5.6.40
Fine Wine Diary The Bailey brothers have now tasted 12082 wines in 28 years 6 months and 15 days
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Diary index

At Longueville Manor 29/08/2004 (TNB)

Some wines with dinner with LJM and AE 28/08/2004 (RJB)

A few recent Burgundies 21/08/2004 (TNB)

Something simple for Sunday 16/08/2004 (RJB)

Weekend wines 15/08/2004 (TNB)

Friday night 06/08/2004 (TNB)

Passing by Oddbins one Saturday afternoon 03/08/2004 (TNB)

Some catch-up notes 02/08/2004 (RJB)

Wine group at D.W.'s 02/08/2004 (TNB)

Slow food "Burgundy versus Piedmont" 01/08/2004 (TNB)

The Diary - August 2004

At Longueville Manor 29/08/2004 (TNB)

  • Puligny Montrachet Les Enseigneres 1999 (Girardin) A suggestion of a slight underlying raw woodyness slightly spoiled a rather good, rich, drinkable Burgundy. Still I guess worth ***
  • Champagne NV (Gardet) Quite yeasty, rounded and forward. Decent basic fizz. ** plus.
  • Redoma Rose 2001 (Niepoort) Niepoort's Rose is a pretty serious wine - like a very light (in colour and tannins rather than flavour) red Burgundy. It makes really good drinking both as an aperetif and with various courses of a meal. ***
  • Champagne Grand Siecle NV (Laurent-Perrier) I haven't had the NV version of this prestige bottling for quite a while. This is fine and elegant with a terribly approachable, rounded, mouthfilling palate. Understated - I think one has to expect to pay fairly serious momey for this degree of refinement. ****
  • Calvados Rarete 60/70 Yrs (A. Camut) I'm not a regular spirits drinker, mainly becasue I tend to find I am full of wine by the end of a meal. Consequently I don't tend to write notes on them because I don't have that much faith in my judgement. This old Calvados though was quite lovely - fresh apple fruit in a very smooth, rich spirit. Delicious. ****
  • Calvados Reserve 35/40 Yrs (A. Camut) Nice fruit but rather harsher. Top **
  • Calvados Pays d'auge 1967 (R. Giard) Darker, rather caramelised. Less interesting than the Camuts. **
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 03/10/2004   Return to top

Some wines with dinner with LJM and AE 28/08/2004 (RJB)

Food note: neither Chablis nor Rioja goes particularly well with a Thai-style prawn soup.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 30/08/2004   Return to top

A few recent Burgundies 21/08/2004 (TNB)

  • Nuits St George Vaucrains 1997 (Michelot) Dry, savoury, meaty, tannic, challenging. Interesting but not totally clear where its going. Good though. Let's say ***
  • Morey St Denis 1er Cru 1995 (D. Laurent) Very much red fruits - cranberry - stylish wine. Will improve yet I suspect but I'm not sure whether it will merit another star. ***
  • Grands Echezeaux 1987 (Gros Frere et Soeur) Last bottle of this in the cellar - I thought I might have left it too long but the gamey Burgundian fruit is still very present and enjoyable, shading to quite a dry savoury finish that strikes me as typical of the vintage. Drinking nicely, but drink up (as I now have)! ***
  • Chassagne Montrachet Les Embrazees 1998 (B. Morey) The last bottle of half a case: fruity, quite forward but with enough Burgundian grip: "rich not gaudy" in Polonius's words. Generally I prefer a tighter style but this is just the job for high-class, mouthfilling but not really chellenging drinking at the end of a long day. ***
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 21/08/2004   Return to top

Something simple for Sunday 16/08/2004 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 17/08/2004   Return to top

Weekend wines 15/08/2004 (TNB)

  • Barbaresco Brich Ronchi 1991 (Rocca Albino) Quite stinky on opening - I thought it was oxidised like a bottle of this wine I opened last week. It blows off though and after an hour or two it reveals a meaty, tarry wine with underbrush fruit - pretty tannic but good if you like your Nebbiolo challenging. My impression is the colour improved too from being orange-brown on opening to a healthier (although mature-looking) red-orange. Is that possible or is it my imagination? ***
  • Cotes du Rhone La Meme, Ceps Centenaires 1998 (Gramenon) One of the great Grenache vineyards, this has a deep colour and lovely ripe fruit with smoky hints. On the palate it is just so refined and silky. Beginning to drink well and lovely. ****
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 15/08/2004   Return to top

Friday night 06/08/2004 (TNB)

  • Riesling Kappelweg 1989 (Rolly Gassmann) Very graceful and elegant, as R-G's wines tend to become as they mature. A touch of riesling spice on the nose and good fruit and a mouthfilling texture. Not terribly assertive but very nicely frinkable. Merits *** I think.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 06/08/2004   Return to top

Passing by Oddbins one Saturday afternoon 03/08/2004 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 03/10/2004   Return to top

Some catch-up notes 02/08/2004 (RJB)

I've been rather bad about posting notes so far this year, so I am now trying to catch up. This is the first of a few such postings.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 02/08/2004   Return to top

Wine group at D.W.'s 02/08/2004 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 10/11/2004   Return to top

Slow food "Burgundy versus Piedmont" 01/08/2004 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 19/09/2004   Return to top