17-25/6/00 (RJB)

• La Segreta Rosso 1999, Planeta, Sicily a generous wine blended from Nero d'Avola, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Perhaps a bit jammy, but overall impressive, with Italian bitterness and food-matching structure. 87
• Barbera d'Asti 1998, Ca' Bianca Biggish fruity red with enough structure and texture to last for a few years. 88
• Cotes-du-Rhone 1988, Guigal Showing signs of being on the way down, but still with mature mushroomy flavours. 86
• Gran Sangro de Toro 1997, Torres, Penedes Smokey and softly fruity. Not for keeping, but good glugging wine. 86

21/6/00 (TNB)

• Riesling Herrenweg 89 (Zind-Humbrecht) Pleasant keroseney flavours, but seems very simple now. A bit past it, perhaps.

Wine dinner @ DL's 18/6/00 (TNB)

• Condrieu La Petite Cote 97 (Cuilleron) Good viognier, but a shade fat, as usual for this producer.
• Roederer 90 Very rich & ripe (the vintage, I suspect) and autolytic. Pretty good, as one might expect.
• Meursault Charmes 84 (Coche-Dury) Green-pea vegetal - in just the right sort of way. Mature, long, rather fine. Delicious.
• Ch. Ripeau 64 (St. Emilion) An estate nobody seemed to know much of, this was simple perhaps, yet very well preserved: fresh and with decent fruit.
• De Pez 64 Hopelessly oxidised.
• Ducru Beaucaillou 61 From a half: completely shot. Second dog on the trot!
• Soutard 70 Slightly iodiney (a touch of class there), ripe yet very dry. Not immensely concentrated, but very good.
• Cote-Rotie 96 (Gangloff) I think this is the Veille Vignes Cuve. Very pure, very fine, peppery blackberry fruit. My first experience of the producer - I can see why there is a bandwagon developing.
• Old Vine Grenache 95 (Clarendon Hills) Very dark cherry, chocolatey, nice ripe tannins, integrated acidity, concentrated, but finishes a shade short. Very good indeed for New World, but not quite of the class suggested by its price!
• Grand Cuvee 91 (Kracher) Fashionable Austrian estate: striking concentration, tastes expensive, but very much for sipping rather than drinking.

Noel Young Wines tasting of Veritas and Magpie Estate Wines with Rolf Binder (RJB) 14/6/00

• Western Ridge Semillon-Chardonnay 1999 Easy white, with a yeasty character and zesty edge. I'd guess this would go well with seafood. (5.99) 86
• 'The Thief' Mourvedre-Grenache 1999, Magpie Estate The back label says 'Neither red nor pink'; Rolf Binder says 'I tried to make a rose but couldn't'; Noel Young says 'The body of a white with the flavour of a red'. Full flavours of strawberries, dark fruits and a toffee edge. I don't usually go for chilled red wine, but it worked well in this instance. (6.99) 86
• Mourvedre-Grenache 1999, Magpie Estate Lifted cherry and herbs nose, Excellent texture and good soft tannins. A wine for now, or for keeping over the medium term. 89
• Mourvedre-Grenache 1996, Magpie Estate Tarry dark fruit, good length and good acidity - like a heavy Southern Rhone. 89
• Cabernet-Merlot 1998, Veritas Big jammy, touch vegetal nose. Too sweet on the finish and without the acid to balance. (8.99) 85
• Christa-Rolf Shiraz-Grenache 1999, Veritas goodish, but lacking complexity and depth. Goodish acid and soft tannins. (8.99) 87
• Shiraz-Mourvedre 1998, Magpie Estate Excellent deep colour - prickly nose. Soft and with a minty edge. Needs beefing up in the mid-palate, but might fill out with time. 88?
• Shiraz-Mourvedre Pressings 1998, Veritas Minty and herby, and green peas. Some sweetness. Odd. Rolf Binder thought perhaps travel sick. (14.99)
• Heysen Shiraz 1998, Veritas Deep, deep colour. Big, deep Oz Shiraz. together and with long chocolatey flavours and goodish structure. For drinking young. (11.99) 90
• Liquer Tawny, Veritas From a half. Oloroso nutty nose and citrus flavours. A bit more acidity needed at the finish. (5.99) 88

9-10/6/00 (RJB)

• Sancerre Dom. des Implipeaux 1995, Jacques Fleuriet Good old Sancerre (preferable to young Sancerre and New Zealand Sauvignons to my mind). Mineral, grassy, and an almost stagnant character (not disimilar to that acquired by old Champagne on occasion). 88
• Vilmart Cuvee Rubis Brut Lovely pink Champagne with darker forest fruits (rather than the usual strawberry and raspberry flavours). Good body. 89

10/6/00 (TNB)

• Ch. Verdignan 82 Nice fruit, in quite a leafy way, with some pleasant tertiary claret notes. Probably a shade past peak, but drinking nicely enough. (My last remaining bottle of a small amount of wine bought in my misguided youth from a French supermarket. It's turned out quite well, cinsidering the provenance - the vintage does it, I suppose. I rather fancy that's my last bottle of wine from any supermarket anywhere, and good riddance!)

