Quite a creamy, lemony nose with a touch of lanolin. Powerful, rich palate. It does feel a bit like a sample that needs time to settle and integrate.

A gorgeous rich nose – nutty, with hints of apricots and of pears. Unfortunately, the palate doesn’t live up to the promise of the nose. It feels much older than the nose, and much older than 1995. There’s a strong oxidised nutty feel that is too dominant.

AP Nr. 2 576 510 06 94
Lots of secondary petrolly minerality and a slight hint of botrytis on the nose. Mature palate: minerally and stone. Nice and precise. Maybe a bit more advanced than it should be?

A rather curious nose: clean minerality, then some polish, then some grape jelly. Odd palate, with a very extracted feel. It has a really coarse edge and a slightly unpleasant roundness. Quite persistent and long.

13.5%
A very lemony, zesty nose with a wet chalk minerality. Precise, focussed palate. Very pure, with a steely minerality. Gorgeous acidity, which sears on the finish.

Disgorged June 2008. A very enticing lemony-minerally nose with a crisp greenness and a sort of yeasty celery note. Very precise initially, then lots of apple and pear fruit come along and fill the mouth.

The nose has perfumed clarified butter with hints of lavender. Big, open palate. This is in a big mature style. Very mouthfilling. Excellent length.

A pale lemon yellow. The nose is delightful, with crisp grapefruit and pineapple notes. Very clean palate. A good, fresh, crisp riesling, though not overly complex at all.

14%
There’s a bit of an oxidised feel on the nose. Very full, spirity stone fruit characters on the palate. Very blowsy. Sour peas and bitter honey on the finish. Don’t know whether this is meant to be like this, but it’s not for me.

14%
An attractive, resh nose with creamy white peach and a certain candied note. Very nice palate. Very balanced. Rich, clean, dry. There’s a hint of honeydew melon on the finish. Superb.

12%
A lovely integrated nose. Creamy lanolin and lemon. Precise palate with lovely concentration. Lots of fresh citrus flavours back up with a fairly rich spine.

More reticent than the Clos de Bourg on the nose. It feels much younger than the Clos de Bourg too. The sweetness is there but it is much more underlying, waiting to come out.

The nose has bright red fruit and reminds me of a red vinho verde. A fruit cocktail palate with a nice astringent note. Very much reminiscent of a red vinho verde, with that same sort of clunky, rustic attractiveness.

A ludicrously heavy bottle. Highly attractive nose with perfumed blackberry fruit and some pencil shavings. Powerful and young, but already fairly integrated. Very fine.

Perfumed blackberries and chocolate on the nose. Big, meaty palate with a nice feral gaminess. Massive spice on the finish.

Fleshy plums and blackberries on the nose. Very attractive palate – it starts off with bitter chocolate notes and ends with milk chocolate. An interesting wine, but too much of a chocolate character dominating for me.

14.2%
An attractive nose with very, very deep raspberry fruit. Good palate. This has a nice, direct approachability. There’s a nice balanced feel. Feels like a warm climate pinot noir for sure, but it has a reasonable balance and elegance.

Very primary black fruits on the nose. Nice smooth, young syrah palate. Very good balance. 87-91/100

A dusty, oaky nose. Pleasant palate with a mixture of freshness and age. Tends a bit on the gran reserva side.

There are red fruit and pencil erasers on the nose. Very expressive, open palate with a slightly plasticky edge.

A lovely attractive nose: plums, black fruits, violets. Yum. Very approachable and very interesting on the palate. Lots of very interesting character with a delicious juicy edge. Firms tannins on the finish contribute to a feeling that this is likely to improve over the next five years.

There are high toned, bright, red fruits on the nose. Interesting palate: very light and secondary. Very old feeling, but still with us and offering pleasure.

Not terribly forthcoming on the nose with fairly old, soft red fruits. A lovely subtle old lady.

Initially a warm, inviting nose, but then it develops a really herbal character – medicinal even. Decent palate with some unusual flavours, but overall it feels a bit simple.

A fairly straightforward nose that’s nice and attractive and inviting. Very good palate. This is a very pleasant wine. There’s nice structure and very good balance. I love the acidity too.

An attractive nose with gently fragrant black fruits. Open, fresh palate. Good fruit character is combined with nice structure and balance.

A very attractive, orangey crème brûlée nose. Lovely fresh palate. Sweet and fresh at the same time, this is in a hugely enjoyable style. Delicious.

