The most delicious wines I tasted in 2024

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I've been doing a annual "best of" list of dishes since 2016, and a few years ago someone asked whether I would also do one for the wines I tasted during the year. I didn't do anything about it then, but when someone asked again recently, I figured I could try to do a review this year... even though I had missed out on some fantastic wines during the year by being absent from a couple of key MNSC dinners. Nevertheless, I still think I drink pretty well when I don't compare myself to the 0.1 percent...

2018 Egon Müller Riesling Scharzhofberger Trockenbeerenauslese, tasted at the Trimbach/Egon Müller dinner at Caprice in Hong Kong - I don't think it's possible for any TBA from Egon Müller not to be amazing, and this was only the second time I've had the pleasure of tasting a bottling of this rare nectar.

1943 Yquem, from Christie's Finest and Rarest Wines from the Cellar of Christen Sveass, tasted at Sushi Momo in Taipei - it's always special to drink a bottle from mom's vintage, but very old Yquems really are special. This was drunk over a sushi dinner, and yes, the pairing actually works well with some (but not all) of the pieces.

1961 Ducru-Beaucaillou, tasted at Forum Restaurant in Hong Kong - I saved this bottle for a friend and wanted to open it for her 60th birthday, which would have been 3 years ago. Unfortunately the world got Covid and she didn't come back to Hong Kong until she was 63, but thankfully the wine held up really well and drank beautifully. I wonder how it would have performed had it been opened 3 years earlier as planned.

2003 Kongsgaard Syrah, tasted at home in Hong Kong - I love John Kongsgaard's wines, and I think his syrah is vastly underrated. This bottle had been aging for more than 20 years and showed beautifully.

2002 Kongsgaard Syrah, tasted at Nikushou in Hong Kong - yes... another one of John's syrahs but a year older and from a better vintage in California.

2009 George Pinot Noir Leras Family Vineyard, tasted at home in Hong Kong - I became a fan of George Levkoff's wines some time ago, and managed to buy a batch when a friend represented the winery. After 15 years these wines are now tasting very, very well... and this bottle was particularly outstanding.

1987 Trimbach Clos Sainte Hune, tasted at Nikushou in Hong Kong - I brought out 2 bottles from my treasured collection for DaRC's big birthday, and both bottles drank beautifully. I really, really love Clos Sainte Hune, and these have more than 35 years' of age on them.

1971 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, tasted at a friend's home in Hong Kong - my generous friend V took this out for us, and the color was a real surprise. It was everything that I wanted out of a sweet riesling, and I'm sure the advanced oxidation didn't hurt!

1990 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett, tasted at The Chairman in Hong Kong - from a batch of old Maximin Grünhäsers I bought years ago. This was a perfect example of what old German riesling could taste like, and it was more elegant than I had expected.

1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel, tasted at The Chairman in Hong Kong - I finally got the chance to open this bottle with DaRC, and paired it with the bottle of kabinett that also drank really well, with the two bottles having very different profiles on the palate. So mature and rounded, so alluring.

Chinese yellow wine (雙鍋花雕), tasted at the Yong Fu x Leela collaboration in Hong Kong - I have no idea who made this, but I love rich and unctuous Huadiao like this.

2019 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée P.O.L., tasted at Hong Kong Wine Vault - the new creation from Laurence Féraud is so different but completely up my alley. Such a fruit bomb, so powerful and rich. I'm surprised at myself for loving a wine that is so young and obviously not reached its plateau.

Between Five Bells Yellow, tasted at a friend's home in Hong Kong - this intriguing blend of savagnin from a single vintage and chardonnay from a solera spanning 7 years delivers crisp acidity from the former and a big, toasty nose from the latter. Always stunning.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 2nd generation, en magnum, tasted at a private dining facility in Hong Kong - I love old Champagne, and got a rare chance to taste Krug that is easily 30 years old... from magnum, no less!

2012 Sine Qua Non In the Abstract, tasted at a private dining facility in Hong Kong - whites from SQN are always among my favorites, and on this night this bottle outperformed several other bottles of this wine I had tasted over the last few years.

Tien Heung Lau Huadiao (天香樓花雕), tasted at a private dining facility in Hong Kong - a real special Huadiao that was incredibly rich and decadent, but surprisingly not sweet on the palate.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), 2009, from jeroboam, tasted at the Isojiman Adagio vertical tasting by Tamanegiya in Tokyo - I've been staring at this bottle sitting in Tamanegiya for more than a decade, and finally had the chance to taste what was inside. Incredibly smooth 15 years after its release, and there were only 51 jeroboams bottled. What an incredible privilege!

1998 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins, tasted at YAKITORI燃 in Tokyo - I've tasted through half a dozen bottles from the same case, but this bottle was probably the best-performing over the years. Got the richness and power, but elegant at the same time after a quarter century.

1986 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins, tasted at YAKITORI燃 in Tokyo - old Célestins is always a treat, and this proved to be as alluring as I had hoped.

Jacques Selosse Version Originale, dégorgée 28 Octobre 2008, tasted at Sushi Saito in Tokyo - I don't think this bottle of Selosse could have tasted any better than it did, some 16 years after being disgorged. So fragrant, so elegant, so alluring. Happy to have shared it with Saito-san.

2015 Jean-Louis Chave Saint-Joseph Clos Florentin, en magnum, tasted at the Chave dinner at Caprice in Hong Kong - this was clearly head-and-shoulders above any other Saint-Joseph I have ever tasted, from the first release of this wine. Powerful and complex, just a stunning wine.

1995 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Cuvée Cathelin, tasted at the Chave dinner at Caprice in Hong Kong - this was always gonna be one of my top wines of the year, because how could it not be?! I last tasted this wine in 2011, and it's now much, much more developed and showed beautifully.

1997 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Vin de Paille, en demi-bouteille, tasted at the Chave dinner at Caprice in Hong Kong - finally tasted this for the very first time as it's so rare, and suddenly the Chapoutier bottling paled in comparison. This was just so much richer.

2000 Sine Qua Non In Flagrante, tasted at Andō in Hong Kong - SQNs with age will always be some of my favorite wines, and this one I opened showed beautifully. So rich and jammy. Such a big wine.

2000 Mouton-Rothschild, tasted at Andō in Hong Kong - not showing as well as another bottle I opened in 2015, but still beautiful nonetheless. This will surely get even better for decades to come.

So that's 25 wines, with vintages spanning from 1943 to 2019. Pricing-wise this ranged from around HKD 400 a bottle to over HKD 100,000, but thankfully most were towards the lower end of the range. Very grateful to have enjoyed so many bottles during this difficult year and looking forward to a better 2025!