Gang of 6 Champagne and Pinot Noir tasting (RJB) 8/6/00

As usual for these events, the wines tasted blind. Numbers in bracket indicate average score and ranking in flight.

• Gosset Grande Millesime 1989 A touch of age, a bit short - goes quickly flat and dull. Disappointing, but others who had had this recently weren't surprised. 84 (83.8, 4)
• Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle Slightly unclean bitter finish. Acidic and woody. 86 (86.8, 3)
• Ayala 1982 Old maderised nose, softly toffeed. 84 (83.5, 5)
• Pol Roger White Foil I think it is at least 10 years since I bought this. Oldish, good flavoursome Champagne. 90 (90.0, 1)
• Bruno Paillard Blancs de Blanc Reasonable, but heavilly Chardonnayish (as one might expect, I guess). 88 (89.0, 2)
• Volnay Santenots 1983, Dom. Comte Lafon Cloudy - this bottle unfit for drinking.
• Dry River Pinot Noir 1996 Simple palate, texture and nose. 85 (91.7, 2)
• Corton Grand Cru Clos Ronee 1989, Dom Meo Camuzet Dry (compared with New World in hindsight), but elegant. 89 (87.3, 6)
• Nuits St Georges Clos de Foret 1992, Dom d'Arlot Coffee nose, I thought it Californian. Dryish finish. 86 (87.5, 5)
• Gantenbein Pinot Noir 1997, Switzerland Is this the first Swiss wine on these pages? If not, I bet it's the best Swiss wine on these pages. Coffee and herbs and toastiness. 87 (91.8, 1)
• Rochioli Little Hill Block Pinot Noir 1995 Minty, smokey and rather obvious. 83 (87.7, 4)
• Savigny-les-Beaune La Dominode 1985, Dom Bruno Clair Vegetal, some age - drying up. 83 (86.3, 7)
• Salinger Pemberton Pinot Noir 1996 Smokey,but short and fairly Burgundian. 84 (88.3, 3)

7/6/00 (TNB)

• Tokay St Catherine Clos des Capucins 94 (Weinbach) I remember this as quite funky a couple of years ago when I bought it. Now big, intense, long, nearly dry with good acidity. The fruit is difficult to put a name to. I think it's just a bit closed. Will be excellent.

2-4/6/00

• Cote du Rhone blanc Vieilles Vignes 99 (Les Grandes Vignes du Roy) Pleasant fruity, slightly floral nose with distinct smokey overtones. Rosehips? Dry, good balance and length. Just about all you can hope for from French country wine.
• Couhins Lurton 88 (Pessac-Leognan) From a half, full-bodied, but a bit varnishy. Attractive in some ways, but this doesn't seem to have aged terrribly gracefully.
• Crozes Hermitage Guiraude 91 (Graillot) This is in rather good nick 9 years down the line, very fresh yet pleasantly evolved fruit, classicly Syrah, all in balance. Will drink happily for a year or two yet even.

The Rhone at OFW 1/6/00 (TNB)

