30/11/1995 (TNB)

• Tokay Pinot Gris VT 1989 (Hugel) Good colour. Big but curiously unspecific nose. In the mouth quite sweet, with beautifully balancing acidity. Long. Difficult to nail down particular flavours. May just be very closed at the moment. (OFW 18.99 a half) 89+.

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A tasting of 1993 red Burgundy (plus the odd 1993 American Pinot) Noel Young Wines 29/11/1995 (RJB)

• Bourgogne Grande Ordinaire 1993, Joseph Roty Medium colour with and earthy 'gamay' nose. A bit rough and coarse. (7.39) 82
• Hautes Cotes de Nuits 1993, Jeans-Yves Devevey Lightish colour with a boiled sweets pinot nose - tannin and acid, a bit hollow. (9.29) 83
• Bourgogne les Pressonier 1993, Joseph Roty Lovely sharp pinot fruit, good acid and length. (10.39) 86
• Givry 1er Cru en Choue 1993, Thierry Lespinasse Odd bready nose, green and sappy. (10.95) 79
• Cote de Nuits Villages 1993, Daniel Chopin-Grofier Plum skin nose, sinewy with oaky gumminess. Good for drinking now, but I guess not something to keep too long. (11.49) 86
• Savigny les Beaune Vielle Vignes 1993, Claude Marachel-Jacquet From a half bottle, stalky and closed. Sweetness at end, but not quite together. (12.35) 85
• Mercurey 1er Cru les Montaigu 1993, Jean-Paul Granger Light nose, sweetness and acid at end - rather too tannic for its fruit. (12.35) 83
• Marsannay en Montchenvoy 1993, Phillipe Charlopin Touch of new oak with beetroot Pinot. Peppery and spicy. Held its own on retasting after the later wines. (13.49) 88
• Monthelie 1er Cru les Champs Fuillots 1993, Domaine Parent Soft toffeed nose, gummy green oak. Hasn't got the fruit. (13.99) 80
• Gevrey Chambertin 1993, Dominique Gallois Quite a dark colour, spicy oak, astringent tannins, good pinot nose. Perhaps a touch short of fruit. (15.95) 85
• Beaune 1er Cru les Epenottes 1993, Domaine Parent Soft, oddly gaseous nose, touch of sweetness but ends short. Could be better with time. (16.99) 83?
• Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru 'Aux Vergelesses' 1993, Simon Bize Strawberry nose, good acid, needs to open up. (18.59) 87+?
• Etude Carneros Pinot Noir 1993, California Sharp clear New World fruit. Too sweet and lacks a structured finish. (19.59) 84
• Gevrey Chambertin Vielles Vignes 1993, Denis Bachelet Biggish, mushy, blackcurrant jam nose with good acid. Unsure about the overall quality. Bizarre wine. (19.59) 86?
• Ici La Bas La Cagoule Pinot Noir 1993, Oregon, Jim Glendenan Good new oak and pinot balance, clear fruit with excellent length. (19.99) 88
• Chambolle Musigny 1993, Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Goodish colour, gummy oak, green astringent tannins. (19.69) 82
• Morey St Denis Cuvee des Grives 1993, Domaine Ponsot Odd smokey nose, slight spritz, fruit dies in the mouth. Faulty or, perhaps, too freshly bottled? (20.59) 80?
• Chambolle Musigny 'Les Cras' 1993, Patrice & Michelle Rion Lovely ethereal beetroot pinot. Soft with good fruit and length. (21.59) 90
• Nuits St Georges Grandes Vignes 1993, Daniel Rion Stalky pinot nose, a touch dirty. Unsure. (21.59) 84?
• Vosne Romanee 1993, Daniel Rion Gummy with sweetness at the end. Unknit with a small amount of green tannins. (21.59) 86+?
• Vosne Romanee 'Les Reas' 1993, Domaine A. F. Gros Soft nose with light fruit, good length and good acid. (21.95) 89
• Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines 1993, Dominique Gallois Sharp peppery spicey nose. Lovely sweetness, needs to open out. (21.95) 90
• Gevrey Chambertin 'Champs-Chenys' 1993, Joseph Roty New oak nose with clean ripe pinot fruit. Good tannin and backbone, with oak dominance at the end. (22.39) 89+
• Pommard 1er Cru Les Chaponnieres 1993, Domaine Parent Closed on the nose, but lacks structure and complexity. Fruit overripe. (24.99) 86
• Au Bon Climat Sanford and Benedict Pinot Noir 1993, California Nicely integrated mature nose. Sweetness and length. Toffeed. (25.99) 87
• Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques 1993, Domaine Esmonin Lacking the complexity that might be expected. A touch too sweet and oaky at the end. (29.49) 87
• Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Hauts Pruliers 1993, Daniel Rion Closed, quite big tannins. Could be very good - depends how it opens out. (31.49) 87-90
• Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 1993, Daniel Chopin-Grofier Noel's (and many others) favourite of the tasting. Mushy rotting nose, good tannin, but I'm not convinced by the fruit in the middle. Remarkably evolved, and probably one of the nicer wines for drinking now. (35.00) 88
• Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 1993, Rene Engel Good colour, closed but showing good promise. Excellent body and big fruit. Spicy and minty with complexity and structure. Good oak integration. Not entirely sure I would guess it as Burgundy. Potentially superb. (37.99) 92

