Visitors' wines of 2006

Working in a fine wine store certainly has its perks as i regularly get to taste fantastic wines! We have had the Unico 94 three times and every time it has been sensational. The Meursault was very youthful but incredibly complex and delicious. Dominique Laurent makes many village wines which, i have to admit all tend to taste incredibly similar, but his Cuvee Numero 1, which i believe is basically declassified Volnay, is fantastic! The HCDN from DRC is of course, not exactly a budget wine, but for DRC it is extremely cheap at £40! I have had the Szepsy Cuvee on two separate occasions against Yquem 1997 and it really is hard to choose between the two! Krug 1990 and Grahams 1977 - need i say more?! 2 corked bottles of Cos d'Estournel on separate occasions - at least the replacement bottles lived up to expectations!!

Had been looking forward to try the Armagh ever since trying the Lodge Hill Shiraz from the same year. It rocked. The Stickleback was simply the bottle that hit the spot the sweetest. Sol du Landoc is a great bottle with a nice tale behind it. The Drouin wines get better every year, and this '05 was superb. The Hermanos is perfectly made in my opinion. Launois is my fave NV at the mo. Graham's was the perfect drink at the end of a perfect day. As for the CD, it just goes to show what amazing music remains virtually unknown, except to a few dedicated collectors. Thanks for putting it togther, the whole series is great. Happy New Year.

selections added 17th January

I share two wines that others have already had as their wines of the year. I would never have guessed my wine of the year could be a Californian Merlot, but the Verite was special. A little too sweet for me, but great quality. Otherwise a 1990 Cantenac Brown and a 2001 Alain Chabanon Boissieres from the Languedoc stood out. The Vire Clesse is a regular favourite and a bargain at the cellar door. The Combe Blanche (Another Stolarski special) was partly bought o the strength of the appellation name, but was really rather good. The Yquem was at the 2005 EP tasting. Nice but not £300 nice for me. The Vaudieu CdP had the vintage (1998) and the terroir (next to Rayas), but conspired to make a pretty dull and uninteresting wine.

Vernay- a total surprise as to how outstanding. T-B beat Inniskillin. Grahams drunk twice during year, a shade of top drawer. HB part of 25th anniv tasting reported on wine-pages Forum.

Moccagatta proved to be very fine indeed, real depth and complexity. Superb. Laville-Haut-Brion overpriced but exceptionally good. Selvapiana has been a favourite for a number of years and is easily one of the worlds best values reds. The Nava Real Verdejo surprised me, more wines like this from Spain please. Just pipped Pieropan Soave, its not a better wine but at £7 retail it is a steel. Baumard's Quarts de Chaume was filthy but spectacular. Taittinger made a stunning Champagne with Prelude, all from Grand Cru vineyards and truly stunning. An LBV should not be this good , that is why I chose it. Too many dud wines sealed with a screw cap have neen destroyed. This is not the "almost perfect" seal people with a pre determined agenda make it out to be. Shame on the trade.

Too many great wines to mention them all!

Well, aren't Northerners the kindest, most generous people ever in the world? I have been attending Manchester "offlines" of the UK Wine Forum for almost 2 years now and the wines that I have tasted have blown my socks off. Most recently the Market Restaurant offline in November with the DRC, the Gewurtz and the fizz mentioned above. Add to that a Pesquera Janus and a Jim Barry Armargh and a '94 Ridge Montebello - Ambassador you are spoiling us. Seriously, the wines at that particular offline would all have won wine of the night at individual offlines from now until 2010! Add to that the Tiggy offline!!! The generosity of you all (you know who you are) was unbelievable. The dud rates a mention as it looked appealing in Tesco of all places but it reiterated my belief that you cannot buy budget rioja - you certainly get what you pay for.

selections added 10th January

Best red was a close fought battle with two other Riojas- Remirez de Ganuza 2000 and CVNE Imperial 1975. If I say that the Artadi was 90 Euros in the best restaurant I ate at last year, and that the CVNE was 65E in a fabulous, fashionable Barcelona restaurant that might go some way to explain my thing ofthe year as well. Can Rafols etc makes a fascinating range of whites in Catalonia, and this is the top. I love Dry River wines, and think they make far and away the best NZ SB- to open one still relatively young and find it smelling of canned peas was unpleasant- given I still have 11 bottles of it.

