Fontodi at Valvona and Crolla 30/09/2004 (TNB)

• Meriggio 2003 (Fontodi) Fresh, fruity, dry and balanced. Deft touch of barrique. Elegant and drinkable without being compelling.
• Chianti Classico 2001 (Fontodi) Pure raspberry fruit - touch of yeasty lees. Nice fruit - high-toned, touch of tannins. Slight (agreeable) touch of farmyard. Scrapes
• Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo 2000 (Fontodi) As above, touch of chocolate too. The 10pc Cabernet quite evident too. Carries its oak well.
• Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo 1997 (Fontodi) Deeper perhaps - but also a bit more reserved. Very ripe and concentrated - even a little hot on the finish. Pretty suave. Might well end up rating four stars, but for now an improving
• Flaccianello 2000 (Fontodi) A touch higher-toned on the nose than the Sorbo. Nice, rich texture. Drier, more demanding than the Sorbo. plus
• Flaccianello 1999 (Fontodi) Deep Morello cherry nose - concentrated, pure palate. Rather stylish. This will age well on texture, concentration and balance.
• Pinot Nero Case Via 2001 (Fontodi) Exotic mango nose - lovely drama. Showy beetroot Pinot. Scrapes even.
• Syrah Case Via 2000 (Fontodi) Another big fruity soft nose. I don't quite get this. Comes over as a dull Sangiovese. Almost grassy. A good
• Vin Santo 1995 (Fontodi) Pleasantly tangy - something of sherry or madeira about it. Complex and lovely.

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Petaluma at Harvey-Nicks 29/09/2004 (TNB)

• Croser 2001 (Petaluma) Excellent balance, pleasantly dry, nice fruit, touch of cashew. One of the best new-world fizzes - could be Champers. A good
• Riesling 2003 (Petaluma) Touch of Riesling spice. Elegant, lime fruit, decent acidity. Seems fairly short-term although generally this wine ages quite decently. Say
• Viognier 2003 (Petaluma) Open, peachy fruit. I feel the Croser elegant style doesn't give the drama that Viognier needs.
• Chardonnay 2001 (Petaluma) A touch toffeed now - it will wear off I guess. Good fruit - green pea. Fruit quality lacks purity a bit. Oak more evident than minerality. Pretty Ozzy.
• Tiers Chardonnay 2000 (Petaluma) Much drier and higher-toned. Elegant. Pretty good wine that might develop a bit. Good
• Shiraz 2000 (Petaluma) Creamy, raspberry fruit - quite soft and immediate. Ripe tannins. A bit thin
• Coonawarra 2001 (Petaluma) Again quite elegant - ripe tannins, structured.
• Macon-Fuisse 2000 (Rijckaert) Basic, dry, but a pleasant touch of minerality.
• Champagne NV (Roederer) Fine - full-bodied. Good as ever. Bare

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An old friend 28/09/2004 (TNB)

• Vouvray 1989 (Chatueau Gaudrelle) I bought most of a case of this some time ago - maybe even ten years ago now I come to think. The sweetness has receded, it is perhaps beginning to decline a bit but is still very pleasantly fruity and fresh - honey and grass. Time to drink my remaining couple of bottles. A top

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Recent stuff 25/09/2004 (RJB)

• La Cuvee Mythique 2000 (Vignerons de Val d'Orbieu) Getting towards the end of its drinkable life I would guess judging by this bottle - enjoyable for what it is, but I can't see it hanging on for too much longer.
• Rosso Veronese Regolo 2001 (Sartori) Smooth and easy. Modern.
• Rioja 2003 (Muga) This barrel fermented white Rioja (90% Viura and 10% Malvasia according to the helpful back label - and if you must know the must was left to macerate with the skins for 12 hours and was then transferred into 225-litre capacity oak casks), well this barrel fermented white Rioja is a fairly thick oaky number without any of the oxidative nature of the old ways of making white Rioja. A cross between modern and traditional which I quite like for a good value white with a bit of weight. Oh, and by the way, the wine remained on the lees for three months undergoing batonnage once per week before being fined, filtered and bottled. perhaps

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An old-fashioned Claret 23/09/2004 (TNB)

With M.J. who had come round to discuss wine websites.

