Unauthorized

This was an exquisite meal at a private home prepared by a well-known dentist in Singapore known for his culinary skills. It’s safe to say this fellow could be a professional chef given how delicious the food was. Everything was extremely flavorful, and filled with character and personality. It was hard to choose a favorite dish. (I would have loved to have had more of everything, but I had a huge gala to attend that night).

The wines included the beautiful 2000 Dom Pèrignon Champagne. This exquisite, consistently superb effort is just a notch below the brilliant 1996 and 1990. Dom Pèrignon must be the greatest achievement in the winemaking world as millions of bottles are produced! We next had four wines served blind. I thought the Kistler 2005 Vine Hill Chardonnay was a Corton Charlemagne. There was a Corton Charlemagne, but it was Louis Latour’s 2001. The Vine Hill had more minerality, oomph, and intensity, and was more French-like than Latour’s 2001,which is revealing a lot of oak as well as more heat and alcohol than the California wine (which I suspect is actually higher in alcohol). Both are outstanding, enjoyable wines, but the Kistler 2005 Vine Hill was the unanimous choice as the top white. We then had a blind tasting of two red Burgundies from the 2002 vintage. I preferred the mushroomy/forest floor earthiness of the Potel 2002 Clos de la Roche. It is a fully mature beauty that should offer plenty of pleasure for another 5-8 years. The 2002 Trapet Chambertin was slightly disappointing at first, but it seemed to put on weight and complexity as it sat in the glass. While good, it is a mid-weight red that is somewhat disappointing based on the price for which it sells. It should last another 7-8 years.

This was an extraordinarily enjoyable luncheon with superb company as well as cuisine.