Lovely Bubbly at the Edinburgh Festival 23/08/2008 (TNB)

Pleasantly surprised to arrive at the Edinburgh Festival Foodie weekend and discover that the promised Champagne bar was serving a selection of interesting grower wines from internet business "Lovely Bubbly" rather than being a grand marque monoculture. It was mainly lower-level wines but I liked the "Legras and Haas" a lot and would be interested to try other wines also from Tribaut even though they are not in a top village.

• Champagne Brut Tradition NV (Tribaut-Schloesser) Clean, dry, appetising. Apparently this is 20-30% reserve wines and I think this shows in the extra complexity. Some evident Meunier character but I think this contributes to its character as an aperitif fizz. The producer is in Romery. A good
• Champagne Cuvee Selection NV (Lancelot-Pienne) Apparently this is a blend of the three varieties from Cramant and nearby. It doesn't strike me as very typical of the village, being quite big and showy. Pleasant but a bit undistinguished I feel. Top
• Champagne Tradition Grand Cru NV (Legras et Haas) A blend of the usual varieties from Chouilly, high-quality fruit (as you would hope for from a Grand Cru wine). Good stuff - I would be interested to try other wines from this estate. Top
• Champagne Brut Rose Premier Cru NV (Lallier) Pinot Noir from Ay, Mareuil and Bouzy, made by addition apparently. Nice fragrant nose and good fruit. Tried briefly at the end - my initial impression is that it probably merits

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Weekend wines 10/08/2008 (TNB)

• Champagne Reserve Bouzy Grand cru NV (Bara) Rich pineapple fruit, quite meaty and substantial, yet proper Champagne. Shows the benefits of a year or so in cellar. Top
• Chateau La Gaffeliere 1999 Coffee and chocolate fruit, quite modern in style, yet with a nice dry finish and a certain minerality. Good terroir, I guess. Top

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Wine group at M.D's 04/08/2008 (TNB)

• Bandol blanc 2003 (Tempier) Aniseedy, grassy, flat accross the palate but long and vinous. Not really singing now but it might well in time and then merit another star.
• Bandol Rose 1989 (Tempier) Testing the theory that this wine ages - this one is stinky and oxidised and so fails.
• Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets 2000 (Pousse d'Or) Red fruits, fresh, appetising and yet luscious. High-toned and very moreish. Top
• Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2000 (Domaine des Lambrays) Stonier and more mineral than the Volnay. Understated wine but very lovely. SAnd there is something in reserve too.
• Tokay Pinot Gris Sonnenglanz 1998 (Bott-Geyl) Rich and at the sweet end of medium, although with just about adequate acidity. Fragrant and with good grapy fruit. Pity though the consumer who thinks this is not really a pudding wine. Bare
• Tokay Pinot Gris Heimbourg 1997 (Zind-Humbrecht) This is really quite dry (in a way that much recent Z-H is not) and has a riesling-like complexity. Rather good. Top
• Tokay Pinot Gris Sonnenglanz 1999 (Bott-Geyl) This is in the style of the 98 but flabbier and I am not very keen.
• Chateau La Dominique 1989 Like the other 89 Clartets here, this seemed rather younger. This has a touch of astringency still and capsicum overtones to the berry fruit. Good length. Bare
• Chateau La Lagune 1989 Nice balance. Dry and persistent, but still a bit gummy. again I guess.
• Chateau Pavie Macquin 1989 Solid fruit with a pleasing purity and good Claret character. More resolved than the previous two wines but like the others good classic wine. A good
• Chateau Palmer 1989 Pure and gentle at first, and pleasantly high-toned. There's just a hint of the iron fist towards the finish. Rising to a bare
• Chateau Palmer 1983 Cedary, very classy, classic Claret. Quite meaty. Obviously top-class, but I would never have guessed it was this wine, which I remember being a monster year ago. Very top
• Chateau Suideraut 1988 Lots of botrytis, apricot flavours, full fruit. Fine Sauternes.
• Niepoort 1992 Blueberry fruit with lovely ripeness. Thoroughly attractive Port that is actually pleasantly drinkable although it will doubtless benefit from another decade or two in cellar. A good
• Deutz 1995 Very autolytic nose, bready, quite evolved. Intense, characterful wine.

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At E.McC's 02/08/2008 (TNB)

• Nierstein Pettenthal Kabinett 1996 (Balbach) Deep colour, lots of rich fruit with a sour-apple edge. This seems rather evolved for its age but is pleasant to drink. Top
• Chablis Grand Cru Le Clos 1991 (Dauvissat) Very creamy, mineral and delicious. Top Chablis. Bare
• Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 1993 (Ramonet) Rather flat - drinkable but we agreed on the whole that this was probably a substandard bottle.
• Rasteau blanc Court de Mautens 1999 (Bressy) Deep amber colour, very concentrated honey fruit and good minerality. It has that attractive Rhone glueyness on the palate. Lovely.
• Rasteau blanc Court de Mautens 2001 (Bressy) Straw and honey again bu much more reserved than the 99. Probably just needs time because the ingredients are there.
• Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Charmes 1969 (Jaboulet Vercherre) Good condition for a 39 year old Burgundy. Or it would be if it were Burgundy. In fact it is clearly one of the heavily adulterated wines that led to that odd belief in cookery books that Burgundy is a full-bodied wine. So the winemakers of Brunello have only been following an ancient tradition.
• Chateau Haut Marbuzet 1961 Very youthful-looking. Delicate but with creamy rich fruit. Very lovely old Claret.
• Chateau La Gaffeliere 1970 Taught, dry, complex and mineral. Delicious.
• Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1989 Berryish rounded fruit. Slightly green tannins, as 89's often have. I am not sure where this is heading and it doesn't seem to be at the level of the best of the vintage.

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