5.6.40
Fine Wine Diary The Bailey brothers have now tasted 12082 wines in 28 years 6 months and 14 days
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Diary index

Champagne tasting at Oddbins 19/12/2000 (RJB)

Wine group hosted by ZM 19/12/2000 (TNB)

15/12/2000 (TNB)

12/12/2000 (RJB)

Reds from Justerini and Brooks 10/12/2000 (TNB)

Maximin Grunhaus at the Ubiquitous Chip 07/12/2000 (TNB)

Saint-Chinian Wines 05/12/2000 (RJB)

01/12/2000 (TNB)

The Diary - December 2000

Champagne tasting at Oddbins 19/12/2000 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 19/12/2000   Return to top

Wine group hosted by ZM 19/12/2000 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 19/12/2000   Return to top

15/12/2000 (TNB)

  • Rivesaltes 1992 (Mas Christine) Vin Doux Naturel at 16%. Very attractive apricot and brown sugar flavours. Simple perhaps, but a good drink. **
  • Champagne 1990 (Billecart-Salmon) This wine has now reached a rich, almost decadent maturity while retaining the elegance of its youth. I wish I had more of this, but it does suggest the 1990's are fast-maturing wines. From a half. ****
  • Riesling Kitterle 1986 (Schlumberger) Mature riesling with a rather fine mineral palate and long lemony finish. At peak. This vineyard produces good, structured wines that age very well. ***
  • Chardonnay 1991 (Petaluma) Golden colour and a palate that seemed to oscillate between not unpleasant honeyed vegetality and seeming just a bit past it. On the whole, I'll go with the former. This is too evolved at this age to be really classy. **
  • Mas de Daumas Gassac 1990 Good, youngish colour. Nose fruity - South of France with hints of Bordeaux. Good balance on the palate and finish too, but overall is it just a bit simple? Just about worth ***
  • Chasse-Spleen 1985 Soft, slightly vanillan fruit, attractively ripe in the mouth (very typical of the vintage). A bit of cedaryness in the finish. About at peak. From a half. A top **
  • Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spatlese 1989 (F. Haag) Lovely, racy, lime and sherbert riesling just becoming interestingly spicy. I have a case or so of this, and I should probably try not to drink the last one for twenty years! Watch this space for occasional updates. I feel it's worth **(**)
  • Chassagne Montrachet Champgains 1994 (Neillon) Neillon seems to have chosen, probably wisely, to make something quite fat and relatively forward in this vintage - almost New World in style. Drinking very well, but not for keeping long. ***
  • Chateaux Pradeaux 1985 I've had a few bottles of this recently - this one rather good with that savoury southern French fruit character that I think of as Provencal herbs. For drinking fairly soon. A good **
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 15/12/2000   Return to top

12/12/2000 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 12/12/2000   Return to top

Reds from Justerini and Brooks 10/12/2000 (TNB)

Some rather hurried notes from a walk-around tasting.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 10/12/2000   Return to top

Maximin Grunhaus at the Ubiquitous Chip 07/12/2000 (TNB)

A ***** estate without doubt in my mind.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 07/12/2000   Return to top

Saint-Chinian Wines 05/12/2000 (RJB)

Short notes from a tasting held in Cambridge by the Alliance Francais of the wines of the Languedoc cru, Saint-Chinian

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 05/12/2000   Return to top

01/12/2000 (TNB)

  • Cabernet Sauvignon 1986 (Moss Wood) Huge nose of hydrogen sulphide, far too much to blow off. Colour looked fine and the fruit seemed alive, so probably a dodgy bottle. Nice to know the Ozzies can produce such a badly flawed wine - it gives me hope. Not Rated
  • Deutz Marlborough Cuvee Coarse mousse and fat chardonnay flavours - not bad perhaps by New World fizz standards (I'm not a fan). *
  • St. Joseph Clos de L'Arbalestrier 1988 (Florentin) Gamey, animal nose and blackberry and cassis fresh fruit. Silky, old-vine texture, fruit perfectly fresh. Drinking very well. This must be the most interesting esate in this appelation. A very good ***
  • Champagne NV (Roederer) Lovely yeasty, bready nose. Medium weight, nicely balanced rich palate. This had been in cellar a year. ***
  • Gevrey Chambertin En Pallud 1996 (Maume) Red fruits, with a lot of depth and undergrowth notes. Very tannic, good acidity, an old-fashioned wine that needs a good few years. **(*)
  • Chardonnay 1990 (Mountadam) My last bottle of this: it's aged quite quickly (for Puligny, say, but perhaps not for a Macon), and the last bottles have been a bit variable. Cabbagey, fat, but not ungraceful - this one is rather enjoyable. ** (could almost be more if you like this sort of old chardonnay).
  • Rioja Labastida de Alba Reserva 1980 (Remelluri) A bottle kept more out of nostalgia than real expectation. I remember bottles of this being quite pleasant, but this one had a nasty burnt-rubber, oxidised palate. Possibly a bad bottle, but more likely just past its booze-by date. Not Rated
  • Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Cuvee 1985 (Caymus) Pleasantly herbaceous, sweet fruit, beginning to be a bit vegetal in an interesting way. For drinking now. A good **
  • Domaine De L'Hortus 1991 Blackberry and cassis fruit with Provencal herbs. For drinking in the next couple of years, but this has aged very well. Agreeable drinking. A good **
  • Gewurztraminer 1989 (Zind-Humbrecht) Presumably the estate's most basic Gewurztraminer, this is very charming, fruity with a peppery edge. Not getting better, but in very good condition. **.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 01/12/2000   Return to top