Last night I was very happy to host a fellow wine blogger (Torsten from Winerambler) and my old chum ‘The Kid’ Peter for a Riesling and Pinot Noir-themed tasting. We drank copiously and terribly well. The wines were served blind which heightened our critical faculties. Even the English wine was good (immensely unbelievable as that sounds).

Classic Cuvee 2003, Nyetimber
Wow, this smells like proper fizz and it is English, I’m staggered. It has pronounced mushroomy and toasty characters. Wow, its not immediately horrible and vapid. There is plenty of ripe fruit on the nose, which edges toward being very slightly over-mature, but that is 2003 for you, even in Blighty it seems. There is a reasonable degree of class to this; it may not be the most riotously complex of sparkling wine noses but there is more than enough to keep the fizz-lover interested. And it is an English wine that doesn’t smell thin and insipid, my mind is spinning! The mousse seems reasonably refined and there is some tasty fruit on the palate. I like its acidity, pretty well balanced and certainly keeping this fresh. The finish is remarkably long, with a pleasing array of vibrant fruit characters persisting. This is properly good sparkler. Hell’s bells, I just said the extraordinarily improbable statement that an English wine is properly good; are there no certainties left in the world?

Riesling Spatlese Piesporter Goldtropfchen 2003, Reinhold Haart
A tits-out nose of gloriously sun-ripened fruit; this is distinctly exotic but still unmistakably Mosel Riesling. Its pineapple/grapefruit characters could suggest this is a Scheurebe, but it seems more like very ripe Riesling. Not over-ripe, but attractively voluptuous. The palate is a little short on acidity, but it has completely lovely fruit and an appealing sweetness. There is some prominent minerality showing here as well, and it is quite stylish, this was grown in a top vineyard. This is one of the best examples of 2003 German Riesling I’ve had, it is pretty balanced, has well-defined fruit and a quite grown-up vineyard character. Good stuff, thanks Torsten.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘D’ Vendanges Tardives 2005, Albert Boxler
This nose has real VT character, candied fruit and manifest power. It is also incredibly mineral but this character shows itself with a lot of finesse. It is almost surprising that a wine this big can display such elegant and beautiful minerality. It is a wonderful nose that would tweak the lewd bits of any lover of fine things. The palate also has late harvest power, but as it commits frankly debauched acts in your mouth the balance is never less than faultless. Its acidity is searing and stomach slashing (ouch, ouch, ooooowwww… I’ll need the Gaviscon soon enough), there are dumper-truck loads of candied citrus fruit and the minerality is spell-binding. It is not the scale or power that make me love this wine, and I love it oh so much, it is the harmony and panache which so many Alsace VTs just don’t seem to manage. My last bottle of this tremendously fine wine, alas.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 2006, Comte Armand
Now this smells like proper Burgundy, it has inviting dark fruit and a powerful earthiness. There is some power to this nose, but it is not in any way overblown or overly focussed on muscle. This is the nose of Pinot from the correct place, alright; there is charm, class and complexity on show. The palate also has power and a rather rigorous tannic structure, it is a tad on the tough side but has more than enough dark, ripe fruit to keep the balance satisfactory. This makes me think that the clout this wine has is quite finely honed and I think it would be a good wine to age. When trying this blind I thought this was a good Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, which shows it has some pretentions to style and quality. I should have got this right. I love Comte Armand wines and have tried far too many so I feel I could recognise the winemakers finger-prints all over it. It is a sad day when I cannot spot Comte Armand wines, when the label was revealed I felt a smidgen of exasperation at my failure.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru les Suchots 2006, Domaine Confuron-Cotetidot
This smells breathtakingly beautiful. Its pure expression of complex, exotic fruit really warps my mind to its way of thinking, and this nose thinks it wants to mesmerise and captivate. Sure there is a good mineral character, but that enthralling fruit is what does it for me, an enchanting expression of Vosne. Oh bums, after that nose I feel a tad disappointed by the palate. The tannins have more than a suggestion of being significantly daunting and together with its far from reserved acidity they make the palate seem somewhat stiff and demanding. There is a lot of fruit there as well, and it is charm-tastic, lovely-licious fruit, but it is not quite in balance with the brutalist tannic structure. Its powerful earthiness is very convincing and really persists on what is a very long and multifaceted finish. There are many things to like about this wine, but ultimately it just falls a bit short of the mark.

Pinot Noir ‘Sangreal’ 2006, By Farr
There is more than a suggestion of stemminess on this nose, along with serious earthy power and plenty of really scrumptious fruit. Authentic complexity is present and I am rather compelled; if this was not one of my offerings I’d say after smelling this it was a genuinely good offering from the Cote de Nuits. The palate bursts with lots more of that scrumptious fruit which sits in appetizing harmony with a finely-wrought tannic structure and succulent acidity. That stemmy character is also present on the palate and I feel this, along with its intense earthiness, really add to the complexity. This is the best Australian Pinot Noir I’ve had since the brilliant and refined Mac Forbes wines. Top stuff, Mr Farr.

Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 1997, Fritz Haag
By all that is evil and malevolent this nose is stunning. It has definite traces of maturity, but the fruit is pulsing with excitement and vivacity. Super citrus action which you know is going to taste luminously lively. The powerful slate character is also persuades me that this is a wine of stylish class and refined sophistication. Yeah, this is a penetratingly compelling nose and no messing around. It tastes staggeringly acidic, but lovely, animated, energetic acidity which just makes makes my drool flow and draws me in to drink more and more. The slate minerality shows multifarious levels of captivating character which meld intricately with the acidity and enchanting, exquisite fruit to produce an utterly brilliant, breathtaking buccal experience. The enthralling harmony of this salaciously complex and indecently elegant wine blows my mind in an outlandish maelstrom of aesthetic ecstasy. We are lucky when we get to drink wines this good; I feel lucky. But then I also feel absolutely deserving and unreservedly worthy of such delights. Hooray for Riesling, Pinot Noir and all who love them!

Last night I organised a little blind tasting for some friends. I thought nothing could charm them more than some red Burgundy. I served them in a flight of two then a flight of three, with the order of the wines in each flight randomised. Some of the wines were notably better than others. The sweet wine I was presented with as a blind tasting challenge at the end of the evening made my stomach churn with revulsion.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru La Richemone 2005, Domaine Alain Michelot
This has a lot of ripe fruit but also a slightly green, leafy smell. There is an earthy set of aromas which make this reasonably complex and give it some real interest. I think this nose is really rather Nuits in character and should provide good blind tasting fodder. This has a really rather tannic palate, it is a bit butch. That being said, I think there is enough fruit to match this and it strikes me that the interplay between the two provides plenty of pleasure. This is a very good example of Nuits which I think will age quite well.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Vieilles Vignes 2005, Domaine Alain Michelot
Despite the claim of old vines this is a bit weak on the nose. There is some dark fruit, hints of greenness and the suggestion of earth, but it is quite subdued and not all that complex. I want more from this nose and it is just not delivering. The palate has a bit more substance, with a good tannic structure and some pleasing ripe fruit, but this is quite a simple village wine. Not much point in keeping this, drink it now with some less demanding Pinotphiles.

Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2003, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
Cripes, this is so ripe it is almost Porty. There is one arse-load of super-ripe sweet fruit on this nose, so much so that it is not terribly Burgundian. I can see how one might be attracted to this fleshy voluptuous character, but I prefer a little more restraint and beauty. Any earthy, complex aromas one might have hoped for have been baked right out of the wine; as far as the nose goes it is simply a fruit bomb. The palate is round and buxom, charged with huge amounts of that Porty fruit. It is so ripe and corpulent. I never thought I would taste a Corton so chubby and plump that lacks any form of rigour or austerity. I suppose there are some tannins to it but practically the only character this palate has is its outsized fruit. If this is the kind of thing you like then you will like this, but it just leaves me feeling let down, exhausted and generally shagged out.

Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Ile des Vergelesses 2005, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
This is really rather pale in colour, but so what? Experience tells us colour is no indicator of the quality of Pinot. Now that is a drop-dead beautiful nose. It is small-scale, but there is incredible harmony, well-judged restraint and serious complexity present. I’m totally compelled by this nose, it is beguiling in its exquisiteness and charming in its extreme attractiveness. The palate is also small-scale, but is a work of sculpted refinement. The silky tannins, sophisticated minerality and stylish fruit are all in complete harmony and as they dance across my palate they charge me with a sense of aesthetic fulfilment and positively lewd contentment. I am a big fan of beautiful little Burgundies like this; when they are good they lack for nothing in terms of intricacy and flair but their lightness means you can drink them all day and night. What a brilliant wine, and it was a real bargain too.

Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2005, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
This nose has plenty of ripe, surprisingly powerful strawberry and raspberry fruit and a very intense mineral tang; it is like a scaled-up version of the previous wine. I loved the previous wine, though, in multiplying this nose the precise beauty has been lost and replaced with slightly unfocussed muscle. The palate also has enhanced clout and strength, with a tougher, almost austere tannic structure and a lot more fruit. It is certainly mineral and appropriately complex, but again I find myself thinking it is just a little vague and ill-defined. Its finish is impressively long, with its vigorous minerality and potent fruit flavours lasting for a considerable period of time. This is a genuinely serious bottle of Burgundy which will age really well and there is indubitably plenty of pleasure to it. However, as far as chortles per pound go the polished form and classy style of the Ile des Vergelesses have thoroughly delighted me. I feel happy to recommend the less pricey wine on this occasion.

Oak Aged Vidal Icewine 2006, Inniskillen
This is deep orange; I usually feel a tinge of concern when I see a wine of this colour. The nose has lots of rot, but unfortunately it is not the noble kind. Indeed it makes me think of someone leaving a fur rug to go mouldy after giving it a good rub down with some overpoweringly decaying apricots that had been left to mature in a compost heap. I’m revolted. The palate has some acidity, is quite sweet, but its hideously confected fruit coupled with more of that unbearably filthy fungal character just make me want to stop drinking this instantly. So I will.

I’ve blogged about how I got started loving wine, which I did from a hilariously young age, but what keeps me drinking it these days? Here are my top ten reasons why I love wine:

1. Each wine experience is unrepeatable. This is one of the things I love most about fine wine as an art form. Even if you have many bottles of the same wine and pop them one after another the experience of each will differ slightly. It may be due to bottle variation, the wine breathing for different times after opening, or personal factors like who you are tasting with, where you are tasting, how drunk you are and the condition of your palate. When you taste a bottle of fine wine that is a unique experience, never to be repeated.
2. There is an every-expanding amount of wine to taste and learn about. New producers come along all the time, existing producers may go up or down in quality, you can discover new regions and every new vintage in every region has its own quirks and qualities to learn. It is good to learn new things and wine provides a continually changing landscape for the lover of wine things to focus his or her mind on.
3. Sense use in appreciation of wine. Sure, you look at wine just like you can look at everything but real appreciation of it uses senses that are more ephemeral and transient: smell and taste. Most people pay cursory attention to what they taste and almost none to what they smell, yet these are very visceral senses which, if you concentrate on them, can move, delight, intrigue, excite, enlighten, thrill and compel just as effectively as vision or hearing. So neglected are our senses of taste and smell that it normally takes some training to get the most out of them. I was so lucky to attend and then run the Oxford University blind tasting team training sessions; they have forever expanded my appreciation and enhanced my abilities with these ephemeral senses.
4. Wine is great to share. Whether it is a simple bottle popped in front of the rugby or an obscenely fine wine shared with oenophiles wine is clearly at its best when shared. On a basic level the alcohol in wine is a good social lubricant, but just as a good meal will fill your stomach it will also provide things to talk about. Its qualities can generate views and opinions in all but the most unspeakable of philistines.
5. Wine is a good partner to food. Of course, not every wine goes with every type of food, but sometimes the match between the two will enhance the appreciation of both. When I’m noshing on a big piece of meat the tannins in red wine denature the free proteins in the meat and make eating and digesting it easier and more enjoyable. The pleasure I get from the synergistic combination of lamb and Pinot Noir is so enjoyable that it moves a meal with these two to a much higher level of sensory experience.
6. It gets me drunk at the right rate. The alcohol in wine is clearly something to be enjoyed, and the concentration of it suits me very well. If I am drinking beer I normally feel ‘beered-out’ pretty quickly; too bloated and exhausted by the sheer volume of the stuff one has to consume. Spirits are too alcoholic for me; I don’t often enjoy the experience of drinking them and they get one drunk very quickly. Wine, on the other hand, has not so much alcohol in it that you get instantly whammed, but enough so that over an evening spent drinking only wine you can end up pleasantly newscasted. You can drink wine over a long period in a style you cannot do with beer (too voluminous) or spirits (too strong).
7. Wine is marked by its maker. I’ve visited and tasted with a lot of winemakers, and in the very best wines the personality and ideas of the winemaker are displayed by the wine he/she makes. The Fallers at Domaine Weinbach are as buxom and charm-filled as their wines; Christophe Roumier’s refined, thoughtful wines reflect those qualities of the man himself. The interesting ideas of interesting winemakers show in their wines, making a strong connection between the two which undoubtedly enhances the drinking pleasure*.
8. Wines also have a sense of place. This may apply less to the more international-styled wines available today, but a carefully made wine of interest and style will give you a little glimpse into where it came from. Taste a frighteningly acidic but totally harmonious wine from Egon ‘Yoda’ Muller and you are terribly aware that it is the incomparable Scharzhofberger vineyard which you are tasting and is giving you this intense experience. This sense of place can be shown in all wines from refined little Burgundies to bold Zinfandels of heroism.
9. Wine is a great gift. On a simple level, a bottle of decent fizz is a simple gift which is generally appreciated; even indifferent fizz will please the unfussy. But if you know a reasonable amount about wine there are many more options. For example, you can chose a wine that you know will suit the recipients tastes but is more obscure than their normal purchases so they are unlikely to have tried before. If you introduce someone to a new producer or wine region which they really enjoy it can give both giver and receiver a lot of satisfaction; you’ve shown someone a new expression of pleasure.
10. The ‘free meal’ factor. Some areas of knowledge are more acceptable to discuss in social situations than others. If you can manage charm as well as knowledge then wine provides a brilliant topic which will see you right in almost any setting. I have lost count of the number of dinner parties I have been invited to not only because I’ll bring along good wine, but also because I’ll talk about it in an intelligent and amusing fashion. If there are any awkward pauses in conversation I can be relied upon to perform and talk about a subject that pretty much everyone has either views on or questions about. I hasten to add that at dinner parties I largely talk about things other than wine, but it is a remarkably successful conversation topic in so many situations.

*It is not necessarily the character of the winemaker which shines through in a wine; many years ago the rumour was that the wines of Marc Kreydenweiss had the character of his current wife.

We had some friends around earlier tonight and decided to open wines of general drinking standard. Some where very noticeably better than others.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31E 2002, Albert Boxler
Whilst this has some pure fruit and refined minerality on the nose there is also a slightly dirty, cardboardy character as well; it is not corked but this not in entirely good condition. I do like its precise, very well-defined minerality though. The palate also has hints of that dirtiness which do distract from the other, quite lovely, characters of this wine. There is a lot of limey fruit and the minerality is really complex but the main character of this palate is its screaming, and quite painful, acidity. It is in perfect balance, though, and I love acidity even if it hates my stomach. Sadly this wine is not up to the very high standard I've come to expect from Boxler, but it is not really his fault; there is something a bit wonky about this bottle.

La Grola 2006, Allegrini
Lots of bitter cherry fruit on the nose. This is rather nice and I feel if I was presented it blind that fruit character would allow me to instantly guess it was Italian. I like it that it is not frighteningly alcoholic, it is a balanced, accessible nose even if it is not terribly complex. The palate has ripe but a touch bitter fruit which matches its slightly tough tannic structure quite well. There is good acidity as well. It has reasonable length with the bitter cherry fruit and acidity persisting. However, despite these good points it is still not terribly complex. Whilst this is certainly clean and fruity, it is a wine for people who like a bit of rough.

Cornas ‘Domaine de Rochepertuis’ 2004, Jean Lionnet
The plummy fruit on this nose is very attractive but quite understated, there is also the vaguest hint of greenness but it is not very prominent so this isn’t a problem. Indeed, these aromas together with its earthy tang make this quite complex; I like this nose quite a lot. More plummy fruit on the palate with some tannins which are a bit tough and very Cornas-y. The acidity is also very present and fits the Cornas model well. That hint of greenness also shows but it is not a problem in the slightest, it adds to the considerable complexity of this palate. I really like its long finish which shows its complexity of flavours very well. This is good stuff and was quite the bargain.

Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim Vendanges Tardives 1998, Domaine Marcel Deiss
This wine is from the period after Jean-Michel Deiss had lost his marbles and started making truly awful wines, so I’m worried before even tasting this. Oh deary me, this nose is unfeasibly dull. All it has is a bit of candied citrus fruit and a hint of oxidative baked apple character. That is it; this great vineyard from a great vintage making a wine that smells so utterly one dimensional shows there is a serious problem with the winemaking strategy. Hell’s bells, the palate is also quite dreary. There is a bit of sugar, the suggestion of acidity and slight hints of that candied fruit and nothing else. It should have powerful minerality and far more complex, late harvest fruit action. I’d like a lot more acidity too. This is another totally shameful performance by Deiss, it is light years away from the quality it should show and which he is quite capable of delivering if he put his mind (which is clearly deranged these days) to it. Rather than a complex, engaging, sex-tastic wine those of us who didn’t refuse to drink any more (which I did) had to slog through this vinous wallpaper of mind-buggering tedium. I’m perfectly willing to admit that M. Deiss is not my favourite person. He stopped making brilliant wines in order to produce baroque, over-blown wines of horribleness all justified by the most cretinous, asinine philosophy I’ve been forced to tolerate to since I read a religious philosophy book. The fellow is an arse and should have his vineyards confiscated. Sub-interest. Really very sub-interest.

We were supposed to be having a little vertical of Annie’s Lane Clare Valley Shiraz at Hawksmoor tonight. Somehow, our hosts managed to forget them when heading from horrible, horrible Woolwich to the City. Consequently, I popped into Uncorked and scored these two. One was quite delicious, the other just a woeful example of over-blown tedium.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 2006, Comte Armand
Quite a pale colour. A lovely nose of fresh, ripe fruit. The fruit character is quite complex by itself, but together with its earthy richness and extremely subtle oak treatment this is a properly pleasing nose. Perhaps not as ripe and powerful as the 2005 flavour of this wine that I’ve had a couple of times recently, but sometimes we appreciate refinement rather than power. Now that is an attractive palate. Its rigorous tannic structure is backed up with lovely, attractive fruit and a fine backbone of acidity. Again, not as powerful, nor as tough, as the 2005, but this great drinking stuff. I really like the fruit/tannin interplay, plenty to keep you interested here. There is length and complexity to the palate as well, with fruity, earthy flavours persisting for a long time after you’ve swallowed. Whereas the 05 was really asking for a bit more time in the cellar, you can extract a lot of pleasure from this right now. And we did. For £25 this this high-quality bargain Burgundy, well worth every penny.

Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Blocks Road’ 2006, Kilikanoon
By arse, what an over-blown nose: heavy with dense, stewed, over-ripe fruit and a powerful alcohol burn. This smells like all that is dull and tedious about the Australian wine idiom: just because they want to harvest grapes that are ripe doesn’t mean they need to roast on the vines until they’ve been stewed to jamminess. I don’t really want to taste this, it just smells like it’ll over-whelm my delicate aesthetic sensibilities and leave me tired, shagged-out and generally bored. However, since I dropped eighteen fun tokens on this piece of over-rated rubbish I suppose some had better pass my lips. Yes, this is Cabernet soup mixed with slightly burnt jam. The tannins are over-ripe, there is no acidity to speak of and that fruit has just been cooked to buggery. I really feel offended by this wine. As Peter’s comments on another recent post suggest, this kind of Australian wine is perilously short of redeeming features: you just feel drinking it is far too much like hard work for little reward on the pleasure-front. Does anybody really enjoy these souped-up monsters? We are finding it really hard to finish this bottle even though we are heroes of the booze world who would normally require far more than two bottles of red to drink with our steaks. Clearly sub-interest; it is quite scandalous that people can sell dull, crap, monotonous wine like this for so much money. Dreadful filth. Many apologies to our hosts for supplying this bottle of tedious filth; next time remember to bring the wines you had planned!

I popped these on Saturday for the neighbours to enjoy and I have finally got around to typing my notes up. The Boxler was terribly good.

Pinot Grid Grand Cru Brand 2007, Domaine Albert Boxler
This has a rich, powerful nose of opulent white fruit which hints of being quite roasted. It certainly shows a lot of creamy minerality which makes this quite a complex and pleasing nose. The palate is also opulent and rich. Lots and lots of ripe fruit with some residual sugar clearly presently. The balance is just fine, though, as it has a real streak of screaming acidity running straight through it. So much acidity, in fact, that my poor, abused stomach is complaining about it. The minerality adds to the complexity of the palate and this persists on the rather long finish along with its fruit and acidity. For sure, this is a big wine, but it is balanced and throbs with interest.

Pinot Noir 2008, Delta
There is quite a lot of cherry and strawberry fruit on the nose, but not, if I am honest, that much else. The alcohol level is quite balanced, but this nose is mainly about being fruity and fun. The palate is also very fruity, and there is a reasonable tannic structure to it so it seems fairly lively. It has some length as well, but there is not much in the way of complexity to it. It is quite accessible and delivers some pleasure. As one of the cheaper wines in our ‘general drinking’ purchase I feel this is pretty much up to the expected level.

I’ve had some seriously good Rieslings in recent days; the two best ones in this flight were screamingly brilliant. Indeed, I’d go as far as saying that, Trimbach-style aside, Alsace Riesling does not get any better than these two. Shame about the knackered Z-H, but that is the risk you take when keeping these wines. The 2001 Z-H Rangen Riesling we popped recently was fine, but a 1998 popped a couple of weeks before was totally oxidised; do we have worries about the longevity of Z-H Rangen Riesling? Anyway, the notes!

Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg Cuvée Sainte Catherine l'Inedit 2000, Domaine Weinbach
This has a livid, exciting but dense nose of fresh tropical fruit; passion fruit and mango. It is certainly big and buxom, but with all the intense minerality this displays it seems far from overblown. That creamy minerality really speaks of its origins, and its scale speaks of the ripeness of the grapes used in this cuvee. This is a passionate, sex-tastic nose that really begs you to have a taste. So I will. What a palate! Certainly big and powerful, with a noticeable amount of residual sugar, but it does not lack balance. The acidity is really impressive for a wine of this scale, giving it proper harmony. Its complex mineral character also shows strongly on the palate, and by my auntie’s nipples is it pleasing. Even though this does have residual sugar there is a savoury character to this which I always like in white wines. And I am yet to  mention the commanding fruit which dominates the palate, which I should do because it smacks a big smile across my chuffed visage. This is certainly up for drinking (with screaming pleasure) and I feel it is even better than the 2002 we had at The Ledbury on Monday night. Thrills, spills and orgiastic love from this wine; drink it and grin like an irritatingly smug person.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2000, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
This also has a very large-scale, opulent nose, but the fruit is more like apricots and peaches rather than the tropical offering from the Inedit. The vineyard character, which my chum Jeremy accurately describes and being hot and roasted rather than mineral, is certainly present. There is a pretty serious alcohol burn to the nose, but with all of that fruit you don’t mind so much. The palate is a huge mouthful of sweet fruit, alcohol and just about enough acidity. There is quite a lot of residual sugar and given its merely passable acid levels this doesn’t seem as thrillingly harmonious as the Inedit. It is very tasty, though, and does deliver on the pleasure front especially if you like Rieslings to possess heroic levels of alcohol and intense, opulent fruit. Yeah this is properly good, but not as good as the Inedit.

Riesling Grand Cru Rangen Clos Saint Urban 2000, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
A rather worrying shade of orange. A sniff: Yes, it is oxidised, past it and generally shagged out. There are hints on the pretty knackered palate that this was once a big, alcohol-and-fruit-driven wine with a lot of residual sugar, but it really is exhausted in the ‘nice drink’-sense.

Right, are you ready? Ok, let’s go!

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg Vendanges Tardives 2000, Domaine Albert Boxler
In contrast to the proceeding wines this nose of this seems a sculpted entity of pure finesse and beauty. There is some scale to it, and candied fruit hints, but its totally focussed minerality gives this an exquisite character which is mind-bendingly thrilling and exhilarating. To sniff this is not only to be taken on a roller-coaster ride of riveting intellectual excitement but also to be stunned by its visceral, sex-charged love-power. The palate is even more lewdly delicious. For sure, it is quite large in scale with a good blend of candied and fresh fruit, but its balance and focus boggle the mind. It has a really precise minerality, the totally clear-cut expression of which one expects from a Boxler Sommerberg; just so electrifying, man. The quite scary levels of acidity which slash their way across your palate keep even this clearly ripe, late-harvest palate in total harmony and bursting with pulsing, throbbing life. It not only screams balance, class and refinement, but also shouts how much it loves you and wants to make you happy. Easily one of the very best, most thrilling, rabidly exhilarating Vendanges Tardives Rieslings I’ve had.

Our final wine of the evening was a red to go with the partner’s excellent ragu bolognaise.

Cornas ‘Domaine Saint Pierre’ 1996, Paul Jaboulet Aine
A good, mature nose of soft red fruit and a pleasing earthy complexity. It is quite a polished and generally cleaned-up nose for Cornas. It certainly smells like it is in very good condition and generally up for drinking. And the taste? Ah, how disappointing, it suffers from ‘1996-syndrome’, which is to say the acidity levels are too high to be ultimately balanced. There is plenty of fruit, which is soft and charming, a good, rigorous but refined tannic structure, but that acid really bothers me. Not a bad wine, by any means, but the harmony is ultimately lacking.

Last night we had a brilliant meal at The Ledbury. The wine list was most keenly priced and we chose one top wine and one which was disappointing. Still, much fun was had; it is a great place to eat. Anyway, the wines:

Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg Cuvée Sainte Catherine l'Inedit 2002, Domaine Weinbach
An explosive, decadent nose which just throbs with rich, ripe fruit and powerful minerality. Certainly a biggie, with concentration and power in spades, but not short on compelling, lovely charm (much like the winemakers themselves). It positively throbs with pulsing, thrusting life, no sign of oxidation at all. You’d have to be a pretty jaded Riesling drinker not to sniff this and chortle with mirth. The palate is also on the large-scale side. It has a powerfully rich fruitiness, a layered density of mineral flavours and searing but totally balanced acidity. What a palate! Big and weighty, for sure, but supremely harmonious. I’m charged up with aesthetic power after tasting this; to sip even the smallest taste is to love it and desperately want a bigger taste. Drink it now, boys and girls, its just scrummy.

Cote-Rotie ‘La Barbarine’ 2005, Gangloff
The fruit seems good and pure on the nose, but lacking a touch of the scented beauty I like in Cote-Rotie. Lacks complexity, too. It just seems a bit anonymous with nothing to really compel or draw you in to enjoy. The palate has a reasonable amount of fruit, but I don’t really go for the slightly over-extracted character it has. And those are pretty much the only characters the palate shows. It is short with no complexity to speak of. Deary me, a flat and boring Cote-Rotie from the great 2005 vintage, just what were they thinking when they made this wine? It didn’t take much thinking on our part to realise it was up to much. This ranks as ‘sub-interest’; if you want to buy good Cote-Rotie which is properly beautiful and complex stick to Clusel-Roch, Burgaud, Jamet or Jasmin.

The first three bottles of Alsace Grand Cru Riesling were showing terribly well. Then we had a blind tasting challenge courteousy of the that excellent chap Captain ‘The Kid’ Peter, before we finished up the evening with a quite obscenely brilliant bottle of (again) Alsace Riesling. I present the blind-tasting challenge in the form of an a podcast, because I thought it would be fun to hear me being humiliated when guessing in real time; I wasn’t too embarrassed by my performance, if I may be smug for a moment, I was pretty close but thought the wine was slightly grander than its actual appellation and vintage would suggest.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2001, Domaine Albert Boxler
This has a really voluptuous nose of ripe fruit and spicy minerality. It is really buxom and charming. This stunning minerality and concentrated fruit character compel me totally, it is a  livid, lively entity of total desirability. I last had a bottle of this in September 2007 and thought it was time to drink. Judging by the expressive beauty and complex charm displayed by this nose I was wrong; it is full of giving, exciting life and will be for years to come. The palate is utterly beguiling. It has lots of powerful fruit, an incredibly pure and focussed earthiness and quite staggering amounts of acidity. There is so much to this palate, it has real size and scale, but it is totally, wildly, amazingly harmonious. The interplay between the intense fruit, searing minerality and dazzling, spectacular acidity just leaves me astounded. It is lewdly long and colourfully complex. Rarely do we get to drink wines this good, and we should treasure those moments when we are enjoying them, especially when we get to drink them with those who are important to us.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2001, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
This has an even more voluptuous and exotic nose, it really has the extreme ripeness and power one expects from a Z-H wine certainly in terms of its rich, fruity profile. ‘The Kid’ and I suggest that, after the Boxler, this is lacking a touch of vineyard expression, but we could not deny the completely compelling nature of its myriad aromas. The partner thinks this is more expressive of the hot, roasted fruit character he wants from the Brand Grand Cru*. One thing we could clearly agree on after merely sniffing this was that this wine is going to be out where the big dogs eat, most definitely. Tits out for the boys, OK? Then we get to taste it. Wow, what a mouthful. The alcohol level might distract the ultimate Riesling purist, but if you try something so powerfully fruity and driven by passion you can forgive a bit of warmth. The minerality is certainly very exciting as is the acidity, even if, compared to the Boxler, they are not at the lewd end of experience. It is a commanding presence in the glass and on one’s palate. Great length, astounding complexity and really fun to drink. ‘The Kid’ and I preferred the Boxler because of its incredible harmony, the partner preferred this because of its opulent, exotic and complex character. Certainly these two are amongst the finest Rieslings I’ve had in… oh… a period of time.

Riesling Grand Cru Rangen Clos St. Urbain 2001, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
Olivier Humbrecht was rather chuffed with this wine when the Oxford crew visited many years ago and tasted his range; I suppose I must have been impressed too otherwise I wouldn’t have scored myself a bottle. It has a really gorgeous nose of ripe, but not overblown, fruit. It has the minerality to make it properly interesting as well. Not as extreme in terms of intensity as the two Brand wines, but quite indulgent none the less. This is a lovely, really totally honestly, a lovely nose. Ah, I have a tiny bit of a problem with the palate now I’ve tasted it, there is the smallest suggestion of dirtiness to it and I don’t want that in my Alsace Rieslings. Sure, the fruit is lovely, the minerality compelling and the acidity quite well balanced, but I am a bit distracted by this vague hint of dirtiness. I’ll taste it again in ten minutes. [tick, tock…] And now I don’t get that dirtiness at all, that lovely ripe fruit and interesting minerality stand out much more. This is a seriously impressive Alsace Grand Cru, and whilst all three of us agree that this is not as stratospherically radiant as the two Brand Rieslings, it is a damned good wine.

After we had tried and re-tried all three of these Rieslings over a period of time we were sure that they were all some of the most wonderful examples of Alsace Grand Cru Rieslings we could wish to taste and drink. I was worried that 2001 Alsace Rieslings, especially the Z-H’s, might be over the hill (I have had a lot of prematurely oxidised Alsace Riesling of late): not a bit of it! Indeed, we all thought they were all quite youthful, fresh and lively. This was especially true of the Boxler, which seemed to be in a state of arrested development. No rush to drink these wines, boys and girls. I would go as far as saying that with the two Brand wines I felt that there was so little development showing in them one would probably get most pleasure drinking them on purchase. I’d like to do the experiment and keep them for ten years longer and see what happens, but I’ve only got one bottle of one of them left. Ah well, easy come easy go.

These three amazing, brilliant wines were followed by Peter’s blind tasting challenge. When he told me that he was bringing a bottle of Pinot Noir he said I’d get it right in one guess; I’m pleased someone has confidence in my blind tasting ability. To hear me rave about this wine and make my guess as to what it was click here.

For those who don’t feel the need to listen to my hideous Oxbridge drawl I shall reveal all. My guess was Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint Denis Premier Cru 2002, it was Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis villages 2004. Quite one of the most ravishing and charm-tastic 2004s I’ve had, really excessively pleasing. I was so moved by the allure of it I felt the need to give Peter and the partner a big hug for being part of the experience of this lovely wine. It has been a while since I popped an 04 red Burgundy and it is clear the the Dujac boys and girls delivered the goods in this not entirely easy vintage. Then we moved on to the final wine of the evening.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘D’ Vendanges Tardives 2005, Domaine Albert Boxler
This has a nose bursting with real late harvest character; a bit like candied fruit but fresher and more livid. It has real concentration but is not short on finesse and class. It is a totally gripping and unreservedly engaging nose. If you were poured a glass of this and didn’t love it the moment its aromatic molecules drifted up your nose then you can only be some form of really unhappy person who doesn’t really want to have a good time. I’m having a great time just smelling this, but I suppose I should get around to drinking some before the boys neck it all. Yes, oh yes, what a palate. For sure it is very ripe, with sweet, candied fruit present in spades, but as so often happens with Boxler wines it is the harmony which wins me over. The acidity would be terrifying in any wine less boldly structured than this, and the refined Sommerberg minerality adds to this expression of complete poise and equilibrium. It is a big, intense, indulgent mouthful, but not only don’t you get tired drinking it, you feel a burning desire to have more and more. I don’t have any left. Bugger.

*The story of the Brand Grand Cru: We are told that in the middle ages, Turkheim’s local dragon had a battle with the sun. The dragon lost and was banished to a cave under the hill behind Turkheim, specifically under the Brand Grand Cru. Since then the dragon’s fiery breath has kept the vineyard warm and this leads to the roasted, hot character of wines from the Brand.

I Tweeted about the ‘terrible’ problems that Buckfast Tonic Wine (and it is really wine in a euphemistic sense) seems to be causing in Scotland as reported on the BBC News website a bit earlier and in a documentary on BBC Scotland to be broadcast later today. We need to look at this is a bit more carefully.

Just about all we are told is that in the three years between 2006 and 2009 Strathclyde police reports specifically mention Buckfast Tonic Wine a total of 5638 times, 450 of which are violent crimes including 114 instances of Buckfast bottles being used as weapons.

However, a look at Strathclyde police crime statistics show that 1.33 million crimes were reported during this period, of which 34497 were violent. This means that Buckfast was mentioned in 0.43% of the total crimes reported on or 1.3% if you specifically look at violent crime. Buckfast bottles used as weapons in these violent crimes account for 0.33% of the total amount.

Furthermore, the information presented is totally meaningless as they don’t give comparisons of other kinds of alcohol being mentioned in crime reports. Consequently, we don’t really know about the over-representation of Buckfast as crime-fuel.

One might also wonder whether the following points might cast any further doubt on the statistical significance of the findings of the BBC’s fearless investigative journalists.

• It is one of the most deprived areas in the UK.
• Buckfast accounts of 1% total alcohol consumption in the area.
• Buckfast has long been the drink associated with the Scottish ‘Ned’ culture; ‘chavs’ as we now call them in England.
• Crime rates for young, poor, under-educated men are a lot higher than in the rest of the population.
• If Buckfast was to be magically removed from the shop shelves, it doesn’t take the sharpest tool in the box to realise its consumers would not suddenly realise the error of their ways and switch to carrot juice with wheatgrass extract, but rather switch to another iconic, cheap, high-alcohol drink. In five years time we would, no doubt, have the BBC preaching to us the evils of its chav-friendly replacement, no matter what it was.

I could go on, but I think I have wasted enough time on this sloppy piece of journalism which is unusually misleading and vacuous even by the generally laughable standards of the neo-prohibitionist cronies in the media.

Much better than this kind of drivelly old toss that the BBC report is the Daily Mash’s article on drinking in Scotland. I think it is better to laugh than be worried by the scare-mongering rubbish that is constantly forced down our throats.

Yesterday I popped some rather good wines for a lunch party. Bille Cuvee N-F 1996, Donnhof Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube Spatlese 2002, Meusault Charmes 2000 from Lafon, Rene Engel Echezeaux 1999, Burguet Gevrey Mes Favourites 2003. And The Kid brought a bottle of Beaucastel 1998. Guess how much of these I swallowed? None. Bugger.

I’ve caught a stomach bug and eating and drinking have been making me explosively ill. I sniffed and had small tastes (which I spat), but I was generally feeling too ropey to make comprehensive assessments of each wine. However, I offer some thoughts.

Lafon’s Meursault seemed up for drinking. Not that oaky at all with great harmony. There was one hell of a lot to love in this wine. Peter ‘The Kid’ who claims not to like Lafon’s wines just lapped it up.

The Echezeaux started a bit closed and not very giving. The palate also seemed a bit tough. However, we decanted it and left it for a while. It blossomed into a refined, elegant, sculpted model of beauty with real Grand Cru presence. The fruit was ultra sophisticated and mega lovely. Rest in peace, Philip Engel, you’ve provided so much pleasure.

The Burguet Gevrey Mes Favourites was an intense experience, but the balance was just fine. I got this to see what my mother thought of 2003 red Burgundy and she was impressed. I was impressed, for a village wine this was really quite complex with one hell of a long finish. Not the most extreme example of 2003 wine, but with plenty of personality to keep you intereted.

Finally there was The Kid’s bottle of Beaucastel 1998. It had a wonderfully soft, scented nose of grilled meat, plummy fruit and some peppery spice. Really earthy. Hilariously complex, but no shit at all. This is one of the cleanest Beaucastel nose’s I’ve experienced. I think all that Bret in Beaucastel makes for a lot of bottle variation. I’ve had massively shitty bottles of this. The palate was also scented and soft, with a refined tannic structure and plenty of fruit. Again, I’ve had Beaucastel 1998 recently and it has been a lot more closed and tough than this bottle. This was a totally fantastic bottle of wine: beautiful and charming, interesting and thought-provoking.

And I couldn’t bloody drink any of it. Pissflaps.

I had planned to open three bottles of Cornas when Peter and John visited last night, turns out Peter brought along two bottles of Cornas as well. They were all quite cleaned up examples of the style.

Cornas ‘Domaine de Rochepertuis’ 2004, Jean Lionnet
There is plenty of fruit to this nose, it seems just ripe. There is a vague hint of greenness as well, but that works quite well with the earthy and fruity aromas. I find this quite an attractive nose, it is understated rather than opulent but the characters are all in good harmony. On the palate the tannins are a little rough, but hey this is Cornas! The fruit is there on the palate and it has good length. I think this is more than complex enough, an attractive little number.

Cornas 2003, Joel et Eric Durand
A massive nose of ripe fruit and alcohol, it is a bruiser alright. This is a very polished and round nose, opulent in a way the first wine was not. It is also very clean. Attractive as this nose is I am not sure it bursts with complexity. The palate is very ripe and round with a warm alcohol finish. It is generous, giving and fun. Very clean too. 2003 made some crazy wines, hard to make a decent assessment of producer style from a 2003.

