5.6.40
Fine Wine Diary The Bailey brothers have now tasted 12082 wines in 28 years 6 months and 14 days
... search our archive of tasting notes ... read our articles on tastings and dinners

Diary index

Gang of Six 'Claret and Claret Lookalike' 30/09/1997 (RJB)

Wine group at J.Mc. 29/09/1997 (TNB)

28/09/1997 (TNB)

A Riesling tasting at the Three Horse Shoes, Madingley 27/09/1997 (RJB)

24/09/1997 (TNB)

24/09/1997 (RJB)

21/09/1997 (RJB)

20/09/1997 (TNB)

14/09/1997 (TNB)

13/09/1997 (RJB)

11/09/1997 (RJB)

08/09/1997 (TNB)

07/09/1997 (RJB)

Pol Roger with H. de Billy and OFW 05/09/1997 (TNB)

Noel Young Wines Presents a Tasting of Fine Wines 04/09/1997 (RJB)

D.L.'s Wine group dinner 01/09/1997 (TNB)

The Diary - September 1997

Gang of Six 'Claret and Claret Lookalike' 30/09/1997 (RJB)

A disappointing tasting given the theme. Much talk about today's wine consumer thinking they ought to like claret, when they really pefer syrah/shiraz wines, both as young wines and mature wines. I'm not sure that I completely subscribe to this myself, but this tasting didn't do much for the counter argument. A syrah tasting at a similar supposed level of wine would have been more enjoyable. Number in brackets indicate the position in the tasting taken as an average of the six tasters' scores.

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 30/09/1997   Return to top

Wine group at J.Mc. 29/09/1997 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 29/09/1997   Return to top

28/09/1997 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 28/09/1997   Return to top

A Riesling tasting at the Three Horse Shoes, Madingley 27/09/1997 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 27/09/1997   Return to top

24/09/1997 (TNB)

  • Ch. Verdignan 82 Holding up pretty nicely - decent "luncheon claret" of no great complexity.
  • Volnay Caillerets 87 (J-M Bouley) Quite deeply coloured, plenty of nice toasty oak, but not too much for the fruit. Quite tannic, but starting to drink quite well. A good 87.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 24/09/1997   Return to top

24/09/1997 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 24/09/1997   Return to top

21/09/1997 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 21/09/1997   Return to top

20/09/1997 (TNB)

  • Krug NV Lovely texture, moderate to full bodied, and yet so elegant. Long. From a half.
  • Malartic Lagraviere 59 A half from the depths of the Peat Inn's excellent list. Alive, but more acidity than fruit. No great complexity evident - perhaps there never was - but a pleasant drink.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 20/09/1997   Return to top

14/09/1997 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 14/09/1997   Return to top

13/09/1997 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 13/09/1997   Return to top

11/09/1997 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 11/09/1997   Return to top

08/09/1997 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 08/09/1997   Return to top

07/09/1997 (RJB)

  • Champagne Philippe de Aubancourt Brut Goodish cheap Champagne. Full-bodied, but a touch too sweet for balance. 83
  • Gran Don Darias Tinto NV Non-vintage, but it has had roughly four or more years bottle age since purchase. I had this blind and thought it to be a reasonable Rioja. Good sweet fruit with balancing oak. A real surprise. 85
  • Amarone della Valpolicella 1992, Villa Cerro Cantina di Soave Lovely, perfumed rose-petal fragrance. Sweetish fruit balanced by just sufficient acidity and structure. Delightfully different. Not for keeping I'd guess. 90
  • Cascinacastle't Moscato d'Asti 1996 Parker has given this 92 points in the latest Advocate, so I thought it would be worth trying again under more controlled conditions than last week. It certainly is a more complex wine than many Moscatos, with the usual grapey flavours combined with some marmalade and yeastiness. Perhaps it has too much body for its low alcohol content (5.5%) and needs more power to bring its many flavours to the fore. 89
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 07/09/1997   Return to top

Pol Roger with H. de Billy and OFW 05/09/1997 (TNB)

  • Pol Roger White foil NV Sound, if hinting at unripeness, and no great length. Base wine is 92 at the moment (apparently to be a vintage year). 84.
  • Pol Roger Extra Dry 88 Creamy, with refined chardonnay nose, and lots of guts. They made an excellent champagne in 88 that will clearly age splendidly. 92.
  • Pol Roger Extra Dry 89 Much lighter, to the point of being a bit thin. "Elegant", if you are being kind, "dilute" otherwise. Has an almost reasonable length though. (De Billy says this is to the French taste, as opposed to the English style of the 88 - in less guarded moments he more or less admitted that it is not so exciting.) Not for keeping anyway. 86.
  • Pol Roger Extra Dry 90 Pre-release tasting. Lacks the weight of the 88, but has a great deal of charm, and a lovely sweet ripeness to the fruit. A bit more forward than the 88, and I suspect not quite as great. 89(?+).
  • Pol Roger Blanc de Chardonnay 88 Nicely buttery, moderate weight, elegant. Very nice, but I prefer the straight vintage. 89.
  • Pol Roger Rose 90 Apparently the same base as the 90 extra dry vintage, with a bit of Bouzy Rouge or similar tipped in. Pleasant enough, and avoids vulgarity, but it seems a waste. It's not cheap either! 86.
  • Pol Roger Winston Churchill 86 Only made in the best vintages, we are told - so why 86? Not so weighty, but it does have a certain refinement. 90.
Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 05/09/1997   Return to top

Noel Young Wines Presents a Tasting of Fine Wines 04/09/1997 (RJB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 04/09/1997   Return to top

D.L.'s Wine group dinner 01/09/1997 (TNB)

Tasting notes added to Fine Wine Diary 01/09/1997   Return to top