30/04/2007 (TNB)

• Gewurztraminer 2005 (Weltevrede) Slightly oily Gewurz. Seems older than it is. Pleasant in a way. Top
• Gewurztraminer 2004 (Allan Scott) Brighter, more acid (in a disjointed way), slightly less fruit. Limey. Top
• Blue Rock Pinot Gris 2006 Martinborough (Murdoch James) Unassertive, dry, pleasant. Nice length. Pretty good wine. Bare
• Ravenswood Lane Pinot Grigio 2005 Less lean and precise than the Blue Rock. Perfectly drinkable. Bare
• Gris 2004 (Lis Neris) High acid, yet slightly flabby fruit? Pretty drinkable if rather new wave wine.
• Lis 2003 (Lis Neris) Creamyness emerges nicely, yet there's a lot of custardy oak. Good in a way but rather contrived for my taste. Top
• Reve de Carignan 05 Minervois (Borie de maurel) Blackberry fruit, oddly sharp. Top
• Hegarty Syrah Carignan 2004 Blackberry fruit. Very sweet indeed - much too much for me.
• Ancient vines Carignane 2003 (Cline) More balanced on the nose, but very sweet again - almost a desert wine in some ways. Not for me - it's not that drinkable. Top
• Observatory Syrah Carignan 2003 Better balance, but bizarre acidity and a bit volatile on the finish. Faulty?
• Ygay Gran Reserva 1995 (Murrieta) Rounded, soft, luscious, very smooth. Lovely.
• Chateau Pape Clement 1997 Smoky, rather attractive, but also clearly well on the way to modern. Given that, rather good.
• Unknown Tokay plus
• Tokay 5 putts 1957 (export monimpex - Kereskedohaz) Brown sugar, lovel acidity. Ravishing.

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Wines for the week-end 28/04/2007 (TNB)

• Chateau d'Angludet 1985 I've just been reading Hugh Johnson on Claret, and this is an excellent example of proper examples being light, appetising and moreish while still being complex and interesting. Lovely, fragrant, bright fruit; cedary and with good length. Top (almost more)
• Soave Colli Scaligeri 2005 (Filippi) A new discovery of Raeburn Fine Wines: this is lovely when it warms up and opens out. Classic Soave fruit with great length and old-vine richness - a bargain at comfortably under a tenner. Top

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25/04/2007 (TNB)

• Champagne Cuvee Clemence NV (Launois) Rich, stony, excellent.
• Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese 1998 (J-J Prum)) Fairly sweet for Auslese with really fine fruit. What one expects from the master!
• Barolo 1964 (Fiorina) Wide bottle variation but the best rather good - Bare even.
• Barolo Riserva Special 1961 (L. Bosca) Fresh, berryish, good but with no great complexity. Top
• Barolo Rochette 1995 (Accomasso) Fragrant, pure, intense, still pretty tannic and with varnishy overtones. Needs time.

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Misc 20/04/2007 (TNB)

• Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau Cuvee Confiance 2001 (Domaine la Soumade) Quite high-quality, slightly medicinal (in a good way) fruit, but it strikes me as a touch overwrought.
• Niederhauser Hermannshohle Auslese 1994 (Donnhoff) Very rich, quite sweet for auslese. Very good wine, just starting to drink well.

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Two Champagnes 15/04/2007 (TNB)

• Champagne Silver Brut NV (A. Clouet) This seems to get a bit more red apple, meaty, Pinot as time goes on. It's been in my cellar for a year or so and could do with another couple. Good though. plus
• Tesco Champagne 1er cru I think this "won" some tasting by Which magazine or some similar non-authority last year. Perhaps it has changed, or perhaps it hasn't and my tastes are rather different. Oddly confected and cloying - I really don't much enjoy drinking this.

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