Cornas ‘Domaine de Rochepertuis’ 2003, Jean Lionnet
The fruit here is getting perilously close to being jammy, this is another big, opulent nose. I think there is complexity here as well, though, so this does seem good. The palate is bursting with ripe fruit, but those tannins seem a bit tough to me. Bitter, almost. When it came to the first quick taste everyone else said this was their favourite wine out of the first three, I didn’t see that myself.

Cornas ‘Domaine Saint Pierre’ 1996, Paul Jaboulet Aine
Crivens, what a nose! Soft, mature fruit, earthy complexity and a real sense of class. This smells very pure, focussed and refined for a Cornas, really cleaned up. Really classy too, the elegant refinement is just so pleasing. Much like La Chapelle 1996 this seems to have avoided 1996 syndrome, the acidity is just fine. There is also real elegance on the palate. This is soft and mature, but complex and classy, a brilliant Cornas.

Cornas ‘Domaine Saint Pierre’ 1995, Paul Jaboulet Aine
This smells complex, profound, deep and classy. Ripe certainly, but everything is in total balance. This is really masculine. I am totally compelled and beguiled, when we get to smell wines this good our feeling of privilege can only be enhanced by drinking the wine. And now I have had a sip I feel great. This is an amazing wine. Up for drinking I’d say, but no real rush.

We met ‘The Kid’ Peter at the Greenwich Union for a couple of pints then came back to horrible, horrible Woolwich for a spot of dinner. We drank extraordinarily well for a random occasion.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31DII 2002, Domaine Albert Boxler
Wow, a nose with the purity and freshness of mountain air. There is a lot of fruit here but the great, lively character just keeps it seeming fresh and vivid. The minerality on this nose, and there is a lot, is totally focussed – focussed on giving me a good time it seems. This is a vibrant, exciting nose in the full flow of pleasure-giving life. The palate: Wow. The fruit is beguilingly fresh and the minerality is so piercing. Like the nose it is just throbbing with life. Yes, it is very ripe and has a hint of sweetness, but with the delicacy and finesse this wine has you won’t need to drink it with foie gras. It is really, really lovely, and not falling apart in the slightest. This is the kind of Alsace Riesling we all hope to drink regularly.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 1999, Domaine Arlaud
This is a nose of dark Pinot fruit, ripe with hints of meatiness and spice. But above and beyond that it has a very pure and beguiling expression of charming, fresh fruit. This nose is up for displaying its life and clearly it has a long life ahead of it. Really, really attractive. So is the palate. A good, solid tannic structure which is on the right side of rigor and has loads of really lovely fruit. Yeah, this is a proper bottle of Burgundy alright. It has the beauty, love and raw tits sex action we want from decent Burgundy. There is multi-layered pleasure here and I am enjoying this no end. Yeah. Cyprien Arlaud has serious talent when it comes to making the good stuff and we should all try and buy as much as possible.

‘The Kid’ Peter came around yesterday afternoon and we popped a few bottles. It is really lovely to be drinking Burgundy. Burgundy is best, you know?

Morey-Saint-Denis 2002, Domaine Dujac
This has Captain Peter groaning and sighing with pleasure, he insists most Grand Cru Burgundy is not as good as this. In the broadest sense he is probably right. Lovely charming fruit on the nose with a hint of flowers. It is quite ripe and a bit buxom as well, but that is why we have vintages like 2002. This is very attractive. The palate has a fantastic interplay between fruit, acid and tannin, it is a lovely structure. The nose is quite feminine whereas the mouthfeel leans a few degrees toward masculine. This is a properly interesting wine, I derived one hell of a lot of pleasure from it.

Clos Vougeot 1996, Rene Engel
Rene Engel’s Vosne 1er Brulees 1996 was delicious and when I was drinking these wines young I thought Engel made one of the very best Clos Vougeot: I have high hopes for this. There is a fruity, earthy power to this nose, definite depths of complexity here to be probed. The fruit smells properly mature but I’m not sure there is much rush. The palate: oh dear, 1996 syndrome strikes. Yeah the acidity is a bit high. Daniel says this is quite bothersome but The Kid and I think it is more fresh than painful. The fruit power and earthy complexity are certainly there, tastes fascinating. I swirled and left this in my glass for a while before I get back to tasting. The nose has really grown in size and extra layers of complexity and lovely, lovely fruit are there. This has improved a lot with air. Yes, the palate has too, it seems more giving and charming. The acidity is still an issue, but this ultimately wasn’t such a bad wine.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Le Richemone 2005, Alain Michelot
I am being told I am being lead by not doing this blind, but I feel this nose has super-Nuits character. Let me try to explain. Even in ripe vintages like 2005 I often find Nuits wines have a hint of (bell) peppery greenness on the nose. I even find it is tits out producers like Chevillon. I must buy more Chevillon. Of course, there are other clues like the tannic structure, but if you find yourself thinking “Ripe Burgundy, but with shades of greenness?” think whether you might be tasting Nuits. Back to Alain’s wine. The nose is nicely fruity with a correct degree of earthiness. Smells pretty nice, if you ask me. We find layers of ripe blackberry fruit on the palate intertwined with a solid tannic structure. It is very harmonious, and I find myself being quite excited tasting this. I think that lovely chap Jeremy said that Michelot was Nuits for people who like it Nuits-y, and I see what he means. This is a real bargain and I feel more from the same producer would be a good move.

Hawksmoor’s wonderful red meat provided an excellent foil for solid Syrah and Grenache last night as we dined to celebrate the birthday of our chum James and also my birthday. I shared a 1.2kg prime rib of beef and it was totally brilliant meat. Really amazing, so much flavour and such a wonderful texture.

The last wine is what I purchased with the money from the Google click-through adverts so many thanks to all who clicked on them.

Manzanilla La Gitana, Hidalgo
Do I even really need to write a tasting note for this? Surely everyone has drank so much of this wine its flavour profile is etched on all our minds. Surely when there is a test match on in the middle of summer and the mood is with us it is La Gitana which refreshes us? I’ll be brief to refresh your memories. A crisp, nutty nose with a pleasing delicacy. The palate is very dry and fresh with a slight salty tang. This is the Platonic ideal of Manzanilla, good Manzanilla at that.

Cornas ‘Granite 30’ 2007, Vincent Paris
A very fruity nose with lots of prunes and plums. We have decided 2007 Rhones are fruity and this seems to confirm that. It has a definite rustic streak to the nose as well, a sort of meaty, leafy, leatheriness. Smells like pretty type Cornas if you ask me. There is lots of fruit on the palate too, and it has a crunchy, chewy texture which makes this quite a nice mouthful. Decent Cornas structure, alright. It is perhaps not the longest or most complex of palates, but is a good example of the appellation and provides a reasonable amount of pleasure.

Hermitage 1996, J. L. Chave
A very suave, sophisticated nose of polished fruit and rich earth. It is quite powerful, though, ‘manly’ as we are lead to believe. I’m getting a lot of enjoyment out of smelling this, it is certainly mature but still very lively. Ah, now that is a bit sad, it suffers a tad from 1996 syndrome, which is to say it is just a bit too acidic. Sure, the fruit is scrummy and it is undoubtedly a masculine presence in your mouth as we would hope for from Hermitage, but ultimately the harmony just isn’t quite there. Bums.

Cornas ‘Domaine de Rochepertuis’ 1999 en magnum, Jean Lionnet
Oh lovely, lots of scrummy bramble fruits on the nose. It is earthy, but not really dirty, and the hint of rusticity is seriously cleaned up to the point of being being more than presentable in proper company. This is a complex, compelling nose, it is certainly Cornas but very smart Cornas. The palate seems smart too, every tannin is polished, every piece of fruit blemish-free and the acidity completely harmonious. There is a bit of mature softness to this, but it’ll keep. A really lovely magnum of Cornas, I loved it.

The partner and I went for a romantic meal at Andrew Edmunds last night. We drank staggeringly well for not much money at all.

Volnay Premier Cru Clos de la Bousse d’Or 1993, Domaine Pousse d’Or
The nose is charged with beautiful fruit: strawberries and raspberries we feel. A good earthy, mineral tang is there too giving it real dimension, but the primary character on the nose is the super lovely fruit. This speaks to me. It loves me as much as I love it. The palate is soft with more of that lovely, lovely fruit, plenty of minerality and a really refined tannic structure. This is sexy and sophisticated on the palate. I am totally compelled. The partner is too. I must have tried this wine about 20 times during my life and it has never failed to deliver the goods; tonight is one of the best bottles of it I’ve had. This is an amazingly good wine for the lover of fine things.

Hermitage 1997, J. L. Chave
Plenty of dark fruit on the nose with a hint of meatiness. This is big and bold, but there is elegance, refinement and sophistication to the aromas. I am a bit surprised that this still seems so youthful, being 12 years old and all, the fruit is very fresh. This smells like a beautiful, beguiling Hermitage of style and class. Yeah, man! The palate has some good acidity, truly lovely fruit and lots of minerality. Once again, this seems quite masculine and bold, but there is plenty of grace and classiness to it. This is really stylish Hermitage which is incredibly grown-up. Quite brilliant.

If I may take a moment to thank the partner for the meal and his wonderful company last night (and over the past eight years come to think of it). There are lots of people I would be happy to share such wines with, but it was a real treat to share them with him.

We are trying these wines blind and then coming back to drink them (if they are fit to be drank, that is). These notes are written as we try the wines for the first time.

Chassagne-Montrachet 2007, Vincent Dancer
A nice, refreshing nose of lemony fruit and play-dough minerality. This smells reasonably charming, but is nothing flashy. I do like the restraint of it, which is not something I would normally expect from Dancer. The palate has good fruit and lovely acidity, it is bright and fresh. There is some length to it as well. This is a fun and accessible wine that is providing more than enough pleasure now. Drink, don’t keep.

Hermitage ‘Monier de la Sizeranne’ 1990, M. Chapoutier
I’d hope that an impeccably well-stored 1990 Hermitage would be in better condition than this, even from the unspeakable swine Chapoutier*, but this is just totally knackered. Past it. Gone. Pushing up the daisies. Just dusty, dry and beyond decrepit. There is nothing here to even rant about, it is just a dead wine. Bit of a shame really as I really fancied letting rip with a torrent of invective about how Chapoutier make over-priced, atypical wines that are often faulty but never have any harmony, beauty or charm. A dead Hermitage (Hermitage of all things!) from the great 1990 vintage says it all about there perhaps being issues in the vineyards and winery.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Millandes 2001, Domaine Pierre Amiot et Files
The fruit on the nose is really quite attractive, this is a lovely example of Morey.** It has a good earthy character and there is a reasonable amount of complexity there. I do like this, quite a lot, in fact. The fruit is good on the palate too, with a good backbone of acidity and a soft and charming tannic structure. A good, and very enjoyable bottle of Burgundy. Drinking well now, but no real rush; chose an occasion when you need a loveliness injection more than anything else. My chum Peter raised the question of price and it turns out that this sells for about the same price as Morey villages from Dujac. Good, really quite good, as this wine is I’d buy the Dujac in a picosecond every time.

*’Poo’ being the operative syllable.

**Peter asks me to expand on what I think is the character of Morey-Saint-Denis, so here goes: I think Morey fruit has the charm of Chambolle but the darker power of Gevrey. I admit it is a bit of a cop-out to describe it relatively; relativism is absolutely false, after all. When I smell good Morey I expect a harmonious blend of charm and power, loveliness and boldness. A really good Morey it is like finding someone devastatingly attractive and after doing the business you find out that they are a witty, fascinating and charming conversationalist as well.

Long time readers will know there is nothing I like more on a Monday night than noshing on quality meat. This is because London’s best steak establishment, Hawksmoor, charge a fiver corkage on Mondays. If you wish to dine I suggest you order the 600g Sirloin steak on the bone, top meat which is great value. So, our wines:

Chambolle-Musigny 2007, Domaine G. Roumier
Now this has a really fruity nose, opulent and overt for a village wine. It has a pleasing mineral tang to the nose as well, but what you have to love about smelling it is that fruit; it is just delish, man. The palate has fine, ripe tannins, an attractive, refreshing degree of acidity and one hell of a lot of that lovely fruit. Seems a touch plump to me, but that can, and does here, work very well. Yum, yum, yum. This is very Chambolle, and as such I really like it. It has complexity, charm and fun value, what more could you ask for from a village wine?

Hermitage 2007, Domaine du Colombier
Now this smells very pleasing. It is a tiny bit reduced and beetrooty, but there is a lot of lovely fruit here which demands to climb up your nose and activate your pleasure-centres. Blueberry fruit, I feel. There is a lot of ground pepper, too. It is also big, manly and as complex as you could wish. This seems a particularly fruit-driven nose for a Hermitage, that is the vintage character. The palate is an explosion of ripe fruit, silky tannins and rich minerality. It tickles every bit of your palate with the pleasure it delivers. It is really extra-ordinarily long, and that earthy/fruity/tannic interplay is still intriguing on the finish. Once again, I feel this is easily worth the compliment of more time in the cellar. Perhaps it’ll have a more accessible ageing profile than the 2005 that I had recently thanks to its shed-loads of fruit, and it probably won’t need as long to reach its peak. This is a serious quality wine which is a riotous romp of gratification.

A few chums and I decided to have some wine. I feel the bottles I opened were most instructive.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Vergers 2002, Domaine Ramonet
This is a beautiful nose of wonderfully defined aromas and power-up-complexity-action. It has the Chassagne ‘flat Champagne aroma’ as well and really pure lemon fruit and a highly sophisticated minerality. This smells like a charm-mongous bottle of Chassagne. It also smells very like Ramonet wines in general: terrior is (to some extent) in the winery… The palate is really concentrated and just keeps on yielding new flavours to enjoy. The acidity is just bright and it is finely balanced with fruit, acidity, minerality and a subtle oak seasoning making this a truly harmonious wine. A top bottle of Chassagne which re-affirms my love for Ramonet. I’ve had some 2000 Ramonet wines recently which have suffered from premature oxidation. In view of this, I’d be tempted to drink the 02s soon just to be on the safe side. They are lovely to drink now, anyway!

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Pucelles 2002, Domaine Paul Pernot
This wine seems less evolved and less giving than the Ramonet, even though it clearly has a lot to give: a linear but highly adorned steel rod I suppose is how I’d describe this nose. There is an expensive oak treatment showing on the nose, with good lemon and mineral-creaminess. It is very refined with a good Puligny personality. The palate is similarly understated, but the complexity and harmony of this wine show through. Yum, this is good alright. Because Pernot wines are more reductive in style than many white Burgundy producers I feel you are safe keeping this for a few more years.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Vaucrains 1999, Robert Chevillon
The nose of this wine speaks to me. “Drink me and smile”, it says. I’ll smell it and smile first. The cherry fruit on the nose is very attractive and it is really rather earthy. This wine reeks of fine Burgundy (and fine Nuits at that, if I may be so bold) from a top producer in a good year. A nose totally without problems at completely at ease with its own brilliance. The palate is surprisingly elegant. Sure, there are some big tannins and rich earthiness, but this gives the impression of just dancing across your palate, only caressing you when it has another dose of flavour to deliver. The fruit is very refined and sexy. I couldn’t really ask much more from a bottle of Nuits, this is seriously fine wine.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru les Saint-Georges 1999, Robert Chevillon
And just a few meters down the slope we have this offering from Nuits… The nose is quite masculine. There is a lot of fruit, but it is dark, brooding fruit. Highly complex mineral and earth aromas are there. It is quite a biggie, alright. The palate has plenty of dark fruit, a sophisticated, but big, tannic structure and wonderful persistence of flavour. If we may compare the Vaucrains was more elegant and ethereal (as far as Nuits goes) whilst this is bigger, more structured and dense. I preferred the Vaucrains, the other four tasters preferred this.

Chateauneuf-du-Papes 1998, Chateau de Beaucastel
This is really rather aromatic. There is grilled meat, dark fruit and the merest hint of sheep shit. There is a strong suggestion of wild herbs as well. It is very complex and the scented, aromatic character of it is really appealing. Once you get over the mouthfilling flavour and ripeness the overall impression is that it is quite an elegant Chateauneuf. Its fruit and earthy richness are both really pleasing. Very long, too. Yeah, this is how I like my Chateauneuf.

Bandol ‘La Tourtine’ 1998, Domaine Tempier
Wow. Seriously, wow. If the Beaucastel was scented then this must be the Platonic ideal of ‘aromatic’. Such lovely fruit, amazingly earthy with just enough of that dirty sweat character that amusing wine tasters describe as ‘arseholey’. It is incredibly complex and deeply expressive. With every sniff this wine teases me to discover new layers of loveliness. I am moved. So, it tastes very fruity, with a mouth filling power but such are the ripeness of the tannins it just seems silky and svelte. This is a totalling beguiling wine experience, I love it. Lewdly. If the Bandol vineyards were ever going to be ripped up to make space for holiday homes I would be the first in line to burn the local mayor’s office.

Dan, Non-Stinky Jeff, the partner and I dined at Hawksmoor earlier. It is a brilliant place to eat and on Mondays they charge a fiver corkage if you want to take your own wines along. We did. Some bloody good wines if I say so myself.

Chambolle-Musigny 2006, Dujac Fils et Pere
The nose is very fragrant and attractive. A lot of fruit here that is very pure and refined. This smells absolutely lovely. The palate is smooth with fine, ripe tannins and a good acidic backbone. Plenty more of that fruit here. This is open and bursting with life, ready for you to dive in and enjoy all of its loveliness. A very good bottle of Chambolle which just begs to tickle your fancy.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1998, Chateau de Beaucastel
A highly scented, perfumed nose of grilled meat, dark, ripe fruit and the merest hint of sheep shit. There is also a strong herbal character as well. Mourvedre-based wines like this can smell so complex and interesting, this is no exception. Sure, the palate is quite a mouthful, but it is surprisingly elegant, with a lot of fruit and fine tannins. Throbbing with complexity, too. This is drinking fabulously well now and providing one hell of a lot of pleasure. It’ll keep for many more years, though, if you want to wait. I decanted this two hours before we drank it and this was a good thing to do.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1998, Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe
Ah, the different styles of Chateauneuf. This is more fruit-driven than the Beaucastel: lots of soft, ripe plums. Very earthy, too. This is quite a large-scale nose, not refined but bursting with fun and fruit. There are big but ripe tannins on the fruit and more of that soft, plummy fruit. It is pretty complex, though. Delivers plenty of pleasure, and again is quite up for drinking.

Shiraz Clare Valley 2005, Tim Adams
Bang! A serious fruit-bomb on the nose, with some leather and sweaty saddle characteristics. It is big. Very big. The palate is also huge, with massive amounts of fruit, and lots of ripe tannins. There is plenty of oak here. This is a big, broad, crowd-pleaser of a wine, you can see people smile when they smell and taste this. Sure, it may not be the world’s most complex wine, but there is still much to enjoy here.

Earlier tonight we ate reasonably well and had some truly mind-bendingly good wines. This is what life is all about. One wine, however, disappointed. Shame, Olivier Humbrecht, shame!

Brut Chardonnay 1996, Pol Roger
A wonderful, dense nose of bread and digestive biscuits. Very complex, and just beginning to show a reasonable degree of maturity. That being said, I think this wine will hang around for a while yet. There are layers of fun, frolicsome entertainment on the palate which we just lapped up. This is drinking really well now but I don’t see keeping it for a few years longer doing it any harm at all. A really great blanc de blancs which would charm the most jaded Champagne drinker and positively entertain those who are less jaded.

