Domaine Perrin with Anthony Lacey of Mistral Wines 24/11/2001 (RJB)

• Grand Prebois Viognier Marsanne, VdP d'Orange 2000 (Domaines Perrin) 50/50 of each grape. Youthful musty peachy nose. Clean and fresh although a touch short (but it is under a fiver so I suppose that can be excused).
• La Vielle Ferme, Cotes du Luberon 2000 (Domaines Perrin) Touch of aniseed and almonds from this wine made from traditional Rhone white varietals. Easy stuff.
• Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone 2000 (Domaines Perrin) More texture to this wine - peaches again but also short and rather heavy on the alcohol (but that's the Southern Rhone for you).
• Chateau de Beaucastel blanc 2000 (Domaines Perrin) 80% Rousanne and then a bit of a mix. Closed, but honey showing through. Depth and clearly a class ahead of the previous whites as one would expect. White Rhone is always difficult to assess to my mind - and I've been disappointed with Beaucastel before. Maybe I never catch it at the right age.
• Grand Prebois VdP d'Orange 2000 (Domaines Perrin) A bit spirity, and with leathery cherry fruit. just
• La Vielle Ferme, Cotes du Ventoux 1999 (Domaines Perrin) Better fruit than the above - nice acidity and good structure for this level of wine. A good
• Perrin Reserve Vacqueyras 1999 (Domaines Perrin) This wine is mainly Grenache - and deeply coloured with it. Slight stalkiness with lovely cherry fruit. Loads of good tannins. Good value at circa £8.99. Will it age well? I think so over the short to medium term if the tannins balance out.
• Coudoulet de Beaucastel 1998 (Domaines Perrin) Showing more age than last time I had this earlier in the year,with a cherry reductive nose. If I understand Anthony Lacey correctly this is probably due to the Mourvedre going through a funny phase (a very reductive grape that explains the funny way Coudoulet and Beaucastel can age). On this showing but I'm pretty sure it's a better wine than that.
• Chateau de Beaucastel 1996 (Domaines Perrin) Not a great year for Beaucastel, but not bad either. High-toned, high acidity vintage. Reductive nose showing through - burnt raspberry cream. It will probably age into something quite elegant. A 'luncheon Rhone' perhaps
• Chateau de Beaucastel 1985 (Domaines Perrin) Superb old Chateauneuf. Perhaps rather simple in its old age if one has to make a criticism, but lovely farmyard/animal flavours and a boiled sweet nose. A pleasure. An easy

---

Wine group at Z.M.'s 17/11/2001 (TNB)

• Chablis Monte de Tonerre 1995 (Duplessis) Ripe fruit but mineral with lovely acidity. I've had this before but it sems particularly good from this (wax-sealed) magnum. Possibly even
• Beaune Greves blanc 1993 (Jadot ) Very honied, dark-coloured, (perhaps over-) evolved. Pleasant in its way, but I am not so keen. Might have been better a year or two ago.
• Beaune Greves blanc 1982 (Laligant Chameroy) This was an alternative Jadot label at the time. A bit maderised, gracefully to some extent. Some interesting flavours and decent acidity, and perhaps as good as one might hope for given the vintage.
• Volnay 1988 (Lafarge) Undergrowth nose. Refined, elegant, slightly austere, dry, intellectual sort of wine. Very classy for a village wine - I like this.
• Volnay Clos des Chenes 1990 (Lafarge) Rich and concentrated, the concentrated fruit tending towards cooked, as with so many 90's. Seems slightly corked but probably four-star underneath.
• Volnay Clos des Chenes 1966 (Potinet-Ampeau) Lovely mature old Burgundy, delicate, quite tight, the fruit slightly fresher than another bottle of this tasted recently. Coming back to this after the wines below it seems a little light, but still
• Volnay Santenots 1959 (Potinet-Ampeau) Chestnut nose, with a lovely decadent hit of ripe fruit in the mid-palate. Not quite as fine as the 66 possibly, but weightier. Splendid again.
• Volnay Santenots 1955 (Potinet-Ampeau) Combines the best of the two previous wines with a lovely undergrowth nose, fine balanced yet rich palate. The finish on the other hand is just a bit edgy, with a hint of volatility. I think I can forgive it that.
• Chateau Climens 1969 This has that attractive green rim of fine old Sauternes, Madeiras and similar things. Concentrated barley-sugar all the way through. Good concentration and length. I feel it lacks a little complexity because of having little botrytis, but still good.
• Chateau Climens 1967 Demonstrates the difference botrytis makes with a slightly oily texture and nut and apricot flavours mixing with the barley-sugar.
• Port 1970 (Fonseca) Fantastic young colour. Scented floral nose. Amazing, long, concentrated palate and a slightly hot finish. Stunning, but a way off maturity. Whether this will be truly great depends on whether the whole package comes into really good balance at some point - probably it will.
• Port 1970 (Warre) This makes an interesting comparison because the Warre is in balance now, rather lighter than the Fonseca (as most things would be), lovely brambley fruit and nice length. A very good port.

