I was fortunate enough to be invited to join LVMH and a few other representatives from other wine companies at a trip to Champagne during Monday and Tuesday this week, a trip hosted by Champagne Krug. It wasn’t a hard invitation to accept I must say. Not simply because Krug is one of the great iconic houses of the region, but also because tasting Krug Champagne was one of the things that set me on my path into the wine industry!

Having made the decision at university that I rather liked wine (!) and that I was interested in learning more, I joined the wine society. The first tasting I attended as part of that was hosted by Champagne Krug, and included the very beautiful 1988 and 1989 vintages. And it was this second vintage that bought me full circle, as I stood tasting it just before lunch in the Maison Krug on Monday.  Full circle in around 12 years – the wine and I had both changed a bit!

This lunch came after our introduction to Krug (and first of many glasses of Grand Cuvée) with the incredibly sweet Mylène and the charming Olivier Krug, whose sheer enthusiasm for his family’s wines and their history is infectious. Following lunch (with the 1989 vintage, the rosé and some more Grand Cuvée), we were packed onto a minibus and driven across to Clos d’Ambonnay, one of the single vineyard sites owned and bottled by Krug. It was immediately obvious why production of the iconic Krug d’Ambonnay is so limited to only around 5000 bottles – the clos is tiny, only just over 1/2 a hectare or roughly the same area as a rugby pitch. Clos d’Ambonnay is planted entirely with Pinot Noir, in contrast to Clos du Mesnil – our next visit – which is entirely Chardonnay, and about three times the size. Here, we visited the winery (tiny), before enjoying a glass of 2000 vintage Clos du Mesnil in the vineyard – the sun even had the good grace to come out! Elegant and linear, with fine floral citrus and subtle warm bread notes and a clean, chalky finish, I think this was probably my favourite wine of the trip, but it is still incredibly taut and young, needs time to unwind…

Dinner in the evening was at Assiette Champenoise, a 2 star Michelin restaurant. Now, reverting to my “protesting too much”, I have genuinely not had that many Michelin starred dining experiences, so I was really looking forward to this. And rightly so… We began in the kitchen itself, enjoying canapés with Olivier Krug and the chef, Arnaud Lallement. Canapés were served alongside a bottle of 1998 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay – an amazing treat! 100% Pinot Noir and from a warm vintage, this was ripe, rounded, with red berry characters, savoury roasted almond characters and a touch of honey, this is at once powerful and poised.

The meal was a tasting menu, including a pea ice-cream, the most delicious langoustine in the history of langoustines, a confit carrot, John Dory with curry sauce (really) and partridge. It was a fantastic meal, and served alongside various Krug (1998 vintage, the Rosé and Grand Cuvée) and Olivier’s conversation. The company recently “rediscovered” a notebook written by founder Joseph Krug, in which he lays out his vision for production – that the “non vintage” Grande Cuvée should in no way be inferior to – or seen as being inferior to – any vintage wine made by the property. This vision, this “dream of a man” has shaped much of the company’s rediscovered passion for Grande Cuvée.

The next day we returned to Maison Krug for a tour of the cellars with Mylène, before a tasting of 1998 and 2000 vintage Krug, alongside Grande Cuvée from different years. I will just put my commercial hat on for a second and say that we have some 1998 Krug available at the moment and it is absolutely delicious – I thoroughly recommend that if you love great champagne, then this should be in your cellar. We also have some Grande Cuvée and what’s interesting about that is that all Grande Cuvée now comes with an ID number on the back label. If you type this into the Krug website, it will tell you the exact blend and age of the wines that have gone into your Krug Grande Cuvée. I know I’m a winegeek, but it’s really interesting! The youngest vintage of wine that is in the blend of the Grande Cuvée that is the current release is 2004; this is what sets it apart from other non vintage champagnes, where the majority of the base wine is far younger.

There was time for one last lunch, another amazing meal, this time at the Maison Krug. It was all over far too soon and we were soon back on the Eurostar to rainy England, but it really was an enjoyable and interesting two days… It’s been two days since my last Krug, and I must confess that I’m rather missing it!