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CUWS 28/11/1995 (RJB)

• Pongracz Cape Classique Brut NV Easy commercial fizz with a touch too much sweetness. Not nearly as good as the bottle I had a few months back that had some bottle age. Unfortunately I can't see this one improving - has the style been changed? 82
• Santa Carolina Dry White, Curico Chile 1995 I doubt it is possible to get a better white wine for the price (2.99 from Oddbins). Quite high alcohol and clear Sauvignon flavours. 82
• Riesling Gueberschwihr 1992, Zind-Humbrecht Elegant Riesling characters beginning to show - this is a better wine than I gave it credit for when I first tasted it a year ago. Still, however, something slightly unknit about it. 5.99 from Wine Rack seems a very good price. 87+
• Arneis delle Langhi, Villa di Nieve, 1992 (6.99 from Bottoms Up) Pretty horrible, thin and dull. Come back Muscadet all is forgiven. 75
• Ch. Tahbilk Marsanne 1994, Victoria, Australia (5.49 Oddbins) Not a wine I usually like, but this vintage seems to be showing more than usual and has nice acicity and that Marsanne custard powder nose. 85
• Santa Carolina Dry Red Maipo, Chile 1994 (2.99 Oddbis) Commercial, thin-coloured with modern winemaking flavours. 80
• Classic Pinot Noir, Dealul Mare Region, Romania 1991 (3.79 Barwells) Thin and mushy; really awful. 70
• Trilogy, Warwick Estate, Stellenbosch, 1991 (8.99 Bottoms Up) A blend of the two Cabernets and Merlot. Big warm nose without any clear varietal showing through. Fruit perhaps slightly oxidised. Not going anywhere but drinking quite nicely now. 85
• Kirchheimer Schwarzerde, Beerenauslese, Pfalz 1993 (3.99 per half, Majestic) Pure silvaner apparently. Tinned grapefruit nose with a hint of oxidation. Very good acid, but a bit hollow. Good for the price, but not a keeper - I don't think the fruit quality is good enough. 85

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A tasting for the Cambridge University Blind Tasting Team 27/11/1995 (RJB)

• Moscate Sec 1994, Alasia Smells of aniseed and nothing much else. 76
• Sauvignon de St-Bris 1993, Felix et Fils With this producer it's tempting to call the wine catty. Gooseberry fool nose; clean, but not exactly vibrant fruit. Toffeed end. 80
• Riesling Cuvee Frederick Emile 1989, Trimbach Lovely wine, classic Riesling (Germanic!) nose just beginning to get petrolly. Tight and elegant, with some weight and a touch of sweetness. 91
• Pouilly Fuisse Vielles Vignes 1993, Daniel Barraud Lovely chardonnay nose (almost New World style fruit). Excellent use of oak to give the wine a custard powder texture. After a while in the glass the fruit fell away. For drinking in the next couple of years. 90
• Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Chardonnay 1994 Pineapple chardonnay nose, obviously quite a big wine but well balanced and with good length. Very interesting trying this side-by-side with the Pouilly Fuisse; this lasted better in the glass and had better fruit quality. The Pouilly wins, however, because of better oak integration. 88
• Pinot Blanc Cuvee Caroline 1993, Schoffit Showing very well again. Peach, lychee and apricot flavours. It's possible to believe there's some Botrytis hanging around. 90

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25/11/1995 (RJB)

• Maglieri Shiraz 1992, Maclaren Vale Excellent, youthful concentrated colour. Black cherry and raspberry nose with oak well-balanced. Big but tight fruit on the palate with good length. A good value wine (6.99 from Tesco); my concern is that it lacked structure in the mid-palate. 87
• Pinot d'Alsace 1993, Zind-Humbrecht A youthful estery nose with some lees character. Restrained on the palate with only a touch of residual sweetness. Clearly needs some time to be at its best. 89+
• Marsannay Les Longeroies 1988, Dom. Bruno Clair From a half bottle. Fruit fading - the lovely plum-skin pinot fruit it once had has all but gone. Drink up. 83

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25/11/1995 (TNB)

• Condrieu 90 (Guigal) Elegant, refined, but pleasant rather than striking. An argument, I feel, for not aging Condrieu, or not for this ammount of time, anyway! 86.
• Bricco del Ucellone 88 Tasted this time in more controlled conditions. Seems less idiosynchratic --- but good brambly fruit with chocolate overtones. Nice acidity, but balanced. Very drinkable. 89.

