Wine group at E. McC's 31/05/2004 (TNB)

A fairly heavy evening - notes quite terse at the end!

• St Aubin En Remilly 1998 (Lamy) Rich and not unpleasantly resinous. Quite fat but not unbalanced. Nicely mature. Very top
• St Aubin Clos du Chatenieres 1998 (Lamy) A whiff of oxidation here - generally a bit past it. just
• Laville Haut Brion blanc 1980 Very stinky - severe and difficult. Thin finish. Opens up quite well I guess. Maybe
• Haut Brion blanc 1977 Honied apricot. barley-sugar. Nicely complex. Very much old wine but nice.
• Fuizal blanc 1992 Quite oaky. Savoury fruit - peaches and cream - decent length. even
• Carbonnieux blanc 1971 Intense and fresh - belies its age. Complex but with a slightly woody edge. Good
• Brunello 1988 (Il Paradiso) Rich brambley fruit. Sweet and ripe.
• Brunello 1988 (Pertimali - Sassetti) Brambles, touch of red fruit on the nose. Sweet palate. Drying a touch. Drink up. Bare
• Brunello 1988 (Canalicchio) Brambley (a recurring note) - quite fresh. Good maybe even more
• Brunello 1988 (Constanti) Quiet nose. But opens out to a complex palate. Good mature wine.
• Brunello 1988 (La Serena) Quite complex nose - pleasant fruit.
• Brunello 1988 (Tenuta la Poderina) Quite high-toned. A bit awkward on the palate.
• Champagne Rich 1989 (Veuve-Cliquot) Off-dry fizz - very well in its way.
• Bernkasteler Graben Auslese 1983 (Deinhard) Mature riesling, quite weighty - pleasant.
• Fonseca 1983 Very fresh, attractive, high-toned, complex fruit. A touch of aniseed - fine palate. Lovely (except to some extent) the spirity finish. Pretty good, but not a great Fonseca might be the verdict.
• Gould Campbell 1970 (bottled by Clode and Baker) Lovely, fragrant, turkish delight fruit. lovely balance - on the way up on a gentle slope.

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Recent Reds 30/05/2004 (TNB)

• Faugeres, Adagio des Terroirs 2001 (J.-M. Fourrier) A touch closed on opening, like the excellent Burgundies which are Fourrier's main interests. High-toned, very pure fruit, a touch medicinal from the Grenache (although there are other Rhone grapes involved) - tasting blind, I might wonder whether this was a good Priorat. Burgundian perhaps, but so many good wines are! Will keep well and probably develop for a few years, but very enjoyable now.
• Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers 2000 (J.-M. Fourrier) Lovely, sexy, forward fruit leaps from the glass - completely hedonistic. Actually, as it opened out (or as we did - this was drunk with J.M over dinner with the next wine) it seemed to possess greater depths and though drinkable now I suspect it will age well for a while. Maybe even
• Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Baudes 2000 (H. Lignier) At first this seemed to have more in reserve than the Fourrier - darker fruits, more structure and substance. The more we drank though the more it seemed that the reverse was true and this rather good Burgundy suffered a bit in the shadow of the Fourrier wine from only a few yards away in Chambolle. Darker fruits than the Fourrier - more damson than raspberry. A good
• Spanna Colline Novaresi 1997 (Vallana) Easy-going, gamy, succulent.
• Chateau Cadet-Piola 1988 Quite piquant Claret - high-toned and perhaps now likely to stay this way since it is for drinking in the next few years and so there is not much time for mellowing. Attractive.
• Vougeot 1er Cru Les Petits Vougeot 1996 (J.-M. Fourrier) This was at room temperature and had been decanted for 20 minutes or so before pouring. Even so, closed at first on the nose with odd little disconnected aromas surfacing. This opened out over an hour or so to be a lovely, dry, savoury Burgundy with a penetrating, perfumed nose - very elegant and quite lovely: the more I drank of it the more I wanted. Beginning to drink well and still improving. For now a good

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Red Burgundies from 1999 30/05/2004 (TNB)