---

Gang of Six - Any White, Any Red 16/11/2001 (RJB)

• Vouvray demi-sec petillant 1964 (Huet) Still amazingly fresh, despite an ordinary cork trying to force its cage out. A light fizz, with honeyed chenin fruit. I would never guess this as being anywere close to this old. It isn't a hugely complex wine, nor would I guess that it has gained much in the last 30 years or so, but then again I don't think it has lost anything. Highly enjoyable - no rush to drink up! - perhaps worth more than
• Alban Vineyard Chardonnay 1997 (Au Bon Climat) Good resiny acidity (I was guessing this as a semillon/sauvignon blend - it had the waxiness as well). Nicely balanced.
• Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive 1983 (Hugel) Medium weight and something not quite clean about the wine at the end. Disappointing. at most
• Hudson Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay 1998 (Ramey) Parma violets on the nose - soft acidity nad good oak. plus
• Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Kabinett 1996 (Dr Thanisch) Lovely grapefruit acidity, well made, needs time.
• Castello della Sala Chardonnay 1998 (Antinori) Soft and easy. I thought it to be fairly basic Burgundy. Seemed to be over the hill already.
• Johannisberger Erntebringer Riesling Spatlese 1990 (Balthazar Ress) Woody riesling with age. A touch dilute.
• Reserve Shiraz 1997 (Fox Creek) Sinewy and modern initially, but with time a good quality tannic finish (almost Italian) shines through. Good. plus
• Basket Press Shiraz 1988 (Rockford) Mature and more than ready - it has got to the stage where it's difficult to guess the grape.
• Chianti Classico Riserva 1997 Villa Pomoma (Bandini) Tannin and green astringency. Maturity. plus
• Pavillon Rouge 1988 (Chateau Margaux) Very cabernet franc leafy nose. Cardboard and a touch of VA. perhaps
• The Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier 2000 (D'Arenberg) Sinewy and weedy, showing more age than it should. Dull. (But others were rather more keen.)
• McLaren Vale Shiraz 2000 (Two Hands) Good Grenache style fruit, good concentration. Lovely.
• Mount Edelstone Shiraz 1992 (Henschke) Leathery style Shiraz - good age, drinking well. plus
• Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve 1985 (Domaine du Pegau) Clearly old Rhone - touch of VA, getting rather past it. Disappointing, I thought this would be drinking rather well.

---

Ridge and Simi 10/11/2001 (TNB)

These are from winery visits - the Ridge wines tasted at Lytton Springs and the notes are brief because conditions were not the best.

• Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains 1999 (Ridge) Dry, quite focussed yet with good body. Well made. At least
• Zinfandel Paso Robles 1996 (Ridge) Brambley, with an almost blackberry liquer character, quite weighty.
• Zinfandel Nervo 1996 (Ridge) Similar to the Paso Robles but generally less depth.
• Zinfandel Lytton Estate 1996 (Ridge) Available at the winery only I believe but very good: herby, tight and ageworthy.
• York Creek Petite Sirah 1992 (Ridge) Very structured wine, rather like an ageworthy Northern Rhone. At the moment still a bit large and possibly not quite in balance. Easy
• Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc 2000 (Simi) Nice balance, well made, drinkable wine.
• Sendal 1999 (Simi) Sauvignon blanc with a reasonable slug of Semillon - I think the latter adds quite a lot to the wine. Quite classy, herby and pretty complex for a Sauvignon blanc base. Rather good.
• Sonoma County Chardonnay 1999 (Simi) Heavily toffeed, California-style up-front fruit, but made with restraint.
• Estate bottled Reserve Chardonnay 1998 (Simi) Refined, slightly nutty, reasonably tight, decent acidity. A well-made premium Chardonnay.
• Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 (Simi) Nice varietal character, solid fruit without minty or leafy notes. Decent wine.
• Sonoma County Shiraz 1999 (Simi) One of their less successful efforts I felt: well enough made but a bit devoid of character.
• Alexander Valley Merlot 1999 (Simi) Berries and chocolate, herby notes, reasonable length.
• Dry Creek Zinfandel 1999 (Simi) Black cherry and brambles, like many of the Simi wines a very nice rendering of the variety - lots of character but restrained. Good
• Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 (Simi) Lovely, ripe, warm berry fruit, accessible but with the underlying structure to age gracefully. Exciting to taste at the winery by I downgraded it a shade on drinking a bottle with dinner later - it's a little too soft and easy for my taste. Others might give more but for me a top
• Late Harvest Chardonnay 1997 (Simi) A well-made botrytised dessert wine with pleasant apricot fruit. Good

Other Ridge wines tasted on the trip.

