Glowing yellow-green. Very toasty, with a splash of honey. The aromas were quite primary, in fact. On the palate it’s quite rich, with sweet fruit – I wondered if there was the faintest hint of botrytis somewhere. The acid has softened considerably, but still carries some weight. The wine is nicely balanced, with even medium weight and length. Probably near its peak – just lacks enough freshness to be a very long term wine. Very good

This has a super plummy nose with a coconut twist. On the palate it’s a little earthy with a touch of sweetness – a bit simple perhaps, but stopping short of thin. Has perhaps a slight coarseness that suggests the grapes were worked very hard to give these flavours. Reasonably persistent finish, with a nice fine bead. An interesting novelty.

Deep yellow gold. Very developed nose – distinct caramel aromas – toffee apple was the table comment. It has some acid certainly, but I think it’s prematurely oxidised (says me, having no experience of Grosset Chardonnay). I’ll suspect dodgy storage (this was an auction buy) until I can try another bottle. Disappointing.

Gold in colour, with a lovely honey nose. There’s a little acid left on the front palate, but the richly developed aged semillon characters are dominant. I found it just a little oily perhaps, but otherwise very satisfactory, with medium body, and at least moderate length. Less fresh than the Vat 1, but perfectly good. Probably not going to improve, though.

My goodness! This is crimson red, but offers the most extraordinary nose of confected liquorice overlaid with porty aromas. There’s more than a hint of stewed fruit, and even a wisp of VA? – or maybe it’s the fumes from 15%+ alcohol. It’s gorgeously rich on the palate, again warm – yet feels almost bereft of tannins. It still has plenty of weight and a decently long finish. I’ve no experience with this style of wine at all - & suddenly realise how Cape Mentelle’s Zin gets described as ‘surprisingly elegant’ in the US! Very enjoyable – it would be nice to try more of these wines.

After the [Ridge] Zin, the nose here was a familiar old friend, with that chocolate/fudge and vanilla oak milkshake blend! Rich full & velvety on the palate, soft fine tannins, full body & persistent length. I imagine it’s close to its peak – and although I find this satisfying for the way the components have meshed into a fuzzy, blurry smudge of seductive flavours, it lacks the complex intellectual austerity of a fine Bordeaux. Of course, it was never meant to be that, was it…

Brought by Andrew, who was prompted by Huon Hooke’s damning of this wine in the Herald liftout earlier in the week. And, lets face it, no sane person could deny that the nose, even at 7 years of age, is almost entirely oak! Hidden underneath are some inky fruit and blackcurrant flavours which are apparent on the palate. Despite the massive nose, the tannins are very fine, which serves to lessen their impact somewhat. It’s a big wine, and it hasn’t come together yet. Whether the acid will hold it together long enough for the oak nose to dissipate further is a moot point. I think the jury’s still out on this, although it will probably live long as a novelty wine in any case!

Pale straw, the aromas are of musk & rosewater, with just a hint of marzipan. Warm on the palate (15%), with a slightly dry, powdery quality to it. Would serve equally well as an aperitif. OK if you like the style.

A vintage port from a non-declared year. I find a hot iodine-like nose, with strong brandy-spirit overtones. Warm & powerful on the palate, it easily holds it’s own with rich chocolate cake! Avoids the stewed sulphate/VA trap I find in local ‘vintage ports’. Although decanted 10 hrs prior, I suspect it could have opened out further with more time..