Dinner at home with Mrs L, Thomas and Carman

TH and I had agreed we should sit down and drink some wines this week, and Mrs L happened to be at the Basel art fair with Carman. So we all came home for some home-cooked dishes and an interesting mish-mash of wines. After a serious let-down with the 1975 Palmer a couple of weeks back, TH was keen to roll the dice again with a 1978 Ducru, while I fielded a 1970 Palmer that was just mailed in last week from the UK. I'm glad to say we had much better luck this time. There was some heated debate about the need to make wine commentary more appealing and interesting to women and "non-wine people" in general -- a challenge thrown down by Mrs L that I may have to take up at some later stage... over a glass of wine of course!

• 1970 Château Palmer 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  I have a curious fondness for the 1970 vintage and try to buy every bottle I come across -- which these days isn't many. It's been 10 years since I first tasted a 1970 Palmer, and happily this particular bottle didn't show much aging relative to that last one. The nose is still beautifully fruity and floral in the usual charming Palmer style. Bright notes of red berries, sandal wood, dried orange peel give the fruity mid-palate a nice lift and vibrancy. There is plenty of life yet -- and a noticeable grip -- in the 30 sec+ finish. It's great to see you again 1970 Palmer old friend, let's meet again in 2023 -- let's see what shape we're both in by then!

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• 1978 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  A very curious wine this one! Popped and poured single-blind alongside the 1970 Palmer, this one came across smelling..well.. shall i say.. old. Wet forest floor, damp cardboard, mushroom, not the most attractive -- and where's the damn fruit?! But on the palate -- huh! Beautifully woven notes of blackberries and dried currants -- "there it is!" as my lovely 2-year old daughter Bridget would say when she spots her favourite blanket. If anyone is searching for a wine that tastes much better than it smells, that search should end here -- with the 1978 ducru!

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• 1993 Château Léoville Las Cases 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  I bought a case of this recently after reading the positive notes on CT. Opening this first bottle, I have to say I am firmly with you folks in the "like" camp. This was served single-blind alongside two bdx from the 1970s, and stood out immediately with its vibrant dark ruby colour and expressive, rich nose. A few swirls in the glass released rich fumes of dark fruit with enticing hints of iron, vanilla flowers and gravel. On the palate, this is a medium bodied wine with a fresh, fulsome core of fruit and gentle, rounded tannins -- all built atop an elegant St Julien structure. Some faint vegetal and medicinal notes pop up in the finish to provide the only clues of the difficulty of the vintage. For a 20 year wine from a supposed "off" year, this wine is still surprisingly youthful, and a genuine pleasure to drink!

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• 2009 Mas de Daumas Gassac 92 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Pays d'Hérault

  After a series of oldish wines, the four of us were on a roll and having run out of wine, I thought we should open something to remind ourselves what a young wine tastes and smells like. This one was lying right on the top shelf of the wine fridge so out came the cork... GRAPE was the answer, the wine smells and tastes of nothing else but rich, luxurious, delightful GRAPE! How unusual, how interesting, fancy that, we thought -- as Mrs L and I bundled the guests out the door and crashed

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