Kat Wiggins, Marketing Manager

Krug Grande Cuvée – £528 per case of 6 bottles in bond 

1998 Krug – £780 per case of 6 bottles in bond

Last Thursday was one such day, as I was able to hop from a tutored Penfolds release tasting (including 1990 and 1998 Grange) to a tasting of the latest vintage from Germany (some fantastic wines – watch this space), and from there to Château Palmer dinner for some of our clients at The Square in London. Definitely a Good Day.

My colleague Hayley has discussed Penfolds generally already and I’m sure we will cover Germany in more depth once we have decided what to buy, but the Château Palmer dinner is definitely worthy of mention.

There were 13 of us at dinner, unlucky for some perhaps, but a perfect number for the elegant private room at the restaurant, where we gathered to taste, eat and discuss. Following a refreshing glass (or two) of Krug Grande Cuvée, the charismatic Thomas Duroux, the general manager at Château Palmer led proceedings, taking us through a range of the property’s wines.  While it was perhaps unsurprising that the topics turned somewhat unerringly towards debate about pricing in the Bordeaux region, the wines themselves left no-one in any doubt that Château Palmer produces incredible wines.

A risotto of wild mushrooms, with snails and chicken wings, was accompanied by the 2008 and 2009 vintages of Alter Ego de Palmer, the 2008 vintage being an almost unanimous favourite in the room  - beguiling and restrained at the same time, dark fruits but feminine structure, complex but not complicated.

With spring lamb, pea purée and spring carrots, we enjoyed 2005 and 2004 Palmer. In this comparison, for me it was the 2005 which won out – a seductive wine, crowd-pleasing in its approachability perhaps, but showing hidden depths and the promise of a long future ahead. The 2004 was elegant, with crunchy dark fruits, but felt much less ready at this early stage.

Finally, the grande finale of 1996, 1995 and 1990 Palmer, served with cheese. These are great vintages for Bordeaux, products of very different climates and consequently very different in style. Robert Parker scores the 1990 the highest of the three, with 92 points, but – for me – it was the 1996 that shone. Yes, it was  tannic and masculine, particularly when compared with the softer, warmer and riper styles of the 1995 and 1990, but I loved its intensity and “grown up” structure.

A couple of rather lovely glasses of vintage armagnac and a long chat with some clients later and I was on my way, feeling pretty chuffed at having had a chance to enjoy such great wines.  As I say, there are days when it feels very good indeed to work in the wine trade. The next day, however, I was brought back down to earth with a bump, as I struggled my way through a blind tasting paper in preparation for my MW exams. Château Palmer seemed a long, long way away…

Kat Wiggins

View all available Alter Ego here

View all available Château Palmer here

“I hadn’t seen Dan since graduating in Applied Chemistry over fifteen years ago. Indeed, even tracking him down was arduous, as calling the contact number for him in France revealed he had moved on to pastures-new. Big problem: how could I find an invisible man in a different country to ask him to be my best man? There simply wasn’t anyone else – no-one who was as averse to studying, no-one who cut deadlines quite so tight, no-one I knew who had led such a varied life by the age of 20…

The phone rang – 0033…By chance I had found a scrap of paper with an address for his parents in Castillon-la-Bataille, so threw the last dice and wrote him a letter. By chance his younger brother was there and intending to go on to Montpellier, where DFM Murphy had started his own wine brokerage business after completing his masters and gaining his DUAD from Bordeaux University. We had had many a session of the Murphy master plan: the vineyard; the chateau; how he was going to shake up the status quo – of course we never believed it would ever happen. We had greatly underestimated the man’s ability to turn ambition into reality – already a small place in Spain had been purchased. The road to world domination had its foundations.

 So France-based, in the wine business, qualified wine-maker – what legendary Dionysian masterpiece could crown our reunion after so long? Something unusual from the cellar? A rarity, perhaps? Maybe an exquisite bottle of history? Actually – no. The recommendation was a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte NV. Unpretentious, affordable quality when it would have been easy to flaunt an expensive disappointment which will always remind me of my friend and for that reason it is better than Chateau Lafite ’82.”

“The most remarkable wine tasting I ever experienced was at the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.  It is also undoubtedly the most remarkable I will ever experience because these days I could never dream of tasting such expensive and sought-after wines.  This is how it happened.

