France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes
13.5% A nicely perfumed nose, but it has a really nice restraint. Vry nice palate. Very balanced and rich, but with some lovely acidity too. A very nice wine. Very Good Indeed.
12.5% A smoky, very curious nose: a touch sulphury? and quite scented in not the most attractive of ways. Quite strange on the palate. Very big attack, then it hollows out but it's full again after. A decent wine, but curiously unsatisfying. Very Good.
Clearly it's a deep colour, but it's a bit dark to see clearly. A sweet, reductive marzipanny nose. Feels old on the palate, but also very distinct and very precise. Old, but very focussed and really rather nice to my taste. Switching from an ISO to a bigger glass, I felt it really came on and improved dramatically. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.
12.5% Lovely, youngish nose. Very attractive, sweet black fruits on the nose, together with some fresh, raw venison. Nice palate. Good balance. Really very young and maybe a bit international, but you can't deny that it has a certain attractiveness. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.
13% Combier, not Colombier. A very meaty, gamey nose. Very nice on the palate - nice and refined, with really good balance. A very pleasing wine, but perhaps not for the long term. Very Good Indeed.
13.5% Sweet roast beef on the nose. Very focussed on the palate. Possibly a little on the simple side, but very approachable and with a a certain deliciousness. Very soft, quite silky with quite reticent tannins that only really appear on the finish. Very Good Indeed.
13% Meaty, leathery blackberries and blueberries on the nose, and quite spicy. Quite spicy on the palate too. I must have been talking and/or rushed on this one, as that's all the note says.
13% Quite a leathery nose, but very nice, and very bacony. Very smooth and silky on the palate. A very pleasant wine, that might have been better tasted earlier, as I don't find it particularly stunning. Very Good (+)
13% A really nice nose - very meaty with a nice touch of brett. There are more red fruits on the nose than the 1996. Lovely balance. This is an impressive wine. Very Good Indeed.
12.5% Very stinky on the nose - in a quite unattractive way. Very rubbery with lots of raw green notes. Weedy, green palate. It's not corked, but there's something very similar wrong with it. High toned, nasty palate. Faulty bottle.
13% Meaty, sweaty nose. Very balanced palate. There's nice fruit, but it's very restrained. This is very classy and very refined. Very Good Indeed/Excellent.
Very meaty, gamey on the nose with sweaty, leathery notes. Lovely palate. Very balanced, and it has a surprising complexity. Very warm, silky and inviting. Impressive stuff. Very Good Indeed+.
A somewhat tired, sweaty nose, that actually feels a bit closed when you go back to it. There are some really meaty notes behind. On the nose, I think I could put this 5-10 years younger. After a while, there's a richness comes through on the nose: it's really meaty, with lots of roast meats notes. I find it very attractive on the palate. It's clearly old, and on the palate maybe feels a bit older than its twenty years. Meaty and gamey on the palate, but the real impression is of an impeccable balance. There's a nice acidity still and some lovely soft tannins on the finish. I really enjoyed this. Excellent.
no alcohol shown. This has a fabulous nose - soft old leather with some very restrained black fruits. An amazing, remarkable nose. Soft, restrained and supremely elegant on the palate. Maybe, maybe just a touch dried out, but for a bad year, this really is something else. Very, very elegant on the palate. In the glass, it almost seems to pick up a bit of fruit and opens out with a bit of aeration. In terms of the nicest surprise, wine of the night for me. Very Good Indee/Excellent.
This looks like Irn Bru, and like a Laurence Llewellyn Bowen girder, there's a definite whiff of emulsion paint on the nose, which otherwise has some intriguing stale marmalade notes. It has a lovely, restrained sweet palate. Quite orangey and there's a bit of a taste of barley sugar towards the finish. Very Good Indeed.
Very late at night, and we'd all had a bit too much to really appreciate I suspect, but it immediately showed its class. And that class was still evident in the glass I put aside in the fridge overnight, when drunk (flat as a pancake of course) for breakfast the next morning.
2004 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Viognier 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes
13.5%
A nicely perfumed nose, but it has a really nice restraint. Vry nice palate. Very balanced and rich, but with some lovely acidity too. A very nice wine. Very Good Indeed.
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2002 Domaine Florentin St. Joseph Blanc Le Clos 87 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
12.5%
A smoky, very curious nose: a touch sulphury? and quite scented in not the most attractive of ways. Quite strange on the palate. Very big attack, then it hollows out but it's full again after. A decent wine, but curiously unsatisfying. Very Good.
