At home recently (all from Vine Trail) 27/01/2011 (TNB)

• Vin de Savoi, Chignin 2005 (R. Quenard) Very pure, intensely mineral and with an old-vine natural concentration. Really drinkable stuff. Smazing what a tenner will get you from an unfashionable region.
• Morgon 2009 (M. Lapierre) Very silky - Lapierre is (or was - I believe he died recently) a very natural winemaker, and this has the hallmarks of very pure, silky, unforced fruit. Lovely.
• Morgon Corcelette 2009 (D. Bouland) This doesn't have quite the tone and bite, and perhaps even the complexity of this growers Chiroubles, tasted recently. In a similar style though and pretty good. A low
• Moulin a Vent 2009 (Chateau des Jacques) This seemed the least interesting wine of my recent excursion in to Beaujolais. Is there some new oak usage? The total effect is of a decent wine, but one more international in style. Not my sort of thing.
• Fleurie La Madone 2008 (G. Chanudet) This was a bit of a shock after a number of wines from the big, ripe 2009 vintage. This seemed a bit thin at first, partly I expect because was quite cool. A rather delicious fragrance emerged after a while however. Delicate, but rather good. A bare

---

Recent purchases 18/01/2011 (TNB)

• Charonnay, Cotes du Jura Les Varrons 2007 (J. Labet) Hmmm. Made Jura-style, spending time in large wood casks I think, but topped up so it is not that oxidative. The result is dry, quite old-fashioned - very far from the modern "fruit driven" (shudder) style of much modern wine. It needs a while to open out in the glass. I think I quite like it, but find it hard to make up my mind. Certainly interesting - provisionally.
• Chiroubles 2009 (Daniel Bouland) I can feel an interest in Beaujolais Villages coming on - there seem to be a lot of winemakers there trying really hard while the area remains still pretty unfashionable. This is delicious - great minerality and tone: drinkable but interesting. Needs a year or two. Rising through

---

Another Sherry 12/01/2011 (TNB)

• Manzanilla I think, Saca du October 2010 En Rama (Equipos Navazos) This has all the salty, dry virtues of Manzanilla, but is notably more vinous - there is fruit one can think about too. Very good. Top

---

Misc at home 11/01/2011 (TNB)

• Soave Calvarino 2004 (Pieropan) Pieropan's unoaked top cuvee makes an interesting comparison to the oaked and more expensive La Rocca. I much prefer the crystalline purity and minerality of this lovely wine. Showing fantastically well - perhaps even in its way
• Pommard 1er cru Les Grands Epenots 2004 (de Montille) Beautiful, pure, scented fruit with a solidly structured background of succulent tannins. A wine that makes the kinship of Burgundy and Barolo very clear. A half-full bottle accidentally left uncorked overnight was delicious the next day. Lovely - rising to top of that range in time.

---

Wine group at my place 30/08/2010 (TNB)

Dreadfully delayed notes, recovered from some filed away jottings!

• Champagne La Closerie Les Beguines NV Brut Nature (Prevost) Golden. Wood influence clear but very well done. Fascinating wine - pure Meunier of course. Lot LC07, meaning 07 vinyage. Bare
• Navazos-Niepoort blanc 2008 Interesting wine with that dry sherry chaarcter - it is essentially an unfortified but Fino-style table wine I think.
• Savignin Arbois 2004 (Puffeney) Lovely characterful stuff - really interesting. This rather upstaged the previous wine and not just because there was more of the oxidatibve character.
• Chardonnay 200? (Vignai Da Duline) very stylish - I do like the wines from this producer, although the other varietals are (inevitably a bit more interesting than Chardonnay.
• Malvasia 200? (Duline) Characterful and delicious. Top
• Chassagne 1er cru Chenevottes 1995 (Niellon) Creamy and very refined, in the Niellon style. Yum.
• Gevrey Chambertin 1er cru Cazetieres 1988 (Serafin) Piquant, quite hard, but very much alive and enjoyable. The unapproachability is typical of the vintage. Top
• Nuits St George 1er cru Damodes 1985 (Machard de Gramont) Rather oxidised.
• Gigondas 1989 (Raspail) Fading, but no more than you might expect. Should have been drunk a decade ago.
• Vieux Telegraph 1989 Light, also beginning to fade.
• Beaucastel 1989 A bit edgy and rustic. (The brett, I guess.) Not great on this showing. Top
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve 1989 (Pegau) Deep porty wine - really rather drinkable. Top
• Bandol Cuvee Migoua 1989 (Tempier) Lovely, fresh, elegant wine. Much more drinkable than the Rhones.
• Climens 1970 Coppery colour, green rim. Fresh and engaging - in fact completely enjoyable. Surprised by how good this is in its own terms since 70 is generally reported as poor for the property. Bare
• Quarles Harris 1977 Middle of the road port of its vintage.

---

New Year's Eve 31/12/2010 (TNB)

• Champagne 1999 (C. Cazals) Lovely lemony Le Mesnil nose with that stony touch that suggests a touch of oxidation. I was a little unsure about this wine last time I tried it but it is singing now. Lovely.

---

Wine Group Xmas dinner. 29/12/2010 (TNB)

New Year's Resolution: Get caught up on my tasting notes. So these are fresh from last night and I will clear the backlog soon.

