Rayas does British

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I was a little bummed about missing the MNSC dinner that Pineapple hosted on Christmas Day. He is a perennial generous host and I was envious of my fellow MNSC members for being able to taste the fantastic wines he opened. But truth the told, these days my priority is to spend more time with the Parental Units, and Christmas is just family time for me. I made the same decision to miss the MNSC dinner for Pineapple's 30th birthday in order to travel to Japan with family.

As we hadn't been holding MNSC tastings for a whole 11 months last year, it was decided we needed to catch up this year... and Lord Rayas took responsibility for hosting one tonight at Roganic. I had forgotten that he likes Simon Rogan's cuisine, but I happy to come back after my second visit to 2.0 a few months ago. Tonight I would get to try some of the dishes I didn't choose from my last visit.

Raw Spanish mackerel, oyster emulsion, pickled kohlrabi and smoked roe - very refreshing, almost a little cheesy.

Scallop cracker, emulsion of farm herbs - the tapioca cracker was made with scallop seasoned with dashi and seaweed salt. Served with emuslion made with tarragon and parsley that was very acidic.

Maitake mousse, wagyu ox tongue, pickled shimeji, ramson oil - instead of beetroot, they substituted horseradish emulsion for me, and that was very strong. The cubes of ox tongue were very nice, though.

Preserved summer truffle honey bread, cultured brown butter - still very nice.

Heirloom tomatoes from Chiayi with whipped mussel and sugar kelp - the beautiful tomatoes from Chiayi (嘉義) in Taiwan came with green tomato jam and seaweed oil at the bottom, and garnished with mussels, dill flowers, and dill fronds.

We then got a topping of mussel emulsion along with crunchy kelp crumbs, which were very nice. The mussel emulsion was kinda interesting, and I was glad the flavors weren't too strong to completely overpower the freshness of the tomatoes.

Seabass stuffed with scallop and fennel pollen, fermented cauliflower with whey and caper jam - this was a nice surprise. The texture was very bouncy, and the execution was just right. The combination of the fish with scallop mousse was a wonderful idea. Of course, it didn't hurt that they also served cauliflower.

Stuffed three yellow chicken, White Dragon corn, sauce infused with fats and black garlic vinegar - the "three yellow chicken (三黃雞)" came from Hop Kee Chicken (合記雞鴨) in Sheung Wan. The thin strip of slow-cooked chicken breast was presented as the main attraction. Served with Taiwanese White Dragon (白龍王) corn and local lettuce. There was definitely acidity in the veggies. The jus was made with the rack of the bird as well as chicken fat.

The piece of chicken thigh came stuffed with a mousse of other bits of chicken.

Aerated Kyoho grape, sheeps' yoghurt and apple marigold - happy to have this refreshing little cup again, especially since it's made with Kyoho (巨峰) grapes from Taiwan.

Ruby strawberries with preserved hibiscus, fig leaf infused and baked rice pudding - interesting that they've got rice pudding with the strawberries.

Frozen mint cake and assam tea

Chestnut madeleine with caramelised Akesu apples

I was so happy that we spent our energy focused on blind-tasting the wines tonight, and Lord Rayas really put some thought into the lineup.

2020 Dominio del Águila Albillo Viña Viejas - good acidity on the palate. Nice, toasty, and flinty on the nose, a bit like savagnin, a bit reductive on the nose. There was some ripeness on the nose but still more flinty and lean.

First flight:

2022 Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles Très Vieilles Vignes - opened 4 hours before serving. Really ripe on the nose with red fruits, a little forest, and pretty sweet. There was also a hint of leather as well as some metal. Nice strawberry notes, too. 96 points.

2022 William Kelley Beaune 1er Cru Les Chouacheaux - served without decanting 5 hours after opening. The nose was more metallic, but curiously a little bit of osmanthus flowers? Sharper on the nose and seemed younger. Loads of black cherries. 96.5 points.

Second flight:

1983 Lafleur - served without decanting 6½ hours after opening. Very lovely and fragrant at first, but the nose suddenly became very muted. A little minty and a little orange. 95 points.

1986 Lafleur - aired for 30 minutes before being stoppered and vacuum pumped. Allowed to breathe again 2 hours later for another 3½ hours before serving. A little sweet grass and wet cardboard on the nose on top of the fruit. 93 points.

Third flight:

2005 Rayas Rouge - decanted 7 hours prior to serving, and double-decanted back to the bottle after 1½ hours. Very funky and farmy. 95 points.

2005 Pignan - served without decanting 7 hours after opening. The nose was very fragrant with gamey leather notes. A little soapy almost. Sweet on the palate. 98 points.

Very grateful to our host for his generosity. Can't believe I didn't guess Rayas for the last flight...