30/01/1999 (RJB)

• Ermitage 1997, Pic Saint-Loup Cheap, but not that cheerful. Commercially fruity.
• Mount Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz 1995 As excellent as ever - World-class shiraz.

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28/01/1999 (RJB)

• Edmunds St John "L'Enfant Terrible" 1995 Mourvedre One of my favourite New World mourvedres: earthy, cherries and tobacco.

  The following three wines were tasted single blind. Overall they are disappointing. And it is difficult to tell them apart on age. However, the order of quality is clear.

• Vina Valoria Gran Reserva Rioja, Cosecha 1987 Clearly the best: perfumed nose and the oak showing through well.
• Vina Valoria Gran Reserva Rioja, Cosecha 1985 A weak effort - lacking most (if not all) things one might want.
• Vina Valoria Rioja, Cosecha 1968 No 'Gran Reserva' or anything else on the label. Reasonable, and not really showing as any older than the others, but lacking what you might want from an old Rioja. Probably better twenty years' ago.

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With RJB in Edinburgh 25/01/1999 (TNB)

• Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube Spatlese 1975 (Staat Dom) Very pleasant, mature - getting a shade short in the finish even.
• Castillo Ygay 1978 (Marques de Murrieta) Nice old sherry-like thing. Just so wonderfully different from "modern winemaking".
• Chassagne Montrachet Chenevottes 1990 (Neillon) Very sound - youngish, fine white burgundy.
• Barbaresco Cricket Paje 1978 (?) Very different from the light, perfumed, charming bottle of this TNB had in Piedmont, this was a fine, maturing, tarry Barabaresco.
• Gruad Larose 1970 Nice cedary old claret nose, and a pleasant mature wine in the mouth. It's beginning to go a bit citric, and it is becoming a little austere in the finish. For drinking soonish.
• Grahams 1970 (Wine Soc) High class, a bit sweet (Grahams' style), with years to go. Hints of aniseed.
• Champagne Taittinger 1990 Maturing quickly. (Will this be the way of the 90s?) Very good medium weight champers.
• Meursault Les Meix-Chavaux 1972 (Selection Jean Germain) A curiosity: certainly a bit cabbagey, but decently so, and interestingly fruity. Not at all bad. Good steely acidity.
• Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1986 Lots of botrytis, oily and nutty, nice balance, a shade light to be any better than good. (From a half.)
• Nuits St George Damodes 1989 (Jayer-Gilles) Half way from red fruits to beetroot, lots of oak, nicely integrated and so rather striking if you are a wood fan.
• Moulin Touchais 1976 Lots of botrytis, pretty pleasant, but the fruit is fairly simple really. Orange aromas. Easy to enjoy. At least

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17/01/1999 (TNB)

• Vouvray, Ch. Gaudrelle 1989 Roughly demi-sec (I think this producer just makes one wine in whatever style the year leads him to). Grassy and honeyed - a shade disjointed at the moment, but good acidity. I suspect this will repay a fair amount more keeping.
• Chassagne Montrachet, Les Embrazees 1996 (B. Morey) Full throttle, with bags of acidity. Seems first-class, but it is hard to see behind the structure at the moment. This will certainly be good in 5 years.
• Grand Siecle 1990 (Laurent-Perrier) Light-medium body, with gorgeous ripe 90 fruit, a lovely fine mousse and an excellent finish. First-rate stuff, and not too showy.

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13/01/1999 (RJB)

• Abadia Retuerta Rivola 1996, Sardon de Duero This has lost some of its smokiness and seductiveness, but is settling down well for fine drinking in a few years.
• Stonestreet Cabernet Sauvignon 1994, Alexander Valley Too cold to start with, but then it flourished into very fine wine. Restrained and with excellent fruit - this may well open out into something rather special with time.

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10/01/1999 (TNB)

• Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr spatlese 1986 (F. Haag) Maturing, petrolly but good - definitely posh spice. Lovely citric notes in the finish. Splendid. (Raeburn Fine Wines, 12.00)
• Hochheimer Herrnberg Kabinett 1995 (F. Kunstler) Nice fruit, near dry. Probably not a long-term wine, but good for an average vineyard.
• Chablis Montee de Tonnerre 1989 (La Tour Vaubourg) Michel's other label apparently. Bone dry, steely in that lovely clean, oak-free way. A style I like - it seems to last very well indeed.

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02/01/1999 (RJB)

• Ayala Brut Champagne Elegant fizz.
• Marques de Murrieta 1991 Reserva Especial Rioja Good red with some rusticity.
• Croser 1990 Blanc de Blancs This is ageing well - it was only as it got a bit too warm that its New Worldness came through on the palate. Much better than I had anticipated that it would be. maybe more
• Vouvray 1997 Marc Bredif Good wine with that slight apple woodiness that can almost be confused with corkiness in some chenins.
• Clos des Bories 1990 Cotes de Francs Good easy drinking mature claret.

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