Last night we popped around the neighbour’s place with a couple of bottles of wine; they couldn’t have been more different.

Morey Saint-Denis 2002, Domaine Dujac
Oh what a ravishing nose, I am instantly smitten by its compelling beauty and charming refinement. There is perfectly ripe fruit which, whilst not lacking intensity, is exquisitely lovely and is enhanced by a subtle jasmine character which tickles my fancy no end. There is certainly earthy complexity here, but I prefer the complexity of the fruit; it is scrummy. On the palate there is a silky tannic structure which has shades of rigour to it, this wine is still bursting with life. The complex, ripe fruit on the palate adds to the impression of this being a svelte little number. The acidity is perfectly balanced and keeps the wine fresh, quaffable and vivacious. This is almost as far from being a huge blockbuster as it is possible to get, it is an elegant little wine of sculpted attractiveness. I’d much rather drink a little beauty like this than a huge alcohol and fruit bomb; you could drink this all day whereas some wines you don’t want to finish off a glass.

Cotes du Roussillon Villages ‘Cuvee Coume Marie’ 2007, Preceptorie de Centernach
I think I opened a bottle of organic solvent rather than wine, the hot burn that boils off this stuff goes beyond heroic. Indeed, it is distinctly loopy, but sadly loopy in an unattractive way. I don’t like my wines to be inhalation anaesthetics. There is a lot of fruit on the nose, but it is the stewed, jammy fruit of Grenache that has been given a really serious baking in a crazy climate. I’ve only sniffed this ludicrous monstrosity and I already actively dislike it and find it draining. I’ll taste it, though. By the danglers of donkey’s that was a real mistake. This is some harsh, aggressive, contrived facsimile of  wine; I find it hard to believe it was made of grapes. The tannins are violently coarse and bitter, giving the impression that my mouth has been given a vigorous roughing up with a Brillo pad. There is severe acidity here as well, quite unforgiving in its ruthlessness. There is also some of that unattractive jammy fruit here as well, but to suggest that this discordant, abrasive palate has any form of balance would be so bonkers it would instantly make one worthy of being sectioned in the local nut-house. This is over-blown filth of the most unremittingly horrendous style; I couldn’t even finish my glass.

My father sent me these two bottles that he had picked up in the gift shop at his local stately home. Obviously, when I opened the parcel I thought he had sent them as a joke; anyone with even a cursory knowledge of my interests could not reasonably expect me to get anything from wine like this. So when we spoke I chortled about them and said I’d probably use them for cooking. He replied, “But they come from [the local stately home], that’s posh!” Posh* or not, it is not who sells a wine that matters, it is who makes it and where. As far as the ‘where’ goes with these it is a region drowning in generic wines of tedium and mediocrity. Moreover, my previous experiences with this producer re-cast the words ‘dull’ and ‘dreary’ into new, stunning horizons of monotony. I told Roy I’d try them and write them up, but I really am more than a little confused as to why he sent them. Buying wine for other people can be very difficult, particularly if the buyer is a less rabid oenophile than the recipient. The best thing to do is ask what they want and get that rather than risk both parties feeling that money has been thrown away.

Sauvignon Blanc Vin de Pays d’Oc 2008, Baron Philippe de Rothschild
This has a really anonymous nose, it hardly smells of anything. The tiny bit of character that is there is confected and just smells too much like boiled sweets to make you think this is going to be a nice wine. The palate is vapid and insipid with unbalanced acidity and more hints of that grim, confected character. What is the point of this wine? It certainly does not speak of a place. It does not even manage to speak of a grape variety if we are honest. There is so little character here I just cannot see what enjoyment there is to be got out of it. I don’t think it is terribly badly made, it is just yet another piss boring stream of generic dreariness from an uninteresting locale and maker.

