Fine Wine Diary

29/07/1996 (RJB)

Bonnet Brut Heritage Lemony Champagne showing rather disappointingly given its various medals. 84
Notarpanaro 1988 Rosso del Salento, Taurino Good structure and fragrance. 89
Eiswein Cuvee Suss 1992, Alois Kracher (From a half) Lovely balance, not overly sweet and with good, but softish, acidity. I'm not sure that it will get any better. 90

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 29/07/1996 Return to top

28/07/1996 (RJB)

Hamilton Russell Vineyard Chardonnay 1995 (8.99 Oddbin Fine Wines) Good lees character and oak integration and goodish fruit. A bit flabby and overbearing at the end. 87
Three Valley Select 1993, California (3.99 Oddbins) A blend of Muscat Canelli, Chenin, Sauvignon and Chardonnay according to Oddbins (although the back label suggests it's a blend of three). Fat wine that certainly has flavour for the price. I think I'd have placed it as a blousy Pinot Gris. 84
Rosemount Estate Hunter Valley Shiraz 1989 Peppery, watery nose that suggests the fruit's becoming a bit lacklustre. Reasonable depth on the palate, but lacking complexity. Drink up. 85
Seppelt DP117, Seppeltsfield Show Fino (5.99 a half, Oddbin Fine Wines) Real Sherry comes only from ..., but I'd be hard pressed to guess this as anything other than Sherry (although the long thin designer bottle is a bit of a giveaway). Fine, dry, fresh fino style with perhaps a bit of New World weight (or am I just imaging that?). 87

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 28/07/1996 Return to top

La Chapelle at St Bernard's Crescent 27/07/1996 (TNB)

Riesling Fred Emile 81 (Trimbach) A bit woody and austere, but fairly pleasant. 84
Riesling Schonenberg VT 81 (Dopff au Moulin) Richer and more complex than the above. Almost dry, wth nice mature riesling flavours. 87.
Hermitage La Chapelle 1994 (Jaboulet) Quite blackcurrenty, good concentration. Looks like at least a good vintage for this wine. 88(?+)
Hermitage La Chapelle 1988 (Jaboulet) Vanillan notes (is there new wood?) in this large but slightly closed wine. Dry and complex. Perhaps very good, but hard to say at this stage. 90(?+)
Hermitage La Chapelle 1984 (Jaboulet) Very light for La Chapelle, but a pleasant enough wine. 83
Hermitage La Chapelle 1983 (Jaboulet) Good colour, and still very tannic. Slightly disjointed, there is probably scope for improvement. Good to drink! 91 (?+)
Hermitage La Chapelle 1979 (Jaboulet) Rich, dry and complex, but drying just a shade at the end. Tasted next day, a bit farmyardy on the nose, but delicious smokey fruit. 90
Hermitage La Chapelle 1978 (Jaboulet) A star, an absolutely luscious wine, smokey fruit, with excellent length. Drinking very well now. 95
Martinez 1970 Quite lightweight, almost winelike. Repays attention with elegant cherry and chocolate flavours. Slightly hot and spirity perhaps. 90.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 27/07/1996 Return to top

27/07/1996 (TNB)

Chorey les beaune 88 (Tollot-Beaut) From a half, coming round to drinking now, nice fruit, reasonable structure. 86

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 27/07/1996 Return to top

26/07/1996 (RJB)

Quartet Brut, Roederer Estate Again impressive, but this time without the bread-dough nose. Tightly structured medium- to full-weight fizz with good acidity. It should age well over two to three years. I'd be hard pressed to put this as anything other than Champagne. 89+
De Venoge Cordon Bleu Brut A touch hollow and a slight flabbiness - probably should have been drunk before the Quartet. The bottle hadn't been treated very well (a hot car and a freezer) so unfair to score.
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 1993, Barone Cornacchia More floral (rose petals) than I remember from previous bottles - still good though. 87

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 26/07/1996 Return to top

23/07/1996 (TNB)

Veuve Cliquot NV From a half, fresh from J&B. Full and rich, but slightly oxidative character -- poor storage? 84.
Krug NV Also from a half. Not quite as stunning as the bottle at the OFW tasting, but still the oak assisted complexity of a fine burgundy. Delicious. 91.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 23/07/1996 Return to top

21/07/1996 (RJB)

