Noel Young Wines presents "An Unrivalled Tasting of Fine Wines". 30/04/1996 (RJB)

• Dom Perignon 1978 (85.00) Light lemony toasty nose, good sparkle, mineral flavours and crisp acidity. Initially a touch ill-defined at the end. Opened out in the glass (and lost a woody smell it had to begin with). Opinions were divided on this. I thought it reasonably good. 90
• Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 1993, Comtes Lafon (53.50) Closed hazelnut and unripe-melon nose, and creamy oak. Mid-palate a bit dumb, but there's plenty of 'hidden' structure. Exudes class, but needs time. 93
• Chardonnay Cuvee Cathleen 1992, Kistler Estate (33.79) A more obvious style than the Meursault, and lacks definition compared with it. Limey walnut oil. Reaonable acidity, but the finish falls short. 90
• Chateau Beychevelle 1966 (40.00) Tarry and gummy with a rustic dirtiness. Attractive fruit, but perhaps some signs that it is drying out. Mineral end. Past its best, but not bad for a thirty-year-old. 86
• Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz 1975 (59.00) Just in from the Henschke cellar. Colour of Oloroso sherry and smells and tastes like caramelised oak juice. Drying and dying, but doing it gracefully. Shame.
• Heitz Callars Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 1976 (69.00) Many people's favourite wine of the night, but not for me. Opaque colour and disturbingly brown. Meaty, tarry and gummy. Fruit disappearing leaving a quite tannic backbone. 83
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Speciale 1990, Henri Bonneau (35.79) Apparently this spent three years in barrel, and has an alcohol level of 16.5%. Morello cherry, Port-like nose with a Sherry nuttiness. I expected the palate to be sweeter than it was. I think if I'd had this blind I would have been thinking it came from Italy. A very odd style, and not one I'm sure I like. 86
• Welschriesling Beerenauslese 1981, Alois Kracher Wonderful marmalade and botrytis nose. Plenty of glycerol and fruit on the palate, but just a bit lacking in acidity at the finish. 91

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27/04/1996 (RJB)

• Pierre Moncuit Cuvee de Reserve Brut Grand Cru Blancs de Blancs, NV Approximately two years since purchase. Drinking well, with clearly defined, reasonably concentrated fruit and balancing acidity. 88
• La Porcii Chardonnay 1992, V. de P. d'Oc Commercial modern winemaking at not quite its worst -- boringly gluggable. 80
• Pinot d'Alsace 1990, Zind-Humbrecht Sweeter and spritzier than I remember. A lovely weight in the mouth, but still needs time in bottle to be at its best. Oddly, the dregs next day were better (the cork came out with quite a pop -- perhaps the spritz preserved it) and had more complexity. 90
• Ironstone Western Australian Cabernet Sauvignon / Shiraz 1993 Exactly as one would expect. Juicy and minty with reasonably non-excessive use of oak. 84
• Cotes-du-Rhone 1988, Guigal Good maturing flavours with a slightly dirty leathery feel to it (the last bottle I had of this didn't have this, so I'd guess this was just a slightly odd bottle). 87
• Bastor Lamontagne 1988 From half. Almost a Chenin nose to it -- a sort of sharp grassiness, but I guess this is just a stage in its evolution. Good medium weight Sauternes which needs a few more years yet to be at its best. 87

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27/04/1996 (TNB)

• Marsannay Longerois 88 (Bruno Claire) Cherries and almonds, nice fruit, perhaps starting to dry out ever so slightly. 86 (from a half).
• Barolo la serra 88 (Marcarini) Burgundian weight - elegant (perhaps a shade too elegant) drinking nicely, but perhaps not going anywhere much? 88
• Riesling Kitterle 86 (Schlumberger) Medium weight - good concentration - dry. Would be interesting to taste versus Fred Emile. 87.
• Nackenheim Rothenberg riesling auslese 94 (Gunderloch) Plenty of peachy fruit, good concentration. Sweetish, with good acidity though. No suggestion of anything hidden - all up-front perhaps. Good though 89.

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Wines of Spain, tutored by the Heart of England School of Wine 26/04/1996 (RJB)

Well, at least it wasn't the Wines of England tutored by the Heart of Spain School of Wine.