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1976 Grippat St. Joseph Blanc 89 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Clearly it's a deep colour, but it's a bit dark to see clearly. A sweet, reductive marzipanny nose. Feels old on the palate, but also very distinct and very precise. Old, but very focussed and really rather nice to my taste. Switching from an ISO to a bigger glass, I felt it really came on and improved dramatically. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.
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2002 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 89 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
12.5%
Lovely, youngish nose. Very attractive, sweet black fruits on the nose, together with some fresh, raw venison. Nice palate. Good balance. Really very young and maybe a bit international, but you can't deny that it has a certain attractiveness. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.
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2001 Domaine Combier Crozes-Hermitage Clos des Grives 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
13%
Combier, not Colombier. A very meaty, gamey nose. Very nice on the palate - nice and refined, with really good balance. A very pleasing wine, but perhaps not for the long term. Very Good Indeed.
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1999 Cave de Tain Hermitage Les Nobles Rives 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
13.5%
Sweet roast beef on the nose. Very focussed on the palate. Possibly a little on the simple side, but very approachable and with a a certain deliciousness. Very soft, quite silky with quite reticent tannins that only really appear on the finish. Very Good Indeed.
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1997 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Terroirs
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
13%
Meaty, leathery blackberries and blueberries on the nose, and quite spicy. Quite spicy on the palate too. I must have been talking and/or rushed on this one, as that's all the note says.
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1997 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 88 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
13.4%
Nice. Not special, but nice. Very Good+
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1996 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 88 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
13%
Quite a leathery nose, but very nice, and very bacony. Very smooth and silky on the palate. A very pleasant wine, that might have been better tasted earlier, as I don't find it particularly stunning. Very Good (+)
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1994 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
13%
A really nice nose - very meaty with a nice touch of brett. There are more red fruits on the nose than the 1996. Lovely balance. This is an impressive wine. Very Good Indeed.
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1995 Cave de Tain Cornas Les Nobles Rives Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
12.5%
Very stinky on the nose - in a quite unattractive way. Very rubbery with lots of raw green notes. Weedy, green palate. It's not corked, but there's something very similar wrong with it. High toned, nasty palate. Faulty bottle.
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1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
13%
Meaty, sweaty nose. Very balanced palate. There's nice fruit, but it's very restrained. This is very classy and very refined. Very Good Indeed/Excellent.
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1985 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
Very meaty, gamey on the nose with sweaty, leathery notes. Lovely palate. Very balanced, and it has a surprising complexity. Very warm, silky and inviting. Impressive stuff. Very Good Indeed+.
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1987 Bernard Burgaud Côte-Rôtie 96 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
A somewhat tired, sweaty nose, that actually feels a bit closed when you go back to it. There are some really meaty notes behind. On the nose, I think I could put this 5-10 years younger. After a while, there's a richness comes through on the nose: it's really meaty, with lots of roast meats notes. I find it very attractive on the palate. It's clearly old, and on the palate maybe feels a bit older than its twenty years. Meaty and gamey on the palate, but the real impression is of an impeccable balance. There's a nice acidity still and some lovely soft tannins on the finish. I really enjoyed this. Excellent.
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1975 Emile Champet Côte-Rôtie Grand Vin Fin 95 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
no alcohol shown.
This has a fabulous nose - soft old leather with some very restrained black fruits. An amazing, remarkable nose. Soft, restrained and supremely elegant on the palate. Maybe, maybe just a touch dried out, but for a bad year, this really is something else. Very, very elegant on the palate. In the glass, it almost seems to pick up a bit of fruit and opens out with a bit of aeration. In terms of the nicest surprise, wine of the night for me. Very Good Indee/Excellent.
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1978 Lindeman's Bin 5880 Porphyry 92 Points
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
This looks like Irn Bru, and like a Laurence Llewellyn Bowen girder, there's a definite whiff of emulsion paint on the nose, which otherwise has some intriguing stale marmalade notes. It has a lovely, restrained sweet palate. Quite orangey and there's a bit of a taste of barley sugar towards the finish. Very Good Indeed.
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NV Perrier-Jouët Champagne Grand Brut 83 Points
France, Champagne
Drunk in a noisy bar, post-offline. Seemed very green and tooth-searingly acidic to me.
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NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée 90 Points
France, Champagne
Very late at night, and we'd all had a bit too much to really appreciate I suspect, but it immediately showed its class. And that class was still evident in the glass I put aside in the fridge overnight, when drunk (flat as a pancake of course) for breakfast the next morning.
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