It's amazing that only a year out of the trade and I'm struggling to compile this list. The Latour was a joy, tasted against a Las Cases 88 and towering above it. It took awhile to come out of its shell though. Joly might be one of the most unique and gifted wine makers on the planet. The chenin expresses the earth around it - incredible. The Meyney a bargain at my local Sainsbury's for only £14.99 and so scrapes in there. Fevre - lovely, well-made Chablis at a decent price. The Suduiraut has decades, but true depth - not simply sweet but multi-layered and fantastic. The DP still had youthful zing surrounding elegant mushroom and brioche. In a year of fine port the Graham's pipped all others, though Barbeito's madeiras are a joy. Most importantly though, I finished my book, and am reading it now.

I tasted Dominus for the first time this year (2001, blind I thought it was Pomerol), but have got to know the wines very well now. The 1991 shows that reds can age exceptionally well with very little acid (5.1g/L: the pH is 3.92!!!) The Ripasso wine is in a style that is increasingly being rewarded in the Gambero Rosso (easy to enjoy, not too thick and concentrated). Exquisite. The Lagarde LH Muscat is an intriguing blend, aged oxidatively for 17months. Pale amber (like watered-down Tokaji) but very elegant and refreshing. The Schramsberg was tasted blind against a line up of Prestige Cuvee Champagnes (DP, RD, Grande Dame etc) and other top-end California sparklers. I took part in a panel tasting that ranked the wines, and this came out top (though I put it close second behind Krug 1990) There were no real duds this year. I think Luigi Bosca is doing interesting things and should continiue to experiment, but this weird white blend was hot, sawdusty and disjointed on the two occasions I tasted it.

So many wines, so hard to choose. I was wowed by Cover Drive at a tasting and went out and bought some; when I served it at dinner my wine drinking friends raved it was the best wine they'd every had and bought a case next day. It costs less than £9 and is my WOTY. I've tasted many good wines this year that delivered what was expected so I've listed above those that exceeded expectations or just bring back good memories (such as the Baco Noirs drunk with new friends in Ontario) or I wish I'd bought more of (like the Delbeck on sale). I've never been a sherry man, but I have greatly enjoyed getting into the habit of an afternoon glass from the courtesy decanter that is refilled every day in Portmerion. And for the first time in years I know exactly what wines I have and where they are thanks to the amazing cellartracker.

selections added 5th January

The star red was quite simply stunning - eclipsing many excellent reds this year, and exemplifying the fantastic spirit and generosity of contributors to wine-pages offlines (this and my top two sweet wines of the year being served at the London Blind Challenge Offline). No prizes therefore for guessing what my vinous 'thing' of the year is, whilst the most persistent and worrying dud has to be prematurely oxidised white Burgundy.

For the red I could of easily went for the Bannockburn Pinot 1999 as well. Both elegant and restrained and miles from the generic view of Oz wines. I love Vouvary and other Loire Chenin period, no other region offers such a variety of styles for me from the one grape and I know the Riesling fans will be lining me up! My trips to Sth Africa were made all the more enjoyable with trips to the Winelands which are incredibly beautiful and some of the wines are absolutely world class. Sparkling and Fortified being blank shows that I need try more this year, the ones I did have weren't memorable. Having moved to Hong Kong in August I am having a continual coronary over the wine prices. The duty is 80% I believe and having lived in Australia I can't bring myself to buy Oz wines.It shows also how much Australians get screwed on import wines as the taxes are half of HK yet the prices end up the same!

I'm just beginning to discover the world of wine, so my selections are not as exciting as some, but I have certainly enjoyed trying some new wine styles and learning the basics! The highlights for me were a holiday to Provence during which I was lucky enough to visit Domaine de Trevallon, as well as a week spent at Chateau Suduiraut which was easily the highlight of my wine experiences to date. Cheers!

2006 was another great year for exploring wine with an embarrassment of riches in opportunity. A great number of the most memorable experience were shared with, and due to the generosity of people who co-habit Tom's forum - many of whom have proven through generous dinner invitations what fine cooks they are. In particular my thanks go to those in Edinburgh (especially Toby Bailey who hosted) who not only fronted for what turned out to be (with the exception of the surprise Taylor 1912) a fairly mixed bag of dodgy old ports shared with good cheer and in turn opened many fine bottles. My 'thing' in 2006 was your hospitality. Fine wine experiences transcend what's in the glass when the context plays its part. The DRC La Tâche 1996 was drained with one friend over an evening and offered something new with each glass - something difficult to capture at a tasting; some, like the Prüm and the 18th century Tokaji seem truly immortal wines - the latter providing a moving momentary connexion with those who lived 10 generations before us; the Taylor 1912 a very welcome reward at the end of a very mixed bag of mystery wines. Finally, my dud wine has something in common with my two budget wines - the producer is most often the most important factor in wine. While Grivot's most recent vintages are good, the 1995 Richebourg was barely worth tasting, while the (relative) cheapies from Chave and Leflaive I could drink all day, and night.