• Oloroso, Emilio Lustau Just his basic one. Easy and nutty, but a bit lacking in concentration. 84
• Sainsbury's Cava Flabby and coarse -- dull and pretty horrible. 75
• Marques de Riscal 1994, Rueda Apparently 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Thin and modern. 81
• Marques de Murrieta Blanco Reserva 1989, Rioja I never thought I'd be so relieved to have a glass of Murrieta (even though one glass at a time is usually enough). Very much its usual style, Vanilla and almonds and tannin. Perhaps not quite the oomph of some earlier vintages. 87
• Monte Ory 1994, Luis Gurpegui, Navarra Juicy, commercial and cardboardy (faulty?) 79
• Gran Sangredetoro Reserva 1991, Torres, Penedes Warm and quite New Worldy -- nicely put together, but not as good as the 1989 (thinner). 85
• Vina Albali Reserva 1989, Valdepenas Liquorice and cherry. Reasonablly good but a bit thin. 84

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Gang of five - one white, one red 25/04/1996 (RJB)

• Binger St Rochuskapelle 1976 Beerenauslese, Heinrich Jung Probably Riesling but not mentioned on the bottle. Amber colour, dying gracefully, with fruit and acid disappearing. Pleasant but past it. 82
• Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 1988, Ch. de Maligny Very odd concocted bubblegum, sickly nose. Almonds and coarse acidity. Thin. Probably a bad bottle, or it's going downhill very badly. ?
• Gruner Veltliner 1983 Spatlese Langenloiser Berg-Vogelsgang, Weingut Brundlmayer Very impressive. Lovely Alsace-like weight, with a touch of sweetness. I thought it a Pinot Gris (with Riesling blended in!). 89+
• Riesling 1989 Grand Cru Schoenenberg Vielles Vignes, Mittnacht-Klack Initially quite closed and with a lanolin nose, but after some time in the glass a good steely Riesling nose developed. Needs time. 91
• Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 1994 Someone actually guessed this as Cloudy Bay (quite impressive, except they thought it was the Sauvignon Blanc). Not a good effort from this winery, although it might just be shocked into dumbness at the moment. Some subdued lees character, but also a lot of ill-defined acidity. It'll be interesting to try this again in a couple of months, but until then ... 83
• Ladoix 1er Cru Les Joyeuses 1983 Dom. Michel Mallard Fading and drying out slightly, but overall showing reasonably well. Gently tarry and fragrant. 85
• Hermitage La Chapelle 1979 Disappointing. A touch vegetal and going over the top. Feels more Southern than Northern. 85
• Zinfandel 1987, Joseph Swan Textbook Northern Rhone (whoops!). Highly enjoyable and classy, but not reminding me of any Zin I've had before. A big leathery mouthful. 91
• Penfold's St Henri Shiraz/Cabernet 1989 A big minty, juicy mouthful. Good and holding together (in fact a few more years might do it the world of good). 88
• Mondavi Pinot Noir Reserve 1985 A bit too clean and oak-textured to be Burgundy. A lovely wine with no obvious signs of its age. Good clear Pinot fruit. 89
• Hermitage La Sizeranne 1983, Chapoutier OK, but rather lacks complexity. Fruit still there, and not showing its age. Might get better in a few years. 86

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Valvona & Crolla dinner at La Potiniere 23/04/1996 (TNB)

Cold still hanging on, probably still blunting palate to the extent of making it difficult to distinguish between Italian whites and water.

• Bellavista Brut NV Reasonably refreshing sparkler. New world quality, champagne prices! 82
• Soave classico 93 (Pierropan) More concentrated than supermarket soave, but I would be hard put to say what it has a concentration of. A sort of "Cheshire cat grin" - wineyness without flavour. 80.
• Soave classico 93 (Anselme) Soave meets small oak barriques! Apprantly the idea is to adapt soave to the frenchified international palate. Quit pleasant vanillan oak flavours. This and the previous wine would make an ideal pair for denmonstrating oak flavours, because there is no other flavour one could possibly confuse it with! 80.
• Mauriziozenella 88 (Ca del Bosco) Bordeaux mixture apparantly, but the flavours seem an intruiging mix of claret and leathery rhone, with sweet Italianate fruit. A fine wine, but perhaps the palate is too much biased towards the beginning to suggest very long term improvement. 89. (15 quid's worth for 25, unfortunately.)
• Barolo Bricco Roche Brunato 89 (Ceretto) I do find barolo difficult! Good colour, nice fruit, but the auserity of those dry tannins.... Probably a class act. 90+.
• Torcolato 93 (Maculan) Pleasant peachy, nutty flavours, but not so remarkable 85.

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21/04/1996 (RJB)

• Chateau Cantemerle 1987 Drinking nicely, light to medium weight with a good balance of mature flavours. At its peak. Very pleasant and easy to drink. 87
• Chablis 1990, Daniel Defaix Soft, toffeed and honeyed, but no great complexity -- better a year or so back. 85

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Tasting of Puligny-Montrachets, Carillon vs Sauzet, at Oddbins 17/04/1996 (TNB)

Tasted with remains of cold/flu -- probably more unreliable than usual!

