Hong Kong has many connoisseurs, but only one wine ‘Sifu’ aka wine master. A recent, casual lunch reminded me why. There aren’t many lunches that start with a wine from 1907, but this was the Sifu, I tried to tell you! Technically, it was a 1907 Graf au Bitz Eltviller Klumbchen Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese. In German, that translates to ‘Go F Yourself, Frenchie.’ Don’t shoot the translator, ok? This was finally a TBA that I could love, because it finished dryly! So it only takes 106 years, got it. The mental note was made. This was a wow wine that was still fresh, but aromas of hazelnut, game, apricot, peach and petrol all came across maturely. There was a ‘density’ to its tea-like flavors. The Sifu enjoyed its ‘fruit juice’ qualities. Divine, delicious and magical all came to mind. The Failo, aka ‘Fat Boss,’ likened drinking it to ‘like getting out of the shower.’ I think I would have preferred if his skinny secretary said it first (96).

The 1990 Trotanoy was garden fresh with dusty cocoa, citrus and a waterfall of plum aromas. This was shy, yet tasty and long. It was a touch closed but still smooth and inviting (93).

1975 La Mission Haut Brion has been one of my favorite wines from the ’70s for a while, but this bottle wasn’t quite as flamboyant as recent memories. It was a bit shut down. It opened slowly but not surely into aromas of coffee, wheat, earth and a pinch of chocolate. It was tight and while I’ve had better bottles, it was still solid (95).

The closer was a killer, courtesy of one of Burgundy’s hottest producers. Every wine I drink from Louis-Michel Liger-Belair is delicious; even his Vosne Romanee makes me warm and fuzzy. His 2006 Liger-Belair La Romanee made me downright hot and bothered. James Suckling noted ‘roses’ while Tucker was more feeling the ‘peonies.’ Its nose was amazing; there was so much greatness happening here. Its palate had what I would call latent acidity, because its fruit was so good and covered up the crime scene. There was a kiss of rubber, as in a Lamborghini leaving you in the dust. Its palate was so rich and so much better than anything and every other red we tasted before. It was deeper, rounder and longer yet still so friendly and fresh. A recent conversation with Aubert de Villaine about Louis-Michel had Aubert calling him ‘a good addition to Burgundy.’ Those words don’t come easily when it comes to the Godfather (96).

There are many women wine lovers in the world, but very few actual collectors. I’m not sure why, nor will I dare venture to guess. I’ll leave that to the sociology professors. However, I recently had the good fortune of reacquainting myself with a woman who not only loves wine, but also collects. And when I was invited down into her cellar, it was clear that this was no ordinary collection; this was a collection fit for a Queen.

Bottle after bottle of the best of the best littered the shelves of her temperature-controlled cellar, one that was about to go through an expansion actually. Cases littered the aisles like roadblocks; there wasn’t much room left, for sure. We did our damnedest to make more room in the cellar, but our efforts went unnoticed in the basement. They were, however, quite appreciated in the dining room.

The dueling theme continued with our next flight, beginning with a 1978 DRC La Tache. This was an extraordinary bottle, with a nose full of mint, menthol, rose, earth, iron, blood and tomato. This was fabulous wine, long and delicate yet intense. There was a touch of good green in this so fine and so long red. A kiss of bouillon rounded out its complex finish. It’s tough to imagine it getting any better, but it isn’t going to get any worse any time soon, either (96).

We should have served the 1972 DRC La Tache beforehand, but the ’78 somehow made its way around first, and no one turned it down, of course. It felt like the ’72 was out plowing in the vineyard all summer while the ’78 was the one entertaining at the Domaine. The Hedonist observed that ‘it would have been hot were it not for its younger sister.’ After that ’78, this was square and dirty, with a touch of garbage and alley compromising its blacker fruit (89).

The Queen wasn’t impressed with the 1990 Vogue Musigny that she brought, and neither have many Burgundy connoisseurs for a while now. I don’t consider myself a hater, but this has always been a weird wine. It was initially milky and stemmy, but it did improve to reveal some dark, meaty fruit. Bran, wheat and oat joined the party. Its palate was square with blacker fruit. There was tang on its finish, but it was thin in the middle. I wish I was like that (92).

The 1993 Drouhin Musigny was quite tight and acidic, very iron fisty in its nose. There were forest and blacker fruit aromas, and its palate was mainly about olive, citrus and bread. To be honest, I expected more from this wine, which showed that rubbery, tight side of 1993. It needs more time (93+).

Everyone loves a good Hollywood ending. Boy gets girl, good defeats evil, big family hug, Hollywood Jef turns 55, money shot… and fifty-five is significant of course, it’s like a notice that you are now about to pass the legal speed limit, and all fun must get off at the next exit. But Hollywood Jef is no ordinary man; he has been following a strict diet of fine and rare wine for the last decade or two and is seemingly getting younger with each sip. When he invited me to his 55th birthday celebration, I moved our next Hong Kong auction back a week, because I knew it would be that special. I underestimated.

A magnum of 1971 Dom Perignon provided ample amplitude for the cocktail session. It was a clean and classy magnum, more wheaty than expected, but it still possessed signature white fruit. It was fresh and zippy, all one could ask for out of a magnum of this wine. I was a few minutes late arriving, so I didn’t have too much time with it (95M).

