28/02/2009 (TNB)

• Chateau Cantemerle 1970 A little cool at first and rather thin. A little more fruit and nice mature Claret flavours emerge as it warms up, but it is a little hollow and showing its age now.

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Wine group with Z.M. 24/02/2009 (TNB)

All consumed with a very fine meal at the Vintners Rooms.

• Champagne Perle NV (Lilbert) A very classy number, drunk several times recently. Top at least
• Sancerre La Grande Cote 2005 (F. Cotat) Rich and deep. Pure and concentrated. Seems to be a good vintage for this excellent wine. Bare
• Sauvignon Blanc 2005 (Kante) Apple nose, with a touch of oak quite evident. Very good natural concentration.
• Pouilly Fume 2005 (D. Dageneau) Quiet nose, young, nicely made but fairly straightforward. Top
• Pouilly Fume Chatelain Reserve 1982 (J-C Chatelain) Ripe and grapey, honied and complex. Amazing, considering the age. Bare
• Hermitage blanc 1990 (Desmeure) Fantastic richness and density. Broad on the palate and really satisfying. Stunning. Bare
• Hermitage blanc 1996 (Desmeure) Curiously mixed. Not in balance at all, but will get there I think. If all goes well:
• Hermitage blanc 2003 (Tardieu Laurant) Concentrated and serious, with notable oak-influence. Serious but not for me. (others might give it more)
• Rioja Gran Reserva Vina Real 1975 (CVNE) Rather oxidised at first, something emerges but still a rather difficult wine. perhaps.
• Rioja Etiqueta Blanca 1962 (Murrieta) Hospital bandages - very typical on the nose. Lovely, mature wine. Slightly edgy finish (if one must carp).
• Vina Pomal Reserva Especial 1955 (Bodegas Bilbainas) Fantastic old wine - fresh yet piquant and complex. Svelte and gorgeous. Top
• Vina Pomal 1939 (Bodegas Bilbainas) Really old character but very fresh, complex, other-worldly, long. Top
• Puresa 2006 (Som Dinou - Terra Alta) An old-vine Carignan. Intense, slightly gamy, a touch of oak, great old vine persistence. Really interesting wine. (rising to top)
• Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1987 (Joseph Swan) Truffles, quite Bordeaux in some way but very individual. Not overstated. Lovely
• Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1987 (Mount Eden) Mineral, leafy, higher toned - a gorgeous drink. Brilliant. This and the last wine are in danger of bringing on one of my periodic flirtations with California.
• Niepoort 1966 Nice fruit, nice tone, quite spicy, very lovely but it doesn't seem particularly Niepoort (not that that's a problem). Bare

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22/02/2009 (TNB)

• Cotes du Jura, Vin de Pialle 2002 (Alain Labet) Lovely fruit, rich and quite sweet yet it has balancing acidity. As it warms close to room temperature (fresh from the cellar was too cold), it has a gorgeous apricot and brown sugar quality. Really lovely. It has an air of timelessness, and could well improve. It's hard to say. (From a half.)

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And something that has aged nicely 21/02/2009 (TNB)

• Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spatlese 1990 (Fritz Haag) Gentle, mature, limey fruit with a touch of remaining sweetness and refreshing acidity. For drinking in the next year or two - perhaps not surprising given it's towards the end of its second decade of life. Really very drinkable. Top

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Three recent wines that have not aged gracefully 08/02/2009 (TNB)

• Cotes du Rhone, Ceps Centenaire 1999 (Gramenon) Good Grenache fruit, but a little one-dimensional - this has not lived up to the promise I thought it had a few years ago. Possibly this is just not a keeping wine. Bare
• Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Vergers 1990 (Colin-Deleger) Gently vegetal mature Burgundy, very pleasant although it is quite evolved for a 1990. Colin-Deleger is not really a maker of wines for extended cellaring. Top
• Clos St Denis 1991 (Charlopin-Parizot) I thought I had drunk all my remaining bottles of this. It seems a bit hollow now - I suspect it was propped up with oak in its youth. Now it seems a bit unclean and fading.

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