A Valvona and Crolla tasting 28/02/2003 (TNB)

• Prosecco Brut NV (Ruggeri) Scented but a bit coarse on the palate with a bit too much weight for the complexity. Pretty drinkable though.
• Lugana I Frati 2001 (Dal Cero) A bit neutral - the grape (Trebbiano) perhaps. Bare
• Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2001 (Panizzi) Appetising, nice acidity. Good
• Amedeo 2001 (Cavalchina) Lots of grapey fruit. A bit richer and more mouthfilling than the previous wines but still drinkable. Top
• Soave Classico Monte Alto 2000 (Ca Rugate) Lots of green pea and grapey flavours. Rather long too. At least a top
• Plenio 1999 (Umani Ronchi) Characterful but a bit rustic. This probably just about carries it off.
• Renero 1999 (Alasia) Varietal sweet fruit (Pinot Nero) but rather insubstantial. Picnic wine. just
• Turlo 2000 (Salviano) Brambley nose. Well-made modern(ish) wine at a good price. Top
• Chianti Rufina 2000 (Selvapiana) Stylish light gluggable stuff. Reasonable basic Chianti.
• Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1999 (Baiocchi) I'm not sure I understand Vino Nobile. This has depth on the nose but it does seem relatively simple. Or is it just unforthcoming? There is a slightly woody edge too.
• Rive 2000 (Alasia) Nicely made - new oak I guess but well-integrated. Blackberry fruit.
• Brunello di Montalcino 1997 (Il Poggione) Herby, luscious, has depth but is still so elegant and drinkable. Very nice.
• Barbaresco 1997 (Produttori del Barbaresco) Lovely sweet fruit, marked acidity and Nebbiolo tannins. On the other hand it is rather insubstantial, particularly for what is supposed to be a fine vintage. Pleasant enough food wine.
• Amarone 1998 (Tommasi) Refined, well-made, pruney. A compromise between modern and old.
• Torcolato 2000 (Maculan) Attractive as ever - this never seems to be a really exciting wine but would be good drinking with the right accompaniments.
• Port LBV 1996 (Quinta do Infantado) Reasonable basic port

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A Tasting of Faiveley Burgundy 25/02/2003 (RJB)

• Bourgogne Blanc Georges Faiveley 2000 (Faiveley) Simple indistinct nose with some grassiness. Good acidity and nutty minerality.
• Rully Blanc ‘Les Villeranges’ 1999 (Faiveley) Good mineral stoney nose, softer and fatter. Nutty textured depth. Well made with some structure.
• Bourgogne Rouge Joseph Faiveley 2000 (Faiveley) Clear sweet strawberry fruit. A touch dilute.
• Givry Rouge ‘Champs Lalots’ 1999 (Faiveley) A touch stalky and dilute. Tannin not integrated.
• Mercurey Rouge ‘La Framboisiere’ 2000 (Faiveley) This is a monopole vineyard. Am I being swayed by the name in thinking that this does smell of raspberries? It certainly has a good nose of red fruit. Nicish structure.
• Cote de Beaune Villages 1999 (Faiveley) Slightly stalky nose, but sweetish on the palate. This has the structure to improve in the short term. Maybe
• Nuits St Georges 1998 (Faiveley) Suddenly a class above the other reds had so far. A touch more maturity – well handled. Needs time.
• Nuits St Georges Premier Cru ‘Les Porets St Georges’ 1998 (Faiveley) Seems older than the wine above. Tarry pinot. Needs time to open out.
• Corton Clos des Cortons Grand Cru 1998 (Faiveley) Very closed on the nose. Opens out with some beetroot pinot flavours. But so closed still.

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A tasting of wines from Grand Cru Classe Cellars and a lunch with wines from Cennatoio 23/02/2003 (TNB)