Two whites followed, beginning with a magnum of 1966 Leroy Montrachet, courtesy of the Wolfgang Grunewald collection. Everyone that was fortunate enough to buy from that auction in 2008 keeps telling me they wished they bought more. This magnum was another example. It had a warm, open and mature Chardonnay nose with aromas of candle wax, old honey, game and sea salt. It was sound and rich in a mature way, not like internet money. This was EF Hutton money; Leroy earned it. Someone called it or Leroy ‘one of the greatest,’ and its creamy and nutty finish didn’t have me disagreeing (95M).

Three magnums of DRC Richebourg equal one happy dinner table. The 1971 DRC Richebourg was spectacular like all 1971 DRCs always are. Aromas of tomato, menthol, rose oil, vitamins, creamsicle, tree, forest and wet wood combined harmonically in its nose. The palate was minty and rich with meaty flavors of dill and truffle. It still seemed so young and had some wet toad goodness to it. The Rev picked up some ‘licorice’ on its grainy, granular and thick finish. Touches of cedar and eucalyptus rounded out this special wine (97M).

Twin towers of La Tache were a fitting follow up to the riches of Richebourg, beginning with a 1971 DRC La Tache. It equaled the greatness of the ’71 Richebourg in the nose, but it had more rose and cedar goodness. There were also aromas of oyster shells and red dates. Its fruit was oily and its palate saucy and meaty. Rich and leathery, it felt like a Hermes bag in the mouth, supplemented by great cedar and red citrus flavors. Usually I am in 98 point territory for this wine, but on this night, the Richebourg was the LT’s equal (97M).

After so many great DRC’s that were drunk to the last drop, the Bordeaux were a bit anti-climactic. Those that argue that Burgundy should come after Bordeaux had a case in point on this night. My notes started to wane. Yes, I am predictable. The first wine was out of double magnum, the only non-magnum in the crowd. It had a great nose full of nutty goodness, with some caramel and chocolate. Wet wood, bamboo and wafer flavors complemented nice acidity in this solid wine (94D).

The 1949 Gruaud Larose had aromas of chocolate, caramel, cedar, spice, cabinet and nutmeg. Its palate was soft, creamy and easy. It didn’t live up to its younger brother’s performance (92M).

The 1945 Gruaud Larose was ‘too tannic’ per Bipin. I wrote a few more words, but ‘cold, simple and easy’ were all I could read (90M).

The last wine on this night was actually from the vintage of our Hollywood host, a 1958 Latour. It was quite good given the vintage’s lackluster reputation in Bordeaux. It was smooth, balanced and lush without the richness. It was an uplifting finish to a heavenly night (93M).

For those of you that really pay attention, you will remember The Keymaster, one of the world’s great palates and collectors, a man who realizes that older is better, you better, the best. Every meal that I have ever had with him has been nothing short of spectacular, and this most recent evening was no exception. We drove about 30 minutes outside of his European home to find a Grand Award winning restaurant. We still brought our own wines, of course.

The Keymaster noted, ‘mature pineapple, exotic mango and a lot of sweetness.’ There were orange fruits with a Galliano kiss and some wet rock. There was also some rusty nail and honey drops in its smoky nose. It definitely had a deeper color, but Sebastien was still appreciating its ‘effervescence.’ Its rusty flavors were hammered in by its hard, full acidity. This was a strong wine, almost robotic and violent. ‘Aggressive’ and ‘on fire’ came from the crowd. This was bigger but felt more chemistry than natural science. It was an old release of NV Jacques Selosses Contraste, released in 2008. I love Selosses, but I don’t think his NV cuvees get better over time (94).

The second white had a much oakier nose with a bandaid applied, and it, too, was also served too cold. ‘More Montrachet’ came from one of our quartet, and it did feel richer, but I didn’t think we were in Montrachet land. Sebastien called this wine ‘a real man,’ or perhaps he was just fantasizing out loud lol. There was a lot of tree, forest and log cabin action with a whole lotta potpourri going on. Someone noted, ‘popcorn and caramel,’ in this long, balanced and smooth 1999 Coche-Dury Puligny Montrachet Les Enseigneres. Exotic, perfumed and sexy, this Coche was a ‘mini-Batard’ per The Keymaster. Sebastien came up with a new adjective, ‘pophorny.’ Perhaps he was thinking about that real man again (94).

Even though this ’83 counterpart was also decanted three hours ago, it felt deeper and stronger, but it had to overcome some must/cardboard/wet tree bark thing. Mushroom, ‘wet paper’ and ‘fruity wet dog’ came from the crowd. There was great minerality to its nose, and more acid stick here. The palate was fresh with no signs of must, except the thought that I must drink more of this. There was nice leather to its long finish. Most preferred the nose of the La Tache, and the palate of this 1983 Henri Jayer Echezeaux. Its palate was deeper, sweeter and longer, and the nose improved while gaining a candied twist. It got more LT than the LT got it, if that makes sense (95).

We were told the last wine of the night was a 97 point Burghound wine, so we knew it was Burgundy . It had an open, saucy nose that was full, rich and hearty. There were aromas of bouillon, roasted fruit, menthol and a touch of beef. Leather, rust and autumn were present in this wise yet youthful wine. This was a great wine, with outstanding acidity and zip, with supporting characters of barnwood and earth. It likely wasn’t an original bottling, but this 1933 Pierre Gaunoux Pommard Rugiens was still great (95).