selections added 2nd January

Notwithstanding the large volume of red and white wines that have passed my lips over the past 12 months, the 1985 Ch. Margaux and 2001 Corton were pretty much unchallenged. Although not exactly "budget" wines, Denis Mortet's (RIP) 2004 Bourgogne Rouge and Bourgogne Blanc should receive a special mention - great wines made by a very gifted producer. Salitis and Jordan Chardonnay (best sub-£10 Chardy??) have both given me great pleasure. The TBA was a generous purchase by a friend at my birthday dinner. Nyetimber stands out for the fact that it sells for under £25 a bottle, is made in England and blooody good. 1995 Krug and 1995 Bollinger RD would have been more predictable picks, but Nyteimber takes the day. Yalumba's 50yo Tawny edges it in the fortified stakes from Sibarita 30yo Oloroso, Valdespino 1842 Solera Oloroso and 1970 Fonseca.

selections added 29th December

I haven't drunk much expensive stuff this year - especially among the reds (a few CdP and Brunello aside) - so have a slightly eclectic list. The Chateau Estanilles is from Faugeres - brought back from a holiday at about £12.50. It is everything a Languedoc/Roussillon wine should be and more - I was taken aback by how good it was. I must re-familiarise myself with this region, having been put off by too many overipe, clumsy wines. I thought £15 was a bit generous for budget wines so have gone a bit cheaper. The Boxler riesling was about £7 at the Domaine and Claude Papin\'s basic red is £4.40 at the Chateau. Both are pure, fruity and balanced and come from two of the very best producers in each region IMHO. The Nyetimber was the first time I'd had it - a glorious surprise. The Olivares might not actually be fortified - I can't remember - but either way, it was a peppery edged delight and much better than many vintage ports I've had this year. The ZH got me picking up the phone to order some more, the Pierre Bise sweetie held off a strong challenge from Huet and Baumard and the Leoville Barton, although young, was just a great disappointment - luckily not my bottle. And with all those dirty Riedels, I couldn't image life without my trusty Bosch

The Corton was a treat, the Riesling lovely, and tasted at the vineyard. Very taken with the Ruca Malen Malbec, owned by a former MD of Domaine Chandon in Argentina, produced organically and really very delicious. South African Sauvignon Blancs have really impressed this year and Alan Nelson's just hit the spot. Henry Speer's imported Mont Hauban was nicer than many other Champagnes tasted at greater prices and Waitrose Solera sherries are all superb. And finally, my '99 Elise continues to delight seven years later, especially with new tyres!

Poujeaux: perfection, rich & complex, still many yrs to go. Macon tasted like £30-worth rather than £10. Both budgets from Co-op. Can't remember German producer but didn't figure on wine-searcher.com anyway. Champagne from LIDL but rest of their wines more or less forgettable. Every so often critics get ecstatic about one or other of the Cave de Tain wines but I've yet to taste one that wasn't boring.

Lot of Spanish wine this year, for obvious reasons, living here, far from my own cellar and the choice of the UK wine market. Albion is a great entry to the family of Vega Sicilia at a reasonable price. El Dorado is the old-fashioned, oxidized white with great length and personality. El Márques presents a snip at 5€, local price, and gives all the correct hints of a modern, full Ribera del Duero. I had to plug a local wine, too, El Grifo, an everyday-drinking dry pleasure from an island nextdoor. Moving on to the great "relics" from Barbadillo. PX: Stunning, at a serious price (140 €), but with the hallmarks of a truly great wine. I have a feeling we will see more of those pieces from Jerez in the future, as well as price hikes. The Cava, then, is among the best in its mould, definitely not champagne-like, but an outstanding sparkling wine. The other Relic, Oloroso, is supposedly dry but so rich it's difficult to navigate between the impressions. Finally, I had almost 2 bottles of DP last Friday (somebody else paid) but the impression did not change during the night: a rather mean, although balanced bubbly that if served blindly I would have guessed was a poor vintage Ruinart or something, but not the grand DP that I remember from other years.