Ruppertsberger Linsenbusch Riesling Spatlese 1993, Ruppertsberger Winzerverein Hoheburg eG (4.99 Bottoms Up) Goodish balance except for a liquorice, oxidative character which suggests its not a keeper. 83
Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Auslese 1988, Grans-Fassian Drinking well with mineral, floral and petrolly aromas. Perhaps a bit hollow in the mid- to late-palate. The acidity seemed to perk up later on. 87
Qupe Bien Nacido Cuvee 1994 50% Viognier and 50% Chardonnay although I wouldn't have guessed any Chardonnay on this showing. Lightly-toffeed peach nose and excellently balanced for the weight of wine. Will it continue to improve or have I caught it at its peak? 90
Pouilly Fume 1994, Remy Pannier This wine wins a prize for the most difficult cork to get out. One broken corkscrew later, and having tasted the wine, maybe the cork wasn't meant to come out, or perhaps you wait until the wine has eaten through it. Initially a bready nose, this gave way to high acidity and not much else. Not aggressively unpleasant. 79

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 21/07/1996 Return to top

21/07/1996 (TNB)

Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe spatlese halbtrocken 90 (Muller Catoir) Like most of the M-C 90's, this has lost the drama of youth, and while very good, it is hard to know if anything else will emerge. 87.
Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese 83 (Fruhmesse Stiftung) In a book, this producer seems to be identified with Selbach-Ostler. In any case, despite some capsule staining, this is showing very nicely with mature petrolly spiciness over good sweet fruit and nice acidity. 89.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 21/07/1996 Return to top

OFW Chardonnay tasting 18/07/1996 (TNB)

California & Washington versus 92 Burgundy --- guess who won!

Rutz Russian river 92 Initial cheesyness blew off. Rich and nutty with marzipan-oak edge. Large and tiring, slightly hot alcoholic finish. 84 (12.99)
Woodward Canyon reserve 93 From Washington. Not just buttery in a vague sense, but very particular butter aromas and flavours all through. Slightly lighter and more elegant. 85. (14.99)
Talley Arroya grand valley 93 Amazing nose with very strong passion fruit component which preserves in the mouth. Consequently rather enjoyably drinkable. Dissapointing to come back to later though. 85 (12.99)
Landmark Damaris 94 Excellent texture and weight, but dumb, and with a bitter component. There might be something striking going to emerge from this, but there might not! 83(?+) (15.49)
Durney 89 At peak or slightly after, a pleasant well-rounded mouthful. 86 (9.99)
Chassagne Montrachet Baudines 92 (B. Morey) Sulphury. Once most of this blew off it revealed a pleasant wine, not great, with the balance lacking in the New World. 88 (17.99)
Mersault Poruzot 92 (Jobard) Sheer class. Brazil nuts. Very tight with good acidity, moderate weight, needs time, but clearly excellent. (Hard to believe RP rates this lower than Talley or Woodward!) 93 (28.99)
Mersault Poruzot 92 (Mestre-Michelot) Rounder, more approachable, new world style almost, but with balance. Rich and buttery. 90 (25.99)
Mersault Perrieres 92 (Michelot-Buisson) Austere but large, slight bitter edge, Rich, but dry woody. Hard to assess, but probably excellent 91(?+) (29.99)
Batard-Montrachet 92 (Gagnard-Delagrange) Quite tight, quite balanced, again hardto assess, but not up to expectations. 88(?+) (49.99)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 18/07/1996 Return to top

14/07/1996 (TNB)

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 90 (F. Haag) One of those slightly difficult to evaluate tight young rieslings. In the end though the stunningly long finish gave its class away. Steely, mineraly, concentrated. Needs a few years at least. Very fine indeed, I think. I can see why people rate this producer. 92+ (11.00 at J&B).
Ch. Coufran 82 From a half, bags of fruit, I don't think there's much more to emerge from this. Pleasant straightforward drinking. 85.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 14/07/1996 Return to top

13/07/1996 (RJB)

Jacquart Brut 1990 From a half. Gorgeous, Medium bodied with toasted nut aromas. Very drinkable. 91
Riesling Kabinett 1992, Dr Loosen Coming out of its shell, but still high acidity (sharp apples) and a feeling it has more to offer. 87

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 13/07/1996 Return to top

Austrian Wines at Noel Young Wines 13/07/1996 (RJB)

If German wines have an image problem, then God knows what Austrian wines have. However, this tasting showed that Austria produces world class white wines - from dry to sweet - and is capable of producing decent reds (and Noel assures us that there are better reds to come).