AP Nr. 2 576 510 11 04, 8.5%
A slightly murky, sulphury nose. Lovely zingy attack. Good poise and elegance, but ultimately a little simple and short.

AP Nr. 3 561 012 13 72
A bright lemon gold appearance. Attractive old riesling nose with some secondary pear-spirit and raisins. Lovely palate – much younger in the mouth than on the nose. Very balanced. Nice and ready to drink.

AP Nr. 5 106 026 072 04, 7.5%
Very gently sherbetty peach and apricot on the nose. Very, very rich and sweet on the palate. Clean, fresh and very sweet. It’s not quite got enough acidity.

A bright, orangey gold. Lovely fresh nose, if a bit simple. Complex palate with lots of citrusy fruit. But it lacks depth, especially on the finish. Good length though.

AP Nr. 5 160 331 095 84
This looks like a light PX – a dark mahogany core fading to a yellow-green rim. It looks completely cooked! The nose has no obvious sign of maderisation: it’s sweet and slightly custardy with dried apricots and banana flesh. Very sweet attack (hardly surprising), and it doesn’t feel in the slightest cooked/maderised. There’s a huge, almost monstrous acidity which gives it balance and a quite unexpected freshness. Nice flavours. Surprisingly good.

A delicious, ripe, rich nose, not overladen with gewürztraminer character. On the palate it’s decent enough, but a bit on the hard side. I was expecting more from the Jubilee level.

A ripe nose with some lychee and rose character, but quite subtle. On the palate it’s a rich, complex, layered gewürztraminer with huge depth. Really nice balance. Very good finish with excellent length.

A lovely attractive nose – old with some interesting bilberry fruit and a fungal note. Really nice on the palate: good balance and depth and still with some life ahead of it. Lovely wine.

Open nose with charming black fruits and some odd lemon grass lift. Nice, celan palate with good balance and a rich, velvety, cosseting feel.

This feels much more evolved than the Graham’s. It almost has a tawny feel to it, with some nutty oxidation.

Cocoa husks and treacle on the nose. On the palate … well, it’s PX. But it’s a very good one. Rich, thick, heavy and luscious, but by far not the most cloying PX that I’ve tasted.

A minerally nose with raspberry fruit and a bit of spicy oak. On the palate, it’s bright and youthful. A nice wine, feeling relatively rustic, but also at the top of its money.

A fairly deep nose with fruit that's more black than it is red, good depth, and some dusty oak. There’s a light, slightly jammy feel on the palate. It has a sort of simple attractiveness and easiness, but isn’t terribly engaging.

A deep, rather closed nose with some berry fruit. There’s some concentration and depth on the palate and a nice character. A slight touch of alcohol on finish mars it though.

The nose has good smoky, savoury black fruits. On the palate, there’s a bit of a simpler feel then the Willamette Valley Vineyards, but more French (or do I mean more international?). It’s easier to drink and less of a challenge than the WMV.

Very deep nose with some quite black fruit and some forest floor notes. There’s sweetish fruit on the palate with a herbal, jammy note. A bit unsatisfying.

A closed nose that’s verging on the dead. Very murky palate, but not totally uninteresting. Faulty bottle or just past it?

This has rather nice tropical fruits on the nose, which shows remarkable restraint, avoiding the blowsiness of many viogniers. Very good restraint on the palate too: there's an unusual delicacy to this which helps make it rather delicious.

The nose has pleasant gamey fruit with some farmyard stink and a bit of a cocoa husk character. It's light and uncomplicated on the palate. Easy and clean with a real savouriness. Nice elegance.

A very deep, almost inky colour. Very deep, brooding black fruits dominate the nose, which feels a touch closed. Very rich attack - very rounded with a super tannic structure from good ripe tannins. A very clean wine indeed with great focus. It really promises well for the future.

Deep, brooding, meaty black fruits dominate the nose, though there is just a little bit of a floral life in there too. Very fine palate with some really nice, elegant red and black fruit. There's a firm tannic structure which lends a lovely spice on the finish. Still young, but very seductive.

A hugely attractive nose with lovely sweet ripe fruit and an elegant floral character. Young, fresh attack. Good structure, feeling already fairly integrated. Quite a light fragrant character. A bit pricey for what it is.

Very deep black fruits on the nose, with gorgeous chocolate violet creams an coffee notes. It's big and powerful on the palate, yet somehow still seems to have an elegance. Is it the name and some sort of auto-suggestion, but is there a taste of pear on the finish? Great finesse.

A much simpler nose than the Belle Hélène which overall rather dominates one's impression of the Embruns. A lovely open, wide palate. Very elegant. There's a really fine tannic structure, but overall it feels very integrated. But still needs time.

Lovely, precise nose: vibrant lemon acidity with hints of yeast. Very good palate: very precise and focussed, but also with a lovely depth.

A gorgeous yellow gold colour. Fresh, precise roast butter nose. Very elegant palate. Very, very pure and intense.

Quite a slight nose – very subtle white Rhône character, which really opens up as it warms up. Lovely palate with good elegance initially. A slightly hard edge comes along, but quickly dissipates leaving a smooth, very, very long nutty, creamy finish. Very elegant.

A rich nutty, almondy sweet nose with just a hint of spirity peach at the end. Rich, pointed palate with some spice. For me it lacks a little in elegance, but is still very enjoyable.

Wet gravels and a bit of petrol on the nose. Lovely integrated palate. Spot on.

A big fresh, nutty nose. This is a firm bodied, full flavoured wine with lots of interesting character.

There’s just a bit of lift on the nose. Sweet VA is all that remains on the palate. Dead.

Very attractive nose – really lovely with very subtle fruit and earthiness. It feels very young. There’s lots of lovely acidity and a nice, satisfying, savoury edge. A very fine wine.

Rather an extracted nose with green peas and cabbagey notes. Good palate: it alternates in the mouth between freshness and richness, lemon and cream, vegetal and almost tropical fruit. Interesting and enjoyable.

A stinky, sweaty nose with red fruit behind. This has a nice light fresh pinot noir palate. Spicy oak dominates the finish.

There’s a fairly Burgundian feel to the nose. Nice mature palate. Fairly sweet. Very long.

This has a deep and remarkably youthful colour. Lovely restrained, leafy nose with plenty of black fruit. The palate is refined with a very integrated feel. Damn good claret.

A rather over-old nose with just a slight lift. On the palate this feels like very, very old Rioja. Dried out and past it. Not rated.

AP Nr. 2 576 511 14 97
A lovely, maturing riesling nose. There’s some vibrancy immediately on the palate. Then a lovely rounded finish. Very dry finish.

Very vegetal nose with some tarry notes. Rather tired palate.

The nose has sweaty black fruits and some leather. Very complex palate with some concentrated black fruit, some fresh fruit flavours and a significant quality tannic structure.

(en magnum)
There is slightly astringent red and cherry fruit on the nose. Vibrant palate. There’s an astringency that, as usual, I don’t like in Barbaresco.

A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot. Not an over-the-top in-your-face nose, but what’s there is some jammy, very raspberry fruit. Round, juicy fruit is very much to the fore on the palate, again with largely raspberry flavours. Spicy on the finish with a firm tannic structure.

On the nose there’s ripe, yet restrained black fruit with some leather. Quite forward and mature on the palate; and also there’s a bit of greenness there. A touch astringent on the finish. It doesn’t appear to have much structure left.

A very deep, young colour. On the nose there are big, ripe perfumed black fruits. Big, full palate: some sweet black fruit initially, which is quickly overtaken by a massive tannic structure. There’s some style to this … in a Cahors way.

16%
Very open nose with blackberry fruit and a nice perfume. Chocolatey blackberry pastille palate. A nice drink. Fairly simply, but it works well.

An evolved, woody, but not oaky nose with clove and cinnamon spice. Beautiful palate. Very integrated and gorgeous.

Mental and menthol nose with fragrant blackcurrant fruit. Fresh, vibrant, fragrant sweet fruit on the palate. There’s a bit of alcohol on the finish. Mad but lovely.

Quite a subtle nose really – sweet and honeyed. But it really doesn’t live up to the promise on the palate. It just feels rather clumsy.

AP Nr. 4 397 02 9 02
A very deep, almost bronzey colour. Fragrant honey and apricots on the nose. Very nice, but it seems to lack the really bracing acidity of the 2002. I’m very disappointed in this bottle, and wonder if there’s something wrong with it. It’s just not right. I wonder if there’s a touch of oxidation?

Initially the nose is rather simple, though with time it opens up and develops some very attractive fragrance. On the palate, it’s really over-spirity: the spirit completely dominates, making it a very hard drink. Maybe an extended decanting time would have helped? This might have been uncorked and poured straight away.

8%, AP Nr. 2 577 015 2 96
Quite a mature Mosel riesling nose with a slatey minerality that outweights what’s left of the fruit. Very minerally on the palate, feeling a little over-mature. A bit simple and a bit short.