• Chateau Soutard 1970 Healthy colour with lots of orange on the rim - not that deep. Lifted, spicy nose, baked plum, almost something burnt. Quite savoury and high-toned with some tannins evident although this won't improve. Stylish, but not in the end a great wine. Very nice though. Top

Marking wines is a difficult business. I couldn't quite bring myself to gve the Soutard four stars and yet it is the sort of mature, balanced, slightly demanding wine that I would much prefer to drink to most young (but fully evolved) wines that I end up giving the same score to!

This is too a fine example of wat Bordeaux used to be: moderate weight and colour, dry and savoury, very ageworthy. I wonder how many modern wines will be so stylishly drinkable at 34 years old?

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Friday night 17/09/2004 (TNB)

• Chateau Lagrange, St Julien 1982 Deep colour showing only moderate orange tints at the rim. Lifted, leafy nose with a very mineral, dry yet full and satisfying palate. Top stuff - just drinking well, but no hurry to consume. It seems a lot and perhaps I am pushing it a bit but I really like this - so

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Weekend enigmas 12/09/2004 (TNB)

• Chateau Sociando Mallet 1985 I have been up and down about this wine since I first tasted it and liked it about 12 years ago, giving it just two stars on occasion. It has a good medium-deep colour now and mature, cedary Claret nose. On the palate it is quite chunky (as Sociando tends to be) with a touch of capsicum. I think now it is good mature wine about to leave its plateau of maturity. Fine with food and needing a bit of air and a bit of ones attention while drinking.
• Pommard Les Fremiers 1990 (Coste-Caumartin) A wine I liked a lot at a dinner 4 years ago and since bought a little at auction. The fruit is mainly cherry and has baked overtones like a lot of wines from this vintage. Quite solid and structured still although I can't imagine it shedding tannins and becoming at all suave at this time of life. A good wine, but perhaps a bit less good than I first thought.

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Huet Vouvray 06/09/2004 (TNB)

• Vouvray Le Haut Lieu demi-sec Non-Greffe 2002 (Huet) Pineapple (young-wine esteryness) honey and grass nose. Pretty intense and long. Mouthwatering despite a fair level of sweetness. Open and rich from the (necessarily youngish) ungrafted vines. Top
• Vouvray Le Mont demi-sec 2002 (Huet) Similar but a little less intense than the ungrafted wine above. Possibly just a bit more closed. Lovely acidity and a touch of minerality. Good concentration and length. Lovely now but presumably it will have a dumb period. Maybe even
• Vouvray Clos du Bourg 1er Trie Molleaux 2002 (Huet) Honied, warming rounded - good concentration. Seems a touch simple at this stage but that's young chenin, I think. Certainly long.
• Vouvray Cuvee Constance Moelleux 2002 (Huet) Amazing nectar-like intensity - good acid - balance and texture like a good TBA. Lovely botrytis. Fantastic.
• Vouvray Le Haut Lieu sec 1998 (Huet) Bone-dry, grass and honey - quite evolved. Seems ready to drink but doubtless it will keep a while. Just about worth
• Vouvray Le Mont demi-sec 1993 (Huet) NP is pleased how this has turned out - I see why. No longer noticeably sweet, smooth, drinkable and a nice finish. Very much a point.
• Vouvray Le Haut Lieu demi-sec 1961 (Huet) At this age the varietal character is more muted and the edges have smoothed. Nutty palate now. But the fruit is fresh too and the finish long and lovely. Scrapes into the highest level:
• Vouvray Cuvee Constance Moelleux 1993 (Huet) Quite Barsac-like brown sugar nose. A bit of hay - palate fresh but ready. Not nearly as intense as the 2002 but very good. A fine
• Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux 1er Trie 1959 (Huet) Medium-deep colour with promising hint of green on the rim. Smoky creme brulee nose and nutty palate - a touch of cloves or something gives an intriguing complexity. Brown sugar sweetness on the palate. Really lovely. A top

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A tasting for work 06/09/2004 (RJB)

