Château Ramage la Batisse – 2003

Cru Bourgeois (or in the classification current when it was made, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur) from the Haut-Médoc (in this case, not far outside Pauillac) and the very ripe summer of 2003.

Big-bodied, integrating tannins, not overwhelmingly acidic; only a decade old, but very dominant secondary flavours, spicy and animalistic - scores 3 out of 10 on the hamster cage scale (that’s a blend of sawdust and volatile gaminess for those not brought up by an animal breeder). Drinking very well now, I’d be curious to see how it ages. The proximity to Pauillac shows through; it reminds me of a less grand Grand Puy Lacoste.

86/100

Tareni dei Duca – Inzolia – 2011

A Sicilian wine from the local white grape most used for making Marsala.

Lemony, and rather bitter – like bitter almonds. Not a well-structured wine, but at least distinctive and (where we bought it, anyway) keenly priced.

78/100

Les Fiefs de Lagrange – 1988

Second wine of Saint-Julien third growth Lagrange.

A little bricking. Mature black fruit and cedar, with a touch of green leaf about it. Otherwise it is smooth but a bit broody. Eventually gets more expressive, acquiring a more savoury tang along with a small seam of chalk and gravel.

88/100

Château Batailley – 1988

A straight down the middle cedar-and-cassis Pauillac. Tannins are resolved, but the fruit is still surprisingly dark. Neither smoky nor animalistic, but the cedar becomes ever spicier: clove and allspice. There is just a touch of further tertiary elements about it, the suggestion of Chinese food. The finish is dry, liquorishy, acid-driven and perhaps not very long. I found it structurally a little slight to begin with, but it gains some weight with time. 

90/100

Berberana – Rioja – Reserva – 1970

A very aromatic bouquet of raspberries and cherries. Obviously no longer tannic, with mature but delightful fruit, a complex finish where savoury elements mingle with the now well-integrated oak, and a lingering floral aftertaste. Very Burgundian in style. Delicious and immensely satisfying, long-lived wine from one of the great Rioja vintages.

95/100

Château Haut-Bailly - 1989

Premier cru from Graves. Unquestionably cassis-driven and left-banky, with a good dose of Graves tobacco smoke, then game and cedar. At different moments it makes me think of both eggy custard and bacon. Gravelicious – a delightful blend of smoke and fruit, surely drinking at its best now.

94/100

Lafarge – Clos du Château des Ducs - 1993

Plum fruit overlaid with tertiary notes, leathery, biscuity and meaty. Lean, fine and a slightly bitter finish. Aeration brings liquorice to this most savoury of Volnays.

93/100

Lafarge – Beaune – Grèves – 2000

Smooth, maturing premier cru. A lightly defined bouquet of cherry and violet comes through with a wisp of volatile acidity; the palate seems relatively fragile and the remaining acidity dominates the mouthfeel. It heavies up with time, moving towards a slightly porty character. I think we have caught this wine at an awkward moment; I’d like either more aromatics or a more defined secondary and tertiary character.

88/100

Dry River – Riesling – Craighall – 2000

Dry River is one of New Zealand’s most admired wine producers, although not easy to come across! In the past I have prized the odd mature bottle from the hands of Zubair Mohamed of Raeburn Fine Wines, Edinburgh.

A surprisingly dark bronzed orange colour, with a very German, mature petroliferous Riesling nose; the sort of bouquet that suggests a sweet character. But it is bone dry to taste, with a creamy, waxy texture, and abundant lemon and lime fruit; the finish is particularly light. Beautifully mature now, it is difficult to imagine this is drinking at anything other than its peak.

94/100

El Maestro Sierra – Fino

Just a touch darker and more oxidized than the average Fino sherry, with none of the lanolin or chamomile character that comes through, but a little more salt and vinegar crisps, and definitely nuttier than usual; a Fino taking its first steps down the road to being an Amontillado. Maybe just seems a little flat in the middle. 

90/100