• Crozes-Hermitage blanc 97 (PJA) Floral, wet stones, very Marsanne, fattish, concentrated. No very great length or prospects. Not bad. (14.99)
• Viognier 97 (Heggie - Yalumba) Peachy viognier, apricots, low acid, a shade simple. Not Condrieu, but enjoyable. (12.99)
• Condrieu VT Ayguets 97 (Cuilleron) Very honeyed, caramalised, Jaffa cakes. I think these sweet Viogniers that this producer makes are a mistake because they are so cloying with the very low acidity of the grape. Also not cheap! (27.99 - 50cl)
• Cote-Rotie Bassenon 97 (Cuilleron) Slightly peppery. Tannins, but little acidity and finishes a shade short. I find this producers whites a bit heavy and his reds often of no great quality. The estate has been heavily Parkerised. (23.99)
• Cote-Rotie Les Jumelles 97 (PJA) Figgy, burnt rubber nose. Cooked fruit palate. Northern Rhone style, but not particularly Cote-Rotie to me. I think it is a long time since the general run of Jaboulet's reds (apart from the La Chapelle, St Pierre and Thalabert that is) were better than just goodish. (25.99)
• St Joseph Serines 97 (Cuilleron) Blackberry fruit, quite fine. Decent acidity, reasonable length. Way above Cuilleron's usual quality. (29.99 - a record for the appelation?)
• Cornas St Pierre 97 (PJA) Blackberry liqueur fruit, very leafy. Striking density. Not a great drink to my mind at the moment, but I expect it's going somewhere. It may even be brilliant in a few years. (29.99)
• Crozes hermitage Raymond Roure 97 (PJA) Very nicely balanced classic blackberry fruit with decent concentration. This new vinyard of PJA probably has potential. (14.99)
• RSW Shiraz 97 (Wirra Wirra) Eucalyptusy, slightly pencily, a bit soft and anonymous. Pretty Ozzy! (14.99)
• Beaucastel 97 Seems very grenache influenced (cherry fruit) for Beaucastel, fine and attractive, mediumish in weight, but I suspect it will put on a bit more in the bottle. Not a great Beaucastel, but classy as usual.

28/5/00 (TNB)

• Chateauneuf-du-Pape Vielle Vignes 1997 (Villeneuve) Lovely "cherry cough sweet" concentrated Grenache nose, medium-bodied with nice "old-vines" texture to the fruit. Good finish. Opens up further after a while, showing real class.

27/5/00 (TNB)

• Gewurtztraminer Kessler 89 (Schlumberger) Well into double figures now, brash youthfull gewurtz character gone, but plenty of attractive fruit, lovely texture in the mouth and a good finish. This has always been off-dry and without very marked acidity. In a way it comes in to better balance as the sweetness moderates with age. Pleasant drinking.

26/5/00 (TNB)

• Gigondas 89 (Domaine St Gayan) Rather worried that this cellared oddity would be shot. But no: lots of cassis and blackberry fruit, still some notable tannins, but a pretty pleasant drink. Probably not going anywhere exciting after this, and not to my mind rating quite the extravagent Parker score (91) I just discovered, but very pleasant. More an 85/100 wine for me.

Wine group @ DW's 22/5/00 (TNB)

• White port NV (Niepoort) Sherryish salty nose. Liquorice and chocolate palate. Less acidity than madeira (say). A pleasant aperitif.
• ?? Cheap grappa and peachy fruit. Odd and not so enjoyable.
• Arbois chardonnay 98, Jura (Grandmaison) A bit cloudy. Slightly woody. Perhaps faulty.
• Cotes du Jura 95 (Rolet) Peachy fruit, very vinegary on the palate. Not really my sort of thing.
• Savagnin 93 Arbois Sherryish, decent length, marked acidity, that curious peachy fruit again. Not bad, in a way.
• Redoma white Reserva 95 New oak. A shade soft. Longish. Got a bit slaughtered by what was tasted before it, but seems pretty good.
• Pinot Noir 97 (Dry River) Rich, slightly medicinal, lush nose. Lots of character, in some ways quite Burgundian. One of the best New World Pinots.
• Pinot Noir 97 (Rochioli) Quite a lot of lush fruit, but if you pay attention to it, it seems rather simple. Pretty drinkable, but not remarkable given that this is (I believe) quite a sought after estate. (This is their basic wine, I think there are other cuves.)
• Volnay 95 (Coche-Dury) Very fine fruit and structure. Excellent for a village wine.
• Volnay 94 (Coche-Dury) Medium weight, a bit less of everything than the excellent 95, but this is very nice too, and a particularly good effort for the vintage.
• Volnay Clos des Chenes 92 (Lafarge) Forward fruit, yet quite tannic. Built to last a while, quite dry (perhaps just the style, or maybe starting to dry out just a shade). Good.
• Volnay 93 (Coche-Dury) I prefer this to the excellent 95 because the fruit is very fine, and there is excellent structure. Perhaps just an example of how good this vintage is.
• Maury 75 cuvee special (Mas Amiel) Vibrant, nice acidity. Chocolatey. Not stunningly complex, but rather good.
• Colheita 1937 (bottled 1995) Niepoort Lovely green rim. Words fail me: absolutely lovely, fantastic complexity, good acidity and stunning length. To die for!
• Verdelho 34 VJH Quite a long way off dry, almost aggresive acidity, with those in-your-face medicinal madeira flavours. Pretty good, but suffers in comparison with the Colheita.
• Blanc de blancs 82 (Dom Ruinart) I must say I've always preferred some pinot in my champagne, but this is rather fine and very elegant.

