I had my best white burgundy in my life on last Friday 5 Oct07 at Culina@Dempsey.

It was a Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet "Ruchottes", 2002. I have heard about Ramonet before and his famous whites, but as Ramonets usually cost a couple of hudnreds per bottle, I have never tried one ever before, so I was really excited to know that our wine Guru, Alvin brought his VERY LAST bottle last Friday.

OMG. I swear that I almost teared when I first nosed the wine. The first thing that hit me was its creaminess and richness YET not in a cloying manner. It had notes of mints and lemon yet such richness and I was just smelling the wine!

And when I first tasted the wine, I swear I almost cried. It was full bodied and with such complexity and acidity, yet so lush and elegant.

I was totally blown away.

Wanting to savour every drop, I drank the wine really s-l-o-w-l-y, and also to observe whether the wine will shut down or evolve into something else. As I proceeded along with the dinner, the wine managed to hold its ground and maintain its nose and palate structure for the whole of 4 hours! Even AFTER 4 hours, it still had that lemon creaminess and complexity at its palate.

What an amazing wine!

Now, I understand why people will pay hundreds or thousands for a bottle of Ramonet.

Below is the tasting note that Alex had so kindly prepared while the rest of us were busy pigging out!

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Thanks to Chee Wee, Ryan and Alvin, we had a most enjoyable evening of good food, fine wines and great company at Culina :) Our chef for the night, Ryan has whipped up a delectable four course dinner to match the wonderful flights of burgs and dessert wines.

First course - Freshly shucked oysters with pozu gelatin

Faiveley Chablis "Beauroy" 2005 The nose is a bit oaky but exhibit typical burg note. The ripe richness seems to mask the minerality and acidity one comes to expect of a Chablis. Pairs well with the oysters.

Robert Ampeau Mersault "La Piece Sous La Bois" 1994 The nose has an initial whiff of reduction but exhibits an underlying complex honey note once the sulphur blows away. Rich golden colour suggests some age in the bottle. Hint of cardboard due to secondary notes. Well rounded palate and good length.

Second course - Oven roasted trout with vegetables, potatoes

Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet "Ruchottes" 2002 What can I say about this wine? Absolutely captivating, one will find it difficult to tear away from its expressive layered nose of rich, minty, buttery lemon cream. Full bodied and rich creaminess on the palate and a finish that just goes on and on. Could not bear to drink this up right away. Nurse it through the 4 hours dinner and find myself keep going back to nose the wonderful bouquet of this wine. The intensity and sustainability of the nose is amazing. Voted WOTN by Jean and a number of us. Alas, it is Alvin's last bottle :(

Entree - Crackling pork belly

Robert Ampeau Pommard 1989 Aged brick red colour and lots of sediments, initial nose of dried fruits. After some time in the glass, the nose reminds one of luo ha guo.

Louis Jadot Clos de Beze 1997 Strong earthy note, robust plum and leathery. Lush and full on the palate with lively acidity, exhibiting youthfulness despite a decade in the bottle. Multi-layered and amazing density. Developed notes of indian spice after some time in the glass.

Faiveley Nuit St-Georges "Les Porets Saint Georges" 1996 Earthy note with bright acidity.

AF Gros Vosne Romanee "Clos de la Fontaine" 2005 Fresh nose of sweet fruits with hints of rose petal. Jean detected the spiciness which betrays its Vosne character. Attractive mocha, chocolate finish. Chee Wee thought that it could be a Richebourg but minus the density. A very enjoyable wine :)

Ecard Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru "Les Serpentieres" 2006 Cask sample which just flew in this afternoon. Bright red cherry with good acidity, detect hints of raspberry cream. Lovely!

Dessert - Plum tart with vanilla ice cream

Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen "Clos Saint Urbain" Vendage Tardive 1998 Orange peel note. Very rich sweetness but well balanced by the lively acidity

Inniskillin Icewine 1998 Rich golden colour, almost like a cognac. Nose of dried apricot, well balanced and lively. Rich sweetness which wraps round the palate. A real treat to finish the dinner with :)

This is so far the best meal this year.

Some funny photos of cats (not mine though)]

Just wana share some kitty photos. I particularly like the black and white one, yelling you to get into the car. Geez… super hilarious.

Wana congratulate my salsa instructors for being new kitty mummy and daddy! They have just adopted a cat and he is just such a darling! (a sleepy one though) Really happy to see that the little kitty is bringing a lot of joy, laughter and entertainment to the couple, especially since the new kitty mummy has never had a kitty before and she is just so amused by kitty’s silly games like hide-and-seek and catch-my-wriggling-fingers-if you-can.

Loving a cat requires unconditional love. Unlike a dog, which is more eager to please, cats usually have mood swings and usually only come to you for affection when they want it. Of course, some cats are more loving and “manja” in nature, but cats just have an independent streak in them that makes them so alluring yet frustrating at times!

Want to pay a special tribute to all my 7 cats:

1) Hmm-hmnp (It’s not really a name, but a sound that she likes to make when she was a kitten. In fact, she still makes that noise once a while. When she is happy…)
2) Chou-Chou (which means Smelly in Mandarin)
3) Dai-Dai (which means Silly in Mandarin)
4) Xiao-Xiao (which means “Small in Mandarin)
5) Girl-Girl
6) Lu-Lu
7) Dong-Dong

As you can see, my mum and I aren’t very creative when it comes to naming our cats!

Was out on last Friday at the newest, hippest place in town – Dempsey Hill @ Tanglin Village. It was my first time at Dempsey hill, which is the newly renovated area with all the new restaurants.

Previously, Dempsey is such a shithole – but in a good way. The area was dark, exclusive, with only 2 winebars and some furniture shops with scary looking statues. It was a perfect place for a rendezvous with a secret lover. (not that I have one lah, but you get the picture right?)

Then people started to check out the place and before you knew it, restaurants started to pop everywhere like mushrooms after a thunder storm. First, there was PS Café, then Oosh Bar, then Dempsey Hill…. And now, I need to find a new place to meet my secret lover. Damn.

Anyway, wanted to check out Margaritas but it was so crowded that we gave up and headed for a Japanese restaurant, just next to Angel’share. The food at that Japanese is rather mediocre and forgettable. However, there is this ONE dish that I liked – 6 pieces of broiled sushi and it was reasonably priced at $15 bucks or so. Other than that… didn’t really like the rest.

After that, we proceeded to Angel’share, which is something like a wine bar. Basically it’s like a smaller version of Oosh Bar but the prices of the wines are just as ridiculous. On average, the mark-up on each bottle of wine is about 300%. OUCH… Guess someone has to pay for the décor and atmosphere.

Nonetheless, I had a good time catching up with my friends. Friends… ahh, what can we do without friends. Other than family and spouse, friends are like the most important social relationship to a human being. In fact, for some people, friends are placed above family and spouse… … or football.

Just wana share some silly pictures of my beloved friends, with my beloved friends…