Ch Trotanoy Vertical Tasting

Always touted as a contender to Petrus’ throne, and together with LaFleur forms the holy trinity of Pomerol. This vertical tasting of Ch Trotanoy explores vintages 89, 95, 96, 97, 99, 02, 05 & 06. Famously expensive, let’s see if this aristocrat lives up it its hype and price.

1995 - Brick orange, aged colour.Fantastic nose of sweet fruits and violets, very alluring. Elegant attack, not abrupt, and transition smoothly to a complex mid-body. Tinge of alcohol and bitterness. But finishes well >10 secs. WOTN (9.1/10)

1997 - Weak vintage and it shows. Translucent ruby. Blackcurrent nose w a touch of herbecousness, not fully open. Bitter attack, thin, not much body. Bitter, bitter, bitter! Tannins are tough even at 14 years. Where's the finish? (7.8/10)

2002 - Dark garnet hue, young. Q a diluted nose w only slight hints of fruits but lots of alcohol. Weak attack, but developes mid-palate in the mouth with some roundedness. Bitterness in finish, but long (8.3/10)

1999 - Q young looking, only slight browning on the rim. Enchanting bouquet of ripe berries, can smell it all day! The taste is another story, bitter attack, thin mouthfeel, high acid and alcohol, not enjoyable (7.9/10)

2005 - Slight browning. Attractive black fruits nose but alcohol still dominant. Bitter entry again, very tannic. Not much fruit except some hints of sourish plums (8.3/10). Would I pay >$400 a btl for this star vintage? You must be kidding. I'd rather get half a dozen La Lagune or Clinet for this price for a reliable and solid claret.

1996 - Very orange hue. On the nose, less berries but more wet stones, in an enjoyable subtle way. Mellow attack, slight bitterness again and some unresolved tannins. Short finish (8.1/10)

2006 - Brooding dark opaque purple. Nose of blueberries and mint. Q light on entry, but bitterness surfaced midway again. Mid-bodied wine. Decent, but alcoholic finish (8.2/10)

1989 - Bricking on the rim but still quite dark for its age. Rather closed nose, paper pulp dominated w only slight fruity hints. A mellow, light body wine and a touch of acidity still present. Over the hill? Might even be slightly corked (7.8/10)

Overall, quite a disappointing outing in light of the reputation of this Chateau. Brutal tannins all around. Where is the magic that wowed Parker into the 90-100 pointers? Did not see it today .

SQ In-Flight Wine

Allegrini Valpolicella, Italy 2008 - On board and bored. This is a v strong and rustic red, high alcohol, unpolished. Suspect SQ chose it for its robustness, which is ok in the air due to 'dumbed' palate but may be too overwhelming on the ground. Drinkable (which is already a compliment for Y class wine) (6.8/10).

When I asked to take a pic of the bottle, the steward thought I liked it so much that he keep coming back offering refills. Swallowed more than I normally would for such wines, really more out of politeness than enjoyment.

Wines by the Glass

Dinner @ 2 Rochester - Since nobody else was having wine to justify opening a bottle, settled on Wine by the Glass from the Menu.

Borsao Seleccion Shiraz, Spain- Thought can't go wrong w New World Shiraz but was I wrong. Astringent, plucky with weak body and no finish. Barely passable as wine IMO (5.0/10)

Santa Helena Cabernet Sav, Chile - Much better! Some funk on the nose that blew off after 10 mins, but still smells earthy. Masculine, black fruits with rounded mouthfeel and ok finish. Simple wine by normal standards, but looks like a superstar beside the Borsoa Shiraz (7.0/10)

Canon 2003

St Emilion 1GCCB. Totally opposite of the Beausejour Becot - this one is already open for business. V open nose of berries, alchohol blew away after some time in the glass. On the platate is fantastic, dark fruits, viscous, even jammy. Hedonistic. Integrated tannins with mouth-coating feel. Long, enjoyable finish. Would be even better if there's more complexity (8.9/10)

Beau-Sejour Becot 2003

St Emilion 1GCCB. Quite harsh for a Merlot-based wine. Nose is not q open, with alcohol still dominant. In the mouth, tannic but q good rounded mouthfeel and some fruity elements. Texture is heavy and finish w some bitter tannins. Maybe for the long haul? (8.0/10)

Crystal Wine Bordeaux 2007 Tasting (Part II)

Part II of the Crystal Wine tasting. Round up of Bordeaux 07s.

