Wine group Xmas at St Bernard's Crescent 29/12/1998 (TNB)

• Krug Private Reserve (NV - believed mid 60s) Apples and honey - very mature yet fresh and vibrant. Absolutely lovely old champagne.
• Beaune Grves 93 (Jadot) Sound, especially for the vintage. Well made, but not terribly complex - youngish vines apparently.
• Chevalier Montrachet 78 (Bouchard) Lovely greeen-pea vegetality. Real Grand Cru quality. Good finish.
• Gruad Larose 82 A bit dumb at the moment, but clearly first class.
• Grand Puy Lacoste 78 Dry, classic, cedary Paulliac. Very nice. Beginning to be a shade austere in the finish. Probably for drinking in the next 5-10 years.
• Duhart Milon 62 Intruiging, seductive nose - quite indescribable. High acidity - dries a shade in the finish. Delicious.
• St Pierre 61 Stinky, wrecked. A bad bottle, apparently.
• Cos d'Estournel 59 Expansive ripe fruit - exquisite balance - still structured and not terribly evolved - everything an old wine should be. Gorgeous.
• Nuits St George 33 (Corney & Barrow) Amarone-like, alive, slightly sweet, curious. Seems quite un pinot-like. I suspect that's because it's not pinot, rather than just age. This sort of thing presumably explains why there was a belief that Burgundy is "full-bodied".
• Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese 85 (J-J Prum) As before, very young, some CO2, clealry high quality but needs time.
• Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese 75 (J-J Prum) Gold capsule and "Privatkeller" on the label. Beautiful rich, amazingly fresh ripe fruit. Barely entering maturity. Exquisite balance.
• Sandeman 70 Rather thin and dull - perhaps past it. Suprisingly weak considering this house's excellent 66 and 77.
• Quarles Harris 77 Tighter and less mature than I remember, but a very good wine.
• St Joseph "Offerus" 97 (J-L Chave) Pretty serous, full-blooded St Joseph. Very different from this house's Hermitage, but pretty good.
• Amethystos 94 (Lazaridi) The first Greek wine tasted by this group for a while! Seriously tannic, plenty of acidity, soft and leafy fruit - rather "warm-climate cabernet" to my mind. Not at all bad, but 15 pounds is a highish starting point for a wine region with little reputation.

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29/12/1998 (TNB)

• Champagne NV (Lanson) Quite large-framed for Lanson but pretty good basic fizz.
• Madiera Bual 54 (Henriques) Mixed spice nose, "burnt" fruit, excellent acidity, lovely.
• Champagne Celebris 88 (Gosset) Bold, almost off-dry, excellent acidity, goodish length. Needs time - will probably be rather good.
• Vina Ardanza 90 (La Rioja Alta) Sweet fruitcakey fruit, quite rustic, brawny rather than fine, vanilla wood-aged characteristics in enjoyable moderation. A nice drink.
• Essensia 86 Old marmalade and raspberries, scented. This has evolved rather well. (But faded - RJB.)
• Puligny-Montrachet Clavoillon 90 (Dom. Leflaive) Tight, quite oaky, nice acidity, hint of hazelnuts - classic Puligny. good length. Very good.

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26/12/1998 (TNB)

• Hermitage blanc Chante Alouette 91 (Chapoutier) Dull and lifeless. Just occasionally there seemed to be a streak of stoney fruit that might see it through, but I'm not confident.
• Marsannay Longeroies 90 (B. Clair) Decent, ripe, red fruits - pretty pleasurable just now.
• Vouvray Dom des Aubuiseres 90 Demi-sec (Fouquet) Quite eveolved, concentrated, sweetish, with just enough acidity. Slightly botrytised, Good in its way, but I orrry a little about the balance.
• Billecart Salmon 90 Absolutely delightful: lovely autolytic nose, bags of ripe fruit, with a good spine of acidity and grip in a medium weight style. Gorgeous - perhaps for early drinking, but perhaps with this balance it will last as well. (from a half).
• Colheita 83 (Niepoort) A chocolate and cherry delight, as on several previous occasions!

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19/12/1998 (TNB)

• Chasse Spleen 83 Refined, mature, cedary claret with nice fruit. Near peak and pretty enjoyable.

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18/12/1998 (TNB)

• Meursault Blagny 89 (Jadot) Quite mature, very hazel-nutty, pleasant fruit. A fair wine.
• Tournelles de Longueville 88 (Second wine of Pichon-Baron.) Fine, refined, medium-weight 88 with a pleasant blackcurrent palate. At or near peak, at least if you believe the modrate finish. A good second wine.
• Gewurtztraminer Herrenweg 90 (Zind-Humbrecht) Pretty concentrated, but I can't find a lot to interest me here. I think this may just fade gracefully. From a half.

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12/12/1998 (RJB)

