After having Google click-through adverts on my site for almost exactly two years I have finally earned enough from them to get paid. Wehay! This means my monthly income from writing Elitist Review is a staggering £2.51. I cannot quite paint the town red with that amount.

I would ask that all those who come here click on an advertising link, but I am just flattered that people come here and read my spume of drivel in the first place. All the same, many thanks to those who have clicked on a link. I’ll buy a bottle of wine with the cash and write it up.

I have been introduced to many fine wines via the offices of Paul Day. He also let me know about this wine, which in previous vintages was the best Beaujolais I have ever tried. You would have thought a 2007 Beaujolais would have been a terribly flattering vintage for this style of wine, but if you ask me this is just dull.

Fleurie ‘Clos de ls Roilette’ 2007, Coudert
There is some bubblegum fruit to the nose, but also a strangely meaty character. And that, lads and lassies, is pretty much it. It is a dull as dishwater, there is just nothing here to tickle your fancy. The palate is flat, boring and even more tedious than I am capable of articulating. Boring, boring, boring. I suppose at least it is not actively unpleasant, but I am fucked if I am saying anything even vaguely positive about a wine I find so boring. BORING. Get the message. I think this is a fundamental problem with Beaujolais, buggered if it grown on limestone or not, or if they don’t use carbonic maceration, it is just a broken pencil style of wine: pointless. Yeah, let us not hold back, it is crap. I’m unhappy that I have spent my money on this tossy pile of boring shite. Piss, that is what it is.

OK, I have had good Beaujolais, including the 2005 from Coudert, but I am really not sure this is a terribly interesting style of wine. Sometimes you feel the need to drink something like this, much as sometimes you need a bottle of Bandol rosé, but when you want to open something compelling for an early Saturday night's drink for your friends you can do so, so much better than this. My chums D&J with their huge quantities of Tim Adams drink better and more cheaply than Clos de la Roilette 2007.

Dujac Fils et Pere wines are a great way of getting a taste of a hilariously serious producer for less money than their grander stuff. There is definitely a place for such, dare I say it, more minor wines in the pantheon of brilliant loveliness and they are well-worth every penny. The more I try Dujac 2006s the more I love them, and I loved them quite a lot to start with.

Chambolle-Musigny 2006, Dujac Fils et Pere
This has a pure nose of refined fruit and lovely earthiness. Highly attractive for a village wine, love that slightly floral character. Hmmm… I often get something a bit floral from Dujac wines. There is a degree of complexity to this as well, which we like. The palate has a silky texture with smooth tannins and plenty of fruit. Good length. This is a pretty, attractive and accessible wine which should charm. OK, it may not set the world on fire, but you’d have to be pretty jaded not to smile when you smell and taste this. A keenly-priced treat.

Since the prevailing opinion is that we should be drinking these things before they get too old, this is what we are doing.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg Vendanges Tardives 'D' 2005, Albert Boxler
Oh, oh yes. This is a stellar entitiy on burning intensity on the nose. Candied fruit and richness are there in abundance, but the minerality is utterly wonderful. Yeah. This has a real expression of place, it is so much like other Sommerbergs, but it is the most intense and focussed expression of Sommerberg I've had in, oh, weeks. Brilliant, throbbingly sex-tastic action. The palate has some sweeteness, but an incredible depth of character which burns with classy acidity and minerality. The fruit on the palate is top-totty-tastic. We don't put things that are this good in our mouths that often. There was a time when I would have suggested drinking this over the next 10 years or so, these days I think that is a bit enthusiastic. This is a great wine, drink it now with hilarious pleasure.

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.

I got this to celebrate the partner's return to London after two weeks away. He says, "If this is what you opened you cannot be too ecstatic to see me." I am ecstatic to see him, but this wine is piss boring.

Champagne Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Presidence 2002 Vieilles Vignes, R & L Legras
Bit bready and yeasty on the nose, with hints of... erm... I am not sure there are any hints of anything else. This smells fresh, and that is about it. By arse I am freaking bored to tears smelling this. Some character would be nice. The palate is watery and insipid. This must be called 'Presidence' because it is as short as Sarkozy. I'd like to rant semi-coherently about this having no redeeming features, but it just has no features at all. Avoid.

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.

I've been in Estonia for the past few days. Not my favourite place to be, but I wanted to visit the partner. This is a great bottle to pop with the friends next door who are 'baby-sitting'.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg Vendanges Tardives 2005, Domaine Albert Boxler
Essence of peach on the nose, fruity in a quite wild and loony sense. Wow, the florid craziness of this nose is quite compelling, and also mind warping. This nose rams the very ripest apricots and peaches right up your nostrils. There is a lot to this, even beyond that provided by the fruit. It has shades of botrytis and there is that creamy minerality of Sommerberg in spades. This nose is good, no freaking doubt about that. The intensity of the palate adds to the level of hallucinogenic trippery that this wine is delivering. The sweet fruit is clearly there, it has a seriously interesting mineral taste and the acidity is enlivening. And, after all of that, the harmony is beguiling. Let us be honest, you want to drink this soon whilst it is in its final flush of life, you'll have a lot of fun when you do it. Abso-tmesis-lutely wonderful, so good to have friends who open these things for one.

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.

And this is a goodie, alright.

Riesling Spatlese Kiedrich Grafenberg 2007, Weingut Robert Weil
A wonderful, precisely-defined nose of citrus fruit and minerality. This smells charged with life, a really exciting array of aromas. It has the ripeness of 2007, alright, this is one ripe-bitch-mother of a Spatlese. The palate has spell-binding acidity and is bursting with fruit. Lots of minerality here as well. The flavours on the palate are also precisely defined and this gives the impression of a very stylish, classy wine. There is a lot here to enjoy and I am pleasuring myself immensely with this glass.