Clos Fourtet - St Emilion 1GCCB. Dark garnet colour indicative of youth. Nose is closed, all alcohol at this stage and a little funky. However, palate is ok - not hollow, rather mid-bodied , smooth tannins. Just ok (7.6/10)

Pichon-Lalande - Pauillac 2GCC. One of the giants in the lineup, did not disappoint. Nose is rather reticent. However, once in the mouth burst into complex flavours of plums and cherries. Long persistent finish. Only complaint is unresolved tannins, still youthful (8.4/10).

Montrose - St Estephe 2GCC. Based on reputation, expected a brute tannic monster but what showed up is a rather elegant claret. Closed nose. Surprisingly ready to drink, red fruits are already opening (not q fully) for business. Tannins are not yet integrated, but can sense the potential - Complex! (8.5/10)

Clinet - Pomerol AOC. Second fav WOTN. Beautiful open graphite nose. On the palate already v enjoyable, rounded concentrated black fruits flavours. Tannins smooth as silk and finish is commendable. Great value (8.9/ 10)

Canon La Gaffeliere - St Emilion GCC. Bouquet already open for business, fruity aromas. But on the palate a tough tannic monster. All funk and acid, no pleasure. Unacceptable for this price point (7.0/10).

Union des Grands Crus Bordeaux Tasting

Here it is - this event is like Disneyland coming to town for Bordeaux lovers, and I've managed to score an invitation. Look forward to many great wines today from the "Who's who" of Bordeaux. Learnt from the Grapevine (pun) that vintage served should be 2008. Young, but still great GCCs. Will post pics from event.

Crystal Wine Bordeaux 2007 Tasting (Part I)

Bordeaux 2007 Thematic Tasting @ Crystal Wine in Jan. Chose the later session (4-7pm) and these are all the people who turned up. Might as well, since it makes for a more relaxed session with less fighting over water and spit buckets! Overall impression - Very tannic experience as expected with these wines < 4 years old, but some wines are already shining though with great potential, and these will become stars in another 4 years or more.

Lascombes - Margaux 2GCC. Typical Margaux aromatics - Floral and open, excellent nose! But palate did not live up, very thin with bitterness streak at the finish, thou tannins are relatively smooth (7.3/10).

Ducru Beaucaillou - St Julian 2GCC. Fairly closed nose of graphite. Mouthfeel is fantastic - fruit cake flavors with mouth coating smooth tannins. Very rounded, mid to full bodied and a long finish. Great wine even this young (8.7/10)

Dom de Chevalier - Graves GCC. Very lot of funk on the nose, almost like a garbage truck just drove by. Palate is very New World, extracted but flat. Some minerality giving hints to its Graves terrior. Acidic (7.2/10)

Cos D'estournel - St Estephe 2GCC. Pedigree showing though even at this young age. Fairly open nose of old leather, wet stones....classy bouquet. In the mouth, lots going on -  fruity, lush tannins overlaid with buttery overtones and rounded finish. It can only get better with age. WOTN (9.1/10)

Wine Dinner

Volnay 2007 Burgundy (Right) - Is this really Pinot Noir? Translucent ruby, but smells like cabernet sav, tastes like cabernet sav. Reminds me of a very watered down, acidic Vin de Pays. No body, very sour. No pleasure (6.3/10)

Ch Bellevue 2004 (Middle) - Expectation was high when came across this in the tasting list, but what showed up was a Haut Medoc AOC and not the real deal (St Emilion GCC). Like any ordinary supermarket Bordeaux below $30- Thin, tannic.......torture (5.8/10)

Ch Simian (du Pape) 2007 (Left) - WOTN, but don't infer too much given the lineup. Passable nose, some black fruits. Still very tannic and bitterness at the finish, but at least some pleasurable fruity elements are showing (6.8/10)

Weingut Riesling 2008

Weingut Reinhold Haart Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett 2008. Not a big fan of whites, but find this one the least acidic of the lot and at least carry some body with nice hints of citrus. Unable to rate on whites.