• Chablis 2001 (Michel Laroche) Clean and dry. Touch of mineral.
• Viognier 2001 (Michel Laroche) Nice varietal character. Good
• Sancerre Le Manoir 2000 (Neveu) Authentic, a bit vegetal. Slightly sour finish. Scrapes possibly.
• Life of Stone Sauvignon blanc 2002 (Springfield Est) Grassy fresh, slight spritz. Vegetal finish. Gluggable in a New World way. just.
• Chenin Blanc 2002 (Boland Kelder) Rather vapid - a decent
• Pinot Gris 2001 (Huia) A lot of character here, a touch of sugar too - well-made. I wonder if it will take a couple of years.
• Card Series Verdelho 2002 (Simon Gilbert) A mouthful of different flavours - makes a change. Pretty pleasant.
• Card Series Chardonnay 2000 (Simon Gilbert) Unoaked - decent enough fruit (although when I come down to this sort of price (six pounds) I am inclined to avoid Chardonnay.
• Card Series Semillon/Sauvignon 2002 (Simon Gilbert) Grassy, nice semillon flavours.
• Sauvignon Blanc 2002 (Hawkes Bay Estate) Grassy gooseberry. Rather tiring to drink.
• Chardonnay 2002 (Hawkes Bay Estate) Predictable - not badly priced and it will have its admirers. It's too much a fruity drink for me though.
• Tregaio 2000 (Panzanello) A curiosity - at first sip this (100% Trebbiano, I think) wine was a bit like an old-fashioned Rioja. On more study it perhaps owes too much to a lengthy time in barrique. Certainly not fruit-driven, I would quite like to have a proper try of it. Maybe
• Tresor Brut 1999 (Bouvet Ladubay) Decent fizz - fruity yet fairly dry and drinkable.
• Tresor Rose (Bouvet Ladubay) As above with a touch of bite. Not cloying.
• Tresor Rouge demi-sec (Bouvet Ladubay) Sweet and fizzy - just as it says on the tin! Not a style I find easy, but perhaps with the right desert?
• Barbera d'Alba Sarmassa 1999 (Franco Molino) Blackberry braced with oak. Lacks a bit of substance. A bare
• Dolcetto d'Alba 2000 (San Marco) Attractively juicy, fresh and very drinkable. Top
• Barolo Bricco Zuncai 1997 (Franco Molino) Quite scented but really rather thin. Rather dull for the vintage. No more than a good
• Le Pigeulot 2000 (Brunier) Rather good country wine (as one might expect from the producer).
• Cabernet Merlot Family Series 1999 (Simon Gilbert) Sweet finish on a decent ripe fruit body - well-made I guess in that sort of "accessible" style.
• GSM Family Series 1998 (Simon Gilbert) Herby, succulent drinkable. (GSM is Grenache-Syrah-Mouvedre which is a fashionable mix. Personally I think it is the Grenache, which grows well in lots of Australia, that lifts these wines well above the level of most Cabernets and straight Shiraz.)
• Stump Jump 2000 (D'Arenberg) Rather sweet after a gamy fruit palate. Not my sort of thing. A bare
• Innominato 1999 (Cennatoio) Mainly sangiovese. Attractive rustic nose, light colour but well made with good length. Good
• All'omo Il Vino 1999 (Cennatoio) Gamey - similar to above but perhaps a shade stronger. Not dominating but with a core of fruit that shows in the finish.
• Rosso Fiorentino 1998 (Cennatoio) Blackberry fruit, succulent tannins and a nice palate balance all through. Mainly Cabernet I think. Needs a few years, but classy.

And the next day with lunch at Santini:

• Chianti Classico 2000 (Cennatoio) Lovely basic Chianti - blackberry fruit. Excellent at the price.
• Etrusco 1998 (Cennatoio) A Sangiovese super-Tuscan. Lovely refined wine - one of those that is pretty drinkable now but has the balance to age really well - it may even rate more in time but for now a conservative
• Chardonnay, vintage unknown (Cennatoio) Made in very small quantities - not really a commercial wine. Pretty decent - lovely fruit but not at all cloying. I have been unable to find out which vintage we actually tasted!
• Vinsanto Naturale del Chianti Classico 1992 (Cennatoio) Lovely, nearly dry but lovely mature, straw flavours. (Also noted at the tasting.)

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Recent Clarets 16/02/2003 (TNB)

• Chateau Fieuzal 1989 Coffee and spices, probably from the oak, and a solid core of fruit in this dry and fairly lean wine. Good fruit too. Attrative, pretty much resolved and around at its peak.
• Sociando Malet 1987 I wondered if this hadn't been neglected too long in the cellar but this is a very ageworthy property. A good, cedary, fruitcake claret, lacking only a bit of fineness. I thought at first that it was a bit past its best, but it lasted well overnight and it may just be at peak. What a good wine for a weaker vintage. Scrapes
• Sociando Mallet 1982 Cedary, blackcurrant fruit - quite large-framed and chunky rather than elegant. I guess one has to say this is a classed-growth performance, but not my favourite sort of claret. Pretty much at peak I think - I am not sure where it is going but it isn't going to get finer with waiting although it is in no danger of deteriorating in the short term. I have contributed to discussions on breathing recently and this seems typical to me: a half bottle was drinking very well half an hour after opening but coming back to it six hours later there was a whiff of oxidation about it that I did not care for although the whole package had mellowed a bit. A top
• Pichon Lalande 1983 Spicy berry nose, Pichon's high merlot and a dose of oak presumably. Classy, rounded fruit with a touch of capsicum and an astringancy that one could worry just slightly about. Fine claret although I feel sometimes that this chateau's most interesting wines are in slightly less well-regarded vintages - I am thinking of the lovely 79 and 81. Giving it the benefit of the doubt: (from a half).
• Cadet Piola 1988 A bit simple and fruitcakey at first, but as it warms a bit a pleasant cedaryness emerges and one sees a mainstream St Emilion. Very pleasant if a bit chunky. Plenty of life yet but probably more or less mature.
• Chateau St Pierre 1989 Good healthy maturing colour. As it warms up, this shows good berryish, fruitcake fruit - quite dry and savoury with a touch of cedar. Close to ready, I think.