• Chablis Montmain 2000 (Michel) Stony, very dry, almost austere. Good finish. Needs time.
• Gevrey-Chambertin 1999 (Rousseau) High-toned, crushed red fruits. Nice acidity. Excellent balance. Very drinkable.
• Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvee Vieilles Vignes 1999 (S. Esmonin) Very raspberry on the nose and palate. Structure more evident than the previous wine and not so immediately vibrant - but excellent depth. Improves on return. Easy
• Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru La Combe D'Orveaux 1999 (Clavelier) Closed, quite compact. Very pure raspberry fruit. A bit hard now and needs time. Very good concentration and length though - I suspect this will age well and justify
• Morey St Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffots 1999 (H. Lignier) Raspberry fruit - quite nuanced and fine. Good ripe tannins - needs time, but well-balanced enough to be very enjoyable now.
• Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru La Croix Rameau 1999 (Lamarche) Lovely forward fruit - peaches even on the nose. Structure is there but this will peak relatively early. Lovely and drinking beautifully even now.
• Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Aux Brulees 1999 (Grivot) Dark colour - charred oaky nose. Woody palate. Rather contrived if substantial. Others will rave.
• Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combe Aux Moins 1999 (Fourrier) Intense raspberry nose. Incredible hit of intense high-toned fruit on the palate - really great length. Very classy indeed.
• Charmes Chambertin 1999 (Rousseau) Fantastically long sweet fruit - drinking easily now but will doubtless improve. Rich.

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Lay and Wheeler's anniversary tasting in Edinburgh 19/05/2004 (TNB)

• Champagne 1996, Lay and Wheeler 150th anniversary Cuvee (Duval-Leroy) Yeasty ripe - decent but without real distinction.
• Chateau Brondelle, Cuvee Anais, Graves blanc 2002 Fruity - quite modern but a nice intensity
• Sauvignon blanc, Laurel Vineyard 2003 (Casa Marin) Nice balance - subtly varietal.
• Sauvignon blanc 2003 (Staete Landt) Similar but a bit vegetal. plus
• Chardonnay Clayvin Vineyard 2001 (Lay and Wheeler - Fromm) Quite intense but oddly bitter. Overdone in some way.
• Cotes de Beaune blanc Les Pierres Blanches 2001 (Domaine de la Vougeraie) Very intense green-pea fruit. Seems a touch contrived - hefty oak?
• Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatieres 2001 (G. Chavy) Authentic Puligny but a bit lightweight?
• Meursault Le Limozin 2000 (Michelot) Rich, fat and quite intense. Just
• Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Les Baudines 2000 (J-M. Pillot) Authentic straight down the middle stuff. Maybe the vintage - I haven't tasted so many yet. but no more
• Poggio dei Lecci 2002 (Piancornello) Scented, fruity, very drinkable Sangiovese. plus
• Solanes 2000 (Cims de Porrera - Priorat) Good nose, rich fruit, pretty structured and ambitious. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Good
• Faugeres 2001 (Moulin de Ciffre) Nice balance - very drinkable. even!
• Coteaux du Languedoc, Bronzinelles 2001 (St Martin de la Garrigue) Leafy and lifted - intriguing flavours - very drinkable.
• Minervois 2001 (Chateau Villerambert-Julien) Seems a bit Bordeauxy - cassis touches - but in fact Grenache and Syrah. Something remeniscent of laurel. Pleasanr. plus
• Coteaux du Languedoc, Cuvee St Martin 2001 (St Martin de la Garrigue) Rich and dense. Herby and aromatic. Long. A good
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 (Frog's Leap) Ripe fruits - touch of camphor, structured too but fairly short-term. A bare
• Black Poplar Block Pinot Noir 2001 (Pisa Range Estate) Oddly vegetal and a bit fizzy - or does it just manage to taste fizzy? Hard to express what I mean here but I am certainly not keen.
• Nuits St George 1er Cru Les Roncieres 2001 (Potel) Bags of ripe fruit - but nothing exceptional - lacks a bit of stuffing, I feel. Bare
• Savigny-Les_beaune 1er Cru Les Fournaux 2000 (S. Bize) Nice balance - bit of backbone. Good strawberry fruit. Easy

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In St Andrews recently 13/05/2004 (TNB)

• Amontillado Tio Diego (Valdespino) Pleasant salty tang, but lacking the yeasty element of the best amontillado. Good, but perhaps only
• Riesling Clos St Hune 1988 (Trimbach) Lovely rich take on the classic petrolly nose, zingy, quite full-bodied on the palate with a good finish. This has years in it yet. Very fine, if rather less taut than the austere but blossoming 88 Frderic Emile I remember tasting a while back.
• Riesling Frederic Emile Vendage Tardive 1983 (Trimbach) Deep amber colour. A touch of peach on the nose - fruit completely resolved. Bone dry palate, honied, mature, peachy riesling fruit, quite rich. If one is going to criticise, it perhaps tends to the clumsy.
• Scharzhofberger Kabinett 1992 (E. Muller) Sherbert and apples - completely resolved, very pleasant drinking without setting the world alight. Bare

