I've never had a wine from this producer before, but I have been told they were good. They do seem to be good*, but this wine at least is screaming butt-hole crazy.

Savennières L'Enclos 2002, Eric Morgat
2002 was a great year for these wines, very ripe with lots of acidity. This wine is clearly very ripe judging from the yellowy-gold colour. The nose reeks of botrytis, but also very rich and mineral soil aromas. The minerality of it becomes more apparent as the wine breathes. It is fiercely alcoholic (14.5% claimed). It is a very hedonistic nose. The palate is incredibly ripe and round, with plenty of weight and structure. It is really rather ripe. On the finish there is richness and a good mineral and acid tang. It is reasonably balanced. However, it does seem rather overbearing and powerful, and not a little bit totally insane with its ripeness and power. Even with the acidity on the finish it seems rather ponderous. It is closer to dry than sweet, but it is certainly ripe and rich. I suppose it is quite nice in a booze-tastic monster sort of a way, but too much would easily become very hard work.

I must admit that when trying this wine quite warm, it displayed all kinds of exotic fruits on the nose and palate. It is a good wine and good value too, just a tad over-whelming.

*This reminds me of a joke. An engineer, a statistician and a mathematician go to a conference in China. As they are driving from the airport in the bus they drive past a field with a black pig in it.
   "Oh wow," says the engineer, "pigs in China are black."
   "No, no, no!" replies the statistician. "There is at least one black pig in China."
   "Ah, no you see," answers the mathematician, "there is at least half a black pig in China."

Since more and more people seem to be dropping by repeatedly I thought it reasonable to provide more content; I aim to please! Consequently, I will attempt to provide some buying suggestions on a monthly basis. These are wines that I have tried or will be buying myself. So, here we go with five wines from around the web.

Clos des Lambrays 2001, Domaine des Lambrays: A lovely, beautiful Grand Cru Burgundy that will age extremely well. £47.00 from Berry Brothers and Rudd.

Pommard Premier Cru Grand Clos des Epenots 2003, Domaine de Courcel: I am not much of a fan of 2003 Burgundy but Yves Confuron, that charming curmudgeon, made great wines in this vintage. I tried them out of cask and was mightily impressed, even he warmed up after a few glasses. £35.95 (there is a case discount) from Lea and Sandeman.

Volnay Premier Cru Chevrets 2002, Domaine Jean Boillot: A ripe, fleshy, but elegant Volnay. This has really nice fruit and is very mineral. £35.95 (there is a case discount) from Lea and Sandeman.

Sancerre Le Reine Blanche 2004, Domaine Vacheron: Really good Sancerre, not overblown but a good, refreshing drink to enjoy on any occasion. Not only is it a good wine it is also made by a lovely chap, and it is good to buy wines made by lovely people. £11.95 from the Wine Society.

Bandol 2001, Château Pibarnon: When I tried this at the Château the owner was highly amused by my excitement and was flattered that I called this a 'sexy wine'. It'll age extremely well and in a decade will be wonderful with liver sausage. Fine and Rare Wines sell it by the case, but I know Fortnum and Mason have individual bottles for about £20.

If you are not buying in the UK or wish to search for additional suppliers then Wine Searcher is worth visiting.

I hope, dear reader, you find these suggestions helpful.

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.

I don't drink that much Italian wine, the good ones are really expensive, but I do like a few of the styles very much. This blistering fireball of intensity is actually quite nice.

Brunello di Montalcino 1997, Eredi Fuligni
One of my favourite producers of Brunello, this is the first time I've tried a 1997. A famously ripe vintage, and it shows. The nose is quite hot, and jam-packed with ripe red fruit. It is a bit woody, too, but in view of the extreme fruit and booze on the nose this seems oddly in balance. The palate seems sedate in comparison, until the finish which has a hot burn. The tannins seem remarkably ripe and soft, mature even; it is not as drying as these wines can often be. The wood stands out a bit, but again given the ripe fruit and ripe tannins this seems balanced. This is drinking as well now as I think it ever will. On balance (balance is very important) I prefer the 1998 which I've had a few times, it is far more elegant and refined. However, this does have balance and it is comedically structured so quite nice, I think.

