Wine Group at James's 18/01/2004 (TNB)
- Saumur Cuvee Flamme (Gratien et Meyer)
Touch sweet - foamy mousse. Ripe forward fruit. Good acid. Cloying. A bare
- Cremant de Bourgogne (J H Jonnier)
Better balance. A touch toffeed. Fragrant. Good ripe fruit. Good
- Santenay Beaurepaire 2000 (Vincent)
Smoky fruit. Forward ripe hedonistic Burgundy. A fair amount of oak perhaps but well-handled. Probably merits
- Santenay Clos de Malte 1999 (Jadot)
More restrained nose - forward cherry fruit.
- Santenay Charmes 1999 (Belland)
Deeper ripe cherry fruit. A bit more stuffing. A touch volatile - but who cares? Good
- Santenay Commes 1er Cru 1998 (Belland)
Good deep fruit - rich country wine.
- Meursault 1982 (Coche-Dury)
Very fine and beautiful - slightly oily roasted nuts. Mouthwatering. Lovely and long.
- Meursault Goutte d'Or 1982 (Comte Lafon)
Ravishing - a touch blowsy even by comparison with the Coche wine - very Meursault again (oily hazelnuts). Gorgeous - but I prefer the previous wine.
- Pichon Lalande 1986
Classic claret - quite weighty - a lovely fragrance emerges in the glass. More or less ready!
- Haut Brion 1986
Chunky at first but earthy complexity emerges. Iron and tobacco. Long - needs time still. Splendid.
- Leoville Las Cases 1975
Dark fruits - baked even - classic claret - a touch of the dry tannins of the vintage. Very good but doesn't sing that loudly. Perhaps it will merit another star in a few years but for now
- Rieussec 1990
Fat, blowsy and rich - not to excess perhaps but more than I like - very Rieussec!
- Moscatel Las Cruces NV (Lustau)
Very attractive burnt treacle nose and short palate - pleasant in a way but doesn't really hold my interest.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 18/01/2004 Return to top
An Edinburgh Wine Company tasting 18/01/2004 (TNB)
- Champagne Brut NV (Charles Henry)
Bouyant yeasty nose and decent palate. Reasonably civilized texture. Not bad.
- Saumur blanc VV 2001 (Langlois Chateau)
Decent fruit - but a bit forced and hence a slightly sweet finish.
- Sancerre 2002 (Christian Salmon)
Real character and ripe fruit, very good for a basic reasonably cheap Sancerre - even
- Chablis 1er Cru Beauroy 1998 (Wm Fevre)
A touch toffeed but some nice minerality. Not wildly exciting and no more than a good
- Pouilly Fuisse Clos Reissier 2001 (Domaine Perraton)
Closed at first - but quite zippy and with decent length. A bit of character here that easily merits
- Rully blanc Thivaux 2001 (Bouchard)
Forward greengage fruit - very drinkable - I guess it merits
- Meursault 1er Cru Les Clous 1999 (Bouchard)
Classy oiled hazelnuts - decent length - quite elegant but really a bit short on oomph given the pedigree and the vintage. Still scrapes
- Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Bernadine 2002 (Chapoutier)
Pleasant Low-acid Rhone white - no special individuality to merit a fairly serious price. Bare
- Soave Classico 2002 (Guerriere Rizzardi)
Clean, appetizing, pure. Just what one wants from a good Soave Classico. Top
- Chardonnay de Vallagarina 2000 (Guerriere Rizzardi)
Unassuming, but to my taste better than trying to force the pace with a wine at this price (less than seven pounds). Pure fruit again - very gluggable. Top
- Bardolino Classic Tacchetto 2001 (Guerriere Rizzardi)
Attractive ripe fruit - like the other basic wines here it's made for drinking - and I would, happily.
- Valpolicella Classico Pojega 2001 (Guerriere Rizzardi)
Ravishing nose - no great weight but very, very pleasant ripe cherry fruit.
- Castello Guerrieri 1998 (Guerriere Rizzardi)
Lovely nose - cherries - hinting a bit at Amarone. Complex - touch of sweetness (partially dried grapes I think) - unaffected - easy to enjoy. Maybe even
- Saumur Champigny 2001 (Domaine Fouet)
Leafy Cabernet Franc. Does exactly what it says on the tin.
- Minervois Rouge 2000 (Domaine Pierre Cros)
Gutsy country wine yet with a refined fruit character. Another bargain offering. Top
- Monthelie 2000 (Bouchard)
Quite forward attractive truit. Some real terroir too and a touch of the structure you hope for. Scraping
- Marsannay 1999 (Bouchard)
Really very "village". OK but lacking much to take it out of the ordinary.
- Beaune 1er Cru Teurons 1997 (Bouchard)
A more mature wine than most in the tasting and correspondingly a bit more interesting: animal pinot with a bit of stuffing - the real thing certainly. Gets close to a third star but perhaps just
- Chateau Haut Batailly 1998
Very forward - in fact drinking now. Sexy in a way but I would want something a bit more long-term from a classed growth in this vintage. No more than a very good
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 18/01/2004 Return to top