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Wine groups at M.M.'s 13/05/2004 (TNB)

• Torrontes 2003 (Faldeos Nevados) Quiet grapy nose. Not much weight or length. Very hot - almost chile-like (the pepper not the country) palate. Has a bit of character. From Argentina. Decent
• Marsanne 2003 (De Lucca) Rather thin and anaemic - makes slightly more sense once one knows it is Marsanne. Judging by this I don't think Uruguay is going to be the next wine craze. Decent
• Chardonnay 2002 (Catena) An Argentine wine. Creamy nose, tropical fruit. Decent modern-styles stuff. Bare
• Chardonnay 2002 (Kumeu River) Bright (acid separated from fruit) fruity palate, creamy. Good in its way. The first screw-top ever at a wine group event!
• Chardonnay 2001 (Muddy Water) Similar (another New Zealand wine) - quite weighty more rather obvious wood.
• Chardonnay 2001 (Cape Mentelle) Intense - creamy - less obviously fruity. Spicy. Cloves. A bit of class here.
• Picadilly Chardonnay 2001 (Grosset). Herby, grassy, eucalyptus, citric, oz nose. Has character - of a pleasant old-fashioned Australian sort.
• Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 (Stella Bella) Big round fruity - dull. Bare
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (Suckfizzle) Warm ripe berries. Very soft.
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (Katnook Estate) A touch drier - gutsy leathery. Top
• Terra Rosa Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 (Parker Coonawarra Estate) Ripe blackcurrant - reasonably dry palate. Scrapes
• Terra Rosa Cabernet Sauvignon First Growth 2000 (Parker Coonawarra Estate) Toffee edge. Ripe fruit - good concentration. Quite good but not really in a different class from some of the earlier wines. More or less ready to drink. Top
• Rutherford Muscat NV (Campbells) Sweet nose brown sugar palate - thick glycerol texture. Liquid raisins, but perhaps a touch thin on the fruit.
• Classic Rutherglen Muscat 12 years average age (Stanton and Killeen) Deeper colour - deeper brown sugar fruit too. Nice length and rather more substantial than the Campbells wine.

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Bordeaux 2000 at Oddbins Fine Wine 06/05/2004 (TNB)

• L'Arrivet Haut Brion blanc 2000 Cat's pee - quite rich, forward fruit. A fair whack of oak. Creamy pineapple fruit. Needs a year or two but not a long-term wine. Top
• Tourelles de Longueville 2000 Soft ripe rounded new world nose. Amazingly forward - slips down very easily but not very complex. Scrapes
• Les Fiefs de Lagrange 2000 Ripe with a touch of complex cedaryness. Fruit tending to baked but decent acidity. A top
• Chateau Cos d'Estournel 2000 Ripe warm nose - touch of bordeaux perfume. Quite long, quite concentrated fruit - luscious but perhaps a touch gutless. Quite forward again but could of course do with a few years. Top plus
• Chateau La Tour Haut Brion 2000 Slightly lifted menthol nose. Warm cabernet fruit - evidently hot vintage again. Raisins. Tannins are there but again this is quite forward.
• Sainte Colombe 2000, Cotes de Castillon Quite suave - but a bit straight down the middle. No great structure but reasonably balanced. (Good value at around 10 quid.)
• Chateau Bourgneuf, Pomerol 2000 Savoury meaty edge (Xmas pud someone said). Dry and quite long. Nice acidity. Needs a few years. plus
• Chateau La Pointe, Pomerol 2000 A touch of piquancy to the fruit. Quite fine and balanced. Earthy. Elegant but less stuffing than the Bourgneuf.
• Chateau La Serre, St Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2000 Slightly up your nose - then coffee. Showy - wears its heart on its sleeve.
• Quinault l'Enclos, St Emilion 2000 Quite sweet ripe fruit - fragrant - elegant - rather nice. Top stuff!

And a couple of mature wines with M.D. afterwards.

• Chateau La Lagune 1982 Lean and irony - dry and savoury. Rather good - maybe even scraping
• Chateau Haut Brion 1983 Such a sexy, smoky nose - so typical. Lovely drinking. I can't understand why some think this is a below-par Haut Brion. From a half.

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