ALEX AND WILLIAM’S BIRTHDAY DINNER - Tonny Restaurant, Geylang Lor 3, Singapore (17/12/2020)
This was one of those nights were the whites outshone the reds.
A bit of a strange celebration - due to COVID measures, we were split across three tables, with no mingling. Wines were split up in advance, and served passed to each table by wait staff. We will probably remember this for sometime, as it marked a certain period in history. Hoping next years’ celebration will be back to normal. Still though, a blessing to be even able to share a birthday celebration with two good friends in the midst of a pandemic.
BUBBLES
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NV Patrick Soutiran Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
An interesting one. This had a really arresting nose, with notes of marzipan and sweet cream alongside ripe, almost honeyed yellow fruited aromas, and then a bit of something aged and oxidative about it. There was just a touch of an aggressively over-ripe note, and a slight penicillin twang to the bouquet. Otherwise, this was very interesting and fairly attractive. The palate was full and ripe, much as the nose suggested, with a full, creamy mousse wrapped around a very forward core of ripe melon and yellow fruit flavours, with a bit of honeyed chrysanthemum tones trailing alongside. The finish had a decent touch of minerally length to it. Altogether, full, ripe and powerful, with a few rough edges, but this was otherwise a nice, characterful champagne to start the night out with. (91 pts.) -
2008 Dom Pérignon Champagne - France, Champagne
Not many notes this time, as I was still struggling to get into the groove of dinner with a Zoom call. This continues to really impress me though - it is a very complete Champagne - pleasing and generous with its fine mouse, gently juicy acidity and open-knit structure framing lovely round flavours of apples and lemons; yet also also on-point in its balance and verve, with a nice touch of extract and minerality that kept it ever so interesting to drink. Still a baby, but this will grow up to be beautiful Champagne. So delicious even now though! (94 pts.)
CORTON BLANC
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2014 Lucien Le Moine Corton-Les Grandes Lolières Blanc - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
A rich, powerful wine. The nose here was very proper Grand Cru Corton, with deep, powerful draws of white fruit soaked with nuts and spice and toast, and then sweeter notes of honey and perhaps even a shade or caramel, all this sewn together with just a little seam of mineral. The palate was where this really shone though - deep, powerful, oily, with broad shouldered flavours of white fruit and more honeyed melon tones, yet always beautifully poised and balanced as a good 2014 should be, with a lovely seam of acidity and minerality that gave the wine a good sense of cut and definition in spite of its obvious girth. Good finish too, palate-filling in its depth, and palate-staining in its length, this lingered on and on with notes of ripe fruit infused with plenty of spice and mineral. Very good indeed, and drinking well now - although I suspect a little bit more time in the bottle will tame it somewhat more, perhaps allowing for a more nuanced display of its qualities. (93 pts.) -
2011 Rapet Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
This has developed in a nicely interesting wine since I last tried it in the domain, shortly after malolactic fermentation has completed. It had a very characterful nose tonight, with an almost savoury, saline mineral character to it, along with a nice bit of white fruit and little aromatic touch of spice and florals. The palate was nice too - very fresh and lively, with a lovely cut and thrust to its white fruit and buttery cream notes, again with just a little shade of spice, and then a really nice, chalky mineral tail behind it. A very neat, elegant white Burg - drinking nicely, if just perhaps a bit youthfully now. (93 pts.)