The Cicale is probably the best young Barolo I have tasted, and one of the wines I remember as most impressive during the year. Morey-Blanc makes, in my opinion, a very classy and minerally Mersault which is great in this vintage. I am a fan of Barbera for everyday drinking, and the Cabutto is complex and wonderfully traditional made. The Nuits. St. Georges was a big dissapointment, with lots of new oak and very sweet fruit. I can only hope it will improve a lot with age as I have 11 more bottles.

selections added 27th December

I was very fortunate to have had a two-year secondment to London: quite sad now it's over, although it is of course great to be back in Australia to see family and friends again. But I made so many good friends in London and had such an excellent time travelling, tasting and enjoying the pleasures that London and Europe have to offer - not least of which is the wide world of wine. The bubbles were courtesy of Bryan Collins at the Barolo/Burg offline of the UK Wine Forum, and the Fonseca just shaded a Taylor's 20yo that I enjoyed in Portugal. The Maculan gets the sticky award partly because it reminds me of the Acininobili that was the revelation of 2005 for me. The Chapoutier was very disappointing, but I think mostly because I so enjoyed the la Soumade Rasteau. And the Clos Vougeot will live long in my memory - a nose and taste of pure hedonistic pleasure. The Trimbach just snuck under the budget limit and indeed challenged the Grosset - as did a Chassagne-Montrachet I had in Paris but whose details I sadly didn't note down!

It's been a good year vinously, and many wines were vying for the top places. To an extent, the wines that made it to the top are ones that have benefitted from the 100 points scale, which imposes more precision than just saying "Excellent" - this also meant the top wines were easy to find, as they are the cream off the very top of the list. I'm somewhat surprised to see the Tig beating 1959 DRC Grands-Echezaux to the top spot, but for some reason at the time, I rated the 1970 Tig just one point higher at 98/100 as opposed to 97/100 (which the DRC shared with a 1994 Pesquera Janus - both at the same Manchester offline too!) There was never any doubt or surprise in the 1949 Prüm Goldcap making the top spot. If I wasn't already into wine, or already into the Mosel, that wine would without the slightest shadow of a doubt have been a complete and utter epiphany moment. And it's a third of the price of the DRC G-E. The Sud Syrah is just a totally delicious juicy south of France Syrah. Under a fiver, and while it's not especially a bargain at that, as it's hardly a complex wine, it is, as they say, a no-brainer. By contrast, the Fleith Pinot Blanc is a bit of a bargain for its £8 or £9. Taylor's 1912 was Linden's, at the Edinburgh bottle-smashing offline, identified only by the cork. Damn near perfect, I thought. The Dud, the 2004 Moselland Erdener Treppchen isn't my worst rated wine of the year, but it is the worst rated proper wine that had no hint of a fault whatsoever to excuse it. If I may, I'd like to give a very honourable mention to Greek and Cypriot wines. I've had the opportunity to try a number of them at several tastings this year, and while there have been some shockers (from the bigger, more industrial producers), the top end of the quality scale is way up there at the top.

The Yquem was my first ever. But also a Lafaurie Peyraguey 1990 very close behind on the sweet side!

This year , I drank so many wines that I can hardly keep track. There are a lot of wines that I liked a lot like '04 Vosne Romanee,Dom. Leroy; '03 La Chapelle, Paul Jaboulet Aine; '02 Solaia; '00 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina, Gaja; '89 Lagrange; '75 Lynch Bages; '01 Tignanello; and numerous Burgunides. It's really hard to choose. I chose these two due to the impact they made on me. First time heard or tasted a Chadwick and I was totally taken off guard of how beautiful and classy this wine is! The Barolo from Ceretto is another fantastic wine that I liked so much too! Drank so amny different sweet wines also this year from TBAs from the 70s to Icewine from Thirty Bench, Canada ; '05 Auslese, Selbach Olster; '94 VT from R. Gasssmann, Alsace; Sweet wines from Huet; some nice TokajiBut at the end you can't beat the 1915 Ch. Coutet, a very special sweet wine indeed!

selections added 20th December

My selection may appear biased to New World, Australasian wines. Tough!! I do drink European & American wines but over here they seem to have so much more flavour.

Musar rocks. Riesling rocks. The Loire rocks. The Lagrange was weird. Renaissance polyphony rocks, hence Gimell for recording so much of it.