Merlot Vin de Pays d’Oc 2007, Baron Philippe de Rothschild
Oh dear. I mean this seriously, oh dear. It has the slightly vinegary nose of woeful red wine. There are shades of fruit there but this vinegar character is dominant and it one of the things I despise most about basic wines. The palate is slightly tannic, slightly acidic, with slight fruit flavours. It is less offensive than the nose, but there is so little to say about it that I’ll stop now.

*Some people say I am posh. They have no idea.

We have just been to France and liberated a batch of wines. We thought these two would go well with roast beef.

Recently, I have been reminded that relativism is absolutely false (good Morey is very Morey-y), so I shall attempt to avoid using any relative comparisons between these two wines. I'll stick to saying what each one is like as a unique entity.

Bandol Cuvee Speciale La Miguoa 1997, Domaine Tempier
This has a wonderful nose of very ripe cherry fruit, it is quite juicy. There is a grilled meatiness to the nose as well and it is very earthy. This is a elegant and refined Bandol nose. Strangely, it doesn't smell of arseholes. The harmony of the nose tickles my fancy quite a lot, I like scented and perfumed red wines. The palate is a bit tougher and drier than I would have hoped for given is expressive nose. There is a strange acidity to it as well. It has some length, but alas it is just not the nice. Bums, I prefer nice. It is just a bit old and tired. I realise 97 wasn't the greatest Bandol vintage but I'd expect more from La Miguoa.

Bandol Cuvee Special La Tourtine 1997, Domaine Tempier
What a nose! It bursts with bramble black fruits, with a great density and power of expression. This smells of what I want from Mourvedre. Sure, there is also some brett on the nose, so there is a slightly sweaty arsehole character, but the scent of fruit and rich, well-matured compost is very pleasing. The palate has a massive tannic structure, with dark, powerful fruit. On the palate it is just edging down the wrong side of perfectly mature, but there is a lot of pleasure here. This will serve us well with a good hunk of meat. Oh meat, how I love meat.

I suppose you might wonder which is the best to buy (of a recent vintage, obviously, you don't want to be buying these): La Miguoa or La Tourtine. I used to think “La Tourtine, obviously”, then I began to edge toward the refined beauty of La Miguoa, before deciding I preferred Pibarnon.

I seem to be in a dirty kind of mood as far as my blog titles go, suits me just fine. This does have a slightly arse character.

Bandol 2006, Domaine Tempier
Brambly, pruney fruit on the nose. Also shades of a slightly sweaty dirtiness; this we call arse-like. The nose is really impressive for a generic wine, but I suppose it hardly counts as a bargain these days. You’ve got to love the scented, herbal character of Mourvedre, which reaches its peak in Bandol. It tastes pretty freaking tannic, but there is more of that interesting, complex fruit there. As well as being complex the palate has a degree of style. You could happily age this ten years. If you open it now give it a good decanting.

When I tried this chez Pibarnon the winemaker was highly amused that I said it was sexy. It is sexy, I tell you!

Bandol 2001, Chateau de Pibarnon
A rich, heady nose of ripe, complex fruit. This is packed with style, and is really voluptuous on the nose; deeply, deeply lovely. I am really charmed by this; it may be a bit on the big side but it does not lack finesse or class. The palate has a truly lovely tannic structure, which frames the beautiful fruit in a really pleasing way. This is really too young to be drinking, but by arse does it put a smile on my face. Tits Bandol, man, with not even the merest hint of arseholes. Yeah, power up!

I do love Bandol. 1997 wasn't a great vintage but I enjoyed this last time I had it and I am enjoying this now.

Bandol Cuvee Speciale la Tourtine 1997, Domaine Tempier
A lovely nose of soft fruit, grilled meat and a bit of arsehole character. This is very perfumed and has a very pleasing aroma. Nice earthy complexity there, too. This smells properly mature and up for drinking, good. The palate is quite soft, too, with good, mature fruit, a nice yielding tannic structure and satisfying earthiness. This is really quite complex, and has very good length. Perfectly mature and enjoyable. A top bottle of Bandol that restores my faith in the wonders of old Domaine Tempier.

