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 Sparkling
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 …
600. Champagne Ayala, Brut Majeur, NV (2011)
Having had some indifferent experiences with Ayala in the past, it was interesting to hear of the quality improvements under Bollinger, so I got …
568. Nyetimber, Classic Cuvée Brut England, 2003
At last! And it delivered too! After the heat of the 2003 summer, which spoiled Champagne, I’d wanted to see what the best of …
Brachetto d’Acqui: red, sweet, sparkling, different
In the beautiful spa town of Acqui Terme, at the Enoteca Regionale “Terme e Vino” in the 16th century town hall, we were introduced …
567. Antech, Crémant de Limoux Cuvée Eugénie Brut, 2005
From my Hors Concours prize case, this was an excellent example of the quality Crémant de Limoux can achieve, and a good alternative to …
560. Champagne Lanson, Black Label Brut, NV (2011)
This turned out to be an unexpected pleasure. I didn’t have a good impression of Lanson as a Champagne brand, and this was a …
558. Champagne Pol Roger, Extra Cuvée de Réserve Vintage, 1999
The first couple of bottles of this were underwhelming and somewhat so, respectively – with the acidity disjointed and lack of elegance. Given the …
528. Champagne Georges Vesselle, Juline Bouzy Grand Cru, NV (2010)
Bought from the producer with Katy, but drunk & enjoyed with SJ. A really good, quite profound Champagne, whose weight and complexity grew over …
512. Champagne Louis Roederer, Blanc de Blancs Brut, 1979
To celebrate New Year’s Eve dinner with Kev, Pete and Whippet, as the clouds over Mont Blanc cleared to reveal it in all its …
495. Champagne Bollinger, Grande Année Brut, 1979
Having had a 1995-disgorged 1979 RD, this Grande Année sibling outdid it comfortably. Wow. Such aromatic complexity that just steadily gave up different layers: …