Quite a soft and juicy champagne, this is extremely accessible now. There's a lot of ripe fruit on the palate, and just a touch of sweetness that makes this seem almost a bit like bubbly white grape juice. A touch of almond on the finish, as well as a bit of bitterness. Not too complex, but excellent for easy-going consumption.

You know, there's something about this wine that makes me think of Donnhoff. Sweet, waxy yellow fruit, with a little touch of oak on the nose. The palate is restrained with some really tasty white fruit. Lovely acidity and a bit of that light floating ethereality that I pick up in Donnhoff. Great stuff.

Ok, so I know how I am with dry riesling, but I gotta admit, this ain't bad at all. This is a huge wine, with lots of ripeness and sweet fruit. A really compelling amount of botrytis. There's so much stuffing here that it almost feels like a Kabinett. But the knock on this is just a little bit less acidity than I'd like, and a bit too much heat as well (although it doesn't feel like the 14.5% that is stated on the label).

This has got some nice steeliness to it. A little bit of green herbs and spice on the nose, and a bit of sweet yellow fruit. The palate is quite steely and there's some really nice acidity on it, but the finish does come off a little bit hot. Quite a nice bit of yellow-white fruit as well here, and there's so much you get that tinge of sweetness.

Even for a villages, this is just too young. This is just so well balanced between everything right now, with the red and black fruit showing in perfect harmony. Lovely acidity and freshness here, this has the stamina for the long haul. The palate is a bit ornery, to be sure, as if complaining that you have woken it too early in the morning. The tannins are quite big for such a "lowly' Burgundy, but with a nice slice of veal, this is working perfectly.

I'm wholly disappointed that this label didn't have a naked lady on it. This is quite reductively stanky at first, but this does fortunately blow off with air. The palate is very bright, with tons of super bright red fruit. It's really crunchy too. The fruit doesn't seem to balance as well with the acidity and tannin here though, and the acidity pokes up just a little bit too much. Pretty interesting stuff, even if I can't see myself reaching for a bottle of this.

#11-91, 7.5%. Of the same provenance as previous (obviously I am more tolerant of the advanced state of these bottles than Salil is). Advanced, but still very enjoyable and drinkable. This shows a pretty dark colour, but there's not much oxidation here. Quite good density again, and despite the colour, there's no botrytis here. Some tasty stone fruit flavour, with a touch of sweet fruit as well. Lovely acidity and a nice dose of minerality too, but I just can't help but think that this could have been so much better if it had been treated better in its youth.

An absolutely lovely bottle of Barolo. The nose is very elegant and light, with a focus on beautiful red fruit and florals. The palate is suprisingly soft for such a young Barolo, but there's no doubt in my mind this will go the long haul. Lovely acidity and brightness too. Delicious stuff.

Has it really been a year since the last time I've had a glass of the the Grande Cuvée? To steal some of the words of everyone's favourite second growth Bordeaux, Krug ne change. The palate has everything I remember: peaches, brioche, baked apple, and a touch of spice. Largely scaled and very powerful with great acidity and density. Serious concentration, but almost certainly this is a young version of this wine -- I find Grande Cuvée benefits greatly from prolonged aging.

I honestly don't really know what to make of this wine. The taste is to me, simply put, novel. The nose has some peaches, lanolin, and an odd dried grass aroma. The palate is similarly waxy and weird, although I really love the acidity here. A really odd and interesting wine.

This is that waxy style of white Burgundy that I really don't like. A bit of stone fruit on the nose, but not much reduction at all -- there's almost a bit of white cherry on the nose too. The palate is quite ripe and waxy, and while there's a lot of acidity to be sure, it's not quite as dense and powerful as I'd expect from a grand cru.

No. 12287. Really reductive at first. After that blows off, the really pretty aromas of red fruit start to emerge. The palate definitely shows lots of stemminess, but the prettiness really takes its time to show off. Although the acidity is a bit out of balance from everything else here, there's still that lovely elegance of Lambrays on display.