Riesling Clos Windsbuhl Vendanges Tardives 2000, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
A vaguely pleasing nose of petrol and citrus, it seems surprisingly one-dimensional, though. Surely there should be fireworks here rather than boredom, don’t you think? Oh dear, the palate is even more flat and lifeless. Sure, there is  some sweetness and quite a bit of acidity, but not much more than that. When this was young it exploded with life and flavour, now it just seems like vinous wallpaper. There is nothing here to compel the lover of fine things. I find myself feeing quite bored and vaguely vexed that I bothered ageing this, and downright despondent that I paid for it. The ZH flame gets even dimmer for me after trying this.

Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru ‘Clos des Ruchottes’ 2001, Domaine Rousseau
I used to be brilliant at getting this wine right when blind tasting, I can see why: it has personality. The fruit is very distinctive in quality: ripe yet pure and refined. Quite lovely, too. The fruit/acid balance on the palate is very attractive and the whole experience of this wine draws you in to drink more. Once you’ve tasted it you want more alright. Don’t we all want more wines like this? Wines with great fruit, bags of personality and style? Tickled my fancy, a top class bottle of Burgundy.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 1999, Domaine G. Roumier
I last had this in Oxford many years ago with my chums James and Gernot; great memories, eh chaps? I loved it then and tonight it delivered much the same pleasure in a slightly more mature manner. It is clearly Chambolle, but really quite ripe and dense Chambolle. There is a lot of high-class action as far as the fruit is concerned, a depth of ripe, rich style to it. It has layers of character that we greatly enjoyed penetrating, diving into its heady, voluptuous power and seeking out all its deliciousness. Probably needs a bit more age if we are honest, but we had a whale of time drinking this bottle tonight. If you have a few bottles you should really be keeping it.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Gruenchers 1999, Domaine Dujac
In the name of all that is evil and wicked, what a nose! This is totally compelling, you have to love this from when you first smell it. This is screamingly beautiful, fragrant, sensual Chambolle of the very highest order. Am I being positive enough about this wine? Probably not, my mere words cannot begin to convey how totally pleasurably this wine is. And then we get to drink it. Again, I feel inadequate to the task of describing how much I love this wine. There is beautiful fruit, perfectly balanced acidity and the most wonderful, detailed texture. I like a lot of things about this wine, but that texture does it for me: silky, svelte and sexy to the nth degree. Wow, just when things are going so well they suddenly get even better. Those Dujac kids deliver the goods once again. They always do, if we are honest.

Hermitage 2005, Domaine du Colombier
The Colombier wines often tend toward the reductive in style and this is no exception: it is quite beetrooty on the nose. However, there is also a good earthiness and plenty of blueberry fruit and, even though I think this is quite an elegant example, it is still not lacking manliness. It is Hermitage alright. The palate has pleasingly refined tannins and bucket loads of weighty fruit. There is enough complexity here to mark this as the real thing, even if it does not cost as much as Hermitage from Chave, Jaboulet or Chapoutier. I am pleased to own a couple more bottles of this which I feel easily merit the compliment of deserving more years in the cellar. This is the address the smart Hermitage buyer goes to these days.

Riesling Auslese Wehlener Sonnenuhr 1993, Joh. Jos. Prum
All that the ZH was lacking in terms of being a late-harvest Riesling this presents for enjoyment and fun. Oh yeah. Enjoyment both in a visceral but also a thobbingly intellectual manner. The fruit charms totally, the ripeness engages your senses and the acidity wakes you up and slaps you around a bit. This is a wonderful bottle of Riesling. Really wonderful. And to think some people counselled against buying the 2007 Auslese for my cellar…

Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, Moss Wood
A dirty blackcurrant nose. This is odd, if it wasn’t for the super-ripeness I’d think this was a really earthy Claret. But, let us be honest, it is more fun than that. I think the oak treatment is pretty classy. And, yeah, it is boozy. The palate is quite silky with super ripe tannins. It is quite long. This is actually good Cabernet, it is ripe and soft. If I am honest, I am not sure ageing this has done much for it. Sure, it is nice, but it was nice when I purchased it.

Chateauneuf du Papes 1998, Chateau de Beaucastel
Meaty, herbal and gamey one the nose. Powerful and scented. Really properly powerful, and yet it charms. It is really lovely, I am both impressed and pleased.

Volnay Premier Cru Santenots-du-Millieu 1999, Lafon
Rich, heady fruit on the nose. Wow, this is incredibly powerful Volnay. There is a lot of peppery, spiciness there. This is lovely, in a butch sort of style, I feel I could hide behind this in a bar-room fight and get away un-scathed. But, it is a top wine without a doubt.

The Elitist Review editorial team took a visit to the London Wine and Spirits Trade Fair last Thursday. Here we are:

In that picture we are drinking tasting Taylor’s 1985, which was quite delicious. Very soft, mature and accessible, I thought. Mentzendorff also had some Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas 2001 which was terribly impressive, quite fiery though. The Henriques and Henriques Madeiras slipped down an absolute treat, the 15 year old Bual and Malmsey especially. Bollinger is always good, although I was not so impressed with the 2000 vintage, seemed a touch diffuse. There were some wonderful Hidalgo wines on offer including an intriguing 1986 vintage-dated Oloroso sherry which I got the last slug of and thought was just great.

Over at the Liberty Wines stand it was good to try the most recent offerings from Jaboulet. They had a new winemaker for the 2006 vintage and I though the Crozes Thalabert 2006 was particularly good; a real return to quality. Their new labels were bloody awful, though. 2008 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling was frighteningly acidic, but serious Riesling. Cepparello 2005 was there, bottled in a screwcap which pleased me. It was a touch austere, though.

On the German wine institute stand we tried some good stuff. Dr Loosen 2008s seemed hilariously acidic, but with good fruit. Indeed, this seemed very much the story of the 2008 vintage in Germany, acidic but fruity. Some Leitz 07s were drinking very well (apart from Ein Zwei Dry which was bloody awful) and an 04 from them had survived better than I would expect from Leitz. Donnhoff 07s were totally wonderful and an 05 Oberhauser Brucke Auslese warped my mind even further with its loveliness.

Daniel dropped by a wine stand he thought suited him:

Weight Watcher’s wine, what a vile idea.

On the spirits side I tried some surprisingly drinkable sparkling vodka, some terribly nice pre-mixed cocktails from New Zealand, some properly good vodka about which an interesting film is being made (good stuff that Zorokovich, I was impressed) and some absinthe:

My final piece of hilarity for the day was that a couple of people came up to me at various points and told me how much they liked Elitist Review and that they were regular readers. I was highly amused and thought it was good for the ego.

A large picture of me will do in the ego department too.

Many thanks to Jeff for the pictures.

I ran a little tasting last night. Apart from the Salon, only one wine was generally sniffed at.

Blanc des Blancs Le Mesnil 1996, Salon
Corked! Bums. I haven't had so much luck with Salon recently.

Manzanilla Pasada Pastrana, Hidalgo
This had a delicious aroma of nuts. It was very characterful, with a decent degree of style. This is a top example. The palate was really dry, with great, fresh acidity and a love array of interesting flavours. Yum. Only the partner and I liked it, everyone else said, "No".

Riesling Kabinett Enkircher Ellergrub 2007, Weiser-Kunstler
Lovely babyfat fruity nose, highly attractive. So fruity, in fact, that one of the guests sniffed it and said, "Mmm... Muscat!" Not the most complex of noses, but it did charm. The palate was slightly sweet, but the acid level was just a bit low. Bit simple, too. For the price I found this a hilarious bargain, but from the recommendation I'd been given I'd hoped it would be a bit more serious. Our guest who told me at a previous tasting he hates German wine bloody loved it.

Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux 2005, Huet
Amazing, it smells of fruit! Tinned lychees in heavy syrup. Heavy syrup is the best. It also smells quite a lot of a decaying barn, wood and hay, you know? There is some amazing mineral character to it. This is very serious, could it even be nice? Yes it bloody could, the palate is delicious. Good sweetness matched by perfect acidity. Really mouthwatering, really tasty, really good. This is a lively, thrilling wine that would fit Mr Tully's requirement for incredible acidity to perk him up. Didn't M. Foreau point out that you were very sensitive to acidity, Edward?

Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg Vendanges Tardives Trie Speciale 2004, Domaine Weinbach
You know, I'm so pleased with my previous note, I don't feel I can better it.

We popped a few bottles for my birthday last Saturday. It was great to have dinner and some serious wine with friends. Sadly at the end of the evening my relaxed-status was too high to permit writing too much detail about the last two wines.

'PR' 1988, Pol Roger
The last vintage of the much-missed and much-loved prestige cuvee from Pol. A complex, biscuitty nose that smells properly mature. The palate had a good depth of flavour but remained an elegant dancer of a Champagne that skipped lightly across your palate. This was really stylish and was a great treat to drink.

Vintage Brut 1996, Alfred Gratien en magnum
This seems quite youthful on the nose, plenty of fruit and a sedate seasoning of oak. Good complexity here. The palate had the power and elegance of an Aston Martin; beautiful to behold but capable of generating deep excitement.

Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 2002, Trimbach
Baked apple fruit on the nose, ripe with creamy minerality. There is also a vague hint of petrol on the nose. The palate has real complexity and more than a degree of rigor, serious acidity here. It has good, concentrated flavours and perfect harmony. Lovely.

Riesling Sommerberg Grand Cru 'L31D' 2002, Domaine Albert Boxler
Really ripe fruit on the nose, good citrus action with a really pronounced minerality. This smells like a really thrilling, lively drink. The palate has a good interplay between ripe fruit, acid and minerality. Excellent stuff, but I was in a minority preferring this to the CFE.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 1997, Domaine G. Roumier
Ah, Christophe Roumier, his wines rarely disappoint. This had a highly attractive nose of fruit and earthy richness. Yum. The palate was really classy, with lovely ripeness, finely-balanced acidity and deeply pleasing earthiness. Really yummy++.

Chambertin Clos des Beze Grand Cru 1997, Dominique Laurent
The nose was very polished and refined, with only hints of Laurent's fabled 200% new oak treatment; I expected it to be a lot oakier. Nice cherry fruit on the nose as well. The palate was silky, svelte and smooth, with plenty of interest. I think I preferred the Roumier les Cras, and the Lambrays too, come to think of it.

Pinot Noir 'Jensen Vineyard' 2005, Calera
This was a ripe, heady, juicy smelling wine, bursting with fruit and not short on its booze-quotient. There was a reasonable earthiness to the nose, which was most pleasing. The palate was also dominated by ripe fruit. It was soft and highly attractive. A really serious Californian Pinot, I loved it.

There were a couple of other bottles popped, but I am afraid to say at this point in the proceedings I was happy to drink and enjoy them rather than think too analytically about them. Hermitage La Chapelle 1995 from Jaboulet is always a treat and the mag of Riesling Maximin Grunhäuser Abtsberg Auslese 2001 was reasonably elegant and stylish.

Many thanks to James and Katie for hosting us all and cooking a rather nice stew. It was very tasty.

Some good and some truly shocking wines.

La Bota de Manzanilla, Equipo Navazos
Really powerfully nutty on the nose. It has a good minerality to it as well. The palate is light and refined with good acidity to balance its depth of flavour.

Champagne La Grande Dame 1996, Verve Cliquot
Quite fruity and biscuitty on the nose. Smells quite lively and fresh. Very nice mousse with a good lemony fruit. Reasonably complex. A surprisingly good bottle of La Grande Dame that suggests it has more fireworks in reserve for the future.

Riesling Spatlese Monzinger Fruhlingsplatzchen 2006, Emrich-Schonleber
A nice nose of Bergamont with a creamy minerality. The palate is light with reasonable acidity and some fruit; not too much there in the way of minerality or complexity. A perfectly good drink, but there is better German Riesling out there.

Grand Vin De Altenberg 1999, Domaine Marcel Deiss
A horrible, horrible melange of incompatible aromas that leave you in a state of abject horror. The flavours on the palate repel and insult me; vastly unbalanced, unharmonious, offensive crap. I feel he made this wine just to offend enlightened people. I'm personally offended.

Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim 1999, Domaine Marcel Deiss
This isn't that much better. I suppose it has clearer fruit and a more distinct minerality, but not much of a personality. The palate is heavy and ponderous; it slogs rather than dances. Piss boring.

Pinot Noir "Kiser En Haut" 2006, Copain
Quite ripe, spicy and chocolaty on the nose. Bit one dimensional. The palate has lots of fruit but not much else. Nice but a bit dull.

Chablis Grand Cru les Clos 2006, J-P et B Droin
A soft, expressive nose of minerals, citrus fruit and nuts. Smells like it has some depth. The palate is reasonably complex, but the flavours are not  particularly concentrated. Reasonable.

Chateauneuf du Papes 1994, Chateau de Beaucastel
A very animal, meaty nose. Lots of rich earthiness and a medicinal tang, complex style here. The palate is silky and sensual with lots of mature fruit. Complexity++. Damned good.

Clos de la Roche 1988, Domaine Dujac
Soft and scented with lovely fruit and a nice earthiness. This is very good indeed and up for drinking.

Saint Aubin Premier Cru Champlots 2006, Pierre-Yves Colin
The nose has nice fruit with a hint of oak. Palate is light and fruity with reasonable length. Nice enough.

Nuits Saint Georges Premier Cru Clos des Forets Saint Georges 1993, Domaine l'Arlot
Lovely blackcurrant fruit on the nose, really earth too. Smells up for fun. Palate has good structure and nice length. Quite tasty, really.

Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg Vieille Vigne 2001, Domaine Bruno Sorg
A pretty nose of baked apple and creamy minerality. There are real flashes of style about the nose. The palate is refined and elegant, with a fruity/mineral richness that is really pleasing. Pretty damned good.

Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 1997, F. E. Trimbach
A rich nose of citrus fruit and petrol. There is some classy mineral action here too. The palate gives a remarkable sense of fat and density even though this is as delicate as a rose petal. Real class and complexity. Top stuff.

Chateauneuf du Papes 1995, Chateau de Beaucastel
A profound nose of spicy, rich fruit. Very dense and expressive. There is a good perfume to it. The palate has plenty of fruit and is rich and warm. Not unbalanced, though, very tasty, in fact.

I'm back from my sojourn in Burgundy, Alsace and Champagne. As I indicated in my last post I will not be putting all the notes up instantly, rather two entries per day until I've caught up. Here is the general drinking from Sunday night.

Volnay Clos de la Bousse d'Or 1995, Domaine Pousse d'Or
Really perfumed and scented with soft old fruit and a floral/Jasmine aroma. The palate is just beautiful. Loads of fruit with real elegance and refinement. Delicious. In the full flow of providing pleasure.

Vouvray Cuvee Constance 1995, Huet
Rotting wool, carrots and apricots on the nose. Very complex with a real earthy tang. The palate is painfully intense with incredible acidity, rich earthiness and lots of apricot fruit. Real Vouvray silkiness which is quite lovely. A tour de force from Domaine Huet.

I went to the London Wine Trade Fair today, I dressed in my most 'wine trade' uniform:

Naturally, dressed like that I got to try a lot of good stuff.

I was very impressed with the Henriques and Henriques Madeiras. There were some great German 2007s, including brilliant efforts from Max Ferd Richter and Leitz. Bollinger is always nice (1999 is so much better than 1997, almost a proper vintage, one might say). Taylor's and Fonseca make great Port. It was a fun day out.

We were invited over to the new house of a couple of friends of ours; it was a lovely house and they are lovely people. Some good wines, too.

Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2001, Domaine Leflaive
Decanted an hour and a half before we drank it, this had a really expressive nose of nuts, minerality, lovely fruit and real power and density. It smelled delicious, really complex and stylish. The palate had weight and density, but was kept lively and light by great acidity and fine minerality. Again, really complex on the palate. This was an incredibly classy wine that was drinking well now. Excellent stuff.

Chassagne-Montrachet 2004, Domaine Ramonet
This was very young on the nose, banana esters very prominent. There was some good Chassagne flat-Champagne character, though and it did smell of Ramonet wine. The palate was reasonably light and elegant, with good fruit and a reasonable finish. Quite a nice bottle of wine, but would have been better in a couple of years time.

Volnay Premier Cru Clos de Chateau des Ducs 2000, Lafarge
I don't think I've ever smelled a wine that had as much freshly-cut grass character on the nose, it was very stemmy and green. Palate was reasonably balanced and fruity, though, with some length. Not a great Lafarge bottle but you cannot deny it had personality.

Cote-Rotie 1998, Bernard Burgaud
A lovely, rich, complex nose of dark fruit, earth and pepper. Real complexity here. This is obviously a proper vintage and a damned-good bottle of Cote-Rotie. The palate had some noble tannins, but great fruit and spice. A really complex, very long finish. Damned good Cote-Rotie, to be enjoyed with great pleasure now and over the next ten years, if you've got a good cellar.

Cornas "Granit 30" 2001, Vincent Paris
Nice ripe fruit and spicy pepper on the nose, smells reasonably typical for Cornas, with a degree of style. Palate had a good tannic structure with nicely integrated fruit. Up for drinking whilst reasonably young and vibrant, I fancy.

Riesling Auslese Brauneberger-Juffer Sonnenuhr Fuder 6 1997, Fritz Haag
I had this a couple of days ago, it was similar. A damned good bottle of wine, to be sure, but up for drinking.

James also tried to pop a bottle of Michel Colin-Deleger Chassagne Premier Cru 2000, Vergers if memory serves (and it often does when it comes to wine). Like the last bottle of 2000 Colin-Deleger we tried it was oxidised and undrinkable.

I hosted a wine tasting last night, people didn't get as many right as I had hoped. Mind you, tasting Champagne is always really foxy, especially when, like these wines, they had a bit of cellar age on them. I had aged all three for three and a half years since I purchased them. The Cornas were both damned good.

Champagne Grand Siecle, Larent-Perrier
A lovely, polished complex nose, smells a bit of fishy Pinot and tinny, but mainly rich, complex, stylish aromas. This is a lot better than when it was fresh from the shelf. The palate was very complex and smooth, with a fine mousse and a good, long finish. This was quite delicious, well worth the £35 it cost.

Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut, Billecart-Salmon
Quite anonymous on the nose. There is not much there apart from a bit of egg and toast. Age has made this less expressive; weird. The palate was very direct and linear, with a good creamy minerality and lots of nice fruit on the finish. However, it was a touch direct. I found it a bit hard work on the old stomach for not much reward.

Champagne Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru, Egly-Ouriet
Oh this is so difficult. Really hard. You see, the thing is every Egly-Ouriet wine I've had I've hated so I have sort of decided I hate Egly-Ouriet, yet this wine was truly excellent. It had a dense nose of red fruit and rich soiliness. Yet it still seemed very light and refined on the nose. Lovely complex flavours here. The palate had real weight, plenty of fruit, but great acidity and vivacity. The finish had a touch of meat about it, but the acidity and minerality were also present making this a lively, exciting wine. I am sure a bit of age helped it. This was quite delicious. Shame the wine is so expensive these days. Still, the only Egly-Ouriet wine I can recommend (up until now).

Cornas 1998, Clape
A lovely, herbal, meaty nose which strangely has a hint of arseholes about it. There is a hint of greenness, but loads and loads of lovely ripe fruit. A good grind of pepper is in there. It is extremely complex and not lacking any style. The palate has a huge tannic structure, interlaced with herbal pepperiness and masses of dark fruit. Very complex, but a tad angular. Great length, with real complexity on the finish. Quite delicious.

