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• 1961 Cantina Sociale di Sizzano e Ghemme Ghemme 89 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Ghemme

  Surprisingly alive on the nose, with cherry fruit and kernels; and just a hint of volatility. Decent palate: not as alive as on the nose, but far from dead. Remarkably good: old, but not very old. Still with some fruit and tannins.
  
  Actually improved over the evening - see next note

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• 1969 Domaine Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Note taken on first opening the bottle.
  A spicy, high-toned nose. All very secondary, with some tobacco notes.
  Round and (unsurprisingly) open on the palate. Very definitely showing its age, but still very drinkable. Evolved and interesting, and continuing to evolve in the glass.

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Cail Bruich had prepared an excellent, and really very wine-friendly (despite the artichoke) tasting menu as follows:

Garden vegetable tart, with Tunworth mousse and parsley
Isle of Skye crab, with smoked cods roe, served in a buckwheat pancake dusted with lovage powder (This and the Krug 1990 were a heavenly match.)
A crisp (feuille de brick?) cigar filled with a delectable foie gras mousse with spiced dates and a touch of granola
Sourdough bread with their own butter.
Excellent mackerel, with very tasty tomatoes, green strawberries and elderflower. The Coulée de Serrant was magnificent with this.
Gigha halibut, with jersey royals, onion, smoked pepper dulse and an exquisite butter sauce. This was by far the best dish of the night (followed by the foie gras cigar and the strawberry and meadowsweet dessert - not that it wasn't all excellent.)
Inverurie lamb, with peas, lettuce, artichoke and ewes' curd.
A meadowsweet mousse with Perthshire strawberry sorbet and sweet cicely

• NV Badenhorst Family Wines John Strikes Again under a Veil of Good Fortune Swartland 94 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  Very much a fino nose, with lots of flor, alongside some lemony notes. Very fresh citrus notes, something a touch vegetal, and hints of apples - fresh, and cooked in butter apples. Quite scented on the nose too.
  Rich palate, feeling more amontillado-like than fino. There are the same somewhat floral notes on the palate, and there are some citrus notes too, but a bit rich and oily too. Creamier than a true fino. Weird, but fabulous.
  Apparently this is made from sauvignon blanc, and even once that had been revealed, I struggled to see SB in this.
  After around 30 minutes open in the bottle, this had started to fade quite a lot.

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• NV H. Billiot Fils Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Laetitia Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Quite an evolved, peary, yeasty nose.
  Very biscuity, evolved palate. Very full in the mouth, with a pleasing richness and a fair bit of acidity on the finish.

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• 1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  A bit closed on the nose initially, but opening up after a few minutes. Very classy. Rich, deep and long.
  A real treat.

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• NV Gosset Champagne Brut Grand Blanc de Blancs 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Fresh nose. Crisp and clean. A bit mute maybe.
  Open palate, with a hint of orchard fruit.
  Lovely champagne.

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• 1995 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Rich, toasted brioche and scorched pear on the nose.
  Lovely open palate, with very complex flavours.

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• 2012 Domaine Dampt Frères Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  A big nose, with lemon, butter, and a touch of earthiness, that's verging on stink.
  Stony minerality on the palate. Lovely buttery chardonnay fruit. Nice depth and balance. Impressive.

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• 1999 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  A deep brassy colour.
  Lovey nose: cream, lemon, agrumes, pineapple, orange.
  Rich, full, open palate. Initially, it fell off quite quickly in the mouth, but opened up with time. Quite rounded, yet with lots of acidity.
  
  Superb with mackerel served with tomatoes, green strawberries and elderflower.

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• 2014 David & Nadia Aristargos 88 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  A very pale lemon straw colour.
  Rather slight nose with a touch of extraction.
  Bright attack, filling quite a rich palate.

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• 2012 Richard Kershaw Wines Chardonnay Clonal Selection Elgin 88 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Elgin

  Very nice nose. Quite a herbaceous, almost grassy, buttery nose.
  Big, wide, almost aggressive attack. There's a bit of zing. Very full. Probably needed a bit more time in the glass or decanting ahead of time.

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• 1961 Cantina Sociale di Sizzano e Ghemme Ghemme 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Ghemme

  This is the same bottle as the previous tasting note, but about 2 hours after opening, with about just under half the bottle left.
  This has improved dramatically. Curiously, it's lost some of the fruit on the nose, but feels much more youthful on the palate. Very poised, fewer high tones. Just amazing.
  Would the winemaker have thought we'd still be drinking this in 2017?

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• 1969 Domaine Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  The same bottle as the previous note, but a couple of hours later. (Just in the bottle; not decanted.)
  A lightish colour and a bit murky. Remarkably, this seems hardly to have evolved over 2½ hours.
  On the nose, it feels very much what it is: a mature verging on old grenachey blend. There's also a freshness, not all of which seems to be the result of the volatility, which is certainly present. But it's not at all characterised or diminished by the volatility.
  
  A fascinating comparison with a bottle of Musar 1979.

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• 1979 Chateau Musar 95 Points

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  A lovely maturing colour.
  Very clean nose for old Musar. Bloody, licorice and tobacco notes, with damson fruit.
  Lovely palate. Soft and very clean. Musar has many styles: sometimes it's Burgundian, sometimes it's Rhôney, sometimes it's more Bordeaux like. This is a new style Musar for me, as it's reminiscent of an old Chilean/Argentinian carmenère/malbec.
  Wine of the night for me.
  
  Some suggestion on another table that it's a bit corked, but none of use can detect the slightest hint of TCA.

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• 2005 Te Mata Estate Coleraine 89 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

  A New Zealand Bordeaux blend.
  Oak and black fruit on the nose, with some tobacco and mulberry notes.
  Lots of black fruit on the palate, with a certain rawness. Quite precise and focused, with a nice, silky mouthfeel.

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• 1992 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Betsek 93 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  A deep, oaky brown colour.
  Lovely, old honey nose, like opening up an old pack of dried apricots.
  Rich and sweet. Lots of almost savage acidity on the finish.

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• 2006 Domaine de la Bongran (Thevenet) Mâcon-Villages Cuvée Botrytis 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Villages

  A lovely, enticing, fresh botrytis nose.
  Gorgeous, rich, caressing sweet palate, with oodles of botrytis. Utterly delicious.
  Compared to the other sweet wines served tonight, it's perhaps a bit unidimensional.

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• 2013 István Balassa Zétà Tokaji Mézes Maly 94 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  Elegant nose. Delicious, light and fresh on the palate.
  Obviously it's sweet, but they are lovely fresh, precise sweet flavours. Fresh, precise, delicious. Just lovely.

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• 1988 Kereskedőház Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 87 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  A deep, old oak brown colour.
  On the nose, there's a fair bit of furniture polish and beeswax. Very enticing.
  Very precise, focused, almost sharp attack. Not at all old-feeling (in contrast to the colour), but all in all, it's a bit simple.

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• 2002 Candido Aleatico Salice Salentino 91 Points

  Italy, Puglia, Salice Salentino

  A very fresh nose with raspberry and blackberry fruit. Sweet, bright fruit aromas.
  Lovely fresh palate. There's plenty of sweetness, but its well handled and the wine has very good balance. Not at all overly sweet. Some herbal, savoury notes on the palate.

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• 1990 Château d'Yquem 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Quite an orange colour.
  Lots of botrytis on the nose. Very orange marmalade.
  Gorgeous palate: rich and very focused. Very precise. Very long.

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