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An Oddbins Fine Wine tasting 16/02/2003 (TNB)

• Champagne Brut 1996 (H. Blin) Yeasty, ripe fruit (touch of strawberry). Good acidity. Maybe needs a year to soften but the fruit is quite evolved. Good
• Crozes Hermitage Raymond Roure blanc 2000 (Jaboulet) Touch of toffee, bags of honey. Floral. Low acid. Sweet oak finish.
• Beaucastel blanc 2001 Restrained nose. Richly textured - glycerol. Low acid. Lacks character a bit at the moment but I suspect that is just youth.
• Puligny Montrachet Les Enseigneres 2000 (Baron de La Charriere - Girardin) A touch scented (orange blossom remarks a neigbour). The fruit has a tropical edge. Nice balance. Will improve in a year or three.
• Corton Charlemagne 2000 (Baron de La Charriere - Girardin) Slightly smoky intense ripe fruit. Nutty and citric character. Huge finish. The real thing.
• John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 (Wynns) Very deep colour, sweet herby/leafy nose. Asian spices. In the mouth a bit cloying. Amarone-like.
• Cabernet Merlot 1999 (Cullen) Sweet toffee. Super-soft cabernet - very much a fruit drink. Touch of chocolate. Meretricious. Cloying. Others will rate this but not me.
• Beaucastel rouge 2000 Soft leafy cassis fruit with a touch of farmyard. A little sweetness on the finish. This doesn't seem very typical but I often seem to find myself saying this with very young Beaucastel.
• Cos d'Estournel 1989 Quite orange in colour. Old cheese nose - blows off perhaps. Mineral and meaty. But has it been well kept - there is some oxidation. Quite hard. I suspect there are better bottles.

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Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt 03/02/2003 (RJB)

• Palais Kesselstatt Riesling Trocken 1999 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) Youthful nose, tight grapefruit. Reasonable length plus youthful mustiness. Could have been a spatlese. Refreshing acidity.
• RK Riesling 2000 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) Sweet, slightly pear drop nose. Some spritz – a bit coarse and some sulphur at the end.
• Kaseler Nies’chen Riesling Kabinett 2001 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) Youthful, estery nose. Slight spritz – elegant and nicely balanced with fresh fruit and acidity. Good length. plus
• Josephshofer Riesling Kabinett 1999 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) Softish wine with ripeness showing through at the expense of acid. Too full and fruity almost for the body. A bit dead.
• Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett 1997 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) Slightly farmyardy petrol nose (I’m tempted to say tractor fumes here). Good acidity.
• Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese 2000 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) Slight spritz and honeyed with a short metallic finish. Lacks structure. Slight liquorice.
• Josephshofer Riesling Spatlese 1999 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) Big, full, ripe and soft. Apricots. Good and it will get better, but I think it’s for fairly early drinking.
• Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Auslese 1999 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) Slight woodiness about the nose. Soft again.
• Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese 1995 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) This is at peak and perhaps a bit beyond with caramel tinged maturity. just perhaps.

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Dinner at E.McC.'s 02/02/2003 (TNB)

• Niederhauser Hermannshohle Kabinett 1975 (Anheuser) Mature but still fresh, lovely honied fruit. Very pleasantly drinkable - just about merits
• Champagne Grand Anee 1992 (Bollinger) Very rich and nutty - Bollinger style. I feel the lighter vintage helps avoid the house's tendency to heaviness. Top
• Chablis Premier Cru Sechet 1998 (Dauvissat) Gorgeous minerality, creamy texture, refined and elegant. Fairly low acidity but that's probably the vintage (and not a problem). plus
• Vina Tondonia Reserva 1987 (Lopez de Heredia) Lemony, herby, vanilla ice-cream. Lovely old-fashionened wine.
• Clos de La Roche 2000 (Guy Castagnier) Perfumed, very pure, lovely savoury earthy long finish.
• Bourgogne Rouge 1995 (H. Jayer) Meaty bovril and silky fruit. Close to premier cru quality. Beautifully sweet fruit. Lovely.
• Cornas Les Terasses du Serre 2001 (M. Barret) Very ripe, almost cooked fruit. On return, raspberry, meaty, silky and Burgundian. Very good.
• Les Forts de Latour 1970 In nice condition. Lean and good acidity. The whole picture is a bit green capsicum. Just a bit unripe - needs food consequently.
• Brunello 1986 (Casse Basse) Lovely herby nose, long creamy palate - ice cream almost. Lovely. Brilliant for an average vintage.
• Maximin Grunhaus Abtsberg Fuder 88, 1983 Rich and long - coming round to drinking. I have more of this and will make a more detailed note at some point.

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