• Bollinger RD 1985 Extra Brut Chenin-like acidity at the finish of this wine gives it a youthful character. Honeyed to start with and fairly severe. Needs more time to my mind. 90
• Condrieu 1997 Clos Chanson, Andre Perret Ethereal peaches. Very fine viognier - length and depth without ever seeming heavy. 92
• Vouvray Sec 1989 Domaine de Aubusieres, Fouquet Medium dry rather than dry - typical of 1989 as a vintage. Lovely honeyed drinking. 88
• Erdener Pralat 1997 Riesling Auslese, Dr Loosen Slightly spritzy, but otherwise a good low-alcohol sweet mouthful. A touch too 'sugar water' for my taste. 88
• Wehlener Sonnenuhr 1983 Riesling Spatlese, Deinhard Others thought this was fading - I, however, would like to see it with more age. Nose developing well. 89
• Mountadam Chardonnay 1989 Rather too big and buttery for my taste. 84
• Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay 1995 Drinking well with good, if rather obvious oak. Nice fruit. 87
• Tokay Grand Cru Brand 1994, Boxler Highly enjoyable. Some residual sugar, but balanced with the rest of the wine to give a harmonious whole. Perfumed. 90
• Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1961 Glorious 'fresh' old claret nose of violets and cedar. Palate seems on the way down with a slightly 'watery' feel to it. But this is being overly critical. 92
• Chateau Pichon Lalande 1982 The last time I had this wine (nearly 10 years ago) it had glorious layers of lush flavours. Now it is more at one with itself. Superb nose - sweetly vegetal - followed by a palate that is everything one expects. A slight 1982 warmth to it. 94
• Hermitage 1983, Chave Showing better than other times I've tried this - maybe the double decanting helped open it out a bit. Not a blockbuster, but fine and with silky syrah flavours. 90
• Hermitage La Chapelle 1978 Ahh! Bliss! Not as aggresively smokey as last time I had this, but still a fair amount of charred flavours. Lovely on the nose - black fruits and game. Superb, and to my mind the star of an illustrious set of reds. 96
• Chateau Rieussec 1983 This wine has always had a fairly deep colour, and this wasn't an exception - amber brown. Superb balance of acidity and sweetness. Classic. 93
• White Muscat 1898, Massandra Collection Wow! Cloudy brown colour with bits floating in it. Usually such a colour would lead me to pouring the offending wine down the kitchen sink. What a mistake that would have been with this wine. Glorious orangey muscat nose with no signs of excessive age. The palate is long and soft, and without much obvious acidity - but I don't expect high acid with muscats. Superb. Probably the best muscat I've tasted. Scoring such a wine is difficult and unfair, but it doesn't fall far short of one point for every year of its age.

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10/12/1998 (RJB)

• Petaluma Coonawarra 1988 Gently fragrant nose, but the paate has lost fruit. 80

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Noel Young Wines Christmas Tasting No. 2 09/12/1998 (RJB)

• Goldwater 'Dog Point' Sauvignon Blanc 1998, New Zealand (9.79) Gooseberry and aniseed - for once with the acidity and balance that suggests good Loire rather than New World. 86
• Devil's Lair Chardonnay 1997, Western Australia (14.99) Fairly oaky, but well integrated with fruit. Well made. 87
• Condrieu Coteaux du Poncins 1997, Villard (23.59) Lovely wine - lightly oaked to add just a hint of another dimension. Loads of peach and apricot flavours. 91
• Champagne Jacquart Cuvee Speciale NV Brut (17.99) Honeyed chardonnay and lots of pear like flavours. Alka-Seltzer minerality (cures your hangover as you drink it). 87
• Ironstone Zinfandel 1996, Western Australia (6.99) Big and warm, mint and chocolate. 15.5% alcohol. good for the price. 87
• Joseph Swann Stellwagen Vineyard Zinfandel 1996 Tasted blind. Quite a few people thought it to be pinot - no one guessed zinfandel. This looks older than its age, and has a ... well ... um ... pinot like nose. Perhaps a bit fuller than one might expect from pinot on the palate. 88
• Bailey's 1904 Old Block Shiraz 1994, Australia (12.99) Slight vegetal mushroomy edge - nicely mature wine. 87
• Umani Ronchi 'Pelago' 1995, Italy (18.99) 50% cabernet, 40% montepulciano and 10% merlot. This gives the impression of a good wine trying to emerge but never quite making it. It lacks life. 86
• Traminer Beerenauslese Nouvelle Vague 1994, Alois Kracher (17.99 per half) Lovely sweetness, but falls a bit short at present. 88

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06/12/1998 (RJB)

• Riesling Schlossberg Vieilles Vignes 1989, Blanck This was disappointing the last time I tried it (a year or so back?), however, the nose is better now and developing petrol aromas. The palate is still dull and unexciting. Who knows where it might, or might not, go. 84

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Cambridge Food and Wine Society Tasting of Medal Winners 05/12/1998 (RJB)

Medal winners from this year's International Wine Challenge - all wines from Noel Young Wines of Trumpington

• Champagne Les Mesnil Brut 1990 Blanc de Blancs (19.99) Nose good with lighlty nutty honey aromas. However, the palate is strangely resinous towards the finish. 83
• Pazo de Villarei Albarino 1997, Rias Baixas (6.49) a lovely change from chardonnay for simple but fruity white. 85
• d'Arenberg 1997 The Olive Grove Chardonnay, Mclaren Vale (6.49) Overtly oaky - not my style. 84
• Amberley 1997 Semillon, Margaret River (9.79) Showing rather strangely according to those who have had this before - certainly not tasting like an Oz Semillon.
• Colori 1996 Primitivo, Tarantino (3.99) Excellent value Italian food wine. Bitter earthy flavours. 85
• Vina Ardanza Reserva 1990, La Rioja Alta (11.99) Lovely wine that could easily be mistaken for a good Burgundy. Sweet mature fruit. Excellent value. 91
• Chateau l'Euziere 1996, Pic Saint Loup (6.99) Again (see recent previous note) not showing as well as one might hope. a touch leafy - Although it might just need time. 86
• Bouvier Muscat Trockenbeerenauslese Zwischen den Seen 1996, Alois Kracher (18.99 per half) Marmalade flavours - sweetnes and acidity well balanced. 91
• Quinta de la Rosa 1994 Vintage Port Well made Port that is designed for early drinking (fairly pleasant now), but will benefit from short-term ageing. 88

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02/12/1998 (RJB)

• Chateau l'Euziere 1996, Pic Saint Loup Blackcurrant leaf and youthful stalkiness initially. However, with a bit of warmth this exhibited better fruit and a silkiness. 84+

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