I've just decanted the magnum of red we'll be drinking with the neighbours tonight, seems better to write a tasting note now rather than be rude when they are around and bury my nose in a computer for a few minutes.

Bandol 2000, Domaine Gros Nore en magnum
A meaty, herbal nose, like some kind of stew enriched with prunes. No arsehole character at all, but it still has a degree of complexity and a nice earthiness. I love the scented, perfumed character of the nose, it is very fragrant. The palate has a very impressive tannic structure, some mature fruit, and more of the meaty herbal character. Fruit persists on the finish, but it is not terribly long. It has a degree of style and some charm for what is a bit of a tannic beast. This is pretty good, if not great, Bandol; much better than the 2001 I had eighteen months ago.

I like Collioure, good Collioure obviously, it is a relative bargain for the quality one can obtain. Mas Blanc and Rectorie are the best producers.

Collioure "Cosprons Levants" 2002, Domaine du Mas Blanc
A rich nose of ripe, dark fruit. It is quite meaty and earthy with a good herbal character. This smells reasonably complex, good. The palate has a massive structure of ripe tannins and earthiness, with lovely dark fruit and a reasonable degree of acidity for a wine so ripe and buxom. There is a a degree of complexity to the finish, and it is reasonably long. I've just been told by one of the neighbours that this isn't very tannic, but I cannot agree; I think he has been eating too much salami. I think this is quite tasty, it has a nice savoury character which is most pleasing.

The generic Bandol from Tempier, they really have cleaned up their act (and their wines) in recent years.

Bandol 2005, Domaine Tempier
A clean nose of prune-y fruit and grilled meat, it is pleasing but a bit simple. The fruit is quite ripe, but not as crazy as the 2001's I've reported on in the past. It seems balanced and refined, if not terribly interesting. The palate has plenty of ripe fruit, quite a lot of tannin, and that is it. I am pleased this is not as Bretty as older vintages of this wine have been, but I have to say I just find this a bit one-dimensional. The older wines may have occasionally stank too much of arseholes,  but at least they had character. Clean, ripe and fruity, but just a tad dull.

I picked this up from my cellar in Oxford on my last visit. It is a bit young still, but very drinkable.

Bandole Cuvee Speciale la Miguoa 1998, Domaine Tempier en magnum
A very scented, herbal, meaty nose with a charming grilled character. It has sweet berry fruit as well. This doesnt seem as ripe as more recent vintages have been. There is a reasonable degree of arsehole character on the nose, but this is by no means a bad thing. Oddly, there is something a bit Clarety about the nose as this breathes, but it is more charming and fleshy. This has a really svelt and silky palate, with lovely fruit and great persistence of flavour. It is really complex. There is more than a bit of rusticity about this wine, but it is quite the charmer. I shall continue to buy Bandol (but more Pibarnon than Tempier these days). Really this needs a few more years, but will last for an age getting only more charming.

This claims 14.5% on the label, liars! I think it suffers a bit from having heat damaged grapes in it, it is a bit bitter.

Bandol Cuvée Speciale la Miguoa 2003, Domaine Tempier
A huge, booze-tastic nose that smells of some kind of fruit liqueur. This is crazily alcoholic. The fruit is nice on the nose, though and it has some nice hints of grilled meat. The palate is dominated by high alcohol levels, but it also has a lot of fruit, and a surprisingly good level of acidity. It is a bit bitter, the tannins are harsh. I thought it was a bit of a risk getting 2003 Bandol, and I was not mistaken. It'll come around given an incredible amount of time in the cellar, but at the moment this is just a bit chewy.

'Oh fancy!'-grade Beaujolais. I know some people who have raved about this wine, I hope it is nice.