Cornas "Domaine de Rochepertuis" 1998, Jean Lionnet
Wow, what a nose! Silky, sexy ripe fruit, earth, pepper and bags of class. This smells polished and hedonistic. Real class here, and yet it is very Cornas. The palate has a lot of tannin, but it is very ripe and integrates with the bags of lovely, lovely fruit very well. Many flavours seemlessly play across your palate as you taste this. Not as angular as the Clape, but I suppose some pedants may not find this Cornasy enough. Excellent, up for drinking now over the next seven years.

It had been playing on my mind as to which Cornas would be better. Votes at the tasting were two each leaving me with the deciding vote. I have to say I lean toward the Lionnet. It just has a bit more class and style. Don't get me wrong I loved the Clape and thought it worth every penny, but the Lionnet is just a bit sexier. Half the price, too, not that these things matter so much on Elitist Review...

Well, we'll be eating steak tartare, and drinking all that is listed below.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clavoillon 2001, Domaine Leflaive
This smells really toasty, with round, buxom lemony fruit there. It is really creamy and mineral. Smells, perfectly balanced between youth and maturity. The palate is really fat and full-bodied, but has great fruit and lovely acidity. The balance is simply superb. It is incredibly complex, really long and screaming with style. This is tests-good white Burgundy, really excellent.

Riesling Auslese Bernkasteler Doctor 1996, Dr. Thanisch (Erben-Thanisch) Auction Wine
Dead, bereft of life it rests in peace. If I hadn't pulled its cork it would be pushing up the daisies.

Riesling "Polish Hill" 2006, Grosset
Well, I like it.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru les Malconsorts 2005, Hudelot-Noellat
A lovely nose of spicy fruit and earthiness, it is multi-dimensonal and terribly interesting. The fruit is really tasty and there is real exotic class. The palate is very silky and svelte with layers of intense fruit which is really lovely. There is soily richness and real depth of character. This is a really excellent bottle of very young Burgundy, but hey, sometimes very young Burgundy is a lovely thing.

Chateau Montrose 1999
Fuck me, it is fucking claret. I fucking hate fucking claret. It smells of dirty cedarwood, like some tired out old fart. The palate is hard and dry, with a lot of nasty, astringent tannins. This is positively vile. I hate it.

Hermitage 1997, Domaine Jean-Louis Chave
A truly amazing nose of dark fruit, undergrowth, earth, pepper and probably many other things if I wanted to write a note like Robert Parker. This smells divine, complex and classy, refined and completely lovely. Quite forward and ready to be tackled. The palate has a very silky, very refined tannic structure, interlaced with lovely, lovely fruit. Ir is perfectly balanced and all the flavours are really harmonious. This is really delicious, completely fantastic, wow

A couple of friends came around last night to drink some wine and watch the rugby. I was really amazed we managed to over-come the evil French. Not that it was a terribly convincing performance...

2003 by Bollinger
A very ripe, fruity nose with plenty of density and Bollinger cold cocoa. The nose does smell really rather ripe and more than a little heroic. The palate had great depth of flavour, weight, plenty of fruit and real style. This was a big, corpulent Champagne, but not lacking class. It was suggested this would be a good Champagne to have with food.

Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg "Cuvee St. Catherine" 2004, Domaine Weinbach
A lovely, charming nose of ripe citrus fruit, baked apples, minerality and, let us be honest, quite high alcohol levels. Even though it was reasonably boozy it seemed quite complex and stylish. The palate had good fruit, reasonable acid, plenty of minerality and a nice, long finish. It was terribly young, but bursting with life and energy.

Richebourg Grand Cru 1972, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
The nose had plenty of soft, mature fruit, earth and a slightly savoury character which was vaguely reminiscent of celery salt. Incredibly complex, stylish and simply oozing class from every pore. The palate had soft tannins, a good earthy character and plenty of fruit. It also displayed the celery salt savoury character, but this was quite pleasing in this wine. It was very long and very complex. A really lovely bottle of properly mature Burgundy, top bunny!

Pommard Premier Cru les Rugiens 2003, Domaine de Courcel
A huge nose of luxuriant, sun-ripened fruit and earth with the merest seasoning of oak. There is booze there, too. A fighting wine, to be sure, but not lacking in class or style. The palate is a monster, with loads of fruit, big tannins and a very long, if slightly warm, finish, but it is really sexy, svelte and smooth. Great earthy complexity is also present. This is a bottle of undoubtedly heroic, but really classy Burgundy.

Cornas 1999, Noel Verset
Lovely fruit on the nose, a hint of stemminess too. This smells really complex and refined. I was served it blind and I thought it was Chave Hermitage. The palate was very silky and refined, with good tannins and nice, ripe fruit. Very long, with only hints of rusticity. This was a proper bottle of Cornas, alright.

Cornas 1999, Clape
Ripe and bold on the nose, with nice, refined fruit. Very classy, very complex. The palate had good tannins, worthy of Cornas but very ripe and silky. Plenty of fruit there, too. Very long, with a great earthy complexity on the finish. This was a really great bottle of Cornas, which I preferred to the Verset, but everyone else preferred that. Top kit, worthy of many more years in the cellar, even though it provided a lot of pleasure now.

I hosted a small wine tasting for the neighbours last night. My aim was to demonstrate how easy blind tasting is, and I was pleased that everybody got everything right. OK, I provided a little prompting, but not everyone has my epic experience of wine.

Chavignol "Les Culs de Beaujeu" 2004, Francois Cotat
Very mineral on the nose, with a hint of dirtiness; does he ferment in old barrels? Fresh grassiness, too. The palate was very light with good minerality and high acidity which hurt my poor, knackered stomach a bit, ouch! It was reasonably long and the minerality provided a pleasing degree of complexity. I think this would age reasonably well and make an interesting middle-aged wine. Sauvignon Blanc for ageing, who'd have thought it?

Riesling "Clos Hauserer" 2004, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
This was also very mineral on the nose, and displayed some characters of slightly oxidative wine-making. Good baked-apple and some citrus fruit. Sweet with alcohol, but not up to the normally excessive standards of Z-H. The palate was rich with ripe fruit, had some alcohol warmth on the finish and was reasonably long. Not amazingly complex, though. It was pretty dry, but there was obviously a bit of sugar knocking about in it. A reasonable wine, but nothing spectacular.

Pinot Noir "Stermer Vineyard" 2003, Lemelson
A hot, heady nose of alcohol and ripe fruit, which was moving slightly into jamminess. There was plenty of oak present, but in a wine of this scale it didn't seem unbalanced. The palate had moderate tannin, some acidity and plenty of fruit, a veritable fruit-bomb, indeed. The general impression I got of it was of a big, smooth mouthful of fruit and alcohol. It was quite nice, but not for ageing.

Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2002, Domaine Chandon de Briailles
Very pale colour. A nose bursting with fresh strawberry fruit and minerality. It smelled lovely, but the palate was missing this loveliness. It had fruit and one hell of a lot of minerality, but lacked charm. The minerality was quite like white Corton and, whilst I like minerality, it dominated the palate and made it quite hard; the high acidity levels didn't help with the overall impression of toughness. Maybe this would age into something nicer, but I suspect it would always be a linear and direct wine, strong on acidity and minerality but lacking a bit of fat and charm that it would really need to give it the dimension to make it a great wine. It was also quite short, which is not a good sign for a supposedly fine wine.

If I may digress momentarily into a general rant about red Corton: I feel they are always marked by strong minerality, acid and often tough tannins. They may have complexity, but I want more than that from Burgundy, I want to be charmed. Even the venerable bottles of great vintages I have tried are generally a bit angular, spiky and lacking essential niceness. Intellectual pleasures are all very well and good, but Pinot is a lovely grape and making wines stripped of that loveliness seems to miss the point. If I want hard red wines (and I usually don't) I'll drink Claret, but making Pinot into a mineral, rapier-like weapon of austerity seems just plain bonkers to me. I love Burgundy, but I might not be buying that much Corton in the future.

It is so nice to have a drink after being locked up for a week that I will have several. Nice to see a friend and the partner, too.

Condrieu 1992, Guigal
Mid-yellow colour, not too bad for its age. It doesn't smell that oxidised, either. It smells quite strongly of melon, but also vaguely meaty, which is a touch odd. It is quite mineral, too, which is nice, and there is a touch of obvious oak, which is surprising for a wine of this age; it must have been hellishly oaky when it was young. The palate has lots of weight, some minerality, and quite a lot of oak, but it tastes fucking horrible. The oak is completely nasty and it seems very blowsy and flabby. Guigal's wines are always too freaking oaky and rarely have good balance. OK, a 1992 Condrieu is not a fair thing to judge his wines by, but I've had enough to know that the man is an unspeakable swine who does horrible things to lovely grapes. This one, for the record, is utterly vile.

Riesling Auslese Brauneberger-Juffer Sonnenuhr 2000, Fritz Haag
Greeny-yellow colour. Lovely slatey nose, very mineral. Great fruit, too, citrus and some peach. This smells quite ripe and is hilariously complex. What a lovely nose, to summarise. The palate has incredible harmony, taut linearity with good sweetness and incredible minerality. This is really beautiful, very long, oozing with style and bursting with class. Really a damned-good bottle of wine.

Saint-Aubin Premier Cru Sous la Roche Dumay 2004, Jean-Marc Boillot
Fuck me this has an oaky nose, I wasn't quite expecting that. Smells a bit hot, but there is minerality and baby vomit there too; this is real white Burgundy. The palate is hellishly oaky, too. Lawks, this isn't really in balance, the acidity is a quite harsh and the oak is really quite frightening. Some minerality, but really not that complex. I have been impressed by Jean-Marc Boillot's minor wines in the past, but I am not sure that I really like this.

Cahors Cuvee Reservee de l'Aieul 1995, Chateau Eugenie
Bloody hell, what is this nose? It smells of horse-shit, coriander and vomit. Liquorice, too, and a freshly-used lawn-mower. It may be really expressive on the nose, but it smells shamefully bad. After the horrific excitement of the nose the palate is almost dull. There is a metallic character to it, and a lot of acidity, but no fruit, nothing nice, almost nothing nasty too. I've been presented this blind as a 'comedy wine', I don't see anything funny about it.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Pruliers 1993, Gouges
A beguiling nose of meatiness, soft red fruit and earth. This is seriously complex. I love its rich, soil character, and the fruit, too, and also the complexity. Yum. The palate is really tannic, but bursting with totally lovely flavours. This may be masculine, but it is a real charmer; a charismatic body-builder. Very long, real style, great length. This is freaking triple-A. I've been told this is a 'food wine', but that is a concept I detest.

Cote Rotie 1997, Bernard Burgaud
Another wine presented blind. A very fragrant, giving, easy nose of dark fruit and spice. Northern Rhone Syrah, probably Cote Rotie, I'd guess. Nice style to the nose. The palate doesn't quite have the fruit that is showing on the nose, but it has a great texture. The tannins are noble, but quite ripe and silky. It has a really good earthy character. This is really lovely. Burgaud? Really tits wine, from a proper vintage. 1998. Ah, I was so close.

Last night we had only a few options to choose from at Chez Dominique, thanks to their insane pricing policy. We started with a hilariously fine wine which had perhaps the smallest mark-up on the wine list.

Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2005, Domaine Ramonet
By arse, what a nose! Vanilla, lemon, minerality, baby vomit and subtle oak all whirling together in a thrilling roller-coaster ride of hedonistic excitement. This had incredible complexity, real style and it oozed class from every pore. Quite marvellous. And then, of course, one gets to taste it. The dramatic tension in this wine was amazing. Taut linearity was balanced with weight and density to create a thrilling experience. It boggled the mind with its complexity and racy character. It may have been 14% and obviously a big wine, but it danced lightly across the palate like an anorexic ballerina. An anorexic ballerina with an attitude carrying a fully automatic shotgun. High quality action here, quite the best bottle of white Burgundy I have had for a while. Even though it was terribly young it sang a song of loveliness, charm and wanton extravagance I feel my humble writing skills are not up to re-telling. Tits++ and freaking quadruple-A.

Crozes-Hermitage "La Guiraude" 2003, Alain Graillot
Very dark. A rich, ripe nose of dark fruit that was clearly blessed with one hell of a lot of sun. Yet, despite this almost Portiness it still smelled of Crozes; there was cheap cologne and a degree of greenness present. It smelled really quite complex for Crozes this ripe, and was quite attractive. The palate had plenty of ripe fruit and a good tannic structure. I don't know if he added it or not, but considering its ripeness the acidity was just perfect. The finish was nice and long with dark fruit flavours persisting. I may not like European 2003s, but this impressed. I think it would make very interesting old bones.

A few good things yesterday. I am afraid I got rather drunk so notes will be brief. The Clos St. Hune was most disappointing.

Grande Annee 1996, Bollinger
Perfectly balanced on the edge of maturity and freshness. Really good fruit and acidity with a fine mousse. This was excellent and in top condition. Even though this had mature tones I am in no rush to drink my last bottle. Aged Grande Annee is so much better than Bollinger RD.

Riesling Smaragd Achleiten 2004, Prager
Excellent ripe Riesling nose with lots of minerality. It didn't have the white pepper character that most Austrian wines seem to have. The palate was very complex with great fruit and minerality. Very long, too. This was a really good bottle of wine.

Riesling Clos Saint Hune 1997, Trimbach
Oddly mature, petrolly nose, I was surprised this smelled so forward. The palate was bloody awful, weird fruit, poorly integrated acidity and surprisingly little length. It was very concentrated, but didn't taste nice at all. Most disappointing. I have no idea what went wrong with this bottle.

Pinot Noir Mills Vineyard 1996, Calera
Really up for drinking, this had a beautiful nose of ripe, smooth fruit and earthy tones. The palate was really silky and smooth, with great fruit and a really complex finish. Really good harmony and great style. An excellent bottle of Californian Pinot Noir, I bloody loved it.

Volnay Premier Cru Clos de Chateau des Ducs 2000, Lafarge
An utterly beguiling nose of pure fruit and minerality. This smelled simply superb. The palate was similarly beautiful, light and refined but not lacking any concentration. The acidity was perfectly balanced and it was showing really well. This was a top bottle of Volnay that I deeply loved.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru les Brulees 2001, Domaine Rene Engel
Ah, an old favourite. Wonderful Vosne fruit and real complexity. Very stylish with great persistence of flavour and great harmony. Top premier cru Vosne.

We paid a visit to Oxford yesterday where we ate a truly marvelous chicken. Was nice to see the family. We drank well, too.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru les Ruchots 2004, Domaine Arlaud
Lovely rich, ripe fruit on the nose. Real complexity here, and very stylish. The palate was silky and smooth with great persistence of flavour. The acidity was perfectly balanced. This was a really stylish wine, and I greatly enjoyed it. Arlaud is one of the bargains of Burgundy, and damned good too.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2004, Domaine Dujac
Bright, ripe fruit on the nose. Very Morey, very stylish too. The palate was palate was perfectly ripe, with good acidity. This was very enjoyable, and drinking far better than Jeremy Seysses (the winemaker) said it would be when he rang as we opened it. Quite delicious, top villages wine.

Chablis Grand Cru les Clos 2005, Domaine Fevre
An incredibly nutty nose, smelt of hazelnuts with fresh lemon zest on them. It was very mineral too. The palate had real density, but was kept light and refined by great balancing acidity. This was a truly fine bottle of Chablis.

Meursault Premier Cru Boucheres 2000, Domaine Roulot
An utterly beautiful nose of stone, flowers and ripe lemon fruit. This was incredibly complex and really stylish. The palate was the epitome of balance and refinement, with lots of fruit, great minerality, lovely acidity and real complexity. It was incredibly long. Another wonderful bottle from Roulot, the man is a genius.

A few good things from last night.

Bourgogne Blanc 2004, Domaine Roulot
This smells of proper white Burgundy; there is the lemon fruit, minerality and just a hint of vomit. It smells fresh and lively. The palate has some good acidity, and a reasonable amount of fruit. It has some reasonable length, and a degree of complexity. For a Bourgogne Blanc this is really pretty good.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2004, Domaine Dujac
I last reviewed the 2004 Dujac wines along with the 2005s from cask back in July of last year; this wine seems similar to how I remembered it. It is complex and earthy on the nose, with a lot of ripe cherry fruit. I feel I have to comment that the level of oak seems rather high on the nose at the moment. There are some profound tannins on the palate, but their structure is pleasing and it is very complex and long. The acidity seems surprisingly high, but this could just be at the stage we are drinking it; it is rather young. Delicious, ripe, dense fruit is here. Great finish and very long with real style and class. This is a seriously fine wine for long-term ageing.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 1997, Domaine Dujac
Soft fruit on the nose, this seems fully mature. Very earthy and rich with plenty of complex aromas. This smells like type, mature, Cote de Nuits wine. The palate is very soft and charming, with some good balancing acidity and a reasonable tannic structure. I was given this wine blind and I thought it was Dujac from a more rigorous vintage than 1997, this shows the quality of wine they make even in these less than brilliant years. There is some reasonable length, and no shortage of complexity here. This is completely lovely, and perfectly up for drinking now. There is still some life in the very best of the 1997s, clearly. At Dujac I tried a 1997 Clos St. Denis and it was similarly delicious.

Vin de Paille 1996, J. L. Grippat
This is Hermitage made from straw-dried grapes that had to be declassified to Vin de Table for some arcane reason. I was presented it blind and I am pleased to say I nailed it. The aromas of glue and acetone were a dead give away, and not as unpleasant as they sound. It is really gluey, with a strange apple/elderflower fruit to it. The palate is quite sweet, and again has glue tones, but there is more fruit on the palate and it despite all of the weird aromas it seemed quite delicious. Acidity was fine if not spectacular. It is not for ageing any longer, although it'll hang around forever, this is an unusual sweet wine but well worth trying as it has real personality and it is actually very nice.

Live tasting notes from Fortnum and Mason's wine bar. I have internet access down here so here goes on the wines we are drinking.

Pinot Gris Vieille Vigne 2005, Domaine Bruno Sorg
A lovely, ripe, spicy nose of white fruit and minerality. It smells very ripe and very concentrated. This is a ripe and stylish wine, full of character unlike the bland Italian version of this grape variety. The palate is very dry, but has good ripeness to give it width and structure. It is quite long, and reasonably complex. Not the flashiest Pinot Gris in the world, but this is a very good drink for random drinking purposes and greatly enjoyable.

Bandol 2003, Chateau de Pibarnon
The nose is very ripe, with plenty of alcohol but by no means as over-ripe as the Tempier the other day. This has lovely Bandol grilled meat and leather characters, type but ripe! The palate is incredibly tannic, but so ripe and full it is almost voluptuous. It has good acidity too, and is really complex. This is the best wine I've had in the proverbial period of time: Complex, long and stylish. Quiet delicious too and up for enjoying. That being said I'll keep the two bottles I purchased for at least a decade.

The drugs that have improved my mood and made me perky enough to enjoy wine again have also made me violently sick. I am afraid these tasting notes comes from sips taken in between waves of nausea rolling over me.

Riesling Scharzhofberger Pergentsknopp 2005, Van Volxem
This has a very ripe nose. So ripe, indeed that is smells slightly of varnish, and this is not attractive. The palate seems confused about how dry it wants to be, and there are more hints of varnish and acetone on the palate. It is quite long, I'll give you that, but just not very nice.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2001, Domaine Albert Boxler
A very rich, earthy nose to this. The fruit from sun-ripened grapes also shines through. This has a very pleasing nose. The palate is quite dry, but full of fruit and bursting with life. It seems, slightly surprisingly, up for drinking now. Great acidity and a lovely mineral tang grace the finish. This is not perhaps one of (the great) Jean Boxler's most spell-binding wines, but it provides exceedingly high quality drinking.

