I enjoyed that Madeira so much I wanted something else nice to drink. Luckily, I've got plenty of nice things available.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 1997, Dr Loosen
This is as fruity as I remember it being when I purchased it on release. It bursts with fresh, citric fruit and a slate-y minerality. Quite lovely on the nose because of this. The palate is fine, elegant and balanced. Lots of fruit, plenty of sweetness and enough acidity. The acidity seems slightly fizzy, but I don't think there is any residual CO₂ in this. The length is pretty good, too. It is a beautiful little Auslese, I haven't had better in... oh... a period of time.

This Madeira is the cutting edge of Madeira cool. Not something I often say, I admit. It is aged in barrel using the traditional 'canteiro' process and bottled without the addition of caramel to colour it.

Malvasia Colheita Cask 21C 1992, Vinhos Barbeito
A reasonably dark orange colour. The nose has rancidity and all of those weird, off flavours of cooking and oxidation that Madeira often has, but it also seems lively and not tired. The palate is rich, but has a savoury character to it. It has very good acidity. The balance is great between richness, acidity and cooked characters. This is really lively. It is also really lovely. Madeira is a weird old wine, not something tuned to modern palates, but this is a fine drink and I have enjoyed it greatly. Knackered wine at its finest.

After mentioning this wine in a comment below I couldn't really think of an excuse to leave it in the wine cupboard.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 1995, Ghislaine Barthod
Bright red fruit on the nose. Very pure and quite ripe. Not so ripe that this is heroic, thankfully, as some '95s are. The fruit is really lovely. The palate has some big tannins, but there is plenty of fruit and ripeness. There is a lot of charm here. Nice acidity to balance the fruit. This is a lovely, pure and balanced Chambolle and what more could one ask from a wine beyond it being a lovely Chambolle? It could easily have lasted many more years, but is certainly a a lot of fun to drink now.

I was feeling a bit miserable until I drank this. Alcohol is not a cheap alternative to happiness, it is an expensive pre-requisite for happiness.

The 1995 of this has been drinking marvellously over the past couple of years, I was rather surprised by this.

Côte-Rôtie 1997, Jasmin
The nose has very strong youthful Syrah beetroot characters. Also prune and some dark fruit. It smells very young. The palate is tight and closed. Not hard tannins but the fruit is locked up in a youthful core. It opened up a bit with vigorous oxygenation, but was basically really tight and backward. This wine is clearly still too young to drink, much to my surprise. I'll have to keep my other bottle for a few more years. It is a shame it was so tight, I was in the mood for something giving and charming.

One with dinner at the restaurant Andrew Edmunds and one on our return home. It is a great place to eat; the food is usually simple but good. The wine list is good and affordable, too.

Chambolle-Musigny 1999, Ghislaine Barthod
A ripe, bright, fruity nose. Very pure and refined, it speaks of Chambolle. Not over-ripe in the slightest and the nose is open and giving.  The palate has some good, ripe tannins, plenty of fruit and is very harmonious and balanced. This wine was open and up for drinking, but a few more years of age would not do it any harm at all. A lovely village wine.

Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru 1999, Comte Armand
The nose seemed a touch tight and brooding. It certainly had some ripe fruit, but was not terribly giving. On the palate the tannins were a tad aggressive but I didn't feel there was enough fruit to handle them. It improved a bit with some air so I can only imagine this is a bit shut-down at the moment. It seemed like a tight, slightly tough Pommard. As it was it seemed reasonably impressive rather than svelte and lovely. I prefer svelte and lovely.

I have a double magnum of Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 1999 from Comte Armand; clearly a wine for keeping a long time.

Today was the fourth anniversary of my partner moving in with me. This is know as the 'flower' or 'fruit' anniversary. We did fruit in the form of a bottle of fizz.

Grande Année 1997, Bollinger
A surprisingly mature and slightly oxidised nose. Some fruit and quite a lot of cold cocoa character. The palate was very forward and not as complex as the last bottle of this I had. Not so much Grand Année as Super Année-uated. This is not a patch on the '96, but when it is being drank for such a happy event I cannot really complain.

I did enjoy my visit to Mugnier. I felt bright and jolly especially when we reached the Musigny part of the tasting:

The '04s were really good across the board, a vintage that really suits the Mugnier style. A tip for anyone visiting him, M. Mugnier finds the word 'concentration' to be an awful way of describing wine. This is odd as his wines are very concentrated, but I can see how he'd prefer them to be called elegant, refined and beautiful.