15-21/5/00 (TNB)

• Spanna, Castello di Montalbano 67 (Vallana) Levels, etc, looked good, but one bottle oozing a bit and completely oxidised. Another quite fresh in some ways, with the powerful fruit of the estate, but also some odd oxidation flavours. Dodgy storage, I wonder?
• Sociando Mallet 85 I wondered from this half whether this wine is going anywhere now. It might need drinking. I'll retaste soon.
• Rosado 98 Gran Caus Spanish rose, quite fragrent (that so-typical aroma of roses, or is it just the closeness of the words that always suggests it)? Slight spritz. Pleasant summer drink.

10-18 May 2000 (RJB)

• Capel Vale Shiraz 1993, Western Australia This has aged beautifully, and in a fairly Rhonish peppery fashion. At peak. 89
• Capel Vale Merlot 1993, Western Australia This, however, has not kept well. Distinct signs of drying out (in fairness, the back label said keep for five years so I was pushing it a bit). 83
• Old Bush Vines Carignan 1999, Mont Tauch, V. de Pays du Torgan Cheap, rough and lacking. 78
• Riva Sangiovese Umbria, Co. Vi. O. Scarl Refreshing cheap food wine with fruit and some structure. 86

13/5/00 (TNB)

• Pommard Poutures 88 (Lejeune) Cough-sweety fruit (not meant as a criticism), lots of tannins, and perhaps in danger of drying out in the not too distant future. A good drink, but a way behind the lovely 87 Rugiens from this domain.

"First growths" at Oddbins Fine Wine 11/5/00 (TNB)

First growths from 88 (except Latour which was an 89) shown by Oddbins. They confirmed the excellence of the vintage to me: always classic and good acidity.
• d'Yquem 90 Huge brown sugar nose and palate. Bags of botrytisy fruit. No great acidity (enough, I guess) but stunning length.
• La Conseillante 96 A Pomerol, so as to get a clean sweep of the major appelations. Brambley, plummy fruit. Fruity and tobaccoish nose. Leafy, almost stalky. Lacks the plummy veluptousness that one might hope for. I'm not wild about this, but possibly it's just a bit closed. 59.99
• Cheval Blanc 88 Good colour. Intruiging nose. Tight. Crisp. Iodiney finish. Lovely, lots of chracter, if a bit idosnynchratic at this stage. 116:99
• Margaux 88 Floral (almost) nose, certainly perfumed, lots of tannins, closed at the moment, but promises a lot. Not quite greatness though. 132.99
• Latour 89 Excellent colour. Capsicumy, walnutty, 89 tannins are there but not disjointed like some of the vintage. Another excellent wine, but I don't think it has the density of a great Latour. 139.98
• Mouton Rothschild 88 Very deep and young colour (the sort of wine that has you guessing it's 3 years old). Flashy and oaky, but this has settled into something fine, if still hedonistic more than intellectual.
• Lafite Rothschild 88 Fantastic colour. Lovely subtle lead-pencil and cassis nose. Amazingly compact but infinitely varied palate. Absolutely gorgeous - my sort of claret! Sheer class.
• Haut Brion 88 Excellent young colour again. Has much of the complexity and excitement of the Lafite 88, but this is rather more forward. I suspect it is only that it is more forward, and that this is a wine close to the Lafite in quality. (I wonder if R.P.'s 90 points, grouping it with the Margaux rather than the Lafite, might under-rate it.)

4-6/5/00 (TNB)

• Haut Bages Liberal 96 Lots of fruit and quite a lot of (perhas a bit flashy) oak. Quite forward, almost drinkable now, but doubtless not at best for at least a few years.
• Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 95 (Cecchi) Quite a lot of juicy Chianti-ish fruit. Pretty pleasant.

3/5/00 (TNB)

• Tokay Vielle Vignes 89 (Zind-Humbrecht) I've been a bit bored by Z-H's highly extracted style recently, but this has aged rather well with residual sweetness less evident, long finish to the concentrated fruit and an unctuous texture. Like so many Z-H wines it is still for sipping rather than drinking, but it is impressive in its way.

