Blog

My last trip to Hong Kong was also a triumphant return for Alexander The Great, who joined me on this special evening. There was an issue with her and getting a cab, and before you know it, we were in crisis mode. We arrived stressed out, as we were thirty minutes late. A warm and calming welcome from The Sifu and his wife, along with To The Victor, had us back at ease. I think there were eight of us total, but it could have been ten.

We moved to the reds immediately, where a magnum of something intriguing awaited. The first red was very floral and pungent in its nose, with lots of red fruits, BBQ and carob at first sniff. Graves and 1952 came to my mind for this dry Bordeaux. At least I got the Bordeaux part right! Charcoal and gravel cemented my initial thoughts, but this was a 90 year old 1926 Mouton Rothschild. Out of magnum. Sifu in the hoooowwwwwwsssssssse…make that his house. This was another older wine that got better and better in the glass. This was an extraordinary bottle, and black olives, cream, dust and minerals emerged. The Sifu added, ‘game, cassis, mint. Quite typical Mouton.’ I’ll have what he’s having (95M).

We moved to Burgundy territory in deep ocean fashion, with a sweet, honeyed and decadent Pinot. It had beautiful red rose and red fruit aromas. To The Victor agreed, citing ‘strawberries.’ Others admired its ‘acidity, spice and oak.’ One guest guessed ‘1980s Echezeaux,’ but it was 2000 DRC La Tache. Out of magnum. Again. I gotta admit, the 2000 LT mag was so perfect, so now. The Sifu found it ‘so a (ah) point (pwahn).’ That’s French for ‘on point’ lol. Don’t be such a connard (95M).

The next wine was the final wine for which I took notes. It was all about the Milk Duds, with chocolate and caramel all over its rich and tasty body. There weren’t many more notes at this point, other than ‘Spanish wine, so delicious, Unico!!!’ And ‘MAG’ with an arrow featuring many ups and downs. Oh, it was a 1962 Vega Sicilia Unico, of course (97M).

It was a big Burgundy week in Hong Kong, and numerous producers were in town, including two of my favorites, Etienne de Montille and Jean-Marc Roulot, who were also at lunch. I was not surprisingly the last to arrive, just in time for a taste of two of Jean-Marc’s newest creations, including his first vintage of Chevalier Montrachet. I didn’t take notes, as I was still getting my sea legs under me, but I can tell you that Jean-Marc showed why he continues to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, producer of white wines in the world. And if someone told me the 1996 Krug in front of me was Clos du Mesnil, I probably would have drunk more of that, too.

A quartet of DRC Romanee St. Vivants followed, led by the 1997. Garden aromas were greeted by earth, rubber and rust. There was nice structure here for the vintage, and a tighter style than most ’97 Burgs. This was an excellent wine, but it had the disservice of following the Montrachet (93).

The 1990 DRC Romanee St. Vivant that followed showed more autumnal and leafy aromas, along with cedar, tomato and menthol. It had a rich and leathery palate, both classy and classic. There were stir-fried beef edges to this round and thick wine. It needed time, as it held and expanded in the glass. This was a wine that could handle the gym, and more cedar and bamboo emerged on the palate (96).

The 1985 DRC Romanee St. Vivant was all about the orange peel and rust, with this twisted acid thing happening. More autumn emerged, along with tea, tree bark and this wet fungus-y goodness. There were tertiary flavors here, making me think that this won’t get any better, and it got dirtier and dirtier in the glass (94).

The 1971 DRC Romanee St. Vivant was a touch mature and advanced, gamy and forward with brown sugar, Worcestershire and butter cream aromas. There was rich and sumptuous fruit in the mouth; if the bottle was perfect, it would have been 96 points, but it was not perfect (94A).