• Champagne Comtesse Marie de France 1988 (Bara) Quite evolved with that slow-flowing river nose. Fresh though - very pleasant.
• Meursault Perrieres 2002 (Drouhin) A bit flat. Decent complexity but a touch dull. The Pox, perhaps?
• Meursault Poruzots 2000 (Mikulski) Much fresher. Good but no huge depth. Top
• Meursault Perrieres 1993 (Potinet-Ampeau) Dry, mineral, nice fruit. A bit more advanced than some bottles of this (apparently) - if this is sub-standard, I would like to try a good one! Still bare
• Domaine de Chevalier blanc 2006 Quite sauvignon blanc - complex dry and taught. Interesting to try a young example - I can't recall having done so for ages. Fairly light in weight currently but intense and it will doubtless age very well. A good
• Rayas blanc 1994 Rather maderised. Others love it, with its old straw character and so on. I think this is a dodgy bottle though.
• Nerello Cappucio 09 (Calabretta) Lovely pure wine from the slopes of Etna. Very sexy and characterful - completely drinbkable. Top
• Charmes Chambertin 2001 (Maume) Perfumed, balanced, very attractive. Beautifully understated, perfect Charmes.
• Vosne Romanee 1er cru Malconsorts 1996 (Lamarche) It has the very high acidity of the vintage. Gummy (rather a lot of oak for my taste), quite concentrated. Good but needs time. Bovril meaty nose. Needs some time, I feel.
• Chambolle Musigny 1er cru Amoreuses 1989 (Jadot) Crushed red fruits, very pure, delicious. No great length however. Lovely drinking. Bare
• Montrose 1988 Stony, mineral, lovely. Surely this is one of the great Bordeaux terroirs. Top
• Lynch Bages 1985 Rather green capsicum nose - odd for the vintage and not how I remember the wine. Soft palate.
• Branaire Ducru 1982 Deep and balanced. Rather lovely, almost Burgundian. Nowhere near the rigour of the Montrose though.
• Nairac 1997 Very dark, golden color. Quite sweet. Almost resinous. I'm not very keen on this.

---

At Home 28/12/2010 (TNB)

• Auxey-Duresses Les Hautes 2007 (J-M Vincent) Very lees-influenced nose - yeasty, reminiscent of Champagne. The fruit quite taught with notable acidity. There is a new oak influence that I have slightly mixed feelings about, but the fruit is intense and so stands it well.

---

Xmas 25/12/2010 (TNB)

• Palo Cortado El Cardenal (Valdespino) One of those serious, dark old wines - this is more harmonious that I remember, but still very complex with that old wood feeling. Lovely. Top
• Colheita 1995 (Niepoort) Like all the various vintages, this has a ravishing brown-gold colour and a lovely chocolate character. Gorgeous.
• Leoville Barton 1986 Quite firm, dark fruit - and it still has a youthful colour considering its age. Cedar and cigar box - classic mature Claret.

---

At home 23/12/2010 (TNB)

• Champagne, Vieilles Vignes de Cramant 2002 (Larmandier-Bernier) This is maturing beautifully, with pure mineral fruit and some more evolved characters. Lovely to drink now. Top

---

In London 21/12/2010 (TNB)

• Domaine de Chevalier blanc 1996 Rather past it - something very like a case of Burgundy Pox, I'm afraid. From a half.
• Pinot Grigio 2008 (Franz Haas) Pleasant fruit, but it has a rather unintegrated, aggressive acidity. From a half. Bare

---

In London 20/12/2010 (TNB)

• Chinon blanc Part des Anges 2007 (Dom La Noblaie) Chenin: ripe apples and something slightly tropical, with the broad, relatively low acid palate one might expect from rather further south. Good concentration and length. This tastes a bit like some products of the fashionable "natural wines" movement. Rather good.

---

Natural wine and careless winemaking 20/12/2010 (TNB)

Having enjoyed Dard and Ribo's white St Joseph, I picked up a bottle of their white Crozes in The Sampler just now only to discover lots of brown-coloured crud floating around in the bottle. It certainly didn't look like something that had precipitated since bottling and it was so large you could have removed most of it with a tea strainer.

I put the bottle back on the shelf pretty quickly: I mean really - I don't want my wine sterile-filtered, but surely a (very) coarse filtration is better than lots of little brown lumps. Is this intentional (a bit like organic growers leaving the maximum of mud on vegetables for autheticity) or is it just careless? This sort of thing is a bit of a problem in the "natural wine" movement, which is a shame because I'm actually pretty sympathetic to it.

---

At Les Terroirs in London 17/12/2010 (TNB)

• Palo Cortado Regente (Sanchez Romate) Nice fruit (not that old I guess). Great character. Top
• Barbera 2004 (AA Trinchero) A modern job - barriques and so on. Great fruit, dense with none of the grape's tendency to thinness. Not totally my sort of thing, but .
• Clampins d'Abord 2009 Fragrant, very pure, quite light-bodied. The fruit quite cough-sweet southern, the structure more northern. Hard to assess in a way. Interesting - I'd like to try it again. perhaps

---

An interesting St Joseph 17/12/2010 (TNB)

• St Joseph blanc 2008 (Dard & Ribo) A bit odd on opening, but a gorgeous broad, intense wine emerges, with a ripe almost tropical undertone and some minerality. Great concentration and length. Very individual and extremely enjoyable. Easy - might it even improve?

---

Go back another 3 months: