Tasting Notes

Leoville Barton, St Julien, 1995
9.0 stars
25 Dec 2019

Nothing really special with this Leoville Bartion 1995, loads of dried fruits and raisins to boot, the palette is also very dry, again dried raisins in play. I suspect it was totally not readied to be drank right now, perhaps it will benefit from another 2 more decades of cellaring. I don’t see a lot of potential from this bottle, but frankly foresight is difficult to come along unless I have drank most of the vintages of Leoville Barton that’s ever produced to extrapolate the future taste of this bottle.

Trotanoy, Pomerol, 1998
9.5 stars (will upgrade to 9.75 stars over time)
25 Dec 2019

This was a very highly sort after vintage and extremely sort after label for 1998, I believed the influence of the owner made the difference, as Edouard Moueix once commented that “this is probably the only vintage I cannot identify whether it’s Trotanoy or Petrus in a blind tasting”, so you can safely assume this quality to be close to Petrus. I tasted a lot of potential in this wine, sadly I didn’t have 4 hours to decant the wine, it was only decanted in the glass for a mere 20 mins, obviously totally didn’t reveal Trotanoy’s 1998 full color. The content was just full of dried fruits and raisins with very soft tannins lurking at the background. I can imagine given another 2 or 3 decades, this is going to be a full blown sophisticated wine.

Leroy Les Beau Monts, Vosne Romanee 1er Cru 1998
9.5 stars
25 Dec 2019

 I had this twice, with another from a different vintage that’s the killer 1990. I must confess the 1990 bouquet was way  beyond words. However, this 1998 did not have the bouquet like the 1990, but it has the body that was unparalleled compared to the 1990. The bouquet was probably close to non-existence, probably because we drank the wine during lunch in an outdoor climat! (I know this sounded crazy, but it was Xmas). The body was an overwhelming amount of fruits, but the fruits do not overpower, just the right meat at the right place. The length was astonishing, as if it was endless (by red burgundy standard). The price tag was beyond description, I must confess this was way beyond what I would pay for a red burgundy (around S$4,000+), but since I was offered to drink it, might as well enjoy it right?

Leroy Cotes de Beaune Village 1995
9.0 stars
25 Dec 2019

This was a négociant bottled Leroy, so don’t expect too much. This was much more approachable than the 1990 version that I raved about recently  It was much more forward and fruity, no gripe on the palette, just big fruits. However, it was rightfully at the village level as the finishing was short, a tad too simple with the lack of layers of sophistication.

Leroy Cotes de Beaune Village 1990
9.25 stars
25 Dec 2019

This was a Leroy négociant bottled wine (white cap). This village level wine was probably too young…. Tons of tannins and grips on the palette, and obviously not ready to be consumed in anytime soon. I believe this required another 2 decades of aging judging from the content I have observed, not something that can be drunk right now, so regardless of whether it was a village level, you really should keep it for another 2 or 3 decades for it to be more approachable. Finally the not so lengthy finishing revealed that it should rightfully belonged to the village level.

Chateau Palmer, Margaux, 1989
8.75 stars
25 Dec 2019

At over S$700+ as of this month, this wine was definitely over rated and over priced, perhaps due to Parker giving a score of 95, I would spend my money elsewhere wisely. Nothing in this wine impressed me at all, it tasted like a St Emilion Grand Cru at best, no notes of Margaux appellation, no softness found on the body. I just have no good words for it, so I refused to comment further. Hopefully this was a poorly stored bottle or from a poor provenance. For safety sake, I wouldn’t put my money into such a lousy quality expensive wine.

Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Marguax 2009
9.5 stars
18 Dec 2019

I have been drinking white burgundies for the past two years and hardly had a sip of any Bordeaux whites, as my biggest problem with Bordeaux whites is the lack of acidity and the lack of sophistication. However, I must confess this was an unfounded bias, definitely due to too much white burgundies influence and brainwash. Bouquet was definitive Bordeaux, with loads of butter (definitely due to oak influence) and a very faint floral note. As expected, there wasn’t much acidity in the body, in fact too low to even call a white. BUT, the extraordinary fruits more than made up the lack of acidity, extremely enjoyable fruits and pleasurable wine, made the white burgundy fruits paled right next to this gem!

La Lagune, Haut-Medoc, 2009
9.0 stars
27 Dec 2019

I had this bottle about 9 years ago when it first released, I vaguely remembered it was way too tight and not even remotely ready to be drank then. A decade has gone passed, the wine has not “grown up” much either, except that this time round it has revealed a lot more fruits, but still very primary, very dry and tannic. I could not feel much potential about this wine as I was not too impressed with the bouquet nor the fruits, perhaps I’m dead wrong in 40 years’ time, but as of now or over the next two decades, my statement stays.