Of my rather minimalist achievements this year some of the best have been to get on the private clients' list of a few producers. On my visit to Alsace this summer I arranged to buy from Domaine Bruno Sorg and Domaine Albert Boxler every year. I was surprised when Boxler said my allocation could well be larger than the UK agent's annual allocation. I doubt this is true since I'll only be buying two cases per year, but it does seem a shame that such great wines as his are not reaching a wider audience. I greatly look forward to when the Sorg 2002 Riesling Pfersigberg will be delivered to my cellar in Burgundy.

Perhaps the best wines to be making it to the cellar come from Burgundy. I feel extremely privileged to be on the list to buy Meursault from Roulot and Chambolle from Mugnier directly. Both of these people make extremely beautiful and elegant wines; they are really lovely. To think I'll be getting a yearly allocation which can age in a perfect cellar only to be removed when it is time to drink makes me very happy. Now all I have to do is save wildly for buying these wines when the offers come out in the spring.

This is where they all end up, my cellar in Burgundy:

I am not the biggest fan of Burgundy 1998s, they often seem hard and tough. This is a bit of a shame as it is one of the two vintages I've assisted with. However, this wine seems rather nice.

Volnay Premier Cru Champans 1998, Marquis d'Angerville
A bright, lively nose of red fruit. It is full of life, complexity and charm. The alcohol is a bit noticeable, but not frighteningly unbalanced. On the palate the acidity seems a tiny bit high, but there is plenty of fruit and it is really quite complex. The finish seems plenty long enough. One of the best 1998s I've had and, more generally, a very good bottle of Burgundy.

Oremus are owned by Vega Sicilia, so by rights this wine should be so oxidised it would only taste of vinegar. Luckily, Vega have not moved their love of over-oxidised wines to Hungary. 

Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttonyos 1999, Oremus
A heady golden colour. The nose is very ripe and botrytic, but has no sign of oxidation. Amazing! It is largely clean and full of fruit. The palate is very rich and sweet, but the acidity seems in balance. Lots of peaches and cream/apricot jam richness. It is not terribly complex, but tastes lovely. The finish is superb, very long, sweet and fruity. This is a very good, well-balanced sweet wine.

It's the first time I've tried wine from this producer. I met him in a restaurant on my last trip to Burgundy, he was very loud.

Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 1999, Domaine Christophe Newman
A pure and elegant nose of red fruit, it is not especially complex. The alcohol stands out a bit. The palate is similarly hot and the tannins seem a bit dry. It is not especially complex or refined. It is a nice drink but hardly Grand Cru quality; it is a bit big and lacks finesse.

A shame. He seemed keen on making fine wine and has some good vineyards. I was disappointed.

The first bottle of Champagne of this new year's evening. The back label helpfully tells us this was disgorged in September 2004 and it has a minimalistic 4g/l dosage. This cost ~€31 and was a bargain at that price

Champagne Avize Grand Cru 1995, Jacquesson et Fils
A lovely, toasty, bready nose. It has plenty of apple fruit and is really pure and elegant. The palate is linear and direct, but has plenty of fruit and sings a deeply charming song. It is very long. It has a fine but lively mousse. The balance is superb and all the flavours are integrated; it lacks the 'face-lifted' character of some RD Champagnes. Up for drinking. And I am deeply up for drinking it. This is a seriously charming and lovely bottle of Champagne, I can think of few bottles at this price that provide so much pleasure. Many thanks to the wonderful partner for providing this.

This is not quite as good as the Cailleret on christmas day, but it is pretty damned-good.

Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Pucelles 2001, Domaine Leflaive
A rich, powerful, toasty nose that has real Grand Cru power. The oak is noticeable but it is not unbalanced. The palate is fruity and oaky, but has really good acidity and a nice minerality to keep it balanced. It is a pleasingly savoury wine. It is pretty complex, but perhaps not as complex as the Lambrays Cailleret drank recently. The length is certainly faultless, it tastes lovely going down. It is a powerful, rich mouthful that retains its balance. First-class white Burgundy without a doubt.

I spent last night in Whitstable eating oysters and fish. Only one bottle of wine consumed, but it was pretty good.

Champagne Brut Reserve NV, Billecart-Salmon
A toasty, elegant nose. It showed a bit of maturity. The palate also showed a bit of mature complexity, and it really was quite complex for a non-vintage. Good length, nice power but very well balanced. One of my favourite non-vintage Champagnes.

Sometimes it is nice to have a fully mature bottle. In this case it may have been a touch over the hill, and it wasn't the greatest of wines, but it was still nice.

Bridgehead Mataro 1995, Ridge
Nice dark fruit nose, but it is a bit hot. No wood standing out on the nose, it is all nice and clean and fruity, although the fruit is quite dark and brooding. The palate has fruit, but it tastes soft and mature. The tannins are a bit dried out. But this has reasonable balance and, despite being a bit hot, is not over-bearing. The quality comment is 'perfectly drinkable' and there is no shame in that.