Moulin-a-Vent "Chateau des Jacques" 2005, Louis Jadot
I'm surprised by how dark it is. It has quite a lot of cherry fruit on the nose, and is surprisingly oaky too. It seems quite big. The palate has some fruit, but is oddly heavy and dull. There is not enough acidity and there is really not enough tannin to make this anything over than an overblown tart of a wine. Yesterday's Tandem was better.

I got this from Horrids, of all places, and it only cost me twelve notes. This is Domaine Bunan's most serious wine. I recall it being slightly anonymous; it has improved greatly. I love Bandol, and when it is this good all of my trust in it is well-rewarded.

Château La Rouviére Bandol 1998, Domaines Bunan
This has a wonderful perfumed nose of medicine and herbs; it smells like thyme mixed with cherry-menthol flavour Tunes. In this sense it is really Bandol. However, it is extremely clean, which is distinctly atypical. It smells marvellous, most attractive. The palate has a serious tannic structure, solid meatiness, and great cough-mixture fruit, but again is really clean. It still has serious complexity, though. With impressive length too. Hell's bells, one of my ageing experiments worked! Yummy, this is a real treat of a wine. Ready to drink, but will keep.

This is a blend of Syrah and Grenache from the South-West of France. Collioure is produced in the same region as Banyuls.

Collioure Coume Pascole 2003, Domaine de la Rectorie
A rich, warming nose of plums, pepper and herbs. This smells reasonably complex for such an affordable wine, even though the alcohol stands out a bit. The palate is warming too, but it also has very nice ripe fruit. The Syrah pepperiness is there too. The palate is also reasonably complex. It has a good long finish, although perhaps a tad warm right at the end. This wine is a lot of fun now, but I think it'll easily hang around for a few years and mellow into something scented and charming.

I have some friends coming around for dinner tonight to assist with the celebration of me becoming even more rancid and old. I thought I'd open a magnum of wine. Since the cooking is now pretty much complete I thought I'd pop the bottle early and write a tasting note now so I don't have to write it up later. With wine this good it promises to be a fun night.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale 1997 en magnum, Domaine Tempier
A lovely, complex nose of sweet, ripe fruit, grilled meat, under-growth and a degree of arsehole character. It really smells quite lovely and almost fully mature. The palate is surprisingly refined for a Bandol. It has plenty of fruit, good density and a silky tannic structure. The finish is very long and refined. It tastes perfectly mature yet still full of life and not in the least bit dried-out. This is quite an excellent magnum of Bandol that I think we will all enjoy with the daube I have cooked for dinner tonight.

The Tourtine was very nice, but since we had guests I decided to open its sister wine.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale la Migoua 1997, Domaine Tempier
A rich, herbal nose that is fruity and floral with a suggestion of a medicinal character. This is complex and heady. The palate is a tiny bit more acidic than the Tourtine but has a more finely-grained texture. It is still pretty silky and smooth. This is just about reaching maturity, too, but it has many years to go.

Some people are shocked when I say that Bandol, especially old Bandol, smells of arseholes. I can understand this, but I really have to stress it is not necessarily a bad aroma; nice arseholes, if such a thing exists.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale la Tourtine 1997, Domaine Tempier
A soft nose, that has grilled meat, ripe, dark fruits and the merest hint of arseholes. It is very complex and earthy. The alcohol level seems a lot more sedate than recent vintages. This tastes really lovely; soft, fruity, earthy and complex. There is a bit of dryness on the finish, but fruit is present too so it has a good, long finish. There is also a spicy pepperiness on the finish as well. This is reaching maturity and is really a very enjoyable drop.

This is the first time I've tried Bandol from Château Lafran-Veyrolles. Perhaps it was a bit of a mistake to buy a 2003, even though it does claim to be only 13.5% alcohol. It is 80% Mourvedre and most of the rest is Grenache with a bit of Cinsaut.