Brundlmayer Brut 1991 (12.99) Lemony fizz with nice acidity but perhaps rather lacking in complexity. Reminds me of a cross between Cava and Champagne. 85
Gruner Veltliner Kabinett 1994, Brundlmayer (6.29) Youthful estery nose which developed into fruitier black pepper aromas. 87
'Pluris' Grau und Weissburgunder Smaragd 1994, Franz Hirtzberger (13.99) Superb wine. buttery fruit nose and flavours (like a good Alsace Pinot Gris or Blanc), but then lovely grapefruit acidity. This should age very well and is extremely pleasant now. 92
Riesling Zobinger Heiligenstein 'Alte Reben' 1994, Brundlmeyer (13.99) Last tasted on 9 May when I wasn't very sure about it. This time though the class much clearer. Softish and closed with varietal characters starting to show through. I'm not sure where you'd place it if you had it blind - it has hints of New World, Germany and Alsace. Again, this should age well. 91
Traminer Spatlese Halbtrocken 1993, Alois Kracher (8.99) Burnt sugar nose with typical Traminer flavours. Slightly out of balance with the alcohol showing through. 87
Chardonnay Select 1994, Wieninger (11.99) Green and steely, citric acidity. Lean at present, but there seems to be structure underneath. Rather like a good Chablis. Needs time. 90+
Zweigelt 1994, Josef Pockl (5.49) Good colour with warm peppery flavours. 84
Pinot Noir Cecile 1993, Brundlmayer (14.99) Clear Pinot fruit, clean and shows promise. I'd like to try this in more controlled circumstances - it may deserve a better score than 86.
Perwolf 1993, Krutzler (14.39) 80% Blau Frankisch, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Soft plummy fruit, well intergrated with new oak. Alcohol burn at the end. 87
Scheurebe Zwischen den Seen Beerenauslese 1994, Alois Kracher (17.99 a half) Classic botrytis nose with buttery overtones. Lovely acidity and fruit. 90
Seppelts Show Reserve Shiraz 1984 A chilled fizzy red that is beautifully refreshing late (after midnight) on a hot summer evening.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 13/07/1996 Return to top

12/07/1996 (RJB)

Saintsbury Carneros Pinot Noir 1987 Drinking well (and probably at its peak). Clear Pinot fruit with some light mushroomy tertiary flavours. 88

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 12/07/1996 Return to top

11/07/1996 (RJB)

Bacharacher Schloss Stahlek Riesling Kabinett 1994, Toni Jost (6.49? Oddbins) Rather undecided about this. Initially a bready nose and rather closed up in its youthfulness. However, there does seem to be some goodish fruit (grapefruit flavours) and acidity. It needs some time in bottle. 85-88

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 11/07/1996 Return to top

09/07/1996 (TNB)

Billecart Salmon 89 I like this more each time I try it. Charming, light/medium weight, but serious enough. 89.
Hochheimer Koniginvictoriaberg Spatlese 53 (Deinhard/Pabstmann) Very deep orangy colour, with fruit still quite alive but tending towards oxidation. A bit past its peak (perhaps because it seemed to have a dodgy cork), but pleasant.
Haut Brion 62 Stunningly deep colour, with the merest hint of maturity. Amazingly dense yet refined smokey fruit. Delicious. I guessed it as an 82 (and might again)! Has years in it. 94.
Branaire-Ducru 82 medium weight, nice refined claret. Sufffered a little by comparison with the previous wine.
Petit Val 89 (Bonnezeaux) Refined, but perhaps a shade light for a good vintage. Pleasant drinking.
Quarles Harris 77 Another pretty nice 77: Seemed quite leafy, almost portugese, with liquorish flavours. As it warmed up (it was fresh from the cellar) a good chocolateyness. 89.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 09/07/1996 Return to top

07/07/1996 (TNB)

Grosskarlbacher Burgweg scheurebe spatlese 92 (Ligenfelder) Quite a "fat pfalz" wine, although a bit more elegant than Muller-Catoir, with a smokey currants and grapefruit nose. Pretty classy! 89. (Oddbins, quite cheap)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 07/07/1996 Return to top

07/07/1996 (RJB)

Puligny Montrachet Clavoillon 1990, Dom. Leflaive Fairly acidic, but with fruit and structure underneath. I would guess it's in a closed phase and needs a few more years. 89+
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 1993, Barone Cornacchia Zingy fruit, gutsy wine with good extract. 88
Wiltinger braune Kupp Riesling Spatlese 1989, Egon Muller Racy acidity, good balance and on the dry side of spatlese. Classic maturing Riesling with years ahead of it. 91