Soon after my father died in the early 80s we decided to take my mother on a holiday to the South of France to visit some old friends of hers.  When I realised that our route took us through Burgundy, I started thinking about how we could visit the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. 

Its world-wide reputation, even in those days, didn’t deter me so I contacted the UK agents to see whether they could arrange it.  It was clear from the reply that they received many similar requests, because they asked me where I normally bought their wines!  Where I normally bought their wines?  I’d only tasted Romanée-Conti once and that was a chance bottle bought in a little Soho shop and which I showed at a society wine tasting.  Were they trying to put me off, I asked myself?  So, I came clean and explained the facts and to my pleasure and surprise back came a letter stating that we would be expected at the Domaine on the day I had proposed in my letter.

So the three of us turned up and parked our old Renault 12 amidst the shiny Fuego’s and BMW’s and headed for reception.  The other invitees were a smart lot – suede jackets and the like – and I deduced that they were not a bunch of wine merchants but wealthy Parisian customers!

Our host was in complete contrast – stained fingers and a grubby apron.  Fortunately our French was nearly up to his and when we descended to the tasting room in the cellar, the fun began.  He kept disappearing and then re-appearing with dusty unlabelled bottles which he’d pour and then ask us to identify.  As our guesses became wilder or more accurate by turns he warmed to us and the bottles started to appear with more rapidity.  We tasted a wide range including various vintages of Echezeaux, Grands-Echezeaux, Romanée Saint Vivant and Richebourg, moving on to La Tache and finishing with Romanée-Conti and Le Montrachet.  Had I landed in paradise I wondered? 

Some of the Parisian yuppies were pretty good at this game but the big surprise was when my mother correctly identified a La Tache!  How did she do it?  Whilst married to a caterer, she had probably never tasted a fine Burgundy in her life.Looking back, the outstanding wine was the Romanée-Conti 1971 which with its refined but spicy nose, its depth and length, received a 20/20 from me, possibly the only time I have ever awarded full marks. However, perhaps the greatest glory was Le Montrachet 1968 – an “off vintage” but to me, bottled magic. 

It’s been lovely reminiscing about this memorable occasion.  How sad it is that I will never again experience such wonderful wines.  Unless I get to heaven, that is. “

“In 1985 I bought my first case of claret to lay down. It was 1983 Ch. la Tour de By from the local branch of Victoria Wine. In 1987 my wife and I went to spend a year working in the USA, unfortunately we did not go for quite the same year. I returned to the UK in March 1988 leaving my wife over there. After 6 weeks I returned to help her sell our car and possessions. We had planned a road trip from Minnesota, where we lived, to Yellowstone in our 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale. A 6.5litre gas guzzler with a bench front seat and a bonnet from here to eternity. I took a bottle of the la Tour de By with me, to drink at a suitable occasion.

We had got to the Grand Tetons, a National Park of stunning mountains and lakes in Wyoming. We had planned to take the wine on a hike to open with a picnic. My wife had put the bottle down the side of the seat. When she opened the door the bottle dropped out and smashed. Instead we had to be content with a very average Californian Cab. No memory of that wine but we have always have had a fondness for la Tour de By even though the general quality our claret drinking has advanced over the years.”

Wine Advisor Hayley reports on the tasting that marked the official release of Wine advocate 100-pointer 2008 Grange

I am completely and utterly head over heels for pretty much the entire Penfolds range following last night’s fabulous icon and luxury collection tasting!  There were 7 wines in total, starting with the delicious  limited production Yattarna chardonnay, and building up to the main attraction-2008 Grange…

Along the journey were the 2 cabernet sauvignons Bins 169 & 707, and the Shirazes Magill Estate, RWT (my personal favourite with bags of rich fruit and chocolate) and the fantastic value St Henri (£240/6 IB)-£40 a bottle and drinking to 2025?!

In Bin 169 and Bin 707 you have two contrasting, but equally stunning expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon. Bin 169 is an elegant, cool style of Cabernet from a single block of Coonawarra vines, made in tiny quantities. Bin 707 is a rich, powerful, show-stopping beauty, made from multiple vineyards from a variety of regions.  And then on to the showpiece wine…

I was slightly worried that I had built the “Perfect” Grange up a bit too much in my mind, and raised my expectations so high that nothing could taste as good as I had imagined, but it blew me away in reality.  I can’t really top Penfolds own tasting note ‘power and density naturally respectful of balance and structure, and their tagline ‘Somewhat intimidating?  Yes.  Brazen?  Never.’  Love it.

