Assorted selected tasting notes (brief)

2000 Foley Barrel Select Chardonnay Sonoma Coast - Very ripe Chardonnay aromas. Buttery and quite oak driven. Very sweet and frontal. Rather short. Turning coconutty. Typical lusty Cali-chard.

2000 Cos d'Estournel St. Estephe - Cedary, curranty nose. Very ripe yet pristine. Sweet and dense in the midpalate. Very fine-grained tannins. Velvety even at this stage. Lovely lift and minerality despite its formidable frame.

2004 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet les Perrieres - Typically classy wood (pencil-shavings) nose, a la Sauzet. Minerally and incisive fruits - peach, apples, pears - with slightest touch of vanillin. Spiney, lengthy and classy. Lightweight but balanced. This is already elegant, though could do with more penetration to be more complete. A lovely example of the vintage and commune.

2004 Giaconda Shiraz Warner Vineyard Victoria - Meaty, hammy, peppery nose reminiscent of Cote Roties. Blueberries too. Exotic mix of fruits including redcurrants. Structure-wise this has less cut and less minerality than the real McCoy. Impressive for an Aussie Shiraz.

1998 L'Angelus St. Emilion - Spice cake, oak and deep currant fruits. Soft, plush but very dense, with mouthcoating heck of a tannin (despite having been double decanted for more than three hours). A technical wine with impressive constitution but fails to excite at the visceral level.

1989 Lynch Bages Pauillac - Spicy, cedary nose which is Cabernet dominated. Round and plush now - in fact unusually so - with an uncharacteristic softness and elegance for a Lynch Bages. Could do with more sweetness.

2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto - Pure aromas of red berries, raspberries and tar. Very Piedmontese, yet almost feminine. Full and smoky in the mouth adding nuances over the berry fruits with a pronounced Italian arresting acid which provides it structure for evolution.

2002 Highfield Elstree Cuvee Brut Marlborough - Consulted by Drappier... Apples, zesty, a little hollow but lithe and lively. Pleasant.

2005 Michel & Stephane Ogier Viognier de Rosine - Classic viognier nose, clean and floral. Honeysuckle in the mouth and skittles candies. Relatively bracing for a viognier and very dry. Turns grapefruity. Good typicity.

2004 Andre Perret Syrah Franc de Pied Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes - Fruity yet leathery nose, mixing currants and earth. Simple but fresh and pleasant. No tannic grip at all.

2003 Agly Brothers Cotes du Rousillon - (Collaboration between the Laughtons of Jasper Hill and M. Chapoutier) Meaty nose of dark berries, spicy American-oak flavours but elegant and relatively cool. Ripe and delicious. An unusual french. Dusty finish. Not complex.

2004 Michel & Stephane Ogier L'Ame Soeur Terres de Seyssuel Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes - (old vine Syrah) Soaring nose of dark raspberries, crunchy black fruits and white pepper. Very promising. Intense candied fruits. Persistent and the only vdp tonight with midpalate. Old viney intensity.

2005 Paul Blanck Pinot Blanc - Lime, peach on the nose. Slightly peppery. Light with adequate acid spine.

2004 Paul Blanck Pinot Auxerrois Vielles Vignes - Sweeter, higher toned, more minerally scented, denser, more textured. Nice.

2004 Paul Blanck Gewurtztraminer - Lychee nose, bitter peach-pit. Sweet and lower acid. Opulent and broad. A little flabby but that's probably due to the varietal?

2004 Paul Blanck Riesling Rosenbourg - A great wine right from the nose, quintessential petroleum, lime skin oil, slate, very full, sweet, light yet textured. Wonderful!

2004 Paul Blanck Gewurtztraminer Altenbourg - Very rich, also lychee but more honey textured, dry but sweet.

2004 Paul Blanck Pinot Gris Patergarten - Meaty, saline nose, quite intense, in fact quite minerally. Impressive for a gris. Very nicely textured.

2002 Paul Blanck Pinot Gris Furstentum Grand Cru - Honeyed, sweet, bortrytised, dense, textured, but that's about it. Clean finish though.

2002 Paul Blanck Riesling Schlossberg Grand Cru - Refined, very restrained riesling nose, denser, good acidity, sweet, long.

2001 Paul Blanck Gewurtztraminer Furstentum Vielles Vignes - Meaty, lychee syrup, flinty, white pepper, very sweet and cleaner, less bortrytised than the earlier 2002, lightest on the palate but most intense of the gewurtztraminer.