Bandol 2003, Château Lafran-Veyrolles
This has plenty of Mourvedre character on the nose: grilled meat and rich, dark fruit. It is quite earthy, too, but doesn't seem especially complex. At least it is not overpoweringly ripe and alcoholic. The palate is very dry and has really bitter tannins. Eeergh, I don't fancy this much. What fruit is present is completely dominated by the nasty, bitter character. The tannins go far beyond 'rigour' and arrive quite easily at the 'not very nice' platform. Give me Pibarnon or Tempier any day.

I am a big fan of Bandol, they are lovely when they are old. They can also be quite a lot of fun when they are young. 2001 was a great vintage for Bandol, but some of the wines have been a bit big. This wine is certainly a biggie.

Bandol 2001, Domaine du Gros-Noré
A rich nose of stewed fruit, this is very ripe. This is so rich in ripe fruit and alcohol that is almost smells like a young port. It does have some Mourvedre meatiness, but it remains reasonably clean. The palate is powerfully fruity, but has quite a rigorous backbone of tannin. This is big but not soupy. The finish is reasonably long, but it doesn't seem overly complex. This is a perfectly good drink, but it is not really top-flight Bandol. Pibarnon and Tempier make more complex, interesting wines

I've tried this wine before, but there is no harm in giving a fuller note. I've just decanted this to have with lasagna tonight.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale la Migoua 2001, Domaine Tempier
This has a fairly heroic nose of alcohol (it is 15%), but there is a lot of fragrant fruit there. It is also quite meaty/leathery with a big earthy character to it. It smells really quite complex. The palate is big but balanced. The high alcohol and beefy tannins levels are balanced by plenty of really quite lovely fruit and a powerful meatiness. It is very long, with earthy complexity on the finish. This tastes really lovely for such a heroic wine. It just goes to show that even though lower alcohol wines may be best, there are some good beasts available. Excellent Bandol that will age well for ten years or more quite easily.

I feel I should add that after forty-five minutes in the decanter the nose of this wine was very developed. Great aromas of dark fruit, herbs, grilled meat and earth were just bursting from my glass. Yummy yummy.

Generally speaking, I think that good Bandol is not only better value than Châteauneuf du Papes but it is also qualitatively better. Good Bandol ages really well, becoming a soft, fragrant wine that excites the mind as well as the nose. I can think of few Châteauneuf estates that have the great hit-rates possessed by Bandol producers such as Tempier and Pibarnon. You can only very rarely go wrong with these producers.

It is a compare and contrast session with two 1997 Mourvèdres.

Bridgehead Mataro 1997, Ridge
The nose is quite polished and round, but it seems that the fruit is beginning to leave this wine. It doesn't smell particularly complex. The palate has a bit of fruit, but it is quite angular and drying out a bit. The wine is drinkable, but past its best.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale 1997, Domaine Tempier
This is much more like it. Grilled meat, earth and dark fruit on the nose. It is very complex. There is a degree of arsehole character on the nose, but it is by no means distracting. It tastes very soft and smooth, with plenty of fruit and a long, complex finish. It is very much in good condition and is very pleasurable. Good stuff!

An older bottle of Pibarnon I was lucky enough to pick up in a shop that largely has off vintages of rubbish producers. Old Pibarnon is really lovely.

Bandol 1993, Château de Pibarnon
A rich nose of grilled meats, soft fruit and earth. It seems very complex. Smells great! The palate still has a bit of rigour, but is is reasonably soft and fruity. Good tannins and it is quite full-bodied but certainly not heavy or ponderous. The finish is very nice, with fruit, tannin and acidity in perfect harmony. It is very long with good complexity, too. A very silky, stylish Bandol. Since it cost me what current vintages are on sale for I feel very fortunate to have picked it up. Top mature Bandol.

