some old les cazetiers and a vintage henriot

Brought a magnum 88 Henriot Rose to dinner yesterday evening and it was superb: copper-salmon pink core, bright and crystal clear; very fine & persistent effervescence; clean, nutty, ripe red apples, cream on the nose; tasty, slight sherry-tones, tart pink grapefruit, smoky and oak flavours on the palate; medium-plus acidity; long finish. Drinking beautifully but has the potential to age gracefully too.
A good friend shared two aged Burgundy that she acquired recently and they were also in excellent conditions. Both corks came out perfectly. The 1979 for me was floral, elegant, poised and well integrated while the 1986 was a little more masculine but fell short on the acidity and finish. Both were supposedly “off-vintages” but they were surprisingly good with all the seafood we ordered. And for the first time in a long while, I didn’t get any pressing request for beef or meat dishes when there’s still red wines involved

1979 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers, Vallet Freres
Garnet-ruby core with a bricking rim, not as crystal clear as the 86; Muted nose on first whiff but opened up quickly to reveal prominent rose petals, dried orange peel, dried red berries; dried hawthorn, dried red fruits, leathery, slightly metallic; medium to medium-plus acidity; medium-plus finish; smooth tannins.

1986 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers, Vallet Freres
Ruby red with a salmon-orange rim; red flowers, bacon fat, dried meat, cloves, a little dirty; dried salami, iberico, dried red fruit on the palate; tannic grip was prominent; medium acidity and finish.

 

 

sashimi moriawase

with some bubbly at one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in town – Tatsuya. That was a platter for two and every single piece was fresh, succulent and delicious. It was good catching up with an old friend again before I turn nomadic once more.

Casa Tartufo, Singapore

Food was pretty good in spite of all the not-so-stellar reviews on this establishment. The Capesante (seared scallops) and Burrata were excellent – both went down quite well with the vintage 2005 spumante by Bruno Giacosa. S pointed out that the spumante was a little rough on the edges as far as effervescence is concerned and I must say he nailed it. The Tajarin with white Alba truffles were good, but sadly, the Tortelli was overpowered by the bacon bits, taking away the limelight from what little shavings of tartufo there were on the plate. The Risotto Casa was admittedly a little fishy (with the sea-urchin) but still went down fairly well with the Barbaresco, contrary to what the restaurant’s sommelier had to say about the pairing. The cheese platter was a letdown and all 5 cheeses tasted as though they were bought off the shelves from a supermarket. The parmiggiano and pecorino were quite disappointing for an Italian restaurant. Anyway, they managed to salvage some of that with an impressive trio of well-made tartufo, hazelnut and dark choc gelato. What truly marred the experience here was the somewhat condescending tone of the sommelier. However, I do applaud his courage and confidence in imposing his views on his customers. Personally, it’s a huge no-no for me. The thing is – if you think a particular dish on the menu doesn’t really work with the theme of the restaurant, why not get the dish removed instead of criticizing it in front of your dine-in customers? I wasn’t sure if he was trying to be charming but that tactic definitely backfired.

pommes, tomates et les épinards

with a crack of salt, some crumbled blue cheese, e.v. olive oil and balsamico!