Tasting Notes

Chateau Siran Margaux 1982
9.25 stars
7 May 2020

This was not a classified growth coming from the Margaux appellation in Bordeaux, however, if one knew Bordeaux well enough, would not care too much whether the classified growth or not. Straight to the point, most Bordeaux wines can age very well if you know the label, of course one cannot expect mass market supermarket wines to age. Siran is one prime example that showed superb aging capability coming from a much hyped vintage of 1982. I decanted it for 30 mins, was barely scratching the surface of sufficient air for the wine, I would recommend at least 90 mins of decanting to enjoy this wine! Bouquet of very ripe and forward fruits (easily reminded me of a Mouton Rothschild 82 bouquet), very enticing. Content may not have the Margaux style of soft and feminine, however, it possessed a deep and broad fruit, made up of loads of blackcurrant. I boldly claimed this Siran was better than Dauzac (a 5th growth Margaux wine).

Domaine de Montille Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru 2012
9.25 stars
2 May 2020

One of the better red burgundy producer, I was relatively impressed with their Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens, thus I did not hesitate to try out their Grand Cru when I was given a chance. There was a strange bouquet, with very faint celery stalks hitting me right at the start, followed with ripe and matured fruits. Content was very ripe and forward, big and chunky fruits gave a very robust mouth feel. I realized I do enjoy the 2012 vintage as I do prefer the ripe and forward style of the vintage, thus this red burgundy suits my profile. There was still a lot of tannins in the background even with my 1+ hour decanting, the tannins were still prominent. Age it another decade will be good.

Louis Benjamin Dagueneau Les Jardins de Babylons Jurancon 2011
9.25 stars
29 Apr 2020

The famed Didier Dagueneau’s son Louis Benjamin took over the vineyard after the sudden death of Didier, and the winemaking skill was maintained well. Not often one come across this Les Jardins de Babylons, which was made from the grape varieties of Petit Manseng from South West France. These grapes enjoyed from the late harvest, thus yielding relatively sweet and concentrated sugar content. It has high level of acidity, and content was like an extremely fresh pineapple juice freshly squeezed from a pineapple, it certainly didn’t feel like it was already bottled for 9 years. I enjoyed it with a meal of Mala fish (a spicy dish from Sichuan) although it could not overwhelm the spicy dish.

Duhart Milon Pauillac 1996
9.25 stars
30 Apr 2020

Coming from Barons de Rothschild, sometimes being called a baby Lafite (this name was more suited for Carraudes de Lafite), they shared the same winemaker. 1996 was a great Pauillac vintage, it so frequently blew all other Bordeaux appellations off the table from the same vintage, thus I do have high expectations. However, I was mildly disappointed as apart from the addictive bouquet of very Pauillac style of elegant smoke, pencil lead shavings and dark berries, the content was not up to my expectation. Moderate length with jammed packed berries, it just lacked the sophisticated chunky and lengthy fruits compared to other Pauillac 1996.

Andre Clouet Millesime 2009 versus Dream Vintage 2009
9.25 stars
24 Apr 2020

Both coming from the same vintage using the same Pinot Noir, but quite different style. Dream Vintages were only produced during good champagne vintages, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013 … etc. They’re proud production of Andre Clouet. I put the two bottles next to each other to test it out, and the result was shocking! I’m no champagne expert I must admit, especially after tonight’s humbling experience, I vowed to learn more about it.

The Millesime had very ripe and forward style, while the Dream Vintage had a very shy and submissive style. I mistaken the Millesime for the Dream Vintage as the Millesime tasted more like their flagship product AC 1911, while the Dream Vintage was not displaying any readiness to drink right now, it’s very laid back, showing that it’ll need a lot more time to be ready to drink, possessing great aging potential. Obviously the Millesime is ready to drink right now, while you’ll just have to wait patiently with the Dream Vintage.

Calon Segur St Estephe 1973
8.75 stars
22 Apr 2020

This was a poor vintage to boot, I have drunk quite a few 1973 from Bordeaux, nothing really impressed me except for Cheval Blanc 1973. It was unfortunate the reliable Calon Segur did not live up to my expectation for the first time for old vintage, but cheer up, I can’t expect them to always perform, otherwise they’ll deserve to be a first growth status! Bouquet of mild plum, with a faint summer floral blossom. Content was driven mainly by slightly sour plums, but not excessively sour. The sourness also went away in about an hours’ time, replaced with ripe and forward fruit, body was light and easy going, nothing memorable, just a casual wine to go along with casual dinner.

Ramonet Bourgogne Aligote 2002
9.5 stars
17 Apr 2020

This is a rare grape varietal coming from the land of burgundy primarily producing Chardonnay dominated wines. I don’t have a lot of experience with the producers of this grape varietal, and I understood the best producer was Ponsot, although I didn’t have a chance to taste the elusive Ponsot Aligote yet. I do enjoy this Ramonet’s Aligote, bouquet was slightly premox with slight sugarcane nose. However, the content wasn’t affected with the premox, although it was slightly fat and rich, it wasn’t oxidized. A really appealing fatness and ripeness that caresses my tongue, and towards finishing it tapered down to a skinnier style. It’s probably a combination of a good vintage of 2002 and the style of Ramonet’s winemaking to create such an appealing wine.

Andre Clouet Rose No 3 versus No 5
9.25 stars
19 Apr 2020

This is a choice of preference, whether you liked a more matured style or a lively style. No. 3 probably have some aging advantage, thus the style was more chauvinistic, deep and broad flavor, whereas No. 5 is more youthful, lively and cheerful. However, the taste was really difficult to differentiate unless you’re experienced enough about champagnes to taste the difference, otherwise both maybe very similar in style. I’d recommend No. 3 to seasoned tasters, while No. 5 is for younger crowd who enjoyed liveliness and youthful, modern taste.