2005 Claret 14/08/2009 (TNB)

A friend was wanting to have a look at a range of the 2005's. Of course, we had some older wine after.

The wines I liked best at least from the Medoc were in that old-fashioned, not too extracted or oaked, fairly high-toned style: the Trois Chardons and the Haut Bages Liberal in particular. Properties doing this are becoming pretty rare though.

• Palo Cortado Viejo "Scully" (Hidalgo La Gitana) Elegant, beautifully authentic Palo Cortado with a fantastic core of fruit. Lovely. Top
• Chateau Trois Chardons 2005 Lovely ripe but high-tomed fruit, balanced tannins. Fantastic old-fashioned Claret.
• Alter Ego de Palmer 2005 More tannic and a bit inky and oaky.
• Chateau Rausan Gassies 2005 Warm, rounded, slightly fruit-cake Claret. Not hugely complex and the tannins a touch dry.
• Chateau Malartic Lagraviere 2005 Slightly singed fruit, ripe forward and quite soft in the modern style.
• Domaine de Chevalier 2005 (Very) corked.
• Chateau Clarke 2005 Singed, plummy fruit. Quite tannic on the one hand but also quite pleasantly forward.
• Haut Bages Averoux 2005 Gutsy palate, quite hard and dry. Not terribly attractive. Bare
• Chateau Haut Bages Liberal 2005 A bit of sous-bois, complex, really nice poise - stands out from a lot of the wines here with its classic elegance. Bare
• Chateau Beychevelle 2005 Lower register, but good balance and attractive, scented fruit. op
• Chateau Beauregard 2005 Very rounded and easy. Quite a sexy wine, which isn't quite my thing. Good though. Bare
• Chateau Berliquet 2005 A big hit of oak, rather internationally styled. Not my sort of thing. Top
• Chevalier Montrachet 2003 (H. Boillot) Great balance and richness, building through the palate. Powerful, a fair amount of oak, and no sign of 2003 flab. Very impressive. Bare
• Corton Charlemagne 1978 (Tollot-Beaut) Quite smoky and herbaceous - interesting perhaps rather than exceptional. Nice but probably better a few years ago. Top
• Clos de Tart 1985 Gamy mature pinot, a touch rustic too. Perfectly pleasant but nowhere near the standard it should be. Top
• Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste 1985 Just a very good, balanced, drinkable 85. Lovely. Top
• Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste 1990 Grander than the 85. Capsicum fruit, tending a touch towards baked. Great balance and with a scope for further resolution. Bare
• Chateau L'Evangile 1998 Great fruit - long and sexy. Pleasantly structured ad still improving. Bare and rising.
• Chateau L'Evangile 1990 Very soft, aromatic, completely resolved. Lovely and much admired, and yet at times I thought it a bit soft.
• Chateau Canon 1982 Just a very good mature Claret. (Notes getting briefer as the evening progresses!) Top
• Nussbacher Eselhaut Rieslander BA 1992 (Muller-Catoir) Very deep reddy-brown colour. Lots of brown sugar - very intense. Bare
• Krug 1989 Lively mousse, but quite evolved and mushroomy on the palate. Apples and vanilla on the palate. Excellent, but not perhaps a top Krug on this showing. (That said, we have tasted a lot tonight.) Top

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09/08/2009 (TNB)

• Chassagne Montrachet 1966, Lebegue selection (Griersons) Opened with very low expectations (two odd bottles in an auction lot). In fact very pleasant, nutty, herbaceous mature Burgundy, fairly light but fresher I guess than most 96's. Bare

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Another Leclapart Champagne 08/08/2009 (TNB)

• Champagne Extra Brut L'Amateur L.V05 (D. Leclapart) Fascinating, quite different from most Champagne - quite nutty, slightly oxidative - tending towards the Selosse style, I feel. Needs a year or two, but very good. Leclapart's basic offering.

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