Bearing in mind decent wine starts from around a tenner a bottle, this month I have tried to find some wines that are in that price bracket. Even I don't drink Grand Cru Burgundy all of the time...

Pinot Blanc 'Brand' 2004, Domaine Albert Boxler: He is not really allowed to put the name of the Brand Grand Cru on the label, but this utterly delicious white wine comes from fruit grown entirely on that great vineyard. It has a real depth of flavour and great complexity. Don't bother ageing it, drink with great pleasure as soon as you get your hands on some; this is a serious bargain. £14.75 from Lay and Wheeler.

Pinot Noir 2004, Diamond Valley: I met the winemaker of this estate when he was doing the vintage at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, a charming fellow. This is a good Pinot Noir with plenty of fruit and a reasonable degree of refinement. £13.99 from Oz Wines.

Sancerre 2005, Domaine Vincent Delaporte: A good, mineral and reasonably complex Sancerre. I always used to be happy when I worked in a shop selling this and I could recommend it to people after some Sauvignon Blanc. £10.95 from Lea and Sandeman.

The Fergus 2002, Tim Adams: Now here is some serious quality for a tenner. A Grenache-based wine that gets a bit more rigour by fermenting with with Cabernet  and Shiraz skins, it is a heroic but tasty drink when young and it ages into something really quite delicious. Drink when you buy or keep until it is ten years old. £9.99 from Oz Wines.

Shiraz 2003, Tim Adams: OK, I like the wines of Tim Adams a lot. They are very high quality and he doesn't feel the need to over-charge for them. This is a good Shiraz that is very fruity and not over-blown in the slightest. Drink with pleasure now. £9.99 from Oz Wines.

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.

My mother purchased some Pommard Premier Cru after thinking it was pretty good at a tasting. She gave me a bottle of it and I did not think it was that good. As a consequence I have been saving one of my treasured bottles of Clos des Epeneaux 2001 out of my long-term cellars for her to try when I next encountered her, leaving me with but two bottles and two magnums to age. She is coming to Town tomorrow so I can finally pop it. I realise it is much too young, but it is such a magic wine hopefully it will convince her to buy better stuff in the future. By which I mean, follow Elitist Review buying recommendations, of course!

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.

This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from the Clare Valley. One of the things I like about Tim Adams' wines I like is that he charges very reasonable prices yet the wines are some of the best in Australia. They are also not over-blown, and this I like a lot.

Cabernet 2001, Tim Adams
A nose of ripe blackcurrants, not stewed or jammy, there is a nice seasoning of oak to it as well. It is not complex, but it smells like a pleasing drink. The palate has soft, ripe fruit and good acidity with a reasonable, but not aggressive, tannic structure. It is not drying, the fruit is charming, it is cheap, what more could a growing lad ask for at this price?

Sadly, not as good as the last two. It is a half bottle, though; we won't have to suffer too much. Yves' brother, Pierre Soulez, makes utterly brilliant Savennières The name is really rather cumbersome.

Coteaux du Layon Saint-Aubin Selection des Grains Nobles les Simonnelles 1997, Château de la Genaiserie/Yves Soulez
This has a golden hue, not too orange at all. The nose is incredibly botrytic, with wet wool hints and a degree of minerality. Botrytis is the main feature here, though. The palate is very sweet, quite silky and reasonably elegant, but just lacking a touch of excitement and verve. It is not as if it is short of acidity, it is just short of passion and flair. This is reasonably good, but the Château de Fesles 1997 we had at Christmas was a lot better.

After the disappointment of the Schloss Arsebiter 2005s it is a distinct pleasure to try something as utterly wonderful as this.

Riesling Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spätlese 2005, Fritz Haag
Wow, this smells like young Riesling alright, almost Muscatty so primary is the fruit. There is real ripeness on the nose, it smells like a warm vintage Auslese. A distinct stony tang makes the nose a complete experience, complex, intellectual and charming. If the nose was good the palate is really something special. So much fruit, so ripe and yet with great acidity and focus. This is vigorously young, but such a wonderful drink. The finish is extremely long and complex. This will age and improve for decades. What a brilliant wine!

I talked the partner into buying a bottle of this, twenty year old sparkling Vouvray. I told him they can be really good, and well worth the risk of £14 that he might find it too weird to enjoy. Fortunately, it is really good and he loves it.

Vouvray Brut 1987, Huet
Quite a deep yellow colour, but not the orange of old sweet Vouvray. The nose has aromas of ceps and baked apples. It is obviously not Champagne and is distinctly Loire Chenin in character; it has hints of dampness and rotting wood. The palate has a nice weight to it, good concentration and a reasonably fine mousse. There is some mature fruit there as well, much to my surprise. Oddly, there is a hint of tinned peas flavour, which is strangely attractive. Really good length. It is really quite complex and the flavours, whilst odd, are tasty rather than unattractive. This is.. well... can I say 'lovely' about Vouvray? Yes, I damned-well can! This is a bargain for such serious and enjoyable wine.

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've pretty much got all of the 1996 Champagnes I need, especially after this morning's delivery of a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Grande Cuvée. This is a prestige cuvée I've wanted to try for a while, but as this is a 1996 I'll have to wait until I open it. I've only purchased three 1996 prestige cuvées (as they are freaking expensive) and each one has come in over-blown packaging. The Grande Cuvée has a particularly silly 'crocodile-mouth' box:

The first thing I do when I get extraneous packaging like this is throw it away; it certainly doesn't make it to one of my cellars. I can see how the makers want people to think that they are getting something special for their obscene amount of money spent, but surely the wine should be special enough? I'd rather spend a few notes less and just have the bottle of wine.

