North, South, and something else

It's been a while since I was last in the Hong Kong Room at the I Hate the Handover Club, since I haven't joined Pineapple for his annual birthday MNSC dinner for the last few years. I would be dining here tonight at the kind invitation of Christies and the Specialist, tasting through a line up of wonderful wines in advance of an upcoming auction. The consignor - an uncle with a colorful past who went from Shantou to Canada via Hong Kong, and eventually settling down in Bangkok - was in attendance.

Tonight the crowd was a little different from the usual, as there was not a single bottle of Burgundy around. The lineup was dominated by wines from the Rhône Valley, which was right up my alley. We started with some bubbly for the pre-dinner drinks:

Jacquesson Cuvée N°748, dégorgée en Mars 2025 - this was actually very floral and elegant, with a nice little yeasty nose.

The Specialist had asked the chef to come up with the appropriate dishes to pair with the selection of wines. The consignor did have some doubt regarding one dish, but I had no doubt that the pairing would work - at least with the main ingredient.

Poached white asparagus, Black Forest ham, hollandaise sauce - it IS asparagus season, and I can't complain about the simple and classic combination of white asparagus with hollandaise. The Black Forest ham was smoky and a bit salty when contrasted with the clean and refreshing flavors of chilled, poached white asparagus.

2010 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal Blanc - the nose was waxy, very ripe and definitely on the bitter side. This was more expressive and open on the nose, more opulent, but the palate was kinda boring.

2016 Chave Hermitage Blanc - there was also some bitterness on the palate, but the nose was much more fresh, with flinty and citrus notes, but leaner on the nose. More than 2½ hours after opening, the nose was becoming buttery.

Iberico pork and pistachio paté en croûte, piccalilli, Pommery mustard - the paté en croûte was pretty good, but it was curious to find piccalilli as a condiment for it.

1989 La Mission Haut-Brion - this was so, soooo beautiful! Big nose of tobacco, smoke, nice fruit but so elegant, so fragrant. Plummy on the nose but without the cooked fruit or the acidity on the palate. This was still so lively at its age, showing the beauty of the vintage. What a stunning wine, and certainly my favorite tonight.

1982 Léoville-Las Cases - this was clearly more mature, more ripe on the nose with sweeter fruit. This was so interesting, and we've got green capsicum... which wasn't a surprise. The wine was silky smooth on the palate, but the finish wasn't very long. The nose also showed some smoke and grilled meats, and 2½ hours after opening, the nose got even more smoky.

2001 Dominus - pretty minty, and very much sweeter on the palate.

Pigeon risotto, acquerello rice, Parmesan cheese - the risotto was nice and al dente, very cheesy.

The pigeon was never be as rosé as it would be in a French restaurant, but it was still a little red. The breast was nice and tasty with gamey and flavors tasting of blood, and almost liver-like. The texture was very smooth and slippery, and I heard many compliments around me. It was certainly very good, but I do wish the pigeon skin was a bit more charred and smoky.

2015 Chave Hermitage Rouge - this was still very young, and still showing lots of metallic and iron notes on the nose, and also very sweet. Then it became a bit grassy on the nose, and of course it was still kinda tannic on the palate.

1995 Chave Hermitage Rouge - this was sooooo nice, so beautiful. with classic notes of bacon and game meat. On the palate this was so fragrant and complex, with potpourri and herbs. Surprisingly, more than 3 hours after opening this kinda fell off a cliff.

2015 Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque - this was much riper compared to the Chave, very sweet, with big nose of potpourri and herbs. Kinda hot and alcoholic on the palate. This became so, so nice after more than 2 hours as coffee and caramel notes developed.

Pan seared cod fish, San Marzano tomato sauce, olives, roasted peppers, smoked paprika - cod has always paired well with reds from the Rhône for me, and the thick chunk made for a very satisfying bite of the tender and oily fish. The roasted peppers worked very nicely.

2001 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - this was really nice and open, especially as it was sweeter on the nose than expected, and there was that bacon... So fragrant but still had the signature barnyard notes, although not strong and offensive, and definitely got a little brett. Still so nice, though.

2003 Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de Mon Aïeul - this was definitely overripe, and started to remind me of cough syrup with its alcoholic profile, and stewed prunes on the palate. Really, really sweet and jammy.

1990 Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - this was such a big wine with that signature barnyard nose, soooo bretty, and pretty savory. Not my thing.

Whole roasted American prime beef has always been a highlight of any dinners I've had here, and tonight it was no exception.

Whole roasted American prime beef, lack pepper sauce, horseradish, Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, seared broccolini - this was exactly what I would have wanted out of this prime rib... well-seasoned, with the cap full-cooked while the eye stayed medium-rare. I didn't need any condiments, as I just wanted to enjoy the flavors of the meat itself - especially for the ribeye.

2007 Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne - kinda fragrant and woodsy, pretty fragrant, minty, with lots of dried herbs.

2004 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato Cà d'Morissio Riserva - there was still a little hint of sharpness on the nose. Weakest of the trio in this lineup.

2003 Gaja Barbaresco - nice and fragrant. OK lah...

International cheese selection - we did not get an explanation, so I think we had a young Comté (or Gruyère), Brie, Camembert, Fourme d'Ambert, and another blue cheese.

This was a lot of fun. The wines were all drinking very, very well, and I loved that it wasn't "the usual stuff". The kitchen at the Hong Kong Club always delivers for events like this, and happiness is I got to have the prime rib again. It's fun to listen to the stories of a gentleman who has much more experience than I do when it comes to wine collection, and I appreciate the different perspective. Very grateful to Christie's and the Specialist for the kind hospitality. I will be pressing the "BID" button on my phone, then...