An interesting Champagne – good as an aperitif, yet serious enough to sit down and think about. It had an oxidative character to it, smelling a bit cider-ish on the nose, with notes of old apples and brown pear, some kumquats and a dash of earthy minerality. The palate was round and fleshy, with a mix of sweet and salty flavours – browned pears, lemond rind, kumquats, with a small dose of gently citrus acidity and a rather subdeued mousse lending to a soft, easy-to-drink feel. The finish had a bit more of that ripe sweetness mixed in with a little spice. Nothing truly outstanding, but certainly pleasurable and interesting.

This was very enjoyable. The cool, high-toned nose of sweet cassis and blackberries seasoned with brambly spice, tobacco and sweet capsicums could well have belonged to a Graves. It was only the slight hit of eucalyptus that pointed to Australia. The mid-bodied palate was quite classically shaped as well. It came across as very youthful, with a lovely bright balance lent by streams of juicy acidity running through pure cassis and black cherries notes. Tannins were very fine, maybe even a little soft for something this young, but it all led to the wine being immensely drinkable. Decent complexity as well, sweet tobacco spice and bramble mixed in with something slightly salty, like preserved fig peel and, finally a little meaty hint. A nice, energetic, cool-climate Cab that will drink well young. Enjoyable.

A decent wine, but underperforming in the context of the vineyard and the vintage. It had a rather reserved nose, with some funky, earthy, sous bois tones and a bit of blueberries laced with spice and mineral hints. The palate showed a decent purity to its flavours of black cherries and blueberries, but it felt a bit thinner than a 2005 Bonnes Mares should be – it made me wonder what the cropping was like. Beyond that, the vintage characteristics really showed themselves in grippy, but fine tannins and super-bright acidity. So bright in fact that the wine had almost malic, green apple tones on the midpalate. It finished decently, with some earth mineral and a little spice. All in all, decent, but not a compelling wine. Pleasant enough now, it needs a good 4-5 years more at the very least - it will hopefully raise its game by then.

Very enjoyable, though far from perfect. I thought the 1995 that we had a few weeks back was quite a bit stronger. This was nice though. It had a nice nose, with a hint of creamy oak floating out amidst menthol blue fruits, dark florals and bits of woo spice, menthol and garrigue. The palate seemed close to fully resolved. It was soft and seductively drinkable, yet there was a semblance of structure, with the finest tannins having softened into a satiny texture, rustling amidst pure blue fruited flavours wed to little earthy, meaty, almost bacony notes. There was beautiful fresh acidity, and a little inseam of hot stoney minerality riding into a rather shortish finish that petered away with sprigs of garrigue and a little soupcon of warm spice. This lacked a bit of depth and weight, but I liked the lovely elegance it had. High time to start drinking up though.

Decently good, but nothing more. En Magnum, this was another rather underperforming Northern Rhone – a bit disappointing given how well some of the much pilloried La Chapelles from the mid-1990s have started to show in recent years. The nose had a touch of farmyardy funk to it, which lifted slightly with time to show red fruited cherry aromas on a dusting of earth and mineral. The palate had a nice clarity to its blue fruited tones, but it was tightly wound and rather thinner bodied then I would expect, showing rather acidic citrus notes on the midpalate and towards the attack. A little bit of savoury bacon emerged with time, but this was still on the tight side, especially at the finish. It needs time yet, quite a bit of it. Nothing wrong with it at the moment, but it is just not that great. Another wine that time should give a bit of help too. Try again in 5 years.

One of two Zind-Humbrecht sweets from 375ml bottles. Good, if just a bit obvious. It was a little unfair putting this next to the superb 2001 Clos Jesbal SGN as well. Nevertheless, this was a nice wine. The nose showed pleasant scents of mandarin orange and almonds laced with a little chalky mineral. The palate had quite a bit of power in its flavours of mandarin oranges and clementines wed to saltier tones that reminded me of preserved Chinese fruit and dried mandarin peel. It was nowhere near as elegant and effortless as the Clos Jesbal, but there was a real sense of muscular strength to this, leading into a rich, sweet finish with notes of caramel, treacle and honey wrapped around spicy, floral accents. I kinda liked this, but it is not something that I would go out hunting for. While it is drinking well now, I think it does have some room to improve over the next decade or so.

From a 375ml. A beautiful wine – this was a great way to end a great night. It had a beautiful nose, a lot more expressive and giving than the 2002 Rotenberg Vendange Tardive that was served together. This soared out of the glass with rich, sweet honey tones and wafts of tropical fruits, with pineapples and lychees, traced with a little chalky mineral. Quite surprisingly though, the palate had such beautiful acidity and balance that it actually came across less sweet than 2002 VT, beautifully juicy notes of mandarin oranges coated with honey and treacle. The flavours were still very primary, but they were carried effortlessly on deep rivers of acidity that were woven into the seams of the wine. Wonderfully elegant, effortless stuff – this will be ageless. Great finish too – long and muscular, with a nice chalky minerality. Just lovely stuff. It has the balance and poise to drink well now, but this is one that will keep growing for decades to come.