• Champagne Brut (J. M. Gremillet) Coarse and green. I think a case of needing some more time in bottle. Disjointed.
• Sauvignon Blanc 2003 (Saint Clair) Clean and zippy New Zealand wine with more then a hint of blackcurrant.
• Macon-Uchizy 2002 (Domaine Talmard) Well made and well structured Macon. Could do with a touch more tautness.
• Gewurztraminer 2002 (Cave de Turckheim) Basic but sound Gewurz.
• Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese 2002 (Dr Loosen) Delicious, clean and tight. It needs more time to be at its best.
• La Copa 2002 Campo de Borja Tempranillo (Bodegas Aragonesas) More than decent cheap stuff – leathery strawberries. plus
• Chateau Musar 1994 This got rather mixed reactions. Light to medium weight wine with plenty of high toned cherry fruit on the nose which I rather liked, but others called medicinal. Elegant and a bit of an oddity. perhaps
• The Sack Shiraz 2002 (Magpie Estate) Big chunky wine with good balance and acidity. Top
• Geyserville 2000 (Ridge Vineyards) Its usual reliable self – deep, smooth and soft.
• Welschriesling Trockenbeerenauslese Nummer 4 Zwishen den Seen 2000 (Kracher) High class sweet wine making as ever. Plenty of sweet, sweet fruit and balancing acidity.

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Some weekend wines 04/09/2004 (RJB)

• Petite Sirah 2002 (L. A. Cetto) I remember an earlier vintage of this (ten or so years back) wowing two or three MWs at a blind tasting. This vintage is good with chocolate, spice and sweetness in a medium bodied wine.
• Pieve Vecchia 2001 Soave Superiore (Fasoli Gino) Well put together with elegance, but also body. A touch of sweetness and melon fruit.
• Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Kabinett 1988 (Georg Breuer) Good mature Riesling on the lighter side of the spectrum. Good.
• Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 (Fox Creek) This is on the cusp (or at least on a cusp). It is at a slightly unknit stage with some VA and leathery flavours developing. It will either go down hill from here or develop further into a good mature wine. I think I’ll plump for the latter theory – the acidity is good and the wine has complexity. plus

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At J.M's one evening 01/09/2004 (TNB)

• Chevalier Montrachet Les Demoiselles 1994 (Jadot) Undewhelms a little at first but after a while, with the wine approaching room temperature, it is very beguiling with a lovely complex, slightly herbal nose and very finely delineated creamy fruit. Very delicious and (a sign of real quality) it becomes more compelling with each glassful.
• Chassagne Montrachet La Romanee 1996 (Colin Deleger) This is an immediate style of Burgundy with quite forward fruit. The acidity is good but not at the high levels of some from this vintage and this wine is pretty much drinking. Very honest wine, pretty much what one might hope for from a good Chassagne in a good vintage.

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Wine group at my place 01/09/2004 (TNB)

Brief notes (particularly on wines I have other bottles of) because of cooking, etc

• Riesling von den Terrassen Durnsteiner Riesling 2002 (Tegernseerhof - F. Mittelbach) Floral, sherbert. Slightly bitter finish. A bit rustic. Bare
• Palo Cortado Cardenal (Valdespino) lntense, yeasty - touch volatile.
• Chablis 1er cru Montee de Tonnerre 1999 (Raveneau) Excellent.
• Chablis 1er cru Montee de Tonnerre 1995 (Michel) A slightly but only slightly lesser wine than its two illustrious companions.
• Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 1991 (Dauvissat) Lovely, creamy texture.
• Barolo La Serra 1994 (R. Voerzio) Very, very fragrant, dry Burgundian, stylish wine. A star for the vintage.
• Barolo Bric del Fiasc 1994 (P. Scavino) Tarry, less elegant but another very good wine, particularly for the vintage. Top
• Rioja Gran Reserva Imprial 1987 (CVNE) Rich - sweet fruit. Ever reliable. Top
• Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea 1987 (Muga) Edgy - I think I have had better bottles.
• Rioja Reserva Especial 1947 (Palacio) Nutty - sweet fruit, mushrooms, very fine.
• Shiraz 1987 (Wendouree) High-toned raspberry fruit. Chocolatey too - top oz. Top
• Riesling Abtsberg Auslese Fuder 64 1992 (Maximin Grunhauser) Sherbert fruit, totally drinkable - pretty much mature too. Lovely.
• Oloroso Su Majestad (Valdespino) Green rim. Stunning - nutty rich and complex. Pretty dry. Top
• 30 year old Tawny Port (Niepoort) To me overshadowed by the Sherry, despite being rather sweeter. Very good as usual.

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