One of my favourite philosophers wrote a paper in a philosophical journal, the paper was called 'Relativism is absolutely false'. Not only is this hilarious, it is also right. I get occasional nagging doubts that on here I am too dichotomous; wine is either sub-interest or lovely. I am of the opinion that nice things are nicer than nasty things, and so nice things are worth a bit of time discussing. I hope that my notes indicate that when I like something I don't think it is as good as everything else that I've liked, but there is some qualification about its degree of loveliness. I suppose one wine has to be ranked relative to others, but in no way do I think a linear scoring method can assist with this. If I were to give scores I can see that much as there can be five-star Grand Cru Burgundy, there can also be five-star Savennières, and five-star Sancerre (made by l'homme Vacheron, of course). To suggest that these wines exist on a comparable scale seems downright weird to me. The world of wine is a rich, varied thing with plenty of unique facets and interesting styles and within that melange I think it best to compare like with as like as possible. Words seem more useful than numbers when describing this scheme of over-lapping qualities. So, much as giving a number after each wine would seem to confirm my disclaimer that when it comes to wine there is an objective reality out there, I'd much rather write a bit and describe exactly why a wine is objectively scrummy and how it displays that charm.

Sometimes I worry that my tastes are somewhat narrow. I like French wine, Burgundy most of all, and a few villages in particular. I've written up four Domaine des Lambrays wines on here and I've just ordered another bottle for general drinking over the up-coming weeks. I do really like Morey-St.-Denis wines, I'd drink a lot more Dujac on a regular basis if it was freely available. Well, I do drink quite a lot of Dujac wines, just not whilst I've been writing this blog. Is this bad of me? I suppose not; I've admitted this is a very personal site so I may as well stick to what I like.

I did suggest I might put more jokes up, so here goes. Two parrots were sitting on a perch and one of them said, "Do you smell fish?"

wine.elitistreview.com is a very personal site, I did not put it online expecting a lot of visitors. Yet, this month I've apparently had over three hundred unique visitors, many of whom appear to come back repeatedly. Lawks! I am deeply flattered by the attention. I suppose I should try and put more jokes on here now people are visiting...

Noel "The Gnome" Verset used to craft some wonderful Cornas from his steeply-sloped vineyards. Sadly, it appears this one suffers a bit from 1996 Rhône-syndrome.

Cornas 1996, Noel Verset
A very animal nose, meaty, sweaty and hairy. It is quite Brett-y. There is a bit of dark fruit underneath that. The palate has really rather high acidity levels that begin to hurt my stomach. What fruit there is on the palate is over-whelmed by this acidity and it is definitely out of balance. This is a bit strange as only a couple of months ago I had a bottle that was much nicer. Could it be that the obvious Brett in this wine has led to bottle-variation? Quite possibly; bottle variation is an oft-reported symptom of high Brett levels. Whatever has caused it, this is dirty, painfully acidic and sadly sub-interest.

Beaucastel smells of sheep shit, Bandol smells of arseholes; that is the way it is.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1995, Château de Beaucastel en magnum
Bright berry fruit, and dirty, slightly shitty nose. It is very rich and complex, with plenty of lovely flavours despite its filth content. Is this much Brett a flaw or acceptable? It is acceptable when it is in harmony with the wine, as in this wine. The palate has some big, drying tannins, but a lot of fruit. It is very complex, very earthy. The balance is quite delicious. Not short either. Perhaps a bit butch, and too shitty for some, but I rather like it. So do the friends.

Cheers!

I've had a lot of mixed experiences with 1996 Rhônes, this one is rather nice.

Cornas Domaine de Rochepertuis 1996, Jean Lionnet
Lovely bright fruit nose. Clean, ripe plums, with some earth. The palate has good acidity, but not the harsh acidity that a lot of 1996 Rhônes have. It has plenty of plummy fruit, nice, ripe tannins and good length. For a random bottle opened at a friend's place this seems rather lovely. Not super-fine, but a lovely, refined Cornas. As I have said before, I do like lovely.

Whilst drinking this Riesling from Boxler my thoughts turn to how much I love Riesling. It is just such a versatile grape, from dry, linear excitement, via rich, fat jollity to elegant sweetness it covers most of the bases one would want in a white wine. I admit, it doesn't do oaky power, but it does power in its own way. When one gets to try a wine as thrilling as this Boxler one can really see that other white grape varieties are less necessary than one might have previously thought. There are plenty of Chardonnays, and the odd white wine from other varieties, that I do enjoy, but given a choice a bottle of damned fine Riesling really hits my lewd spot. Pinot for red and Riesling for white, hooray!

Another Boxler wine, different vintage this time. Again the L31D refers to a plot of the oldest vines that are harvested very ripe

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31D 2001, Domaine Albert Boxler
A very stony, mineral nose with plenty of ripe, citric fruit. The nose seems quite linear and intense. There is some fat on the palate, but this wine seems largely to be about minerality and acidity. Not to say there is any lack of fruit, but this is quite a direct style. It is very long, with a creamy minerality and fruity weight finishing it off. Is this as good as the stunning 2002? Probably in the same league, but a slightly different style. Undoubtedly a fine wine and a lovely drink. I do like this very much.

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.