• York Creek Petite Sirah 1985 (Ridge) There is debate about Petite Sirah - is it anything to do with Syrah, is it Durif, etc. This wine certainly had an air of the Northern Rhone about it to me, blackberry fruit, some plum, refined quality and good length. It has certainly aged very well, this had the air of just coming to its peak drinking time and I am sure it will last a while. Top
• Geyserville 91 (Ridge) Lovely complex nose. Sous-bois, brambles, goot acidity, great length. Close to peak but no hurry to dink.
• Monte Bello 1993 (Ridge) Lots of smoke and tobacco Time ahead - good tannins and length. Quite big too, at the expense of fineness to some extent - I wonder if that will wear off with age.
• Zinfandel Jimsomare 1990 (Ridge) A pleasant mature Zinfandel - nice blackberry fruit - but not quite in the class of a couple of good Ridge Zins from 91 tasted recently. Savoury finish though.

---

German wines 10/11/2001 (RJB)

• Kreuznacher Hinkelstein Riesling Halbtrocken 1997 (A. Finkenauer) (4.99) Light clean nose – minerals and pears. Well made, good acidity, clean fresh drinking. plus
• Kreuznacher Kahlenberg Riesling Spatlese 1993 (A. Finkenauer) (6.75) Lovely clean Riesling nose. Tart apples and light balancing sweetness. Great acidity – taut and elegant. Seems younger than it is. An easy
• Kreuznacher Kronenberg Spatburgunder 2000 (A. Finkenauer) (5.99) Touch of sulphur over a light strawberry fruit. Pretty awful.
• Kreuznacher Kahlenberg Riesling Auslese Halbtrocken 1992 (A. Finkenauer) (8.99) Kerosene character coming through. Slight spritz – not quite together. Not for keeping too much longer.
• Kaseler Nies’chen Riesling Auslese 1989 (Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt) (13.95) Rather closed on the nose – botrytis, apples and honey with a good balancing acidity.
• Kreuznacher Kahelnberg Riesling Auslese 1989 (A. Finkenauer) (9.50) Clean and elegant again with sweetness showing well at the end. Some grapefruit acidity at the finish. Possibly needs a few years. plus
• Kreuznacher Bruckes Riesling Auslese 1976 (C. Finkenauer) (16.99) Golden colour – mellow nose. Acidity not really there – drying varnish character.
• Kreuznacher Gutentahl Riesling Beerenauslese 1971 (C. Finkenauer) (23.99) Spiced stewed apples – toffee and caramel. Soft, could do with a bit more acidity.

---

Wine group at J.M.'s 06/11/2001 (WGP)

A friend hosting my Wine Group took the opportunity of my absence in the USA to open a stack of his best bottles. I interrogated the culprits on my return and here are their brief notes on what was drunk. We don't usually include ratings from other people but we thought the wines here were worth recording.

• Corton Charlemagne 1989 (Jadot) Probably not quite at peak.
• Corton Charlemagne 1978 (Tollot-Beaut) Really good.
• Haut Brion 1978 Good if a bit earthy and idiosyncratic - one might like this very Graves character but if not probably only a top
• Chateaux Margaux 1978 Spectacular, particularly on the nose. At least a very top
• Charmes Chambertin 1978 (Rousseau) Very good but not the best of a good line-up of Burgundies.
• Bonnes Mares 1980 (Roumier) Really good.
• Volnay Santenots 1978 (Prieur-Brunet) Split the audience a bit - some thought this as good as any of the Burgundies, other less keen. Say on average
• Romanee St Vivant 1971 (Marey-Monge - made by DRC) All thought this really good, some even five stars, but one or two voiced a view that it was no better than it ought to be. It's always difficult to be rational about a wine with a huge reputation. At least
• Rieussec 1990 Quite evolved and beginning to drink well if not quite at peak. Very good.
• Fonseca 1960 Top port, and one doesn't have to make any allowance for what is not the best of the sixties vintages.
• Champagne Grande Cuvee NV (Krug) Believed to be about 30 years old - thought to be a bit faded.

---