A bit of an oddball, this is very smoky and dark. The nose shows a bit of toasty oak, though it's never poking out too sharply. Lots of ripe fruit and acidity, as well as some black fruit on the palate. This perhaps doesn't have as much spice as I'd expect, but it's still a quite lovely example of a Burgundy in a great drinking window.

This is definitely more varietally correct than the last Colgin I had. Overoaked, with really, really expensive oak. This shows a ridiculous amount of over-the-topness. On the other hand, I will admit this has held its age much better than I would think, with the qualifier "for the style." The palate is just pruney and alcoholic, and plain unpleasant. Into the dump bucket.

The nose is a really, really weird one. Lots of bizarre aromatics, with a boatload of odd acidic elements -- sour cream and onion chips, red wine vinegar, and just other tart fruit. The palate isn't too bad, but mostly it's just dominated by acidity and some odd weird green herbaceousness. I just can't get past it.

Long over the hill. Metallic and thin.

This is a very tight nose, with a lot more tar than roses. The palate is very tough and firm, and in fact, I don't think I recall drinking a Barolo with this much tannic density. There is a lot of power and density in this -- this is a super serious bottle of Barolo, with some intriguing and concentrated medicinal and herbal flavours, as well as a lovely amount of earth. The fruit is there, but it's hidden under that rich powerful texture. Legendary Barolo.

Amazing nose. This has an absolutely insane nose with super compelling aromatics. Although this isn't the most enjoyable bottle of chardonnay right now, the pedigree of this bottle is undeniable. This has so much stuffing, with amazing yellow fruit and minerality. This is incredible chardonnay that I'm admiring for the sheer power.

This is much less cranky than the 2005 Mugnier Chambolle we had yesterday. Despite the reputation of the vintage, this seems to be surprisingly accessible. There is a lovely light red-fruitedness to it, as well as amazing fresh acidity. The palate, perhaps, is a little bit tight still, although the tannins are reasonably resolved. Very enjoyable Burgundy.

The nose has a classic mulchy, mushroomy, Burgundian quality to it. The palate though does leave a little to be desired, with the acidity a little bit prominent. Lovely and pleasant, and I'd be happy to drink this as an ordinary drinking Burgundy, but this certainly doesn't have the pedigree you expect from a grand cru.

Um... what the heck? This is incredible barbera. So much ripe fruit and density here, with a lovely extra dimension of burnt earth. This is some really special and unique stuff. Really full-bodied, this doesn't have any juicy fruit character, and the acidity here just gives this amazing lift. What a revelation.

#08-14, 9% abv. There's a lovely green herbaceousness on the nose that plays so nicely with the white fruit. The acidity is super bright here, with lovely balance between the sweet fruit. I know 2013 has been slightly pooh-poohed as a high acid out-of-balance year, but geez, this is insanely delicious. The acidity surprisingly isn't as white-hot as I thought it would be, and instead it's just phenomenally balanced. Delicious.

#09-15, 8.5% abv. The nose on this is just spectactular. This has classic Willi Schaefer nose, but distilled five times to more density. The palate has this incredible sweet honeyed quality, although the sweetness on this wine isn't too pronounced. Heaps of acidity here -- this is lovely, but I wish it had just a bit more roundness to it. Delicious now, but I'm not sure if this will end up just an acid knife in the long run.

Corked.

Very nice and light nose, with pretty tart red fruit as well as a beautiful floral lift. The palate though is a bit abbreviated, and shows mostly the tartness of the fruit. There are some dried herbs on the palate, as well as a nice touch of minerality. Perhaps tilting a bit acidic, this is still a very nice expression of pinot.

Super high-toned nose that just shows so much fat ripe fruit at the same time. While there's some acidity here, I'm not a fan of that super heavy weightiness on the palate. Add in some cloying waxy fruit and you have a subpar bottle of Puligny. Pretty much showing how you'd expect a Lafon to show. Underwhelming.