With LJM and family 30/09/2006 (RJB)
- Champagne Brut 1982 L'Oenotheque (Charles Heidsieck)
Possibly a touch too old now, but lovely old Champagne nonetheless. Mature and elegant for its depth.
just - Pouilly-Fuisse 1986 (Domaine Corsin)
One of the first wines I bought with a view to keeping. I love old white Burgundy, and this didn't let me down. Lovely, oily, nutty ethereal stuff.
- Vouvray Clos Naudin 1985 Sec (Foreau)
Disappointing. Not past it, but just not particularly special. Maybe it still needs loads more time to develop?
- Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers 1992 (Armand Rousseau)
Lovely pure beetroot and raspberry nose. Drinking very well. Silky.
- Leoville Las Cases 1982
OK, so we drank this thinking it was showing well for the 1978 vintage. The label wasn't in the best condition. The next morning I was just sorting through the corks when I noticed we had really been drinking the 1982. The last time I had this wine I was disappointed, and I was again this time. It's OK, but it hasn't got the structure or depth expected.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 15/10/2006 Return to top
Wine group at D.W.'s 25/09/2006 (TNB)
- Cotes du Jura blanc 2000 (Chancenard)
Stylish nose, slightly resinous - a bit thin on the palate. Pleasant.
- Arbois Poulsard 1997 (Fruitiere Vinicole d'Arbois)
Slightly flat, flavoursome, a bit rustic. Interesting, up to a point.
- Meursault 1er cru Rogeot 2000 (Coche-Dury)
Rich fruit. Lovely Burgundy. Good intensity and structure. Needs time. Top
- Hermitage blanc 2000 (J-L Chave)
Mothbally at first. Disjointed but intense palate. Emerges - needs time. Will be great I suspect.
- Meursault 1er cru Rogeot 1996 (Coche-Dury)
Honied nose, strong palate. Quite evolved - ready in fact and needing drinking over the next few years, I suspect. Even unflawed 96's seem to be aging quite quickly.
- Hermitage blanc 1996 (J-L Chave)
Open, peachy, luxurious. A little light, some thought, but I loved it.
- Hermitage rouge 1994 (J-L Chave)
Cough-sweet and smoky. Interesting, but slightly harsh on the finish. perhaps needs time.
- Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1998 (Usseglio)
Grenachey, cassis overtones - quite raw finish. A bit rubbery.
- Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1998 (Beaucastel)
Caramel nose. A touch rough, perhaps. Opens out - quite classically chateauneuf. Top
- Hermitage rouge 1998 (J-L Chave)
Nice balance, clearly warm-vintage. A lovely balance of slavours. Coming round to drinking quite fast. A good
- Cotes du Rhone Laurentides 1998 (Gramenon)
Yummy drinkability. Stands up in this company - if a bit simple.
- Cote Rotie La Turque 1994 (Guigal)
Fragrant nose. Gummy, rich, very fine. (perhaps more if you like the style)
- Chateau Chalon Vigne aux Dames Vin jaune 1979 (M. Perron)
A touch woody. Pleasant, persistent, but perhaps a bit thin. Bare
- Vin de Paille, Arbois 1999 (Fruitiere Vinicole d'Arbois)
Burnt, a bit thin. Bare
- Gould Campbell 1970 (bottled Clode and Baker)
Fragrant fruit, a touch hard, a touch of aniseed. fairly lightweight. Top
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 12/12/2006 Return to top
Misc bottles 18/09/2006 (TNB)
- Domaine de Trevallon 1992
My memory of vintages of this Provence wine from some years ago is of the fruit being a bit sweet - this though seems rather good: Provencal herbs over cassis fruit with a lot of smoky cigar box. Very much a point and it has kept well. A little simple perhaps but I believe this was not a particularly good vintage for the property. Good effort - I'd like to try some other vintages.
- Ruinart Blanc de blancs NV
Quite concentrated and flavoursome, but lacking finesse for me in a way that I'm not sure more time will alleviate. PLeasant then but not fantastic.
- Gewurztraminer Cuvee Laurence, Clos des Capucins 1988 (Weinbach)
Smoke and pepper - fruit gently weakening perhaps but very drinkable.
- Collioure L'Agoulle 2000 (Domaine du Mas Blanc)
Blackberry and apple fruit with interesting sauvage overtones - once open for a few hours, very stylish indeed. Will probably improve for a year or two.
- Cochemer Goldbaumchen Riesling Eiswein 1983 (Koll)
A bit stinky on opening - it blows off to some extent but a touch of something foetid remains. Still, quite a dense, brown-sugar palate follows with a hint of volatility or something. Good rather than exceptional.
- Rioja blanco 2003 (Cosme Palacio y Hermanos)
Fruity, grassy - like a new world semillon. Pleasant enough.