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A blind tasting of seven clarets 23/11/1995 (RJB)

• Les Tourelles de Longueville 1988 Fragrant gummy-oak nose, goodish fruit with some tannin. Perhaps slightly unknit - or in an 'in-between' phase. Still needs a couple of years to be at its best. 88
• Pichon Lalande 1989 As with 'Les Tourelles' a classic Pauillac nose, but classier. Lovely new oak and vibrant fruit nose. The usual charming Pichon style, but perhaps, once I knew what it was I would have expected better. I thought it might be the 1987 from the same property. Needs time. 90+
• Cos d'Estournel 1984 Clearly from a bad vintage. Rather dull, medicinal, ill-defined nose. Drying out. 79
• Ch. Le Couvent 1985, St Emillion Wishy washy Ribena nose with some Merlot character. Rather lightweight, with sweetness at the end. Beginning to die. 80
• Mouton Baron Phillipe 1983 Violet and chestnut nose with dry and dusty tannins. Lacks fruit. Not going anywhere. 83
• Fourcas Hosten 1981 Initial tasting revealed a touch of volatility and tannin - drying out I thought. However, with time in the glass a rather lovely sweetness emerged and it turned into rather a nice drop of mature claret. Perhaps it's on the brink. Drink up! 85?
• Beau-Rivage 1961, Macau From a half bottle. I've had, or heard reports on, quite a few half bottles of this wine. Sometimes it has reminded me of an old Musar, other times it has behaved in a bizzare manner (an overpowering smell of bacon crisps for instance). This time it was showing at its best. Lovely gummy violet nose. A bit prickly on the palate to start with and initially a bit weedy. However, it opened out into clean, light to medium bodied mature falvours. It's quite an eye-opener that a 1961 Bordeaux Superieur in half bottle can be this good (if not that consistent). 87

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22/11/1995 (RJB)

• Ch. La Louviere 1986 (white) Actually tasted a couple of weeks back, but I've just found the note. Not showing many signs of age, but, then again, not showing many signs of anything. Light lemon fruit on the nose; light flavours on the palate. 79

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A tasting of Australian wines for CUWS given by Noel Young Wines 22/11/1995 (RJB)

• Penley Estate 1990 Pinot Noir/Chardonnay Sparkling Good fizz with fine acidity and creamy, yeasty and appley overtones. Not overly New World in style. It will probably benefit from bottle age. (13.69) 85
• Simon Hackett Semillon 1994 Good honest semillon with lemon and peach nose and citric acidity. Should age reasonably well for the next five years or so. (5.99) 83
• Devil's Lair Chardonnay 1994 A big wine with plenty of alcohol. Oak and fruit well balanced, melons and ginger, and some lees character. Difficult to judge because of its youth. (12.29) 87
• Veritas Western Ridge Shiraz/Cabernet 1994 Vibrant deep colour, spicy vanillin American oak nose. A touch lacking in the mid palate. Overall pretty good for the price. (5.49) 85
• Hollick Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 Slightly green cassis fruit with eucalyptus. Good acidity, soft tannins with decent length. Not for the long term though. (15.99) 87
• D'Arenberg Ironstone Pressings 1991 A mix of old-vine shiraz and grenache. Green stalky nose rather unpleasant, but the underlying flavours seemed good. (11.99) 80
• Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 1992 The star of the evening. Quite closed up on the nose and palate, but gives the impression that there's plenty waiting to evolve. Good structure and impressive length. Sweet peppery fruity shiraz with unobtrusive oak. (15.75) 90
• Hollick Sparkling Merlot 1993 Good of its sort. Strawberry fruit with an edge of acidity. Refreshing at the end of a tasting - Noel recommends it for Boxing day lunch, but if I had every wine he's recommended for Boxing day lunch . . . (13.99) 82

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Italian tasting at Scottish Wine Soc with Raeburn Fine Wines (and dinner after) 21/11/1995 (TNB)