The Palmer 61 was amazing fruit and tannin still beautifully balance and its older than me. The Old Boys Tawny perhaps a bit sweet but incredible complexity for 15 quid. Katnook Prodigy just so boring and varietal I wonder how its become so popular the Odyssey by the same people knocks it into touch!

Tried all the 03 First Growths except Latour this year. None of them as profound as this great NZ Pinot Noir. Martinborough Vineyards 1996 Reserve would compete with the 1994 version as the best NZ pinot ive tasted. Equisite. Worthy mentions to 05 Fromm La Strada Clayvin and 05 Ata Rangi along with a lovely Felton Road offering. This year has been a Sauvignon Blanc year. Many drinkers go off this variety, but this year there have been so many ultra sophisticated wines. The class of the Cape Crest nearly equaled by wines such as 05 Craggy Range Prestige Te Muna, 06 St Clair Wairau Reserve and 06 Cloudy Bay. I love the appley, slightly sweet but razor balanced Fromm Riesling. Every taste bud in the mouth on overdrive. More wineries are making wines in a Spatlese style especially in Waipara north Canterbury. Fromm edges ahead of worthy mentions from my usual favourites - Pegasus Bay, Felton Road, Craggy Range, Amisfield, Forrest. Sweet wines - Yquem was just sensational. Perfection. 01 Ch Sudairaut, and the brilliant 04 Pegasus Bay Encore are other absolutely world class sweet wines which dazzled this year. Sparkling. Krug is da bomb!!Worthy mentions to NV Tattinger and the hugely improved Cloudy Bay Pelorous which is finer and more focused under the new regime. Cant think of a super budget red so I wont lessen the others by including though some bottles of 2004 Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon ive tried have been super at as low as NZ$10. I dont drink much fortified and duds i forget quickly.

Lynch-Bages was preferred to the 1982 served alongside (no accounting for taste eh!) Masseria Monaci, was one of a succession of good Puglian wine tasted on holiday. Primitivo can be very good at low alcohols! The Scheurebe was a stunner and great value. Croft 1966 port was a great celebratory wine, and just pipped a 1922 (producer unknown) port. The Allegrini was no better than <£5 supermarket fodder. No Southern hemisphere wines this year that's a shock. Mycology - Amazing diversity of funghi in the local woods. Plenty of good books and once you can identify them, you can start cooking. Even some of the non-edible ones are a visual treat instead (old mans beard, which is quite rare is really quite stunning). Puff balls were the first self-picked ones to make it to the breakfast table.

selections added 19th December

Leoville-Las Cases in an epitome of St Julien's elegance and complexity made it, though narrowly, against La Grange des Peres '00. Delicious Chinon from a quality-driven producer, on a pork rib with tough-to-find girolles (esp. in S'pore) nearly made me feel homesick. NZ Pinot Noir good in the North Island, frustrating and expensive in Central Otago, if you don't fancy an overwhelming strawberry jelly taste. DRC RSV unexpectedly disappointing, tasted in Seoul, probably a difficult journey for such a delicate pinot noir

Wynns John Riddoch was a wine I'd been keen to try for a while as I'd seen it on BBR's list back in 2002 and wondered a) who paid £30 for a bottle of wine b) what it'd taste like. Really good was the answer! The Scharzhofberg is simply one of the most incredibly exciting things I've ever tried (it needs lots more age though!) Musar is Musar & this is classic. The Brauneberg is excellent old riesling and a bargain at the £7 I paid. I chose the Prum as I was served it as a bonus at the end of a superb dinner on the last night of a tour round the Mosel in the summer. A perfect end to a perfect week. Huet's Vouvray Petillant is mouthwateringly moreish and a great change from Champagne. The Maury was the perfect solution to the age old question 'what should I drink with chocolate?' and far more refreshing than Port. As for the last wine, I struggled to find anything but this was a good candidate given its gold medal from the IWC and wonderful simplicity!

A wonderful year of great wines.Many really good offlines,including the Grange vertical and the 1976 Grange was a good runner up to the quite superb Chave which was one of two wines served to me at a fantastic dinner hosted by my son-in-laws father.At this evening th Le Flaire was also produced.Absolutely stunning wine. Two really great budget wines,the second thanks to Alex Lake,bought at Dreweart Neale!! Of course ,one of the highlights of the year,was the trouncing of Pol Roger 90 by the lovely MCC Krone Borealis,93 a wine awarded 90pts by Tom Stevenson. Many thanks once more to Tom for looking after us so well on Wine-Pages - it is becoming an institution!!

