Linden's "unknown Ports" lunch 22/10/2006 (TNB)

• Unknown Port - paper label saying "2 bottles Lafite resealed 1952"(!) Rasins, a touch of oxidation, sweet pruney palate. OK but unremarkable.
• Port - identified from cork as Warre 1958 Lightweight, almondy, quite fine. Picquant and medicinal. Attractive as a lunchtime port! A good
• Unknown Port - cork probably says 1966 Elegant, lightweight, fresh and bright. Rather nice. Top
• Unknown Port - unidentified Very pale - the colour has dropped out as sediment. Madeira-like nose, pleasant port palate.
• Port - cork says Grahams 1955 Quite pale, rather eveloved (the level is bottom-shoulder which might be the reason). Rather savoury and delicious but not quite what it ought to be, I feel. Top
• Unknown Port - unidentified - in a hand-blown bottle Very pale, mushrooms and biscuits. Probably very old (some paper labels claim some of these bottles as 1850's - if any are, it's this one) and past its best.
• Taylor 1912 From different source and showing up all the previous wines. Lovely graceful old wine, fruity and scented, still fresh. It develops in the glass and is completely delicious. Top
• Champagne Grand Cellier d'Or 1990 (Vilmart) Nutty, yeasty, lovely mature Champagne. Bare
• Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Perrieres 1998 (Sauzet) Quite forward, slightly fat 98 style. Completely healthy but for drinking. Top
• Meursault 1er cru Genevrieres 1994 (F. Jobard) Mineral, clear, fine. A stunning effort for the vintage. Top
• Ruchottes Chambertin 1991 (Rousseau) Still a touch hard but very fine.
• Unidentified (label-less) 1964 Burgundy Probably substantially North African! Bare perhaps
• Haut Bailly 1981 Lovely mature Claret. Perhaps even a bare
• Chateau Lafite 1986 Dry, very smoky, quite baked fruit. Seems younger than its years.
• Meyna Pinot Noir 2004 Gummy, quite intense, in-your-face stuff.
• Quarts de Chaume 1990 (Bellerive) Rounded, very deeply coloured. Rather good. Top (at least)
• Monis Collectors Port 1948 Very rancio, cloudy (and still so the next day). Rich and thick and with something of Ozzie liquor Muscat about it. Curious. Top

At D.L.'s, the night before the mystery Ports 21/10/2006 (TNB)

• Vouvray Petillant 2000 (Huet) Yeasty, very nice - Champagne quality although different in character.
• Meursault En la Barre 1999 (F. Jobard) Tight, lovely, classic white Burgundy
• Puligny Montrachet Les Demoiselles 1989 (Colin) Rather evolved - creamy marzipan. Very good but might have been better a few years ago. Top
• Dao Touriga Nacional 1997 (Quinta dos Roques) Very much real wine, this oozes strength and individuality. Might well improve further. Very nice. Makes an interesting comparison with the Roda: I prefer this because its much less international. A good
• Roda II 1996 Cassisy, peppery fruit. Rather international, but good of its sort.
• Montrose 1975 Very classic, dry , tannic, high-toned. Top
• Amarone 2002 (Bussola) Rich fruit. Elegant - seems rather good. (This wine passed me by a bit - I think I was chatting too much and concentrating not enough - my main memory is jsut that it was very good.) Still,
• Mussbacher Eselhaut Riesling Auslese 1992 (Muller-Catoir) Spicey, rich, very M-C. I guess.
• Climens 1979 Elegant, lovely balance. Class always tells. Bare
• Tokay 6 puttonyos 1998 (Szepy) Very marmaladey, soft , delicious. I need to think more about this - is it Tokay somehow as it should be, or is it turned into something else for the modern market. I'm not sure yet, and I need to drink a couple of glasses more contemplatively. Still, it's at least very impressive.

Various Vino 08/10/2006 (RJB)

• Champagne Brut Cuvee Speciale 1999 (Nicolas Feuillatte) Nicely shaped bottle, and reasobale stuff inside it. A bit coarse and woody, and a bit too sweet. just
• Champagne Tradition Brut (Jacquart) I think I've had this for a few years. It's certainly worth keeping. Lovely honeyed and mineral palate. A joy. Just goes to show that you shouldn't rush drinking Champagne! Top
• Champagne Prestige de Bricout (Bricout) OK, but nothing out of the ordinary.
• Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2004 (Penfolds) I haven't had Koonunga Hill for ages. I was pleasantly surprised. Very Penfolds in style (no bad thing to my mind) - velvety smooth, not trying to be too big, gentle on the head. just
• Chianti Classico Basilica Cafaggio 2004) Good nose, but not typical. A really very coarse palate.

Some recent odd bottles 05/10/2006 (TNB)

• Gewurztraminer Goldert 1988 (Zind-Humbrecht) Rather fine fruit with just a touch of lychee - not very varietal now, more mineral - some will say too old but I think its at a peak. Pleasingly dry too - quite a fine wine. Is this just age or is this old-style Zind before the days of extra residual sugar? Whatever, it's rather nice. Top
• Barolo Cannubi 1993 (Prunotto) Tarry, fragrant, everything you could want from a typical, good Barolo in a decent but not special vintage. Needs drinking in the next few years. Top
• Volnay 1er cru Fremiets 1997 (Jean Boillot) Rather deliciously smooth and fragrantly, softly Volnay. I noted after a while that this had been tarted up with quite a lot of new oak. Very good of its kind, and quite good even in absolute terms.
• Rioja Imperial 1968 (CUNE) Lovely old-wine nose, fresh fruit. Coarsened after 30 minutes or so and faded a bit. Still rather pleasant. No indication on this half as to whether this was a Riserva or anything. Bare
• Pinot Gris 2004 (Turkheim Co-op) Nicely made, fruity but not vulgar. Very drinkable. Bare
• Chablis 1er cru Fourchaume 2003 (A Geoffrey) No excessive 2003 flab although I'd like a bit more precision and minerality. Decent wine.
• Cote Rotie Cote Brune 1992 (Gentaz Dervieux) Excellent fruit, especially given the vintage. Gamy and mineral. A lovely mouthful but the finish is a touch harsh. Still
• St Joseph Clos d'Arbelestrier 1998 (Florentin) Nice weight, attractive fruit but it seemed a bit flabby - maybe just a touch warm.