose though the palate is awashed with earthy tones, dark currants, ripe wild berries and plums, medium-bodied with good balance, acidity and concentration, turning a tad stern at the finish.

2010 Ch Franc Grace Dieu, drunk after a brief aeration in bottle over dinner at Ch Franc Grace-Dieu itself in Saint Emilion, 18 Sep 2016. From what is supposed to be an excellent vintage, but this wine is closed at this stage, though the concentration of fruit and integration is certainly very good on the palate. Should be reassessed in another few years.

2009 Ch Lafleur Saint-Jean (magnum, coutesy of Dr Ganesh Ramalingam), drunk after some aeration in bottle over dinner at Ch Franc Grace-Dieu, Saint Emilion, 18 Sep 2016. This estate is located on the plateau of Pomerol, abutting on Ch Petrus and Ch Lafleur. At this stage, this wine is rather shy and reticent on the nose, though it boasts very good concentration red plums and dark berries with further notes of camphor and a dense texture of soy, medium-bodied with good harmony and depth. May improve further in bottle.

2015 Ch Franc  Grace-Dieu, tasted from barrel at Ch Franc Grace-Dieu itself in Saint Emilion, 18 Sep 2016. Quite lovely with a burnished tone of red fruits and a lighter core of tangerines, medium-bodied, very well-balanced with good acidity. Very promising.

2014 Ch Freybernat, popped and poured at Le Petit Cuisine, 27 Sep 2016. Though a table wine made for easy drinking, this wine, nevertheless, is decent in quality with a forward balance of red plums and dark wild berries with a hint of briar and earth, fleshy and rounded without any hollowness, but neither distinctive in any way.

2004 Ch Latour-a-Pomerol, decanted on-site at Foster’s Steakhouse, 30 Sep 2016. My previous impression of this wine a few months ago was rather unfavourable but, on this occasion, the 2004 Ch Latour-a-Pomerol showed very well with aromas of delicious dark fruits, highly engaging on the palate with its spread of black fruits, dark plums and blackcurrants, layered with good concentration and focus, its tannins structured yet supple enough, the wine rounded and beginning to mellow. Very fine.

19 September 2016 was truly a busy, and memorable, day. It began with a visit to Chateau Petrus in the morning, followed by lunch at Saint Emilion after which we showed up at Chateau Ausone. Visiting the two top chateaux that make the most sought-after yet least-available wines would have been more than enough to satisfy any oenophile but we went further, literally, by driving across the southwestern border into Spain in the late afternoon, soaking in the evening sights of the San Sebastian seafront before we finally arrived at Rekondo at 2100h, a Michelin-starred restaurant perched at the hilltop of the city’s outskirts, for our first real Spanish dinner where we were joined by Mr Jimmy Lim, who has lived in Spain for the past 46 years and is extremely well versed in its wines.

San Sebastian seafront at dusk

Rekondo is a cross between tasty rustic real food and fine dining. The setting is unassuming. The interior decor is almost plain but functional, complete with an old-fashioned bar counter, the waitresses fuss around you busily but efficiently, the place is brightly lit (I like it this way…why hide the food if it’s supposed to be good?) and one can dress down and make a lot of noise here.

We thought these were handwritten…but no

But the real deal lies with the food and the wine. The menu is simple, offering a fairly limited but varied range of courses, each item so very reasonably priced that I thought there must be some sort of printing error. But it is the wine list that takes the cake, reputed to be the best all of Spain. Page after page, the listing is exhaustive for Spanish wines while its international selection is also excellent with very little mark-up in prices. In fact, the great thing about wining and dining in Spain is that you get really great food at ordinary prices, and truly good wines that are inexpensive right from the restaurant itself. Its knowledgeable sommelier, a young Argentinian named Martin, was kept busy all night across the restaurant. The cellar of this restaurant is another sight to behold with its huge extensive collection of current releases as well as very old bottles (oldest is a 1750 JM Rivero) and wine bottled in very large formats.

Unbelievable

We began the evening with a 1976 R Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia White Gran Riserva, made from mainly viura grape with a small proportion of malvasia. The first bottle was sadly way past its peak, leaving only an empty shell. A second bottle showed better, quite lovely with alluring aromas of aged creme and apricot with lifted overtones of cinnamon and lemon. On the palate, the wine has faded somewhat though there was still fair concentration of clear citrus, slightly musky with firm acidity. Clearly a wonderful wine during its prime but now better on the nose than palate.

For the reds, we started with a 2014 Contino Gran Reserva, made of 100% tempranillo at 14.5% alcohol. This wine displayed a deep nose of enamel with impressions of red and dark fruits, well replicated on the palate with additional traces of licorice, bramble and wild berries, excellent in acidity and concentration though a tad short initially.

Try looking for this

It became more plummy over time, attaining fabulous intensity, richness and length, finishing on a minty note. Excellent, but it really needs time to show well.

Jimmy then spotted a gem in the wine list, a 2014 Algueira made in very limited quantities from 100% merenzao. Displaying a light rosy tint akin to pinot noir, this wine threw a floral fragrance of rose petals, red cherries and raspberries, medium-bodied and gentle on the palate with wonderful purity of fruit and flavours, decidedly feminine in character, firming up with greater intensity and concentration over time. Very lovely and great value for money indeed.

We pushed the boat out for the main red to go with the superb T-bone steak: a 1998 Pingus from the restaurant list at EUR975. I guess there is no better way to drink Pingus than in Spain itself, along with great Spanish cuisine. My only experience with Pingus had been a 2003 (tasted in 2010) which was bold and hedonistic. I was surprised that the 1998 turned out to be very mellow, aromatic yet somewhat distant on the nose, like a beautiful but reserved woman, where red fruits and dark plums dominate with a mild lifted earthiness, very gentle on its entry on the palate where it was harmonious and distinctly feminine, displaying red fruits with traces of camphor, gaining in gentle intensity as it sat in the glass. Not a wine of profound depth, but highly supple and open. What a great way to start our week of food and wine in Spain.