Pommard Premier Cru les Rugiens 2003, Domaine de Courcel
A rich, powerful nose of ripe fruit and earth brushed with a seasoning of oak. This has a big and serious nose: very complex, very stylish. The initial impression on the palate is of a big wine. Despite the size of the nose and palate this is really silky, svelt and sexy. It has great refinement for an obvious monster of a wine. The tannic structure is superb, and is perfectly balanced by the epic quantities of fruit present. Excellent Pommard and a truly great 2003.

Hermitage 1997, J-L Chave
A soft nose of grilled meat and mature fruit, spicy, rich and warm. It certainly smells very complex and quite typical. The palate seems reasonably soft, with very good fruit and a nice long finish. I didn't get to try as much of this as I would have liked, as I was feeling so sick, but it seemed excellent.

I hate to say it, but wine is still not really combating my unhappiness. It is certainly nice to drink, but it doesn't transport me to another place as once it did. I need to get my medication sorted out.

Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1995, Pol Roger
A dense nose, dominated by Pinot. It has a really nice digestive biscuit character to it. Serious complexity here and it is only just starting to open up. This is a damned good wine.

Riesling Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2002, Emmerich Knoll
Very light nose, hints of petrol and botrytis, maybe a touch of white pepper. It smells quite mature. Very light palate with huge acidity, clearly no malolactic fermentation here. There is a reasonable amount of fruit there. This is a perfectly pleasant drink, just lacks a bit of the wow-factor.

Gevrey-Chambertin "Mes Favorites" 2001, Domaine Alain Burguet
Lovely nose of good fruit and earthy complexity. It smells pretty ripe and fruity. There is some reasonable acid on the palate, but I think this is balanced by the density of fruit in the wine. It is quite long and reasonably complex. A very good village wine.

Hermitage "La Chapelle" 1995, Jaboulet
A polished, rounded nose of complex fruit, earth and voluptuous complexity. It smells big, ripe and very good. The palate is quite the mouthful with lots of fruit, great structure and a really long finish. This is a super wine which is in top condition to drink now. I'll last forever, though.

Hermitage 1995, J-L Chave
Ah, what a wonderful nose! Scented, perfumed and complex. There is a lot of fruit there, but it is soft and nicely mature. The palate is also soft and really has a lot of charm. It is extraordinarily long with great complexity. Really stylish too. This is aalso drinking very well now, but again will keep for a lot longer. This was generally preferred over the other Hermitage, and I agree this is truly great wine, but that was too.

Chateau Gillette Creme de Tete 1983
Chateau Gillette is a really weird wine, and it shows. The nose has hints of glue and acetone as well as botrytic fruit. It doesn't smell entirely nice, if I am honest. The palate is similarly weird, but it does have complexity and really good length. This is clearly a very special wine that needs to be judged according to different criteria than other Sauternes, but I am not sure I am much of a fan.

Meusault les Tillets 2001, Roulot
Very good minerality on the nose, nice fruit, too. It has a very elegant, refined palate that is characterised by lemon fruit, acidity and minerality all in perfect harmony. This is quite a delicious wine.

Vintage Champagne 1996, Pol Roger
Bready. yeasty nose that shows hints of maturity. The palate is a lot more mature and less austere than last time I had it. It has a degree of astringency, which is quite nice. Whilst this has matured somewhat there is really no rush to drink this.

Cote-Rotie Cote Brune 1991, Gentaz-Dervieux
The nose has the elegance of a good, mature Cote-Rotie: there is nice fruit and earthiness. The palate has elegance too, but also the masculinity of Cote Brune. This is very complex and long, quite delicious, too. A real treat to drink.

Montebello 1996, Ridge
Very blackcurranty nose, full of fruit and bursting with life. It doesn't smell at all over-blown or too alcoholic. The palate has some pretty serious tannins and acidity, but I think there is enough fruit there to balance this. It is very long and there is some serious complexity there. Still youthful and no rush to drink. This is as good as US Cabernet gets. I still don't like Cabernet, though.

A brilliant farmhouse eating establishment in the hills of the Hautes Cotes.

Monthelie 2004, Comte Lafon
Nice lemon fruit, some minerality. It is light and simple on the palate but perfectly drinkable. Nice enough.

Morgon 2006, Lapierre
Light strawberry fruit nose. Clarity of fruit on the nose and palate. Nice and refreshing. This is real type Beaujolais that is not trying to be anything else. Good.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 1990, Comte Armand
Beautiful nose of red fruit and complex earthiness. Very stylish. The nose is quite delicious. The palate, on the other had, is too extracted and the alcohol is too high. It is good, but it could have been so much more.

Volnay-Santenots-du-Millieu 1990, Comte Lafon
There is a hint of cheese to the nose, but it basically shows pure red fruit of elegance and refinement, despite its obvious ripeness. The palate is extracted, but really silky and smooth. Very long, very complex, very stylish. Truly excellent.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2001, Domaine des Lambrays
Everyone knows I love this wine; it is the cat's arse.

Sancerre "Les Romains" 2005, Domaine Vacheron
Not very Sauvignon-y. Very mineral. A reasonable amount of green grassiness. Very mineral palate. Very long and complex, Quite stylish, too. This is top Sancerre.

I am out of the bin so, as promised, here are my brief notes from the aborted trip to France. On our first day we had:

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Morgeot 2001, Moreau et fils
Quite direct, some nice weight, though, but not terribly complex. It had been opened for a day.

Puligny-Montrachet 2000, Domaine Leflaive
Nice creamy nose, quite mineral. Palate has fresh acidity but the creamy texture of Leflaive. A very nice village Puligny.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Champs-Gains 2001, Moreau et fils
Very direct, linear palate, acidity quite high and not much fat. It is ok, but hardly thrilling.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Folatieres 2000, Paul Pernot
A very nutty, lemony nose, with a complex interplay of fruit, flowers and minerality. The palate has a lot to offer. It has weight, breadth, but with really good acidity. It is quite youthful. Fine and stylish, top bunny.

Hermitage 1996, J-L Chave
Lovely perfumed nose, quite Burgundian fruit to it. It is really earthy and complex. Very stylish nose: lovely. The palate is very voluptuous, round and giving. Quite delicious and fruity. This is really complex. Very long. Excellent wine, super top bunny.

Crozes-Hermitage 1996, Alain Graillot
Very peppery, spicy, plummy nose. Smells (and looks) quite young. Hints of cheap cologne. Plate is quite smooth with reasonable length and complexity. It is really very good.

Riesling Erdener Pralat Auslese Goldkapsel 1997, Dr Loosen
Very botrytic. Very forward on the nose. Quite heavy. Lacks a bit of zip, focus and purity. It is just a bit dull, really.

Lovely chap, Peter, he brought two lovely wines and we have three more. It was interesting to watch some of these wines develop over the course of the evening; there were some great improvements to be observed.

Riesling Auslese Brauneberger-Juffer Sonnenuhr 2000, Weingut Fritz Haag
This was quite mature and petrolly on the nose. There was some good limey fruit and it smells really inviting. On the palate it was perhaps less sweet than Auslesen from riper vintages, but there was a great acid-fruit balance. The minerality was very pleasing. It had a good finish, but I did worry that it seemed quite so mature at only seven years old.

Hermitage Blanc 1994, J. L. Grippat
White Hermitage from the now retired Jean-Louis Grippat, I felt pleased to be trying a wine so rare. Initially this just smelled and tasted of glue, which seemed a bit odd. As this developed in the glass it became more floral with a distinct apple-core character to the fruit. It was incredibly mineral and really seriously complex. There was real power to the palate, but it remained easy to drink and very enjoyable. The length was most impressive. Quite ready to drink. This was a seriously kick-arse bottle of white Hermitage, I'm not sure I've had a better old white Hermitage than this. Very tasty, extremely enjoyable yet really rather serious.

Pommard Premier Cru Rugiens 2001, de Montille
I opened the next two wines because they had been described by some as ageing prematurely. They showed a degree of this character when first poured, but after a while in the glass really improved greatly. When fully open, the nose of this wine was quite beautiful; strawberry and redcurrant fruit with charming hints of soil. This smelled really rather Cote de Beaune-y. Initially the palate seemed a tad tough, and strangely lacking a touch of concentration, by by arse how this improved with air. It became terribly silky, elegant and highly refined. For a minor vintage this was a wine of complete beauty and I greatly enjoyed it.

Volnay-Santenots-Du-Milieu 2001, Domaine des Comtes Lafon
Lafon's reds can be a bit butch, and this was my initial impression of this wine. Tannins were a bit tough and it seemed a tiny bit international. Once again, when it had breathed for a while it became far softer with the tannic structure more in harmony with the ripe, dark fruit. It had good length and was not short on concentration. Again, for a difficult vintage this was a very pleasing wine. Up for drinking now, just let it breathe.

Côte-Rôtie 1997, Bernard Burgaud
I had this recently. I found this bottle to be a tiny bit dirtier than that one, but it still had an elegant palate with a great, fine tannic structure. Very good Côte-Rôtie.

The last couple of days general drinking are reported below:

Riesling Serriger Schloss Saarstein Spätlese 2005, Schloss Saarstein
Much like the last couple of bottles, and very unlike the first couple, this was delicious. It has really blossomed into a peachy lovely. Great drinking on a sunny spring day.

Crozes-Hermitage 1999, Alain Graillot en magnum
Whilst this had some decent fruit, there wasn't that much else there. It really lacked dimension and was terribly dull. I've had a mag of this before and it was delicious, so I don't know what is going on with this.

Grande Millésime 1996, Gosset
This was a tightly-wound ball of intensity, flavour and class. Really ripe but with huge amounts of acid. Fabulous length and complexity. I really thought this was terribly good (although I prefer Bille NF 96) but it needs a lot more time in the cellar.

Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume "Vignoble de Vaulorent" 2005, Domaine William Fevre
As I said when I had a bottle of this at the end of January, this is clearly the best Chablis I have ever had. So complex and stylish, so refined and elegant, so drinkable. Truly excellent wine.

Bonnezeaux 1997, Château de Fesles
An excellent sweet wine that provided me with as much pleasure as the bottle I had at christmas.

Meursault 2004, Henri Boillot
A well-made, perfectly drinkable wine which is very Meursault in character.

I haven't had access to my computer over the last couple of days, so here are brief notes about some of the tits wines I've had.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les Ruchottes 2000, Domaine Ramonet
This had a wonderful, expressive nose of minerality, nuts and ripe lemon fruit. There was a good Chassagne flat Champagne aroma to it. It was really complex and stylish on the nose, with obvious concentration and class. The palate had some good weight and concentration, but was really elegant and refined. Quite beautiful, in fact. The finish was quite superb. A really great bottle of Chassagne.

Meursault les Tillets 2001, Domaine Roulot
Strangely, this seemed slightly more oaky on the nose than last time I had it. Still, very floral and mineral. Very nice fruit. Real complexity here too, and good style. Nice mineral complexity on the palate and it had real length. Lovely, but the Ramonet was better.

Cornas Domaine de Rochepertuis 1998, Domaine Jean Lionnet
A lovely nose of mushrooms and really ripe blackberries. Nice and earthy, but not rustic or dirty. Again, this was really quite complex. The palate was smooth with good, ripe tannins and plenty of fruit. Real length to the finish and a great persistence of complex, earthy flavours. Delicious. Shame Jean Lionnet retired after the 2005 vintage, make sure you buy any of this wine you see knocking around, it has always been one of the incredible bargains of the wine world. Much as I love Clape, Verset and others, I really think this is my favourite Cornas.

Chablis Premier Cru Vallions 2005, Domaine Fevre
This had a delicious nose that was so fruity it had a hint of Muscat about it. Its nutty, honey, stoney aromas showed it to be very good Chablis, though. Perhaps the palate lacked a touch of concentration, but it was a really refreshing, enjoyable drink. 2005 is very obviously a hit is Chablis.

Côte-Rôtie 1997, Domaine Bernard Burgaud
A lovely earthy nose with plenty of dark ripe fruit. Although it smelled completely ripe it seemed very restrained and balanced. The palate had real elegance and refinement, with finely-grained tannins and a very long finish. Perhaps the acidity was a tad high, but it didn't really detract from what was a lovely bottle of Côte-Rôtie. The Lionnet was better.

We have a few wines planned for tonight, the first of which has been a pleasing surprise.

Riesling Spätlese Serringer Schloss Saarstein 2005, Schloss Saarstein
Unlike previous bottles of this that I have opened, this smells quite clean and has a more pronounced mineral character. It has good peachy fruit. It is obviously pretty ripe. There is a bit of spritz on the palate, along with really nice fruit, good minerality and a nice backbone of acidity. It has a degree of complexity and reasonable length. Not great by any means, but quite a nice drink.

Riesling Polish Hill 2004, Grosset
This has shut down a tad since I last had it a year ago; it has lost a bit of the lively lime character. It is still quite mineral, and it has a lot of style. Just seems awkward and middle-aged (I am middle-aged and I am awkward). I still think this has a good future in front of it and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Just age it for a bit before you drink it.

Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues 1998, Domaine Santa Duc
Robert Parker gave this 93 points and said it'd age until 2018. He is very well paid and drinks a lot of wine, of course. This honks of an extremely booze-tastic, Port-like drink; some kind of crazy fortified Mourvedre. There is really rather a lot of jammy fruit on the nose as well. It seems far from balanced. It also seems a touch mature. Ageing this has done the palate no favours, the jammy fruit is not powerful enough to balance the frankly worrying level of alcohol. No balance, rather dirty and far too muscular. If this wine knew where your stolen bottle of Musigny 2005 was and was alone in a room, blind-folded, with its hands tied behind its back and you went in with a cricket bat, you'd be the one walking out in a daze. Can that ever be nice?

Here is the note for the Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 2001 I mentioned yesterday, it is a great wine. Also we had a bottle of Champagne. It is a Grand Cru Blanc des Blancs, largely from the 2002 vintage, that has been fermented in oak barrels; very Burgundian.

Champagne Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Du Centenaire, Alfred Gratien
Lawks, this smells just like white Burgundy. Lemon fruit, oak and a creamy minerality. It is very complex and stylish on the nose. Mmm... lovely. The palate has a really fine mousse and lovely lemon fruit. The oak is perfectly integrated. There is a great mineral tang to it. I think this would age really well. This a terribly serious non-vintage Champagne, and quite delicious too. Top bunny!

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2001, Comte Armand
A brilliant, pure nose of cherries and strawberry fruit. The purity of fruit is quite Côte de Beaune-y, but its fleshy density is quite like Nuits St. Georges. There is a hint of stalkiness to the nose which I've never noticed before on this wine. The palate is utterly beautiful with lovely fruit and real refinement. Great concentration. The acidity is really fine, and there is a really subtle seasoning of new oak. Really much too young, but still extremely enjoyable. Crikey, this is a completely brilliant Pommard, I love it.

Two lovely friends around for dinner last night. This is what we ate, and the list below is what we drank.

Champagne Cuvée Nicolas-François 1996, Billecart-Salmon
Lots of fruit on the nose, ripe apples. There are hints of yeastiness and cold cocoa, it smells quite complex but rather tight at the moment. There is plenty of fruit on the palate, but it is really rather acidic. There is real complexity on the palate, but it just seems a bit tight and closed at the moment. Really stylish and intellectual, but as this ages it will become terribly charming.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Clos St. Jacques 2002, Bruno Clair
There is plenty of ripe, red fruit on the nose, fresh and charming. A vague hint of dustiness is also present, old wood perhaps? The palate has plenty of fruit with plenty of subtle flavours and is really quite complex, but just like on the nose there is a vague hint of dirtiness which spoils it a tiny bit for me. It was by no means bad, but it could have been better.

Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune 1991, Gentaz Dervieux
A rare treat to try Gentaz Dervieux these days, sadly it soured by there being a hint of corkiness to the wine. It isn't completely impossible to taste, but is not really that nice to drink. There is obviously still plenty of fruit left, and it seems to have real complexity and elegance. Difficult to know whether the dry palate is due to age or the corkiness, corkiness is my guess and based on this I'd say it is clearly not to old, but doesn't need keeping any longer. A real shame it is corked

Châteauneuf-du-Papes 1994, Vieux Télégraphe en magnum
This is obviously quite ripe on the nose but not so ripe it is soupy. The fruit has a certain degree of maturity, although it is still full of life. It smells quite a lot of blackcurrants, but with some plumminess too. The palate is round, rich and ripe, a mouth-filling wine of charm and softness. This is really quite good and certainly up for drinking now.

Last night we celebrated the birthday of one of our neighbours; such lovely people.

Vintage Champagne 1998, Pol Roger
The nose has a lot of fruit, redcurrants and raspberries. There is also a good rich, doughy character. It smells reasonably complex. The palate is quite linear, with powerful acidity and lemon fruit. Oddly, the nose smells more of red Burgundy whilst the palate is more white Burgundy. It is not terribly long, though. A perfectly good vintage Champagne, but after the wild excitement of the 1996s it does seem just a bit pedestrian.

Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Cloudy Bay
I've always hated Cloudy Bay, so it'll be difficult to keep an open mind. Here goes: A powerful nose of fresh crushed blackcurrants, there is some over-ripe gooseberry fruit there as well. An almost dairy-like aroma is there too. The nose may be expressive, but it is hardly complex and doesn't really show anything original. The palate has good acidity and lots of fruit, but it seems like there is a bit of residual sugar on the finish which is not terribly flattering. Happily, I don't hate it. I am not a big fan, but I'll be happy to try future bottles once a year to see if there is any development of the style.

Pommard Premier Cru Les Rugiens 2004, Domaine de Courcel
A bright nose of fresh fruit, strawberries, with a strong mineral tang. It is quite pretty, but perhaps lacks a bit of concentration. On the palate there are some quite severe tannins, some of which display a hint of greenness. These are distinctly on the edge of being too drying. Good fruit, though, and despite the tannins it seems reasonably elegant. There is not as much complexity as I might have hoped for. I feel this is going through an awkward stage and I should keep my remaining bottle for several years to give it time to open again. Not bad, but hardly the best de Courcel I've had.

Shiraz 2002, Cape Mentelle
A rich nose of slightly jammy dark fruits. It smells quite peppery, too, with hints of leather. The palate is very big and ripe, but there are some good ripe tannins there which stop it from becoming too stewed. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Cape Mentelle Shiraz and, even though this is not a complex or refined drink, it does not disappoint.

Yesterday's dinner party started at half six and went on until four in the morning, cripes! No wonder I felt a tad the worse for wear this morning.

Champagne Grande Reserve, Gosset
Quite mature and mushroomy on the nose. The palate has good density, nice acidity and very good length. A year in our warm flat had hastened its development, but it was a perfectly tasty bottle of NV fizz.

Riesling Spätlese Serriger Schloss Saarstein 2005, Schloss Saarstein
Far too dull, as has been reported before.

Sancerre "Les Romains" 2004, Domaine Vacheron
The nose is incredibly mineral with surprisingly little Sauvignon Blanc character (good). The nose is really complex with a very good concentration of aromas. The palate is also not terribly Sauvignon Blanc-y, but there is good acidity, a huge stoniness and plenty of concentration. Quite a surprising Sancerre, but it was certainly extremely good.

Meursault Premier Cru les Perrières 2002, Domaine Vincent Dancer
One of our dinner guests said, "This smells and tastes of wood." It is certainly distractingly oaky. It is also really fat: a big, slightly ungainly mouthful. Far too much like sucking lard-covered plank, really. There is plenty of fruit there, but not really the elegance and refinement one would hope for from this vineyard. After the fireworks of the Dancer Chassagne Premier Cru we had a few weeks back this is a bit of a disappointment.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2002, Domaine Arlaud
Now this has a wonderful, perfumed nose of complex ripe fruit and earth. It smells supremely elegant and refined. The palate has real elegance too, this is quite delicious. I love the fruit, the minerality and the beautiful long finish. A glorious life ahead of it. Top bunny!