• Les Referts 93 (Carillon) Round, melony, quite forward. A well constructed wine. I always find with Carillon that there is nothing drawing me back for another sniff though. (21.99)
• Bienvenues batard montrachet 93 (Carillon) Odd, apprently very little fruit, but a certain weight, and suggestions of class. Prefer the previous wine! (49.99)
• Champ-canet 90 (Carillon) Style as per Referts, but more structure, body and aging potential. Worth the extra 2 quid, but again it doesn't fascinate! (23.99)
• Les perrieres 90 (Sauzet) Complex, gingery, classy. Others thought a slightly maderised style. Wine of the evening -- I'd like to retaste when I'm on better form! (35.99)
• Les Combettes 90 (Sauzet) Compared to the above, thin and anaemic. Possibly just a bit closed, but I'm not convinced! (41.99)
• Champ canet 89 (Sauzet) Odd -- probably a sulphur problem. Perhaps a bad bottle, or perhaps not?
• Les referts 94 (Carillon) Next vintage of first wine, just arrived in the shop. Melange of fruit flavours -- tasted blind, I thought it might be Condrieu. Probably just extreme youth, and will be comparable to the 93 in due course. Hard tyo asess now.

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16/04/1996 (RJB)

• Champagne Drappier Carte D'Or Brut NV (With about three years cellar age) Drinking well with a lovely balance of freshness and maturity (which has given it added complexity). 88
• Champagne de Venoge Cordon Bleu NV (Straight from the shop) Typical (and good) young, light-to-medium weight Champagne, not showing much autolytic character, but with fresh acidity. Very similar to how I remember the Drappier in its youth. 86
• Caymus Vineyards Napa Valley Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon 1985 The best bottle I've had of this -- on song. It's lost the slight weediness and austerity it had a year or so back, and gained mintiness and juiciness. Actually showing younger than it is. At peak I'd guess, but no rush.89

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12/04/1996 (TNB)

• Cantemerle 89 Lovely scented nose. Sweet fruit. Delicious at the meoment, but doubtless will be lovely in a few years. 90.

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10/04/1996 (TNB)

• Calon Segur 81 From a restaurant wine list. Probably at peak. Nice cigar flavours, with the fruit still vibrant. Excellent with food. 89.
• Ch. Puy-Razac (St. Emillion Grand cru) 88 Very toasty, vanillan, possibly a bit hollow at the end. 85.
• Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 94 (Donhoff) Searing Nahe acidity, with really good apricot/peach fruit. Nearly dry. Will be really good in five years time! 89.

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07/04/1996 (TNB)

• Hermitage Cuvee des Miaux 85 (Ferraton) Though this might be a bargain at a tenner from J&B, with RP giving a good review. Nice raspberry nose with slight gameyness, but light in the mouth with a slightly hollow finish. Not at all keen. 83.
• Chablis Vaillons 89 (Michel) Lovely oak-free chablis, with precise minerally flavours and a good finish. Lovely example of the style. 90.

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Tastings in Bordeaux 02/04/1996 (LJM)

• Newton Chardonnay, 1993 (Oddbins) The usual rich unctuous texture with layers of fruit etc. going beautifully with every course (including desert) of the meal. Jean-Philippe thought it tasted of ashes on the tip of the tongue in a good way!
• Ch. La Louviere red 1992 Very fine but medium weight wine with good tannic edge and complexity with hints of minerals and leather.
• Ch. Carbonnieux white 1993 Quite elegant with nice quality of oak, but not much in the way of fruit. Enough fruit for the moment although one might have liked to have enough to be able to wait for the flavours to assimilate.
• Ch. Bonnet, Clairette 1994 Delicious fruity rose with clean good acidity and good structure.
• Ch. La Louviere white, 1993 A rich vibrant wine with lots of grassy gooseberryish sauvignon blanc fruit and excellent length. (Nice taste of ashes on the tip of the tongue again.)
• Ch. Clement Pichon 1990 A very smooth petit chateau which is completely ready and quite simple, but has a beautiful bouquet and good intensity and length. A complete wine.
• Ch. Lagrange 1989, St Julien Very rich fruit hiding a good tannic core indicating that it probably still has a way to go before maturity. Quite alcoholic also. Currently not really beautiful like the Clement Pichon above but clearly has a long way to go so its difficult to compare.
• Gewurztraminer, 1992 Grand Cru Hengst, Zind Humbrecht Very fruity and intense with a lot of depth in the taste and resonances. Layers of fruit, but also a good minerally core of structure.
• Mumm Cordon Rouge 1988 Good steely grip, fine mousse and good fruit without excessive presence. Good rigour and very fine upright wine.
• Pichon Baron 1992 Smooth ripe fruit and very pleasant classic claret flavours with considerable finesse. Medium weight and ready to drink now although might benefit from another couple of years.

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