NV Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne - Lemon custard and yeasty nose. In fact quite meaty. Nicely plush with some crisp acidity in the finish.

2004 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie - More minerally nose although initially woodier. More backbone and solidity in the middle. Californian but not tropical fruits. In fact cooler than the Lauren.

2004 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren - Ripe but elegant nose. Quite floral. Very ripe with apricot pits. Textured in the mouth. Turned pineappley. Not particularly sweet due to lack of acidity. But elegant.

1993 Kalin Cellars Pinot Noir Cuvee DD - Started with a barnyardy nose which blows off. Redcurrant like, rather rustic finish. Matured. Cool syrupy textured.

1986 Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze - Bright pale ruby. Rather metallic and steely. Not a particularly ripe year. But nicely framed, lean, but generous in the center. Nice and quite classy. Lovely and drinking well now.

2002 R. & V. Dauvissat Chablis le Forest - Chalky. Lush but quite minerally. Very ripe and textured for a Chablis. With lean-ish end, and quite limey.

1994 William-Selyem Pinot Noir Riverblock - Spicy nose. Rather like Anne Gros like oak? Quite soft and plush in the mouth. Very clean and quite integrated.

1995 William-Selyem Pinot Noir Riverblock - More candied and stewed fruits nose, in fact rather soupy. More residual sweetness. Flavours quickly dissipating afterwards.

1996 William-Selyem Pinot Noir Riverblock - Vitamin nose, with soya sweetness. Cooler and more substantial in the middle. Not big but solid.

1996 William-Selyem Pinot Noir Allen - Vitaminy. Very deep, cool stuff. Not particularly sweet (lacks sap) but very elegant. A far more refined version than the Riverblock. Depth, complexity, good length.

2002 Rochioli Pinot Noir River Block - Ripe, laden nose of raspberries, dark chocolate and vitamins. Very ripe and dense. Still new worldish or new wave burgs (reminds me of Clos de Tart).

1994 Ca'Togni (black muscat) - Lychee laden nose. Similar on the palate. Straightforward, but interesting wine.

1988 d'Yquem Sauternes - Very orange colour. Way too advanced here... Bortrytised nose. Silky palate.

2002 JJ Hahn 'Reginald' Shiraz Cabernet Barossa - Meaty, typical Aussie nose sans OTT American oak. A bit of band aid, dark currants and plums, but still have acidity - some plainness and simplicity in the midpalate. Quite good for the price.

2004 Peter Michael l'Apres-midi Sauvignon Blanc - Slight pencil shavings, grapefruits, gooseberry, citric nose. Elegant. Textured but light in the mouth with crunchy acid back. Some beeswax showing off the semillon element. Full, fat yet bracing. A compelling new world.

2002 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Santa Lucia Valley - Meaty old worldish nose. Fleshy but slightly hollow in the mouth. Some popcornish wild yeast. Turn white peachy.

2004 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing Santa Barbara - Spicy, quite rich, blueberry tinged fruits. New worldish but clean, quite balanced and actually quite delicious. Quite heady though.

2004 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay - Flinty pineappley nose. Rich but not heady. Quite persistent and has some midpalate. Impressive. Very very delicious. Lusty cali chard at its most palatable.

2003 Pahlmeyer Merlot - Dark raspberries nose, quite pure, very merlot. Not too complex in the mouth with notable but elegant oak and dustiness yet the perfume is very captivating.

2002 Blankiet Merlot Paradise Hill - Old worldish merlot nose, blackcurrants, some meatiness, very sweet and plush... Sweet and textured with a dense yet elegant palate. Quite an impressively engineered wine.

2001 Merryvale Profile - Denser meatier nose and denser palate, very substantial, blackcurrant, sweet nose. New worldish but quite refined. Clearly more cabernet dominated in the mouthfeel.

2001 Cardinale - Very meaty, dense, quite heady, espresso nose, some stalkiness, modern californian cabernet.

1996 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red - New worldish but grippy intense red with scorched earth and lots of tobacco. All black fruits. Very substantial and solid.

2004 Didier Dagueneau 'Jardin de Babylone' Jurancon - Peach, honey, textured, awesome, with explosive fruits in the mouth. Lovely dessert wine: effortless, elegant and quintessentially refreshing.