660. Château Langoa Barton, Saint-Julien, 1988 
659. Beaulieu Vineyard, Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, 2000 
658. Bodegas Guelbenzu, Lautus Ribera del Queiles VdlT, 2004 
657. Podere Brancaia, Il Blu IGT Toscana, 2004 
656. Marc Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Vide-Bourses”, 2006 
655. Domaine du Colombier, Hermitage Blanc, 2007 Book 4
650. Château de Saint-Cosme, Gigondas, 2007
So, the real opening was with this – chosen to compliment a main course of game (rabbit, pheasant, venison and squirrel) and beef-shin stew. …
649. Lopez de Heredia-Viña Tondonia, Viña Bosconia Rioja Gran Reserva, 1991
I wonder if this bottle – stored close enough to the wine shop’s light to be warm on purchase – might have been a …
648. Bodegas Las Orcas, Decenio Rioja Reserva, 1999
1st bottle was a bit grubby, with dead fruit and grating tannins. The 2nd fortunately proved that this was simply corked. In fact, this …
647. Planeta, Cometa Fiano IGT Sicila, 2009
The quality of winemaking that Planeta are renowned for comes through on this Fiano, yielding a quite complex, deep, but balanced wine that was …
646. Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion Péssac-Léognan, 2001
A rightful second entry for the last bottle of my half-dozen. Perfect with boeuf-en-brioche for Christmas Eve main course. At its perfect maturity now. …
645. Neyret-Gachet, Château-Grillet, 2006
A great start to Christmas Eve dining that changed continually with aeration and warming, to reveal a rich, complex, but balanced white. This certainly …
644. Tenterden Vineyards, Chapel Down Pinot Reserve, 2005
Picked up randomly at Albion Café en route to an afternoon callover / meeting at Albion, just before Christmas. And the day after doing …
643. Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Riesling Clos Windsbuhl, 2003
Another good showing of this wine – I’m very hopeful of the 3L bottle coming in the new year! In Chez Liline, it was …
642. Albert Boxler, Pinot Gris Grand Cru Brand Alsace, 2005
Surprisingly sweet, this – medium at least – which made this probably not a wine one would sit down with and sip – in …
641. Weingut Stadt Krems, Grüner Veltliner Lössterrassen Kremstal, 2009
A decent-value Grüner Veltliner, but well put in its place a few days later by Schloss Gobelsburg’s 2010 Kammerner Renner – which had depth, …