• Orvieto Classico, Decugnano dei Barbi 93 Quite concentrated on the nose. In the mouth, longish, tangy -- salty even. Very attractive apperatif. 85 (6.99)
• Vernaccia di San Gimignano "Vigna a Solatio", Falchini 94 Nutty, apricoty, again very attractive. 85 (5.99)
• Erbaluce di Caluso, Ferrando 94 After two properly flavoured Italian whites (is this a record?), this one seemed a bit more neutral. On the other hand, there did seem to be good underlying concentration. The first three words are the grape variety. 80(?), (6.99)
• Barbera d'Alba, Sandrone 93 From a cult barolo producer. Fine example of the grape. Complex nose, dense fruit, yummy acidity. 88 (10.99)
• Chianti Classico, Acuti, Vecchie Terre di Montefili 92 Fine fruit, no premature brown colour. Quite grippy, a slight hollowness reflects the terrible vintage. 84 (9.99)
• Gutternio "Romeo" Colli Piacentini, Castello di Luzzano, Fugazza (Lombardy) 90 A blend of Barbera and Bonarda. A nose not unlike a young port with blackberry fruit. Also a chestnutty/mushroomy component (like Mouvedre). In the mouth, plenty of structure and fruit. If there is a criticism, it might be a shade light. Fine wine. 89 (8.99)
• Brunello di Montalcino, Lisini, Fattoria di San Angelo in Colle 89 Good deep colour (no brown). Qute large, chocolaty, dense, closed. Lots of tannins. A keeper. 91 (13.95)
• Barolo Cru "Zonchetta" di Brunate, Casa Vinicola Ceretto 69 If this is old Barolo, I can live without it. Like over the hill pinot, a bit washed out. Some bottle variation---one quite cheesy. 82.

And after, with dinner:

• Vouvray, Clos de Bourg, demi-Sec 94, Huet Amazingly good concentration. Very impressive young vouvray. 89+
• Couhins Lurton 91 Good concentration. At least as good as the Clos Floridene 90, and aging better. (Zubair says 91 Graves are quite good, although, or because, the crop was tiny.) 90.
• Chassagne Montrachet, Ramonet, 90 A class act, with that intense gingery fruit that Ramonet seems to get. 89.
• la Mission Haut Brion 81 A complete infant still, both in colour and on the palate. Dense, closed, promising a great deal. 92.
• Bricco Ucellone 88 Idiosyncratic, but very striking blackberry fruit. I would like to try this again. 90(?)

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19/11/1995 (RJB)

• Sterling Vineyard, Winery Lake Pinot Noir 1993 A nasty odour to start with but this came off the wine once swirled a few times and is probably not a problem. Very clear soft beetrooty New World Pinot fruit - rather obvious - but not stewed. No great complexity. 83
• Thalabert 1994, Crozes Hermitage Not aggresively Syrah, and seemingly a bit thin. Light chocolate shiraz nose and spicy. 83

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18/11/1995 (TNB)

• Pinot Gris, Cuvee Caroline, 1993 (Schoffit) Large and fat. I think I might prefer the Pinot Blanc in this style. Pretty drinkable though! (88).

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13/11/1995 (TNB)

• Tokay Vielle vignes 94 (A. Mann) Slightly closed, but plenty of underlying fruit I think, and very good length. Hard to judge, but I incline to think this will be excellent. (90+) OFW, 13 quid, or so -- would be interested in other opinions.
• Mersault Blagny 89 (Jadot) Fine complexity and concentration -- seems to be drinking well. 89
• Durney vinyards Chardonnay 89 Not bad, but suffered compared to the above. New worldy.
• Pinot Noir Carneros 91 (Saintsbury) With dinner. Plenty of rich gluggable pinot fruit. As good as usual. 88.

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10/11/1995 (RJB)

• Sclumberger 1992 Pinot Blanc Nicely made, elegant style pinot blanc. Dry with light mineral flavours. 87
• Rothbury Estate Semillon 1993 Not showing much at all. Light lemony nose. 83
• Penley Estate 1989 Sparkling Not showing any obvious signs of age and, seeing that it had just been in the back of a car for two days and 360 miles, was drinking very nicely. Not over-the-top New World. Quite restrained but no great complexity. Last bottle I had did seem to have some good bottle-age characters. 85+
• Schoffit Riesling Harth Cuvee Prestige 1992 Classic citric Riesling nose, but with a touch of residual sugar - a slightly unusual style but pretty good and seemingly gaining complexity. 90
• Schoffit Riesling Harth Cuvee Presige 1993 Not as good as the 1992 (not at present anyhow). Difficult to see it as a riesling, but perhaps this is the youthful characters showing through. Unknit. 86(?)
• Ch. La Rame 1990 St Croix-du-Mont Gorgeous Botrytis peachy nose, with lovely length and range of flavours - caramel and marmalade. Could do with a touch more acidity - more like a muscat in that repect. Extrovert. 91
• Mountadam Noble Riesling 1990 From a half bottle. Disappointing stuff. Lacking body - tasted like glorified sugar water. Maybe it's been left too long. 82
• L. A. Cetto Petite Sirah 1993, Mexico This has had good reviews recently although it didn't get me that excited. Lacking fruit in the middle, and rather commercial in style. Some tannins and some raspberry fruit at first. 83

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Piemonte tasting at V&C with Michael Garner 09/11/1995 (TNB)

• Arneis 1994 (Castello di Neive) Thin italian white. The arneis grape seems to be like a profoundly inferior viognier. Eight quid and not cheap at half the price! 79.
• Gavi di gavi "La Minaia" 1994 (Bergaglio) Ditto, only slightly fuller, different grape (can't remember -- Thompson's seedless perhaps(?)) and almost a tenner! Excessive sulpher. 79.
• Dolcettod d'Alba 93 (Mascarello) Good quaffing stuff, with prominent but enjoyable tannins. 8.95. 82.
• Barbera d'Alba Fiulot 94 (Prunotto) Pleasant early drinking. Mouthwatering acidity. One dimensional. 83.
• Nebbiolo delle Langhe 93 (Produttori di Barbaresco) Declassified Barolo from the Co-op in a dodgy vintage. Tastes like that too. Profoundly uninteresting. 5.99. 77.
• Barbaresco 1991 (Produttori di Barbaresco) Quite well made to be attractive in a difficult vintage. Probably keep well and drink adequately for a few years. 9.99. 82.
• Barbaresco 1990 (Produttori di Barbaresco) Deeper, more tannic and ageworthy. Nose of chestnuts, mushrooms, coffee, but fruit adequate rather than the concentration one hopes for from a great vintage. 14.69. 86.
• Barolo 91 (Ascheri) Well made, quite "modern" with accessible fruit. 10.89. 85.
• Barolo San Giuseppe 89 (Cavallotto) Deep colour, already quite orange/brown. Big closed nose, hinting at a complexity to come. In the mouth, the fruit is sweet and long. Plenty of structure. Will age well. A bargain at 13 quid. 90.

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05/11/1995 (TNB)

• Pinot Blanc Cuvee Caroline 1993 (Schoffit) Huge wine, a little residual sweetness. Good length. Has the slight esteryness of some young wines, and also very slight spritz. The weight, texture and fruit are reminiscent of a VT Gewurtz! Briliant stuff. 88+

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Leovile and Langoa Barton tasting by Lay & Wheeler, Edinburgh, 03/11/1995 (TNB)

With Anthony Barton, a great raconteur: "When we dine at Lafite, Eric de Rothschild delights in serving us the Leoville-Barton 1899, because he seems to have piles of it, and we've run out ourselves."

• Leoville-Barton 1993 Good slightly leafy, chocolatey fruit. Reasonable concentration. 84
• Leoville-Barton 1992 Extremely high acidity (unripe fruit?) Not terribly interesting. 78
• Langoa-Barton 1991 Fairly light, but reasonably pleasant. 81
• Langoa-Barton 1990 Good deep colour. Quite closed, but large. 88
• Leoville-Barton 1990 Good fruit, slightly minty. Lovely ripe fruit (seems characteristic of the vintage). Quite long. 90 (I may be under-rating this due to its youth.)
• Langoa-Barton 1989 Very charming, but lightweight in the mouth. Lacking acid and structure. 86
• Langoa-Barton 1988 Excellent concentration and structure. Deep, slightly unyielding. Long. I may be over-rating this for some reason, but 90.
• Leoville-Barton 1986 Stunning nose of pencils and oranges, a scaled down version of the 86 Lafite. In the mouth, a huge wine with lots of slightly sandy tannins that one imagines will resolve. Seems to have a slight gap in the mid-palate, but perhaps that's the tannins. 92+
• Langoa-Barton 1985 A charmer, very typical of the vintage. Lovely to drink. 87
• Leoville-Barton 1985 A large generous fruity wine with all the charm of 85 married to excellent structure. The vintage seems to suit the property particularly well. 92
• Leoville-Barton 1982 With dinner. An indisputably great claret. Complex, rich fruit, excellent length. Just getting over its youth and beginning to build towards its peak. 94
• Langoa-Barton 1978 Also with dinner. A charming mature claret, completely resolved and at its peak. Very pleasant. 87
• Lay & Wheeler's champagne NV A bit too obviously biscuity, and undemanding. Pleasant though.

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