Cornas Domaine St. Pierre 1995, Jaboulet
Mmmm... lovely mature fruit on the nose, cherries and plums. It is very earthy and complex and smells completely mature, but in no way past it. The palate has real refinement for a Cornas, not rough in the slightest. The fruit is very charming and is perfectly framed by a tannic structure that lacks any hint of aggression. This is a lovely, but atypical, Cornas; time to start enjoying.

Bonnezeaux "Grains Nobles" 1997, Domaine du Petit Val
Really rather botrytic nose, candied orange peel and apricots. The texture is very silky, there is good acidity to match the sweetness. I thought this was an excellent example. Time to drink.

Petite Sirah Essence 2001, Ridge
This had the nose of very ripe blackberries preserved in spirits; very sweet and fruity. The palate was really quite sweet (claimed 10% residual sugar on the label). Very fruity, bramble fruit. This was a lot more like a fruit liqueur rather than a wine. I think this needs to be finished up within four or five years.

Châteauneuf-du-Papes 1998, Château Vieux-Telegraphe
This stank of arseholes. There is a bit of plummy, Porty fruit, but it is really just filthy. The palate is similarly dirty and unattractive. I was glad I'd only poured a very small tasting sample for myself.

I had a guest yesterday afternoon. Traffic delayed his arrival until it was time to start cooking so he ended up staying for dinner.

Riesling Spätlese Serriger Schloss Saarstein 2005, Schloss Saarstein
This still had fermentation aromas on the nose, along with a bit of citrus fruit and that was pretty much it. On the palate there was some good acidity and reasonable richness, but it was staggeringly dull. No complexity, no vineyard character, nothing to grab you. It was wallpaper wine, it merged un-noticed into the background without providing any thrills at all. How disappointing.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2001, Domaine Albert Boxler
Corked! Bugger, bugger, bugger!

Riesling Auslese Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 1999, Karthäuserhof
The nose was reasonably mature, with obvious petrol hints but still plenty of citrus fruit. It was quite a lot more mineral than the Schloss Saarstein, a reasonable degree of complexity here. The palate had ripeness and density, but it had the elegance and delicacy of a good German Riesling. Very good minerality on the finish which was reasonably long. Quite a good bottle.

Collioure le Séris 2003, Domaine de la Rectorie
The nose was very heroic, booze-tastic blackberry liqueur and cough medicine. It was a full-throttle, ripeness-bomb. The nose seemed a touch too butch, really. So did that palate. It was very ripe and booze-fuelled, with lots of ripe tannins and not much in the way of acidity. I can see this would provide a lot of pleasure to people who like big wines, but I like elegance, refinement and balance, so no thanks.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Gruenchers Vieille Vigne 1999, Domaine Fourrier
A lovely, perfumed nose of fresh Chambolle fruit, not in the least bit closed or awkward. Good complexity and a real old-vines depth of concentration. The palate was quite lovely: plenty of fruit, a good mineral character all framed within a stylish tannic structure. Whilst it had concentration there was real Chambolle refinement to it. This was a quite lovely wine with a good future ahead of it. Delicious!

We had a dinner party last night which was not entirely successful. Our guests brought some lovely wines, but most of the stuff I opened was either awful or downright weird.

Riesling Serriger Schloss Saarsteiner Kabinett 2005, Schloss Saarstein
Still a bit yeasty on the nose. It had some good fruit and acidity, but not much in the way of minerality. It was also quite short. A passable drink but really quite dull.

Riesling Bernkasteler Lay Spätlese 1997, Wwe. Dr H Thanisch - Erben Thanisch
Lovely fruit on the nose, real minerality here too. This smells quite ripe but it has a pleasing purity of flavour. Great acidity on the palate, with good fruit and great minerality. Despite its good acidity this seemed reasonably buxom for a Thanisch wine. It didn't show much in the way of maturity, it'll last years yet. Quite delicious.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Grandes Ruchottes 2000, Château de Maltroye
This had a really odd nose of unripe pear fruit and children's glue. It was really unattractive. It tasted of glue too which didn't make it terribly enjoyable to drink. So we didn't drink it.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru les Cazetiers 2002, Armand Rousseau
A beautiful nose of pure, refined Pinot fruit. The purity and harmony of the nose was most pleasing. On the palate the fruit was nice and ripe, with perfect acid levels and a good, long finish. It was really quite complex with a good harmony between its flavours. This had a really good Gevrey character, and it was very Rousseau too. A lovely wine, great fun to drink now but clearly has the potential to age very well.

Volnay Premier Cru les Caillerets 2002, Michel Lafarge
The nose of this was extremely refined and sparkled with lovely fruit and a real Volnay purity. It was clearly extremely complex and completely charming. On the palate there were lovely, detailed, refined flavours and it had a wonderful silky texture. The balance was superb and it had a very long, complex finish. Very stylish too. I really like Lafarge wines and this was certainly up to his very high standards.

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio All'Oro 1997, Castello Banfi
This smelled just like a super-ripe, extremely oaky Syrah, this didn't inspire confidence that it'd be good. There was no harmony or refinement to the nose, it was simply big. The palate was bloody awful, hugely extracted with dry tannins and frightening levels of acidity. It was certainly lacking fruit and was not balanced. No.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Clos St. Jacques 2002, Sylvie Esmonin
Really ripe on the nose; blackberry fruit. The palate was quite a mouthful: loads of fruit, good extract and plenty of acidity. This was a lot bigger than I would have expected, but it seemed in reasonable harmony, though. I thought the finish was really pretty good with reasonably complex flavours persisting. Even though this was not typical, I thought it was quite a good wine.

Vintage Port 1983, Taylor's
For a Taylor's Port this had a very refined nose, it wasn't the usual explosion of intensity. The fruit was good, and quite mature. Again there was refinement on the palate, not fiery at all. Good mature fruit and nice length. This was very enjoyable and fully mature.

Some good stuff planned with dinner tonight.

Riesling Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Auslese 1994, Fritz Haag
This seems quite youthful on the nose. There is a great purity of fruit, but not much in the way of aged, petrolly aromas. The fruit and minerality are simply gorgeous, though. The palate is extremely elegant and refined, with great purity of flavour. For all its elegance you can tell this is an Auslese, it has the weight and ripeness. It is certainly less evolved than the '96 last night. The wine is a picture of balance; the fruit, purity, lightness and density work together in perfect harmony. This is completely lovely, a joy to drink.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru la Garenne 2001, J-M Boillot
The nose is uncannily like Savennières, big, waxy and a bit damp. It smells quite oaky with some honey and nuts as well. I am not sure I really like the nose, it smells just a bit too dirty for decent white Burgundy. The palate is quite full-bodied, but it has really rather to much oak. The acidity is a bit hard work as well. This wine is alright, but not up to the standard any of us present would hope for from this producer.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru les Pucelles 2001, Domaine Leflaive
A beautiful nose of mountain flowers, minerals and nuts. It is restrained and beautiful. There is some oak there but it is by no means distracting. The palate shows a bit more of the oak, but the fruit is very present and there is a really nice minerality to it. This is a very beautiful, complex and charming white Burgundy that is drinking very well now; utterly charming. We decanted this for an hour before drinking and it certainly opened up a lot.

Hermitage 1997, J. L. Chave
A scented nose of prunes and violets, which is not something I'd normally associate with Hermitage. Whilst the nose certainly has some size, it doesn't seem over-whelming; this is as pretty as Hermitage gets. The palate is full-bodied, but there is a refinement to the fruit and tannins that makes it seem a lot more elegant than Hermitage can often be. Chave used to produce the most beautiful of Hermitages, and this fits that mold. There is a bit of greenness to the tannins, but this does not distract from what is a really good, if perhaps not great, bottle of Hermitage. This is the last vintage of Chave Hermitage I purchased; the filthy swine massively put up prices and started producing wanky prestige cuvées rather than concentrating on producing beautiful, drinkable wines like this.

Some friends dropped around yesterday and it ended up turning into a dinner party. Sadly all I could offer to eat was soup, that is all I am allowed to eat after my stomach operation, but we drank quite well.

Champagne NV 'White Foil', Pol Roger
This shows a lot of development on the nose, it had clearly had some age on it. Very toasty and bready with real complexity for a non-vintage Champagne. Very fine mousse and good persistence of flavour. Shows it is well worth giving your NV Champagnes a bit of age.

Brunello di Montalcino 1998, Fuligni
Slightly varnish-y character to the nose, but it has a lot of ripe, red fruit. Herbal and a bit medicinal too. The palate has a bit of fruit on the entry, but it dies away to become really rather dried out. The last bottle of this I had about eighteen months ago seemed a lot more charming and fruity. These Brunellos are supposed to age very well, but I find this just a bit too old.

Vosne-Romanee 1997, Rene Engel
A very fruity nose that shows a perfect degree of maturity; the fruit is ripe but soft. There is a good mineral character to the nose as well. The palate is quite delicious, soft fruit, perfectly balanced acidity and not the least bit dried out. 1997 is a very under-rated year, but this shows they can be quite lovely wines.

Geyserville 1997, Ridge
75% Zinfandel in a vineyard blend. The nose of this is extremely alcoholic and worryingly oaky. The oak character is sweet and sickly; American oak. There is some fruit there but it is over-whelmed by the oak and alcohol. The palate is hellishly oaky too. I have had some very lovely old bottles of Geyserville in the past, but this certainly isn't one of them. I would have hoped the oak would be more integrated at this age, but it seems like it'll never go away.

We had a few good things last night and only one wine that was slightly disappointing.

Riesling Kabinett Urziger Wurzgarten 2004, Dr. Loosen
A ripe nose of exotic fruit with hints of spice. The palate has plenty of fruit too, and is quite sweet, but really lacking the acidity to make it balanced. It is a nice drink, but by no means a fine wine.

Chassagne-Montrachet 2004, Ramonet
A very refined nose of creamy minerality, lemon fruit and a surprising level of new oak. Even though it is quite oaky it is harmonious. The palate had great balance of fruit, acidity and oak. The finish has a pleasingly savoury character. For a village-level wine this is very good indeed.

Pommard Premier Cru Fremiers 2002, de Courcel
The nose is very ripe with plenty of red fruit, it smells really quite complex and earthy. The palate has very good fruit and a vigorous level of tannin. At the moment the tannins stand out a bit, but this is clearly balanced enough to age well. Going through a bit of an awkward stage at the moment, but a really serious wine.

Hermitage la Chapelle 1996, Paul Jaboulet-Aine
A very beautiful nose of that has fruit and a powerful earth character. It is clearly a very complex wine and quite manly too. Initially the palate seemed a touch angular, but on a second taste this seemed less bothersome and more balanced. It has great fruit on the palate, a high but balanced level of acidity and a real earthy power to it. Drinking remarkably well now, but it will keep. Very impressive.

Hermitage la Chapelle 1995, Paul Jaboulet-Aine
If the 1996 was manly the nose of this was positively heroic. Extremely ripe fruit, almost Porty, with soft earth and pepper. The palate was a monster of a mouthful, with very ripe tannins, plenty of fruit and real style. This is clearly a great wine, and very enjoyable at the moment. I'll be keeping mine for a bit longer, though.

Côtes-du-Rhône 2001, Château Fonsalette
The nose is very medicinal, with herbs and warm spice. For a Côtes-du-Rhône this is really quite complex. The palate is a bit dry and tannic, but seems to have some reasonably elegant fruit. Not bad, but perhaps a bit expensive.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Altenberg Selection des Grains Nobles 2002, Domaine Weinbach
This smells very strongly of botrytis, with little else to discern there. The palate is very botrytic, too, and really rather sweet. However, there is no vineyard character and precious little Pinot Gris character. Where is the complexity? Where is the style? Where is the refinement? It is just a big glass of botrytis.

We had guests around last night for home-made baked beans and rather good sausages; I thought robust wines would go best with them.

Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 2003, Trimbach
Compared to the usual directness of CFE this had a nose that was a lot more exotic and round; 2003 was so hot this is not surprising. It was still reasonably complex and interesting, though, with plenty of fruit and a creamy minerality to it. The palate was quite weighty, with ripe fruit and some good acidity. This was a good 2003 European white, but I think my old favourite producer, Jean Boxler, made better wines in this vintage.

Morillon Pinot Noir Tete de Cuvée 2004, Port Phillip Estate
This had a really ripe, fruity nose of cherries and raspberries. It was recognisably Pinot and was not so ripe that the flavours were cooked and jammy. The palate had good fruit too, and a degree of severity to the tannins and acidity that kept this alive. For an Australian Pinot Noir this was really quite good.

Basket-Pressed Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, Château Reynella
This smelled extremely ripe with Ribena-character fruit and a hellishly high level of new oak. It had the nose of another tedious Australian fruit bomb. The palate was over-ripe, heavy and soupy. It was incredibly dull and I had a hard job finishing it.

We had a great time visiting some friends for dinner last night. We drank exceptionally well, too.

Champagne Brut Chardonnay 1996, Pol Roger
A rich, bready nose. Also nutty and mineral. The palate is rich and powerful with plenty of luxuriant ripe fruit. Despite its ripeness it has very good acidity and a fine mousse. Excellent.

Riesling Clos Saint Hune 1973, Trimbach
Just alive on the nose, dead on the palate. This had clearly been kept in our warm flat for too long.

Meursault Sous la Velle 2002, Remi Jobard
The nose is quite linear and direct. It has good lemon fruit and a subtle seasoning of oak. The palate is also quite focused and direct. Perfectly drinkable, but nowhere near the quality of:

Meursault Tessons Clos de Mon Plaisir 1996, Domaine Roulot
A powerful, dense nose that smells a lot like a good Grand Cru Chablis. The fruit is very ripe. The palate shows ripe fruit as well, with fine acidity and real complexity. The finish is very long and stylish. Utterly lovely. This didn't seem ten years old, it was in very good condition.

Pommard Premier Cru Rugiens 2001, Domaine de Courcel
Lovely, perfumed nose, a lot of fruit here. Côtes de Beaune elegance and refinement. This is quite lovely. Considering how much the vineyard got hailed on during the 2001 vintage this displays a lot of class.

Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Epeneaux 2001, Comte Armand
The nose has some real density and power, but the character of it is like a refined Nuits St. Georges. The palate has some serious tannins, but so much ripe fruit this is very well balanced. A brilliant star of blazing intensity.

Chambolle-Musigny 1997, J et F Mugnier/Château de Chambolle-Musigny
Ripe, pure fruit on the nose. It shows a reasonable degree of complexity and depth too. The palate is very silky, with good fruit and a long, complex finish. A damned good village-level wine.

Hermitage 2001, Domaine du Colombier
A peppery, spicy nose. It also displays a bit of cheap cologne character, but it is far too big and complex to be a Crozes-Hermitage. The palate shows a hint of greenness, but there is plenty of fruit and some earthy complexity there. This does seem to be going through a bit of an awkward middle-aged phase, but I am sure it would come out of that in a few years as a good Hermitage.

The two Australian wines I had planned to have with dinner bored the tits off me.

Chardonnay 2003, Cullen
Soft melon fruit on the nose, some wood too. It smells quite dull; I've had so many similar wines in the past. The palate has fruit, acidity and oak, but is frighteningly boring. I am not impressed.

'Joseph' Nebbiolo 2002, Primo Estate
Oh no, I am not really sure I can be bothered. Yeah, there is cherry fruit and there is a hint of bitterness, but it is just another ripe Australian wine, really. I think it is well made, with plenty of fruit and tannin, but it is just wall-paper in the realm of fine wines.  

We celebrated the birthday of my partner at a farmhouse eating establishment. It was quite a lot of fun. Lovely beef.

Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1988, Pol Roger
Really toasty, cocoa nose. It is really fully developed. Broad and powerful with great acidity. This is really excellent.

Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile Vendanges Tardives 1989, Trimbach
Rich, mineral nose. Quite botrytic, quite petrolly. Nice citric fruit. Richness and minerality on the palate. Lovely acidity. Very harmonious and balanced. Lovely fruit. This is superb.

Richebourg Grand Cru 1972, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
F'ing triple-A nose of soft red fruit and extraordinary complexity. This is muy excellente. The palate is a tiny bit dry, but enough fruit remains. For an old bottle this is excellent. F'ing quadruple-A, in fact.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2001, Domaine des Lambrays
Lovely nose of fresh red fruit: cherries and strawberries. Very mineral. The palate is very mineral too. Lovely fruit and and real length. No wonder I like Clos des Lambrays. This is quite yummy.

Riesling Clos St. Hune 1990, Trimbach
This has been exposed to a bit too much heat during its lifetime. It seems a bit flat and lacking the excitement it should have. I was disappointed.

Clos de Tart Grand Cru 2000, Mommessin
Raspberry fruit on the nose. The tannins are quite noticeable for a 2000. Is there a hint of greenness there? I think so. It is pretty big, and quite extractive. The fruit is good, though, and there is nice complexity. Not bad at all.

That completes ten days of tasting and drinking. What a lot of fun it was.

It was a lovely view. How I wish I owned some of those vines.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2002, Domaine Albert Boxler
Lovely fruit and very good acidity. Nice concentration. Quite lovely.

Vin Gris 2005, Domaine de Triennes
Light, fruity nose. Light, fruity palate. A reasonable summer drink.

Bourgogne Rosé 2005, Château de Puligny-Montrachet
It is a bit prickly. Nice strawberry fruit. Good acidity. This is a quite grown up rosé.

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru les Brulées 1996, Rene Engel
A complex nose of soft old fruit. Seems quite ready for drinking. Very soft and charming palate. I think this is rather good.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Combes aux Moines Vieilles Vignes 1999, Domaine Fourrier
The nose is still a bit oaky. Real old vines richness and complexity. Nice elegance and refinement. Very good length. Lovely.

Echezeaux Grand Cru 1990, Domaine Dujac
Really lovely perfume of soft fruit. Very complex with nice earthy tones. A very good soft palate of lovely fruit and minerality. This is fully mature and delicious.

Insignia 1995, Joseph Phelps
Very ripe and blackcurranty. Rich palate of dark fruit. It is pretty tannic. Nice enough, but still doesn't convince me about the point of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Champagne Grande Rosé, Gosset
Corked, bugger!

Riesling Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Spatlese no. 23 Auction wine 1996
Really pure, limey nose. Very racy and exciting. Frighteningly acidic, very linear. But great fruit and very long. This is special.

Saint-Aubin Premier Cru en Remilly 2004, Bernard Moreau et Fils
Nice, pretty fruit, some minerality. Quite light bodied, nice acidity, reasonable length. Pretty good.

Morgon 2004, M. Lapierre
Lovely bright red fruit nose. No bubblegum. Soft fruit palate. Nice and drinkable. Pretty good.

Meursault Premier Cru les Bouchères 2004, Deux Montilles
Peachy fruit, some good, creamy minerality. Very good length. It is really good, focused Meursault.

Le Montrachet Grand Cru 2004, Comtes Lafon
Quite tight and backward, but it has some real fat and charm. Incredible minerality, huge length and stunning complexity. Excellent, grand vin!

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru les Suchots 1971, Leroy
Lovely, ripe, mature, soft fruit. Lovely aged complexity. Yum. The palate is charming and soft. Quite lively for its age. Completely lovely.

Riesling Grand Cru Schoenenbourg Vendanges Tardives 1995, Domaine Marcel Deiss
Rich, earthy nose. Orange fruit. Very complex. Quite sweet, but it has good acidity and rather nice minerality. Candied orange peel on the finish. Quite nice. Better than the crap he makes these days.

Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1996, Pol Roger
Very tight palate with great acidity. Really weighty, it is almost tannic. This has both scale and precision. Excellent.

Bandol Rosé 2003, Château de Pibarnon
Quite fruity, quite refreshing, quite nice.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Chevenottes 2003, Bernard Moreau et Fils
Very ripe nose, but it has some minerality. It has quite a lot of weight on the palate; it is reasonably balanced, though. Quite nice.

Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru les Saints Georges 1995, Gouges
Ripe nose of dark, rich fruit. Very rich, structured palate. Tannins seem a bit tough at this stage of maturity, but it is really rather good.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Fuées 2001, Frédéric Mugnier
Beautiful nose of ripe red fruit. Really pure. Completely lovely palate, ripe and soft. Real complexity. Very long. Sloo++.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 1978, Domaine Dujac
Properly mature. Really lovely. Excellent wine.

Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel 1995, Joh. Jos. Prum
Quite petrolly, quite mineral. A nice botrytis character. Good and rich. Screamingly acidic, but the fruit is delicious. Very long. Very stylish. Quite lovely.

Sauternes Château Suduiraut 1989
Very botrytic, apricots and cream. I suppose it has reasonable length, but it really tastes like a a glass of apricot nectar. Hmmmm...

Riesling Berncasteler Doctor Auslese 1998, Wwe. Dr H. Thanisch - Erban Thanisch
Nice and limey. Mineral and direct. Linear and citric. Pretty good.

Chablis Grand Cru les Clos 2000, J-P Droin
Quite nutty, a bit oxidised, but it seems mature rather than past it. Nice mineral palate. Good length. Pretty concentrated. Not bad at all.

Chablis Grand Cru les Clos 2000, Fevre
Very strong mineral nose. It has real focus, good acidity and nice length. It is a real step up from the Droin. Terribly good Chablis.

Chablis Grand Cru les Clos 2000, R et V Dauvissat
Very tight and linear. Very mineral. Perhaps a bit less concentration than the Fevre but it is a nice drink and very enjoyable.

Crozes-Hermitage 1995, Alain Graillot
Berry fruit and cheap cologne nose. Lots of fruit on the palate. Some real depth of character. Good acidity and nice length. A rather good Crozes.

Volnay Premier Cru 1999, Michel Lafarge
The nose is very pretty, lots of red fruit. A good mineral tang to it as well. Nice and elegant palate with plenty of fruit. Great minerality and lovely acidity. This is delicious.

Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru Clos des Forets St. Georges 1998, Domaine l'Arlot
Bright red fruit nose. It has some depth and real complexity. Stylish, too. Very good fruit on the palate. A very nice drink.

Amarone della Valpolicella Vigneto Alto TB 1997, Tomasso Bussola
Lawks, this is quite acetic. Really heavy and ponderous. The fruit is really congealed and rancid. No way, this is simply awful.

After visiting Moreau we went to a one-star in Beaune and drank the following wines with dinner.

Riesling Grand Cru Muenchberg 2001, Andre Ostertag
Good mineral nose, nice and ripe. The palate is pleasingly mineral, but is quite light-bodied. This is a pretty Riesling.

Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Caillerets 2004, Marc Colin
Nice minerality, good focus. Very Chassagne. A real purity of expression here. This is top bunny.

Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2002, Rene Engel
Very fruity nose; bien loché. It has a good earthy character to it. The palate has a real density to it. Lovely fruit. Very long. Good complexity. Excellent Clos de Vougeot.

Hermitage 1997, Domaine du Colombier
A warm, peppery nose with some beetroot hints. Quite earthy, too. The palate is quite weighty, with plenty of mature fruit and reasonable acid levels. Not the most complex Hermitage I've had, but it seems like a good 1997.

Riesling Maximin Grunhauser Abtsberg Spatlese 2001, von Schubert
A very pure, lime fruit nose. It smells very focused. The palate has stunning amounts of acidity but has the ripeness to balance it. Very fresh and invigorating. This is really rather good, but I think it has a long way to go before maturity.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru les Referts 2000, J-M Boillot
Quite a nutty, oaky nose. The palate is quite full-bodied and concentrated with some nice acidity and fruit. Seems as ready to drink as it ever will be. Nice enough, but by no means brilliant.

Barolo Nei Cannubi 1997, Luigi Einaudi
Fresh, red fruit nose. It smells reasonably mature. The palate has loads of acidity, but enough fruit to balance it. It is reasonably complex and quite long. A pretty good, modern-style Barolo.

Volnay Santenots du Milieu 1997, Comtes Lafon
Very Côtes de Beaune nose, red fruit and elegance. It is quite ripe. The palate is lovely and smooth with good fruit and balancing acidity. This is up for drinking and is really rather good. It is not a typical Volnay, it is far too dense, rich and sweet for that, but it is an f'ing triple-A wine.

Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese 1995, Joh. Jos. Prum
Quite petrolly, but with a very pure lime flavour. The palate is nice and concentrated with quite frightening acidity. Real focus here. Lawks, this is a bit good.

Riesling Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Spatlese 2002, Weingut J. Leitz
Smells slightly nutty. There is some grapefruit too. The palate is a bit closed, but there seems to be a reasonable amount of fruit and acidity. It is really rather Rheingau-y. Good, but for ageing.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2001, Domaine Dujac
Pure red fruit nose that seems very silky and smooth. It is very polished. The palate is very elegant and refined. Nice ripe tannins, fine balancing acidity and good fruit. Quite delicious.

Quarts de Chaume 1995, Domaine des Baumard
Damp, wet wool nose. It also smells quite earthy, mineral and botrytic. The palate is really quite rich, with heroic acidity. It is balanced, though. Nice length. Seems pretty good to me.

Sunday's general drinking saw an increase in pace. The football was on, I suppose.

Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg Cuvée St. Catherine l'Inedit 1998, Weinbach
Weighty nose, ripe and concentrated. Palate is weighty with good acidity and lovely fruit. Really concentrated, ripe and stylish. Great long finish. Lovely.

Clos St. Denis Grand Cru 1985, Domaine Dujac
Soft and earthy nose. Lots of soft fruit. Smooth, silky and soft palate. Really elegant. Good length. Very nice indeed.

Oloroso Viejo, Hidalgo
Aggressively dry. Strong flavours of preserved prunes. Really concentrated and full bodied. Quite nice.

Riesling Scharzhofberger Spatlese 1999, Egon Muller
Pure, focused nose of minerals, lime and petrol. It smells really lively. Utterly delicious palate of fruit, acidity and minerality. Nice and ripe. Great length. Completely lovely.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31E 2004, Domaine Albert Boxler
Really mineral nose with some lovely ripe fruit. The palate is nice and ripe, with good concentration  and a great mineral character. Quite lovely.

Cornas Cuvée Prestige 2001, Domaine de Tunnel
Dense, thick nose of dark, ripe fruit and earth. It smells big and concentrated. The palate has very good structure and nice ripe fruit. Good length, too. It is rather nice, but typical, Cornas.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Clos St. Jacques 1999, Domaine Sylvie Esmonin
As far as fruit goes: Il y a du monde au balcon! It also has a nice minerality and good structure. It was really lovely, a terribly good premier cru.

The first general drinking entry from my stay in Burgundy. This is what we drank on the Saturday of our arrival.

Grüner Veltliner Ried Lamm 2000, Brundlmeyer
Ripe, powerful nose of white pepper and alcohol. Why do all these Austrian winemakers strive to show how ripe they can get their grapes? Big, weighty palate, but it has good acidity and a nice mineral character. Nice, but a bit hot on the finish.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Demoiselles 2000, Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils
Smells rather tired to me; quite oxidised. It has an odd aniseed character. It is quite tired and just a bit odd.

Verdelho-Bual Meio Seco Reserva, Barbeito
A strange Madeira in that it is made from a blend of noble grapes. Reasonable, but lacks the excitement and life of Barbeito single casks. Just a bit dull.

This afternoon's general drinking was in the company of a lovely professional couple who kindly hosted us; they are really excellent cooks - roast chicken is a truly under-rated dish especially when cooked Jamie Oliver style with lots of butter under the breast. My friends are wonderful people. We drank quite well, too.

Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV
This was a really good, elegant, refined Champagne. Quite refreshing and focused. I thought this was one of the best NV Champagnes I've had in a while.

Meursault Premier Cru Charmes 2000, Morey-Blanc
This was quite oaky, but it had nice fruit and a degree of mineral complexity. I liked it's length and thought it was quite well balanced.

Château Lynch Barges 2001
This was really tits out for the lads. Very buxom and up-front. Not much as far as complexity goes, but it was a good drink.

Domaine de Trevallon 1992
This was really quite Clarety. It was up for drinking and a lot of fun, both hedonistically and intellectually.

Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Forest 1999, Domaine l'Arlot
This was surprisingly forward, not at all quaquaversal. It was quite complex, and pleasingly soft and charming. I really enjoyed it.

Grand Puy Lacoste 1994
I was surprised this was a 1994 as it seemed really quite ripe and giving. It still had a pleasing degree of rigour, but it was not too tough.

Charmes-Chambertin 2002, Domaine Arlaud
This was really silky with svelte fruit and real harmony. It had a brilliant, complex finish of fruit and minerality. Really lovely.

A couple of bottles of Burgundy in a restaurant; one good, one not so good.

Macon-Clesse Cuvée Tradition E. J. Thévenet Domaine de la Bongran 1998, Jean Thévenet
The nose was really quite ripe, but it had definite hints of oxidation. The palate was surprisingly acidic for all its weight and fat. It was reasonably balanced and drinkable at the start, but during course of drinking it became really rather oxidised and ended up tasting more like Fino than Burgundy. Much too old, really, but I would have been interested to try it a few years ago.

Vosne-Romanée 1995, Domaine Rene Engel
The nose had plenty of ripe fruit, quite exotic and perfumed. It showed a pleasing degree of maturity on the nose, quite ready for drinking. The palate was soft and fruity, with good acidity and a present but soft tannic structure. This was a really good village wine, perfect with ris de veau.

A more sedate dinner party last night.

Chablis Premier Cru le Forest 2004, R & V Dauvissat
This had good weight and roundness. It was quite acidic, but the balance was superb. Nice minerality and I think the creamy old oak character was very satisfying.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Hengst 2002, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
Very ripe and powerful on the nose. It had a strong lychee and rose water scent. The high alcohol showed itself a bit on the nose. It tasted enormous, with loads of fruit, minerality and even some acid. I first thought this was just too intense to enjoy with food, but in the end I drank my glass with pleasure. It was quite good.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale la Migoua 2001, Domaine Tempier
This was another heroic wine clocking in at a claimed 15% alcohol. It had the stuffing to be balanced at this ripeness. Lots of perfumed, fragrant fruit. It was really smooth and silky despite some big tannins. It was clean, too! Excellent Bandol.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale la Tourtine 2001, Domaine Tempier
This was tougher and less fragrant, but the dense dark fruit it had was good. Tannins were a bit tough on the palate, but it had the balance to show this would be a fine Bandol when fully mature. This was also clean, hooray!

The Migoua struck me as being the best of the two.

Last night we had a dinner party. Quite a bit of wine was got through.

Riesling Spätlese Oberhäuser Brücke 2004, Helmut Dönnhoff
Lovely fruit, quite round and ripe for a 2004. Good balancing acidity made this a very nice drink.

Chardonnay Champagne 1996, Pol Roger
A charming nose of bread and ripe apples. It seemed fairly complex. The palate had plenty of ripe fruit and great acidity. It was extremely well balanced and very interesting.

Estate Marsanne 1995, Michelton
Very dark orange. The nose seemed a touch oxidised, but very botrytic. It had a bit of life on the palate, but it was quite oxidised. Better than expected.

Hermitage Blanc 1994, Jean Louis Grippat
Corked, curses!

Volnay Premier Cru Champans 2000, Domaine de Montille
Very pale in colour. The nose has beautiful, elegant fruit. Very charming. Perhaps it might have been a bit closed, the palate seemed a bit tough considering the copious amounts of fruit. It was very good, though.

Pommard Premier Cru Rugiens 2000, Domaine de Montille
Again a pale colour. The nose seemed a touch more open than the Volnay. The fruit was wonderful. It tasted a lot softer than the Volnay, it was really up for drinking. I greatly enjoyed both of these.

Châteauneuf du Papes 1998, Domaine de Clos Saint-Jean
A nose nose of surprisingly pure fruit. The fruit was very bright and not heavy. The palate was quite plummy and round with a bit of pepper character.

Messorio 2000, Le Macchiole
A 100% Merlot from Bolgheri in Tuscany, Italy. This is quite an expensive wine, shame it wasn't really of a quality that matched the price. It was reasonably alright, with plenty of fruit, a bit of Italian bitterness, some length, but it didn't really have the complexity to be a fine wine. There was also a hint of green-ness about some of the tannins. This made it really quite rigorous.

Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Oberhäuser Brücke 2004, Helmut Dönnhoff
A brilliant, balanced, bright wine full of life and loveliness. This had great sweetness, real style, complexity and length. Lovely.

Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttonyos Szt. Tamas, Royal Tokaji Wine Company
This was surprisingly fresh and lively. It was very sweet with great length and complexity. I really enjoyed it.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru les Loups 1999, Domaine des Lambrays
What can I say? It is an old favourite. I always enjoy this wine. Now all gone, alas.

Last night we had a dinner party with some lovely friends. It went on well into the early hours of the morning, and a lot of wine was consumed.

Champagne Henriot 1996
Nice enough, but it seemed to be lacking a touch of rigour. It was reasonably complex and quite ripe, but not enough acidity for long-term ageing.

Riesling Spätlese Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube 1999, Helmut Dönnhoff
Good acidity and nice fruit. It was a touch closed, though, as it was going through an awkward middle-aged period. However, it did show that when it would be fully mature it would be a great Riesling spätlese.

Meursault Premier Cru Bouchères 2001, Domaine Roulot
A beautiful, complex, elegant and refined white Burgundy. It had enough fat to balance the fine acidity and was very long. It was slightly savoury, which I think is a good thing in white Burgundy. Many thanks to James and Katie for bringing along this excellent wine.

Pouilly-Fuissé la Roche 2003, Daniel Barraud
Very ripe and alcoholic. Quite hot. Not really balanced and the flavours were not so good. No.

Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1990 en magnum
Nice fruit and a good tannic structure, but it was really lacking a touch of complexity and style. Merely good.

Bandol 2001, Château de Pibarnon
Very ripe and fruity, with good, earthy complexity. Nice length and style. This was very good with cheese and a lovely wine. It'll age exceptionally well.

Château Suduiraut 1988
Very good botrytis character. Rich and full-bodied but balanced by fine acidity. This was so good it was, in a way, a shame it was served after so many wines and it lost a bit of its shine.

Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues 2003, Domaine Santa Duc
Over-ripe with funky tannins and a strange melange of flavours. Not very nice at all.

A lovely birthday meal last night, with plenty of people present who I am lucky enough to count among my friends. We ate well and drank exceptionally well.

Krug 1990
This was a seriously fine bottle of champagne. It was quite acidic and austere, but had plenty of weight and power. It was very ripe despite the acidity, so the balance was perfect making this a great wine. It was also a lovely drink.

Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Lange Goldkapsel 1975, J J Prum
A wine the same age as four of us present for the meal. This was very concentrated, but ethereal, light and elegant. It had very balanced fruit and acidity. It was very long. A wonderful wine and I really appreciated drinking it.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Folatieres 1995, Gerard Chavy
This started off quite subdued, but it opened up given time and blossomed into a lovely, complex, mineral Puligny. I was surprised it had aged so well.

Riesling Kellerberg 1999, F X Pichler
A linear, direct and focused Austrian Riesling. It had the typical white pepper nose and it was very mineral. Despite its focus and directness it did have a degree of fat and was very well balanced. I thought this slipped down a treat.

Grand Vin D'Altenberg 1997, Domaine Marcel Deiss
I bloody hated this. It was too sweet, with too little acidity and a weird melange of flavours that suggested the constituent components were ageing at wildly different rates. The loon Deiss has really gone from wine-making god to contemptible swine far too quickly. Bad show, M. Deiss.

Clos des Lambrays 1999, Domaine des Lambrays en magnum
Oh yes, back to the good stuff. This was a beautiful, earthy, very complex wine with great length and real style. It helped that it was decanted as it really was far too young, but it was clearly a great wine by any definition of the word and was a joy to drink. I loved it.

Chambertin 1993, Domaine Rousseau
Another stunningly good red Burgundy. It was very complex, with soft, charming, generally lovely fruit. The length was superb, as was the balance. It sang a song of beauty on my palate and I thought this was a candidate for wine of the night.

Echezeaux 1985, Domaine Henri Jayer
Corked, alas! Bugger, bugger, bugger.

Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 1975 en magnum
Another great wine where the fantastic balance was the key to its greatness. It had lovely, voluptuous fruit, roundness and weight, but a backbone of acidity and focus that made it burst with life. This was an incredibly fine wine and a strong contender for wine of the night. It was great, and another one that slipped down a treat.

Quarts de Chaumes 1996, Domaine des Baumards
This was incredibly botrytic and ripe with lots of fruit. The palate had lots of good acidity as well as plenty of sugar, so the balance was good. I really enjoy Baumard Quarts de Chaumes and this did not disappoint.

A few things last night when a chum dropped around for dinner.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31D 2002, Domaine Albert Boxler
This was really good, a great balance between ripe fruit, minerality and acidity. It was lively, invigorating and exciting. A top drink.

Domaine de Trevallon 1997
For those who don't know, a Cabernet/Syrah blend from the South of France. Good fruit, palate quite austere and linear. It opened up in the decanter and became quite lovely.

Hermitage la Chapelle 1995, Paul Jaboulet-Aine
This was really good. Perhaps not as rich and weighty as some might except, but big, full of fruit and really complex nonetheless. A seriously fine wine with a great future in front of it.

Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Urziger Wurzgarten 2003, Dr. Loosen
Nice and fruity with surprisingly good acidity. It was quite sweet, reasonably typical for the vineyard and nice length. Balance was surprisingly good for a 2003.

The 'general drinking' category of notes will not be quite so detailed as when I try but a single wine. It is hard to write notes at a dinner party so general impressions alone survive in my mind.

Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 1994
Quite dry, with nice balance between fruit and acidity. Very good length, still really mineral and certainly a racy, exciting wine. I enjoyed it very much.

Gratien vintage brut 1996
Very chocolaty and doughy with a slight oxidative character. Really quite woody as well. Reminded me very much of Bollinger '96 which is no bad thing. I thought this would age really rather well, but some of our number were sure it was up for drinking.

Meursault Tillets 2001, Roulot
A beautiful, compact, elegant white Burgundy. Plenty of fruit and a bit floral. The palate was very well balanced with plenty of concentration. It was certainly long. This was a fine wine.

Riesling Grand Cru Rangen 1995, Zind-Humbrecht
This was surprisingly mature, a tad oxidised too, but it was still a nice wine. Very concentrated and powerful. As it was quite mature it seemed to have lost the sweetness these wines often have.

Morey St. Denis 2001, Domaine Dujac
A lovely wine. Great fruit, impeccable balance and real silky-style. A top-flight village wine. Dujac really landed on their feet in 2001.

There was a 2003 super-Tuscan red wine at this point that I failed to write down the name of and I am not going to try and embarrass myself by remembering how to spell it. It was very hot and quite severe. That is 2003 for you.

Pinot Gris Selection des Grains Nobles Hinterberg de Katzenthal 2001, Meyer-Fonné
A sweetie to finish off with. Nice Pinot Gris fruit and really quite a lot of botrytis. It was pretty sweet.