Ah 1996 Champagnes, such good things. I'll be drinking my small but perfectly composed collection over a very long time. This means I'll have to try some later vintages, hmmmm... I've had Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas François 1997 and Bollinger Grand Année 1997 and found both to be terribly disappointing; they seemed so forward, mature and lacking rigour. 1998 is more of a 'classic' vintage (although the one I have had was bloody awful); I'll order some Pol Roger.

... And it is really serious. Hooray! This is made from a plot of vines by the Grand Cru les Preuses.

Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume "Vignoble de Vaulorent" 2005, Domaine William Fevre
Wow, the nose of this is simply beautiful: elderflower, freshly-squeezed ripe lemon juice and an utterly wonderful nutty, creamy minerality. There is a real concentration of aromas here. The palate is not short of beauty, either. It has a floral fruitiness, the concentration of a serious Grand Cru, perfectly balanced acidity and one arse of a long, mineral finish. For all the power and density of flavours this remains supremely elegant and extremely refined. I cannot remember having better Chablis than this.

I only own one bottle of red Bordeaux and I have decided that is all I am ever going to own. Even if I become fabulously rich I am never going to buy another bottle of Claret.

Why? It is simply that Claret rarely interests me. The bottles I have had that I have found interesting have all been mind-bendingly expensive (generally supplied by friends) and I just don't feel the need to spend that much money on wine, even if I had that much money. As good as something like La Mission Haut-Brion 1975 is, can it really be worth six hundred pounds a bottle? Never six hundred pounds of my money, that is for sure.

More affordable Claret I find to be dull. They lack charm, interest and excitement. Yes, they may be balanced, elegant and intellectual, but loveliness is a character usually absent. I like wine to be an intellectual pleasure, but I also want to feel happy when I have a glass of it. Red Bordeaux is perilously short on hedonistic pleasure.

Even when mid-range Claret is made in a modern (dare I say Parkerised?)-style it is simply a big, tannic wine, it doesn't gain any charm. These wines might be riper than more minimalist Clarets, but they are not any easier to drink and still lack that all-important loveliness-factor.

Cheap Claret is, of course, utterly undrinkable. Hard, miserable and tannic, often thin and fruitless. When I have worked for various wine merchants I have always had uncharitable thoughts about people when they have asked for a sub-ten pound bottle of Bordeaux; the wine will not simply lack pleasure but be actively nasty. Cheap Claret is not even worth buying for the sake of getting drunk.

My distaste for Claret will not prevent me from drinking bottles provided by others, I cannot dictate what other people want to open, but I am simply not going to buy another bottle of red Bordeaux in my life. I'll drink the single bottle I own when I take it out of the cellar this summer (and find it charmless); after that my wine collection will be forever Claret free. Good.

This is only the fourth vintage of this wine made by Sylvain Cathiard after the vineyard was re-planted, so the vines are quite young. I have to say I couldn't tell that by tasting it, it doesn't seem light and is quite serious. Quite lovely, too. This Premier Cru is located just above the Grand Cru La Romanée so it cannot be all bad. I like M. Cathiard's labels:

Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru aux Reignots 2002, Sylvain Cathiard
The nose has obvious Vosne spice and exotic tones. It smells really concentrated and very complex; there is plenty of ripe fruit and minerality framed within a very subtle oakiness. It is really seductive. The fruit and spice coat the palate with concentrated, highly attractive flavours. It is really complex with a great long finish. The finish does have a hint of severity about it, but this is obviously a young wine and I think this would only become more svelte and silky as it ages. This is a serious and utterly charming bottle of wine; for all of its intellectual pleasure one could happily describe this as callipygian. M. Cathiard hits the bull's eye once again.

The buying recommendations are a bit early this month. This is partly because I am bored and stuck in front of the computer whilst the cleaner is working her magic, but also because I feel there is a degree of urgency about getting these wines. 1996 was an exceptional vintage for Champagne; both riper and more acidic than 1990 (which was the previous 'best vintage ever'). The wines burst with luxuriant fruit and fine acidity and will generally age very well. I've rarely enjoyed Champagnes as much as the 1996s I've had, although most of what I have purchased went immediately to my various cellars. The problem is that demand for these wines was so high most of them have now disappeared from wine merchant's shelves and have been replaced by the (much-lesser) following vintages. The five wines I recommend here are ones I have particularly enjoyed that happen to still be available, albeit in limited quantities. I suggest you snap them up and lock them away safely in your cellars; they'll provide a lot of pleasure in years to come.

Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1996, Pol Roger: Quite the best 1996 fizz I've had. A big, bold Pinot dominated wine that is utterly beguiling and really requires at least another five years in the cellar. This is a completely fantastic wine. If you are a member of the Wine Society you can get it there for £90 a bottle (incl. delivery), if you are not a member then Nickolls and Perks have it for £89 a bottle (excl. delivery).

Champagne Clos des Goisses 1996, Philipponnat: This single-vineyard Champagne is really another one for the cellar, they are beautiful when mature. This is quite a big-styled Champagne that is unusually high in alcohol at 13%. Top stuff, though. £75 from Fortnum and Mason.

Champagne Brut Chardonnay 1996, Pol Roger: This is far prettier than the two wines above, and more approachable to drink now. It has very good ripe fruit and a rich, creamy character. It'll also age very well. £48.95 (less if you buy a case) from Berry Brothers and Rudd. It is not 14% as they claim on their website.

Champagne Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart 1996, Billecart-Salmon: Until I had the Churchill, this was the best 1996 Champagne I had tried. I preferred it to Bollinger. It is light-bodied which may make one think it'll drink well young, but really this will improve greatly with age. A note is here. The Wine Society have it for £40 a bottle or you can get it here for £48.72 a bottle.

Champagne vintage 1996, Gratien: A reasonably full-bodied, oaky Champagne that has quite a lot of style and class for the price. A brief note is here. £35 from the Wine Society.