- Negroamaro Salento 2003 (Piana del Sole)
Nice fruit quality - quite suave. Decent length. Top
- Cote-Rotie La Landonne 1991 (Rostaing)
Very fresh raspberry fruit with a meaty underlay. Very refined texture and good length. Once it has been open a while it seems even more Burgundian. It needs a bit more minerality or something to be truly outstanding. Scrapes
- Maximin Grunhaus Abtsberg Spatlese 1989 (von Schubert)
Slate, sherbert, a touch sour as MSR wines can be. Good length, maybe a touch hollow in the middle - something I find occasionally with the vintage. Fine, but not exceptional by the high standards of the domain. Top
- Champagne Belle Epoque 1996 (Perrier-Jouet)
Quite tight and closed, but opens out with time as it warms up. Excellent intensity and a long brioche finish. Good balance.
- Cipresseto Rosato 2004 (Marchesi Antinori)
Very thin and dull. Drinkable but
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 18/09/2006 Return to top
A small-scale evening at J.M.'s 17/09/2006 (TNB)
- Meursault 1er cru Poruzot 2000 (Mikulski)
Modern-styled, but very nicely done. Limey acidity. Satisfying, but completely upstaged by the Jobard that follows.
- Meursault 1er cru Poruzot 2000 (F. Jobard)
More reserved, but much more complexity and "beyond-fruit" flavours. Excellent. plus
- Meursault 1er cru Charmes 2000 (H. Boillot)
Dry, reserved, quite persistent. Rather good. Bare
- Meursault 1er cru Charmes 1993 (Jadot)
Oxidised - but it did have a slightly loose cork.
- Volnay Clos de la Barre 1996 (L. Jadot)
Softer and rounder than the Lafarge below. Still quite piquant on the palate.
- Volnay Vendage Selectionee 1996 (Lafarge)
Dry, fragrant, good length. Fairly austere at first and less flattering than the Jadot wine. Might till improve touch, while the Jadot is ready.
- Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Folatieres 1997 (L. Jadot)
Open 24 hours. Seems good. Quite mineral.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 18/09/2006 Return to top
15/09/2006 (RJB)
- Champagne Brut 2000 (H. Blin)
Sold to me in Oddbins as the wine that beat Dom Perignon in a recent competition. Actually it might have been the NV Blin that did this - different assistants in Oddbins attributed the result to both wines. This wine is good, but not DP good. There's a touch of sweetness and some heaviness of hand.
- Signa Concordia Reserva 2002 (Marques de al Concordia)
Good strawberry nose and pleasantly elegant palate.
- Chateau Leboscq Vielles Vignes 1999 Medoc
Drinkable.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 15/10/2006 Return to top
My turn hosting the Wine Group 04/09/2006 (TNB)
- Champagne Cuvee William Deutz 1996
Rich, quite forward (sepcially for the vintage), the quality shows in the persistence. Lovely Juniper/Gin edge to the nose.
- Champagne Grand Reserve brut NV (P Mazet)
A belnd of 95 and 96. Strawberry fruit, impressive at first but it does seem simple compared to the Deutz. Weighty but not so intense. Good though for the price.
- Chavignol La Grande Cote 2000 (Francis Cotat)
Quite varietal but with an added complexity and some non-fruit chatracter that makes it stand out. Drinking very nicely. Top
- Chavignol La Grande Cote 1993 (Francis Cotat)
Lighter and a touch vegetal. A touch thin but nevertheless it is a wine of character. Top
- Chavignol La Grande Cote 1991 (Francis Cotat)
Richer again, as with the 93 you might struggle to spot the grape variety: no bad thing in my mind. An interesting mature wine
- Cote du Rhone Reserve 1994 (Fonsalette)
Very fine, very characteristically Southern Rhone. Top
- Cote du Rhone Cuvee Syrah 1991 (Fonsalette)
Really quite Northern Rhone-like and very stylish, gamy Syrah.
- Chateauneuf du Pape 1990 (Clos Pignan)
Very complex, smoky wine. Really lovely. Scrapes
- Bandol Migoua 1990 (Tempier)
Gamy but elegant. A little overawed by the Rayas wines, but fine. Bare
- Bandol Cabassaou 1990 (Tempier)
Balanced and rich, but perhaps not showing ideally now. A little more time might help. Still
- Riesling Burger Hahnenschritten Auslese 1973 (Weingut Werner Mueller)
Very creamy but not rich. Dies a bit in the glass. Interesting, and pretty good for an average vintage, vineyard, etc. Top
- Quarts de Chaume 1988 (Baumard)
Difficult on opening - gamy almost and austere. Opens out nicely. Top
- Gould Campbell 1977
Nicely set up and needing a bit of time yet. I feel this hasn't the fineness to be great but it is very good.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 19/11/2006 Return to top