Tasting Notes

Verget Pouilly Fuisse Sur La Roche 2017
9.25 stars
15 Oct 2019

Lately I paid more attention to Pouilly Fuisse, as I think it’s an appellation that’s quite overlooked and under appreciated. The region was not as prestigious as famous appellations like Puligny Montrachet nor Meursault, but there are gems to be found, and prices are very reasonable. There’s no 1er Cru or Grand Cru found at this appellation, so to purchase Pouilly Fuisse, the reputation of the winemaker is very important. I have a lot of faith with Verget, as they’re very well known in the market that Verget produces once of the best Pouilly Fuisse. This Sur La Roche has a nice bouquet of sweet pear, mild and not overpowering faint fruits. I must praise the content, as the key here is that this Sur La Roche possessed a lot of finesse, plus the fruits are definitely not the overpowering sort, very shy, very passive type. The quality easily approaches those 1er Cru level wines from Puligny Montrachet or Chassagne Montrachet.

Verget Pouilly-Fuisse Les Hauts des Croux 2011
9.25 stars
13 Oct 2019

I was quite surprised by the quality of this Pouilly Fuisse, as normally not many winemakers are able to make quality Pouilly Fuisse. A whiff and I smelled some chilled butter coming out from the fridge. The content was the star of the talk show; very sharp and clean acidity, with a lot of transparency. Not only it’s from a great burgundy vintage of 2011 that produces such a clean wine, it also depends on a talented winemaker to make such a clean wine. The style was almost similar to Arnault Ente’s wines, with focus on acidity, but the fruits were almost ignored.

Domaine de Trevallon, IGP Alpilles, France, 2015
9.25 stars
29 Sep 2019

This came from Southern Rhone, and the number of grapes involved was more than a dozen. Normally Southern Rhone whites are oily and waxy, but not this one at all, so I was really surprised this has been a great winemaking skill of skillful blend of so many varieties of grapes, the winemaker obviously knows his stuff! I get a lot of warmth from the nose. Palette was so balanced, friendly, easy to drink. I’d really happy to describe this as the girl next door!

Generic Glencairn whisky glass versus Riedel Vinum Whisky glass

I opened a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label to taste for these 2 glasses side by side, the outcome was stunning – the Glencairn whisky glass tasted exponentially better! The Johnny Walker whisky smokiness was well expressed, almost tasted like a single malt whisky like Laphroaig 18 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, and the whisky tasted a lot more focused. Meanwhile, the taste on the Ridel Vinum Whisky glass was severely scattered and totally lost focus with the content. I’d thrash the Riedel Vinum series Whisky glasses, it was truly hopeless and severely outdated.

Francois et Antoine Jobard Meursault Blagny 1er Cru 2016
9.5 stars
5 Oct 2019

Everything you want from a Meursault

Having tasted a lot of Meursault Perrieres (>15 bottles at one go), I do have a deep impression that it’s not easy to find a perfect Meursault wine. Surprisingly, this Blagny produced wine was a lot more exciting than many Meursault Perrieres! Loads of oyster and oyster shell to boot on the bouquet, coupled with hint of honeysuckle floral influences. The acidity was one of the best I’ve come across from Meursault (probably from this superb 2016 vintage),  snappy and grippy, with a load of fruits surfacing behind the acidity, and indeed beautiful fruits that’s in harmony with the acidity. I believe Jobard is a great Meursault winemaker, and this bottle is definitely a good representative of this talented winemaker.

Pont des Arts Meursault 2013
9.0 stars
29 Sep 2019

The label art piece was designed by Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo. The wine possessed the typical Meursault bouquet of floral and orange rind. I did not enjoy the content very much, as I find it quite stony, plus a bit too dry and the acidity was a touch muted, not very impressive. I prefer to be remain focus on the content rather than getting distracted by the art piece label, as the ultimate goal of drinking wine is about the content, everything else is secondary.

Dom Perignon 1995
9.75 stars
29 Sep 2019

I once had dinner with Richard Geoffroy, the chef de cave (almost like a master blender) for Dom Perignon. When asked which vintage was his most representative of his works, he said it was 1995. After drinking so many vintages of Dom Perignon, I must confess I may have to agree with Richard, as this Dom Perignon definitely beats those in my recent memory, like 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006… etc. Nose was really unique; for a 24 year old champagne, it was still giving me freshness, and surprisingly some sweetness and umami, not often I came across such bouquet. The content was equally superb; the extraordinary length and complexity was almost beyond description. Surprisingly it has not evolved into tertiary character yet, still very adolescent, while many other younger vintages already morphed into middle age. Definitely a great buy.

Savagnin, Benedicte & Stephae Tissot Arbois, Jura 2011
8.75 stars
29 Sep 2019

I don’t drink much of these wines from the Jura region, so I don’t want to comment too much on it. The nose was filled with loads of wet tobacco leaves. The taste was all sherry driven to me, extremely dry and very bitter too. It turned downhill and very sour thereafter. Not my type of wine, pass.