Another bottle popped before taking around to my neighbours tonight. After the heroism of the 2001 this is an almost moderate fourteen and a half percent. It also really stinks of arseholes.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale 2000, Domaine Tempier
The nose really stinks of arseholes, farm yards and other less-than-clean things. There is a bit of dark, ripe fruit underneath. With extended swirling in my glass it becomes a bit less filthy, but this is not a clean wine. The palate is very alcoholic, it seems more so than the 2001. It is moderately tannic, but whilst there is some fruit on the palate, it doesn't live up to the filth and booze levels. It is not a harmonious wine and it is a very long way away from being elegant or refined. I am not sure ageing it will do any favours, the low tannin and fruit levels seem slightly over-evolved already. Much as it pains me to say this about a Tempier wine, this is decidedly sub-interest.

Following a thread on a wine discussion forum about the yeast known as Brett, I decided to open this. Brettanomyces is a yeast used for making beer, and when it infects a wine it results in the wine having all sorts of dirty, filthy and arsehole-y characters. Some people think it is responsible for bottle variation when ageing, some people don't like the aromas it can cause whereas some people think it can be alright in a wine (in varying degrees). Bandol, made from the grape Mourvedre, is a famously Bretty wine and I have said in the past that Bandol smells of arseholes. I opened this wine because when visiting my beloved Domaine Tempier, the producer I own most wine from, to try the 2001s it appeared their new winemaker had cleaned their act up a bit and there was not a whiff of arseholes around. The alcohol had also been pushed up since he took over.

Bandol Cuvée Spéciale 2001, Domaine Tempier
Hell's bells, man! This is fifteen percent! It is very dark. The nose smells of dark, very ripe fruit. It also smells quite a bit of alcohol. It is a bit like a slightly herbal port. Not much filth at all on the nose, oddly clean. The palate is very big and concentrated, with very ripe fruit flavours. It is also fiercely tannic with a great whack of acidity in it. I don't really like these booze-tastic monsters, they get very hard work, but I think this will be very nice with the sausages for dinner tonight. I also think it would make very interesting old bones; no distracting Brett characters will help it age more uniformly too. Much as my moderate and reasonable side wants to point our the sheer scale of this wine, the hedonist in me says this is fun, balanced but above all good.

This is mostly Syrah, with a few percent Marsanne and Roussanne, from the South-West of France. The region is better known for Banyuls.

Collioure 'Junquets' 1999, Domaine du Mas Blanc
The nose is driven by dark, brooding fruit. It is also quite earthy. The nose reminds me very much of Hermitage. It is surprisingly complex. The palate has some noticeable tannin, but is very fruity. The finish is a bit dry, but it is very long and the fruit persists. It is reasonably complex with plenty of interesting fruit and soil flavours. Not a remarkably fine wine, but it is very good and slips down a treat. It would age really well, I think.

The problem is I have so little in the flat to drink. A moment's searching reveals something I rather like, even though it is really too young:

Bandol, Château de Pibarnon 1999
The dark fruit and meat scented aroma that emerged as I popped this brought a rush of heroism to my cheeks as I inhaled it. There is a lot of dark, ripe fruit on the nose, but it is not over-ripe. It is quite earthy as well. The palate has big, chunky tannins, but with all of the fruit and not over-whelming alcohol it is very balanced. Despite its size the palate has a pleasing degree of precision about it, some acidity in with all of that ripe bigness. It is very long with quite an earthy finish. Big but balanced, I like this a lot.

I've had a tube pulled out of my stomach today, that had been there for 24 hours. I need something manly and heroic to charge me with strength once again.

Collioure Clos du Moulin 2001, Domaine Mas Blanc
A rare wine from the South-West of France, the region that makes the whacked-out and crazy Banyuls sweet wines. This is the dry red wine from the region; in this case made from 90% Mourvedre and 10% Counoise. It is a herbal, meaty, richly fruity wine. It smells very much like the herb and fruit punches that will be appearing in Blighty when autumn comes around again. Yet it is not heavy or cloying. It is certainly powerful, but not over-powering in terms of alcohol, fruit or structure. The fragrance is very pleasing. It is nicely-tannic and really quite long. I think this will age for a another decade. This is a fine, and highly-affordable, wine.