In a way Grange was very different to the bruiser of an Aussie Shiraz most of us expected – the balance, length and elegance were really the most impressive aspects of this wine, and it should be absolutely fabulous when mature.

A fantastic end to a fantastic evening?  I thought so, but we were then given the enviable opportunity (and best surprise ever!) to taste a vintage that is thought to be comparable with the 08-the 1998 Grange.  It was fascinating to find out how the wine develops throughout its long long life, becoming more savoury, even more complex, but still with plenty of fruit, and at least another 20 years left in it-absolutely stunning.

You’ve also got to love the deeply Australian tasting notes and food matches- it certainly has never before crossed my mind to match my wine with creamed saltbush or aniseed myrtle (a bushfood spice apparently, I had to look it up, you never know what can come up in the next pub quiz)

Hayley Wright
Wine Advisor

What’s particularly interesting about such vertical tastings is the opportunity it gives you to see how different producers handled the vagaries or bounties of each particular vintage. One thing remains very clear from yesterday’s exercise – both 2009 and 2010 are undoubtedly great Bordeaux vintages. Perhaps more pertinently, this tasting also gave us another opportunity to assess the 2012s, having first tasted them during primeurs week in Bordeaux last month. What is beginning to become clear is that there are no longer bad vintages in Bordeaux (some bad wines, maybe) but those producers with the financial means at their disposal to rigorously select only the best quality fruit are increasingly able to produce great wines in lesser years – and there were a good number of excellent 2012s on show yesterday.

With around 60 wines to taste in a little over two hours, we made no delay in getting stuck in as soon as we arrived… that was until we were told that there was still some lunch available and would we like some? Accompanying lunch, amongst others, were the sublime 1995 Rauzan-Segla, deliciously plump and approachable 2006 Canon La Gaffeliere and sumptuous 2008 Château Guiraud.

Onto the business of the vertical tasting, as expected the 2009s were opulent and generous, whilst the 2010s displayed incredible concentration and ripeness allied to massive structure and will require some time in bottle before they’re ready to drink, conversely the ‘09s will be delicious to drink straight from the off (but will still go the distance if you can resist their charms). By and large the 2011s were at a difficult stage to taste and were a little closed and awkward – with the notable exception of Léoville-Poyferré which for me was easily was one of the stand out 2011s – quite flashy and polished and very appealing.

Whilst the opportunity to taste two 100 points wines back-to-back in the form of Pontet-Canet ’09 & ’10 was the main draw of the tasting for many (and my goodness they were both jaw droppingly good!) and one would expect these to be the stars of the show, I came away from the tasting with an even greater liking for the 2012s. These were a delight to taste due to the lower acidity levels, softer tannic structure and generously fruit forward nature, indeed two of the stars  of the show came in the form of 2012 Gazin and 2012 Rauzan-Ségla. The former is composed entirely of merlot in this vintage – deliciously plump and rounded with no lack of structure in the form of fine grained, ripe tannins – whilst the latter is archetypal Margaux, silky, perfumed, and feminine. Both are a triumph, both are exceptionally well priced, and both are sure to sell out.

Will Hepworth

So, for your information… here are the runners and riders at the top of his list:

Haut Brion Blanc – 96-100
La Mission Haut Brion Blanc – 96-98+
L’Eglise Clinet – 96-100
Mouton-Rothschild – 95-97
Pape Clement Blanc – 95-98
Petrus – 95-98+
Ausone – 95-97
La Fleur Petrus – 94-96
Hosanna- 94-96
Troplong Mondot - 94-96
Bellevue-Mondot – 94-97
Cheval-Blanc – 94-96
Angelus – 94-96
Pavie – 94-96+
La Mondotte – 94-97
Clos Fourtet – 93-95
Rauzan-Segla – 93-95
Haut Brion- 93-95
Gazin - 93-95
Larcis-Ducasse - 93-95
Belair Monange -  93-95
Leoville Las Cases – 93-95
Le Pin- 93-95
Climens – 93-95
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc- 93-95
Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc – 93-95
Feytit Clinet- 93-95
Smith Haut Lafitte – 92-94
La Conseillante – 92-94
Palmer – 92-95
Vieux Chateau Certan – 92-94
Lafite Rothschild – 92-95
Canon La Gaffeliere - 92-94
Cos d’Estournel – 92-95
Pape Clement – 92-95
Domaine de Chevalier – 92-95
Beausejour-Becot – 92-95
Chateau Margaux – 92-94
Montrose – 92-94
Canon – 91-94

