France
854. Domaine de l’Ecu, Gneiss Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, 2013
Ultimately, this was… well… correct. But somehow I expected more from a biodynamic estate that bottles terroir-specific Muscadets. Maybe I missed something. Pale gold. …
850. Xavier & Thierry Amirault, Le Clos des Quarterons St Nicolas de Bourgueil, 2012
Anna brought this round as a random, ready-opened bottle, as we discussed MW year 2 plans. I think my first St Nicolas de Bourgueil, …
849. Olivier Leflaive, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, 2005
Bought en primeur, and finally opened the 1st of 6 in 2014. Has the ripeness and somewhat moderated acidity of 2005 whites, but still …
848. Château Léoville-Poyferré, Saint-Julien, 2002
Also during audit, I finally opened this wooden box, bought 11 years before, en primeur. From an off-vintage, this was broadly worth waiting for. …
847. Villa Ponciago, Fleurie Les Hauts du Py, 2009
Whilst auditing my entire wine stack, I remembered I had 3 of these – my ‘other’ 2009 Beaujolais. Quite gamey in maturity, but with …
844. Domaine Denis Mortet, Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Cinq Terroirs, 2005
£56.70; 13% I opened a first bottle of this in Rust, and felt it was reaching maturity, but perhaps missing some length – kinda …
842. Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas, 2007
A duplicate entry here – the other one is in my previous book – but the difference is a little more tannin maturity. Still …
838. Domaine de la Vieille Julienne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2005
This wine is well-rated, but disappointed on opening the first of 12 of these, so opened another a few days later. Better, but still …
837. Hugel, Hommage à Jean Hugel Pinot Gris Alsace, 1998
Whilst visiting Riquewihr, Dad and I stopped in at Hugel’s excellent tasting room, and this was a good example of a fully-mature, rich Pinot …
833. Champagne Comte A. de Dampierre, Grand Cru Brut, 2002
A nice 39th birthday dinner with Ruth for this one at Planet of the Grapes. Initially I feared it was corked but I think …