These are my very modest selections in what is the first year that I have recorded tasting notes and seriously started to buy wines for the future. My cellar is now reasonably stocked and I'm looking forward to adding to it and drinking from it in the next few years.

Where do I start this year?! My white, red & sweet wines were interestingly from the same off line. The 03 Chave Rouge - tasted along with the 82, 83, 89, 90, 97 & 99 - is the GREATEST young wine I have ever had the privilege to try, the nose still haunts me 2 months after smelling it. The Alsace examples were stunning whites full of poise, character & balance, while the Gobelsburger GV 05 is a no brainer for the quality of wine at the price. The Coudoulet de Beaucastel 01 is perhaps the finest CdR I have ever drunk & still improving while still under a tenner if you look hard. The Port was from almost a year ago & the Guigal just about OK but disjointed, an expensive mistake. The sparkling wine section is blank as I tend only to drink these at off lines & promptly forget their names - but there have been a couple of highly memorable examples! Cheers.

selections added 15th December

Not much competition for the whites - obviously need to drink more - New Year's Resolution, perhaps? Have drunk Valbuena a couple of times and been distinctly underwhelmed both times. Is it just me?

And other great things in 2006: Barbeito Madeira, friends getting engaged, Ardbeg Trip, Krug 1995, Pirates 2, Niepoort 20 Year Old Tawny, managing to perfect making Roast Potatoes, Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill verticals at the Earl and Countess of Elgin's home, Latour '88

Wow what a year Ive had. Some amazing opportunities some phenomenal wines. The hardest part as always is chosing which wines to list. The Le Pin was the most surprising of all for me and thats why I chose it. I have usually said that I didnt think these wines were worth the cost. After being fortunate enough to sample it, Ive changed my opinion a bit. The most complex, intense, silky soft red I have ever tasted. I was floating on cloud nine for hours afterwards. South Africa is an area that I have been focussing on a bit recently hence the inclusion of two wines, both white. The Raats Chenin is available in two styles - a simple unoaked style which is very fresh and vibrant, but the hands down winner for me was the oaked version. More depth, character and an intensity of flavour that gave it more body and a greater length. The sweetie was my biggest surprise of the year. A bottle of 1917 Climens with the ullage level of below bottom shoulder. I honestly expected it to be knackered. My MD opened it with a group of American travel agents on a fam trip and they had the treat of a lifetime. It was packed with flavour - think of a dundee cake steeped in grand marnier and that kind of sums up the flavours. The wine just lasted and lasted, an hour later the flavour was just as intense. A bottle sold less than a month earlier had been weak and fragile and collapsed in under a minute. The dud was a wine we poured at our december gourmet evening just a few nights ago. I guess Ive classed it as the dud of the year because it was completely overshadowed by a jeroboam of d'Armailhac 1993 we served before it. The d'Armailhac was the surprise of the evening, and it even gave the magnums of Mouton 90 a run for their money. My thing this year is my blog. Earlier in the year I started blogging about some of my experience here at the Grosvenor. It has been quite therapeutic and ive enjoyed it immensely. Ive watched my readership growing, and it is now read all over the world, including Alaska, Eygpt, Australia, New Zealand, Scandanavia and many other countries. It is coming up for the first birthday soon and I'm amazed at how well received it has been. Even my MD reads it regularly!! Im looking forward to reading everyone elses lists, and wish everyone a successful and happy xmas and new year!!

The Conterno I've had on three separate occasions this year but the first was the best - absolutely singing, fantastic mature Barolo, hitting all the notes. I knew within 10 seconds of the first sip that I wanted the bottle to be a magnum, and all to myself! Bussia Soprana is very much the least of Conterno's Barolo crus but none the worse for it on this showing. Sancerre rouge is hugely overrated in my view - the Vacheron and other equally good wines from eg Mellot are regularly available at about £15 which is huge QPR. I've had two of those magnums of Gosset so far (four remaining) and the first was simply wonderful - fully mature with lots of development but still so alive and fresh. Wonderful, and surprisingly so, as I've heard dissenting opinions on this wine. The second, at an offline recently, was less special but still very good indeed. The TBA was at an offline - the magnificent "Burgundy at The Square" earlier this year. It had to be good to shine after such a meal, and such wines, none of which quite knocked the Conterno off of top spot for me (although the 1986 Ponsot Clos de la Roche was mighty close).