5.6.40
Fine Wine Diary The Bailey brothers have now tasted 12082 wines in 28 years 6 months and 14 days
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Diary index

Wine group at E.McM.'s 26/06/2006 (TNB)

Dinner with three historians 22/06/2006 (RJB)

Misc recent wines. 11/06/2006 (TNB)

Champagne tasting at Edinburgh Wine Merchants 11/06/2006 (TNB)

A Soutard evening at D.L.'s 11/06/2006 (TNB)

10/06/2006 (RJB)

Start of the World Cup 09/06/2006 (TNB)

Celebrating the opening of Waitrose Edinburgh 01/06/2006 (TNB)

The Diary - June 2006

Wine group at E.McM.'s 26/06/2006 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 15/08/2006   Return to top

Dinner with three historians 22/06/2006 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 23/06/2006   Return to top

Misc recent wines. 11/06/2006 (TNB)

  • Vintage Tunina 2002 (Jermann) Very graceful, almondy nose - slightly floral, but pleasingly free of overt varietal statement. (I think it's a blend of various varieties, for what it's worth.) On the palate, completely balanced with perfect acidity and a touch of ripe lemon around a concentrated but understated palate. Very fine. **** even
  • Champagne Chouilly Grand Cru, Cuvee des Crayeres 1999 (Simart-Moreau) Seems quite oxidatively made. Stony, meaty rather than elegant. Pretty nice but not out of this world. ***
  • Lafon Rochet 1990 Good colour, black-cherry nose. Fruit quite baked in character and at first it seems to have a hole in the mid-palate. But that seemed to fill in once the bottle had been open a while. Chunky and without the complexity to be really classy. ***
  • Bandol Cabassaou 1990 (Tempier) Dense young colour and intense black cherry and cough-sweet nose. Despite the concentration of fruit it's very silky on the palate with a background of ripe tannins. Very luscious. Seems almost less approachable the next day, which is a bit frightening. Top stuff. ****(*)
  • Gambellara Pico 2003 (La Biancara - Angiolino Maule) A long maceration job, in the style of Gravner, but from Garganega from Gambellara just outside Soave. Deeply coloured but slightly cloudy, with a flat peachy nose. Slight spritz on the fruit. Interesting but slightly flawed I feel. I'll keep a look out for further vintages but just a good ** for now.
  • Brunello Riserva 1990 (Col d'Orcia) Creamy texture and hight-toned herby fruit. Very dry and quite stylish but perhaps it was better a few years ago - it does seem to be drying out a bit. Top **
  • Champagne Special Club 1996 (A. Jacquart) Refined - mineral richness, nice balance all through. Pretty dry and clean. Good stuff. ***(*)
  • Chateau Gruaud Larose 1990 Healthy colour. Fragrant rose-garden nose with cedar and tobacco notes. The fruit quite sweet and ripe. This seems resolved but lasts well overnight. Rather good. ****
  • Warre 1980 Quite chocolatey - fruit seems a touch attenuated at first but opens up to a delicious blueberry-raspberry mixture. From a half. Bare ****
  • Champagne Grand Cru NV (P. Bara) Apples, spices, quite exotic, rather rich fruit, high acidity. Pinot weightiness on the palate. Needs a couple of years in bottle. ***(*)
  • Cotes du Rhone Villages Les Laurentides 1998 (Gramenon) Attractive, silky Grenache fruit. Very drinkable. ***
  • Chateau Cissac 1996 Not a property I've drunk much recently and it used to be a bit of a joke for producing "Englishman's Claret". They've done quite well in this vintage though: quite powerful and structured, good fruit, drinkable now but probably more so in a couple of years. Good at the price. **(*)
  • Champagne Brut Rose NV (A. Clouet) Lovely, vibrant, deep pink colour. Once open for a quarter of an hour, a delicious nose of strawberry fruit. Quite vinous - like a substantial still rose rather than Champagne with a touch of colour. Long finish. Will probably benefit from a year or two in bottle. Top ***
  • Cote Rotie 2001 (Jasmin) Lead pencil nose - a fair amount of new oak I suspect. Fairly lightweight and elegant - perhaps to excess. Not like Jasmin of old. Bare ***
  • Savenierres Vieilles Vignes 1993 (Closel) Suspiciously deep colour. Really a bit overly oxidative but underneath there's nice honied fruit. Bare ***
  • Vinas de Gain 2003 (Artadi) Pure, pleasant. Top **
  • Merlot 2003 VdP (Domaine la Soumade) Nice fruit - fruitcake - good structure. Could do with a year or two. Decent balance. **
  • Rioja Crianza 2002 (Javier San Pedro Randez) Vanilla - weight of a traditional wine - but the fruit quite bright and fresh cherry. Pleasant. Worth **
  • Talento Metodo Classico Pas Dose 2000 (Bisol) Talento is apparantly a trademark of a consortium of growers in Northern Italy making Methode Champenoise fizz from mainly Champagne grapes. This is made by Prosecco producer Bisol. It has the charcteristic yeasty character, fine fruit, it's dry but not over-austere. Nice - it might make an interesting ringer in a flight of growers Champagnes. ***
  • Pape Clement 1997 Moderate weight, quite Burgundian quality, fairly high-toned. Very good drinking. Top ***
  • Barolo Brunate 1995 (Marcarini) Piercing tar and roses nose. Still a touch hard on the palate, bone dry with quite a lot of tannin. Drinkable but will improve a bit, I think. Bare ***(*)
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 11/06/2006   Return to top

Champagne tasting at Edinburgh Wine Merchants 11/06/2006 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 03/08/2006   Return to top

A Soutard evening at D.L.'s 11/06/2006 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 11/08/2006   Return to top

10/06/2006 (RJB)

A sample sent by the winery
  • English Rose 2004 (Chapel Down) Fresh, strawberry and redcurrant flavours with good balancing acidity and a touch of eldeflower. Good, easy drinking for a summer's evening. **
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 11/06/2006   Return to top

Start of the World Cup 09/06/2006 (TNB)

  • Malvasia Collin Piacentini 2004 (Castello di Luzzano - Fugazza) Frizzante, only 6.5% alcohol, pleasantly refreshing. Rather like a Moscato but floral rather than grapey. It says "dolce" on the corner of the label - it's about demi-sec and nicely in balance of rthe style. Ideal for sunny garden evenings. Well made. **
  • Morey St Denis 1er cru Ruchottes 2001 (Arlaud) Rather good fruit, oak fairly evident on the palate but probably not excessive (although I must say I like less and less oak in my wines), quite mineral too. Could do with a bit longer in bottle but probably won't make four stars as it seems just a bit simple by the highest standards. ***
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 09/06/2006   Return to top

Celebrating the opening of Waitrose Edinburgh 01/06/2006 (TNB)

It's sad, but Waitrose is much better than any previous source of fruit and veg in the city.
  • Macon Clesse Cuvee Tradition 1989 (Domaine de la Bon Gran - Thevenet) Toffee and caramel, quite maderised and a bit vegetal but maintaining interest and drinkability despite being past its best. I oscillate between finding this too far-gone and admiring it. A reminder of what over-old white Burgundy should be like, as compared to the current rash of prematurely oxidised wines that are simply rotting. Some will find this unappetising but I'll settle on **
  • Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Champgains 1996 (Niellon) Lively, high-toned, more suggestive of Puligny than Chassagne. Good acidity and quite mineral. Very nice - what I hoped rather more 96's would be like! ***(*)
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 01/06/2006   Return to top