A private lunch with friends
Restaurant De Lage Vuursche, Lage Vuursche, NL
Tasted Saturday, January 17, 2026 by Xavier Auerbach with 63 views
Restaurant De Lage Vuursche, Lage Vuursche, NL
Tasted Saturday, January 17, 2026 by Xavier Auerbach with 63 views
NV Agrapart Avize Champagne Grand Cru Alba 93 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Identical to my previous note.
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2005 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Grünlack Spätlese 93 Points
Germany, Rheingau
First bottle from a three bottle lot purchased at the estate in 2008. Pristine. Wonderfully fresh and elegant, twenty years old but seemingly ageless, intense but almost dancing across the palate, flowers and orchard fruit and that typical hint of Johannisberg spice, lemon curd, hint of honey, gentle bitters; long and convincing finish. A very fine Spätlese.
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NV Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Ex Blibliotheca Cuvee 100 Spatlese 96 Points
Germany, Rheingau
First bottle from a three bottle lot purchased at the estate in 2025. Only 1,000 bottles produced. Deeper colour than the 2005 Grünlack which accompanied it. Not a grandstanding wine but possesses incredible depth and complexity of flavour. The assemblage of this delicately sweet wine is undisclosed (apart from the fact that it contains Spätlesen from 2015 and 1915), but in the glass it convincingly marries the playful charm of youth with the wisdom and depth of age in a way that is hard to describe but that is truly fascinating. It is built around a core of fresh and ripe fruit, and performs a dance of seven veils with its aromas and flavours of age. On the nose it reminds me of a great Spätlese from the 1960’s or 1970’s but on the palate it is almost impossibly fresh and youthful, before it flows over into a long and meditative finish. No single vintage of Spätlese could ever deliver this expression, this is a journey through time in a glass.
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2013 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Montjolys 94 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
An essence of Oger. Incredible purity and precision, linear and terse, wonderful intensity of lemon fruit, liquid limestone, huge energy, incredible drive.
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1996 Dom Pérignon Champagne Rosé P2 97 Points
France, Champagne
Colour like an old Sauternes, candied fruit and spiced honey on the nose, saffron and strawberries, extremely rich and decadent, incredible complexity and layering, almost port-like sweetness; superb balance between firm acidity and almost overwhelmingly rich flavours, silky bitters; complete finish, extremely long. Stunning wine.
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2019 Aurélien Lurquin Coteaux Champenois Les Milieux 94 Points
France, Champagne, Coteaux Champenois
A blend of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Petit Meslier, aged for 24 months in oak sur lie, bottled 28 November 2021, 289 bottles produced, 11% ABV. No sulfur added. Great energy and richness, an essence of limestone, hint of clove, truly a still Champagne, deep and tightly coiled.
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2020 Maison Skyaasen Meursault Sous La Velle 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Completely natural, energetic and fresh, lovely acidity, honeyed and mealy, ripe and elegant, a touch of honey. Fabulous Meursault in a modern idiom.
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2018 Marc Pinto et Louis Mathieu Bourgogne Les Nargilets 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Deep and rich and fresh, only a hint of funk, floral and elegant, papery tannins, hint of honey, hint of forest floor, lovely freshness, hint of almond, wonderfully long and dreamy finish. Has developed very well. Quite stunning.
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1989 Château Haut-Brion 98 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
The essence of Bordeaux at its finest. It's hard to explain, but that is what this is. Only Latour and Haut-Brion can deliver this. Really singing. Red meat, spices, flowing elegance, papery elegance, chocolate, youthful and rounded and full-bodied, long and dreamy finish.
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1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 97 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
So nice to revisit this after 33 years! Deep and rich and warm, spicy depth, fully mature, floral and lifted, gentle tannins, incredibly elegant but gloriously rich and full-bodied, perfectly harmonious, gentle and long and flowing finish.
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1989 Alexandre d'Almeida Buçaco Reservado 94 Points
Portugal
Purchase in 2013 in the sale of the cellars of Hugh Johnson (Saling Hall) at Sworder's Auctioneers. Decanted just before lunch. Incredibly deep and fresh, so youthful, bright and energetic, firm tannins, cedar and cherries, young red fruit, completely belies its age. Decades ahead of it. If only I had more...
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2014 Jean-François Ganevat Vin Jaune 96 Points
France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Deep, cheese rind, incredible power and concentration, white nuts, fierce acidity, an essence of its style.
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1989 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese 96 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Incredibly purity and freshness, orchard fruit and a hint of honey, lime zest and flowers. Rich but still very youthful, supported by stunning acidity, so precise and elegant. Long. Will last almost forever.
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2005 Barbeito Madeira Boal Colheita Vinha do Charlot Single Cask 707 D+E Jardim Pelado 93 Points
Portugal, Madeira
This is the Fortnum & Mason bottling, but I'm assuming it's the same wine, 500ml, 19% ABV, bottled July 2023, No. 328 from 600 bottles produced. A very fine wine in its own right, but mainly included in the line-up to provide context for the 1915 Cossart. Bright and pure Bual, wonderful intensity and varietal expression, green apple and apricot, fennel, flower honey and blonde caramel, juicy and salty, very good length. Modern era Madeira on very fine form.
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1915 Cossart Gordon & Co. Madeira Bual Colheita LMR 96 Points
Portugal, Madeira
Purchased at auction in 2008. JNV REF seal on the capsule. Level into neck / base of neck. Tasted immediately after opening. Perfectly bright amber golden colour, the green rim an indication of great age; the nose opens up quickly and displays gorgeous fruit aromas (quince, orange marmalade), cedar, spices, honey and caramel, hint of putty; the palate retains a lovely sweetness on the attack, piercing but fruity acidity, intense but elegant, incredibly lively, rich bitters do not impede the drinking flow; very long finish with a lovely saltiness and zesty citrus flavours.
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