SAUZET FLIGHT
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2001 Etienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Another really nice white Burg - one of quite a few on the night. This had a really lovely nose, with sweet notes of nectar and creme fraiche alongside buttery brioche aromas, and then little drifts of red apple and sweet honey pears. Very perfumed and attractive. The palate was lovely too, with a little smidgen of age lending a nice touch of ease and complexity to the wine’s flavours of white fruit, laced with notes of warm spice and mineral. There was just a touch of heat on the back palate, before a nicely full, round finish set in. A little let-down there, but otherwise a very nice showing. I really enjoyed this - it was an absolute charmer drinking really nicely now. (93 pts.) -
2000 Etienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Really lovely - this was the pick of the bunch of very nice white Burgundies we had. It had a very nice nose indeed, with golden drops of honey and rich cream drizzled over a core of ripe yellow fruit, these infused with a touch to earthy mineral, spice, and then just that hint of floral aromas. A rich, buttery nose, but with a good amount of fragrant lift to it that kept it interesting. The palate was very nice too. Sunny and ripe, yet with a nice reservoir of citrusy kumquat acidity, along with a solid spine of dry extract and minerality, all giving a good sense of shape and definition to the wines otherwise round, generous flavours of butter, cream and ripe yellow fruit. These leading into a round, warmly spiced finish. A very full, powerful wine. Surprisingly though, even with its greater depth and weight, this almost seemed just that little more defined and well-cut than the 2001 that preceded it, which made it the better drink overall. Lovely stuff, drinking beautifully now. (94 pts.) -
1994 Etienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Yet another Sauzet Batard, this one far older than the other two bottles. A solid white Burg, especially at its age, but this was probably the least pleasing of the many we had on the night. The nose was still noticeably sweet and ripe, with draws of sweet yellow fruit with an almost tropical pineapple and peach edge to them, and then little drifts of cream and mineral, followed by a deep honeyed twang. Very attractive. The palate had that same richness in tone, with more peach and pineapple tones underlined by a deep, powerful bed of white fruit and chalky mineral, all pulling away into a tremendously long finish. Full, powerful, generous for something this old, yet always decently balanced and defined with a good bit of acidity and mineral. Somehow though, while well-shaped and certainly solid, this certainly missed some of the more youthful energy of either the 2000 or the 2001 Sauzet Batards that preceded it. All in all, a nice wine, but time to drink up. (92 pts.) -
2007 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
A really pretty showing. The nose on this was pure Folatieres, floating out of the glass with pineapple and ripe yellow fruit aromas, laced with a little touch of flowers and chalky mineral. The palate showed all the lovely purity and minerally cut of the 2007 vintage, with fresh acidity and stony tones tracing their way through a bright mouthful of yellow fruit, and then sweeter white peach notes, all the way into a bright, pleasing finish. This lacked the full-on power and depth of the trio of Sauzet Batard-Montrachet that preceded it, but there was plenty to like here, with charming fruit wed to lots of minerality and freshness, all of which made it a real joy to drink even when pitched against its Grand Cru cousins - not something you can say about every vintage of Folatieres. Very good now, but with its best years ahead of it yet. (93 pts.)
REDS
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1996 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This wine has been wildly inconsistent for me over the years, ranging from meh, to pretty good. This was one of the poorer bottles. Good, but not great, a bit tired and funky, even if it was still quite a decent wine overall. The nose certainly smelt older than the wine was - with notes of balsamic and damp leaves and earth swirling around a slightly sweeter core of cooked cherries and dark berries, with some roasted meat, then gentle notes of spice and boiled herbs running on behind. The palate was decent enough, but far from world-beating, with a spine of fine-boned tannins and very bright, almost citrus acidity running through rather lean notes of blueberries and cassis traced with a little streak of minerality. The finish had a bit of a bittersweet twang to it, with some brush herb and bramble along with a bit of peppery spice trailing away. Pleasant flavours, speaking fairly eloquently of La Chapelle, but altogether lacking a bit of conviction. (90 pts.) -
2011 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Clos des Lambrays - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
From a sliver at the bottom of the Clos des Lambrays vineyard - this is a rare bottle. I found it a very pretty wine, if a little on the green side. The nose showed lifted, perfumed notes of red cherries and violet flowers spiked with bits of green herb, spice and bramble. The palate was very drinkable for a Grand Cru of its age, perhaps reflective of the vintage, with silky tannins and soft balancing acidity framing velvety flavours of ripe blueberries, these seasoned with a little
of warm spice, and then a lovely lifts of violet florals. The finish was just a touch grippier and leaner, with a little chew of tannins and a lift of peppery, woody spice. A touch light for a Grand Cru, but if you can get past the green and the slightly lean, this was actually a very pleasant, really elegant drop. Drinking nicely now too. (92 pts.)
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1989 Château Trotanoy - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
A solidly good, if not quite spectacular Pomerol, drinking nicely now. The nose was especially attractive, with lovely drafts of dark berries and plums, and then a bit of earth and meat, these wreathed with fragrant rolls of tobacco smoke and Christmas spice. Very pretty indeed. The palate was very elegant too, with a robe of powdery, velvety tannins and soft acidity draped over rich plum and earth and chocolate notes, and then a more defined spine of mineral and spice, with a puff of tobacco smoke drifting away into the distance. Very nice, if just lacking some of the oomph from a top, top vintage of Trotanoy. (92 pts.)
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