1-3/5/00 (RJB)

• St Veran Tete de Cuvee 1998, Verget Fairly standard lightly oaked (if at all?) Chardonnay. Not a lot going on. 85
• Pouilly Fuisse 1997, Verget A step up from the St Veran, but still rather a simple wine with closed flavours. 86
• Macon Clesse Quintaine Cuvee Tradition 1996, Domaine de la Bongran Chardonnay made in an Alsace residual sugar style - not really my cup of tea / glass of wine. Oily, medium dry palate. 85
• Elston Chardonnay 1996, Te Mata Estate Better fruit than the three Burgundies above, and not too overpowering. Good oak balance, but all in all a bit tiring after the first glass or two. 87

Burgundy Tasting, Oddbins Cambridge, 3/5/00 (RJB)

• Chablis Premier Cru Vaucoupin 1997, Brocard (11.99) Still some youthful esteriness - mineral, slatey nose. Steely and with lime acidity keeping it tight. Toffeed on the mid-palate. Not too lean - what premier cru Chablis should be. 88+
• Bourgogne Aligote 197, Ramonet (11.99) Stinky, almost vegetal nose to start with. Not together - feeling thin and dilute with oak in the background. Liquorice/aniseed nose develops with time. 83
• Bourgogne 'Chardonnay' Cuvee Gerard 1998, Etienne Sauzet (9.99) Not quite as good as last time - toffeed edge, but seeming a bit thinner. Cloves and an unwelcome apple character. Needs some opening out. 87
• Saint-Romain 1997, Domaine du Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet (12.99) Slightly sulphurous to start with. Nicely done lightly toasted oak nose. Short on palate and a disappointing soft buttery finish. Looks like this wine is on the way down. 84
• Pouilly-Fuisse 'Les Combettes' 1997, Chateau de Fuisse (16.99) Flinty - good texture and length. Some structure, needs time. 88
• Pouilly-Fuisse 'Les Combettes' 1996, Chateau de Fuisse (16.99) Vegetal nose, palate not got the acidity. Length not there. The majority at the tasting thought this better than the '97 and more age-worthy - I completely disagree! 84
• Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Morgeot' 1997, Ramonet (29.99)Stalky nose to start with. Traditional wine - goodish length, but with an over oaky finish and dull hazelnut length (something I usually associate with cheap old Oz Chardonnay). Not together. Flabby finish. 87?
• Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Les Vergers' 1997, Ramonet (32.99) Ah! Better. Not for the long haul, but good peach and hazelnut oil nose and flavour. finesse and freshly mature. 90
• Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Champs-Canet' 1997, Ramonet (43.99) Closed on the nose, but the best of the wines on show. Good fruit and structure, and excellent acidity (almost too much?). Should age well for the next 5 years or so. 91+
• Moulin a Vent Domain des Drus 1998, Sylvain Fessy (7.99) Thinnish Gamay - I think I'd rather drink Nouveau. 80
• Mercurey 1er Cru Les Champs Martin 1997, Domaine Lorenzon (12.99 or 19.99?) (Some confusion as to prices of this wine and the next - and whether they were VVVs - Vielles Vignes Versions - or not. I think this one was the VVV, but the next wasn't). Simple plum skin nose, earthy and austere on the palate. Pretty mucky, green tannic finish. 79
• Mercurey 1er Cru Les Champs Martin 1996, Domaine Lorenzon (12.99 or 19.99?) Better than the '97, but still astringent tannins. 81

Rolly Gassmann at The Atrium with Raeburn Fine Wines 1/5/00 (TNB)

• Muscat Moencreben 96 (Rolly Gassmann) Dry, elegant (not too extravagently grapey), pleasant.
• Auxerrois Reserve 90 (Rolly Gassmann) Sweetish, full-bodied, moderate length. Impressive in a way, but the total effect for me just a bit flabby.
• Riesling Pflaenzerreben 90 (Rolly Gassmann) Evolved spicey nose (petrolly in an entirely delicious way). Good acidity. A very fine Alsace riesling, now drinking well.
• Pinot Noir Reserve 97 (Rolly Gassmann) Beetrooty, almost heavy in a way (unusually for an Alsace pinot Noir). A good effort for Alsace, but I'll stick to Burgundy myself!
• Tokay VT 90 (Rolly Gassmann) Seems very closed but well-balanced and everything is there. Perhaps it just struggled (as almost all wines seem to) accompanying cheese. May be rather good, but I need to retaste.
• Gewurtztraminer VT Oberer Wein 90 (Rolly Gassmann) That excellent balance again. Finer and more exciting than the VT Tokay, this is a really good dessert wine.