That’ll do for now…  Our full list of available Bordeaux can be seen  here

Of course, half of what was being shown at the tasting was Bordeaux, so it wasn’t quite the escape from the region that it could have been, but we were showing also showing a range of Bordeaux blends from other countries alongside.

It was a very interesting tasting actually. As part of my MW studies, I have tasted a lot of blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and in isolation you can think that some are quite similar to Bordeaux itself. Tasted alongside each other like this, it was very easy to see the differences in style.

Following a brief introduction from our very own Adrian Heaven, the wines were shown in five pairs – each pair designed to showcase wines of similar blends or from similar terroirs:

1) Merlot & Cabernet Franc from a limestone plateau
2007 Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard and 2006 Pavie Macquin, St Emilion

2) Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia and 2009 d’Issan, Margaux

3) Merlot Majority
2006 Craggy Range Sophia and 2005 La Petite Eglise, Pomerol

4) Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot
2010 Sena and 2009 Langoa Barton, St-Julien

5) Cabernet Heavyweights
2006 Dominus and 2006 Pichon Baron

Mingling with our customers, it was great to hear everyone’s opinions on the wines – very varied opinions in some cases! Châteaux Pichon Baron and Langoa Barton I think fared the best overall, with most of those attending enjoying them and thinking they both tasted great now and would age well.

I have a huge soft spot for Pichon Baron anyway, so it was no surprise to me that I loved it. However,  I also really enjoyed the 2009 Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia, although it was only really beginning to open up towards the end of the night when we were clearing away! An argument for decanting if ever there was one.

The 2010 Sena was a lush beauty and stood out from the others, due to its very ripe fruit and much more up-front character. This was definitely the most “new world” of the non-Bordeaux range. Mind you, 2009 d’Issan was also a riper and more full style – due to the nature of that vintage – and on the nose might almost think it was new world.  The structure and subtlety on the palate belied this though – a lovely wine and a great vintage.

Finally, one star of the tasting, not listed above, was the apéritif – the unbelievably lovely 2010 Grüner Veltliner Ried Smaragd Loibenberg from Weingut Emmerich Knoll. Pretty, peachy, ripe and delicious, this has a steely backbone and a bright freshness. Dangerously moreish – if I’d been left alone with a bottle, well…

From an educational perspective (I am currently studying for the fortified wine unit of the WSET diploma), the selection was mind-blowing, providing the perfect opportunity to ‘get my head around Madeira  (the forgotten wine, so I was told), and to practise distinguishing Pedro Ximinez from Rutherglen Muscat, Palo Cortado from Amontillado and so on.

The highlight of the tasting for me were the 2011 Ports, which were generally outstanding across the board, with luxurious silky texture and a refined complexity along with decades of ageability (we will be offering a range of these very soon, so keep an eye out).  Tipple of the day for me was Graham’s Stone Terraces – absolutely stunning.  Dows, Niepoort (Bioma Vinha Velha), Warres and Cockburn also impressed.

A palate cleansing taste of Rutherglen Muscat rounded off the event nicely – who doesn’t like a sweet?  And so I left the BFT feeling a little wiser, with a dash of lingering confusion (10 year old white tawny port will do that to you), but certainly a lot more enthused about the diverse and fascinating world of fortified wine.

Hayley Wright, Wine Advisor

Of course, it was never truly out of fashion, with white Burgundy and Chablis remaining popular purchases despite the ABC (anything but Chardonnay) mantra of the past decade. However, it would be true to say that new world Chardonnay was tarred with a somewhat oaky brush and perhaps fell out of favour.

Over the last three or four years however, there have been changes… Top quality new world producers have taken a more reserved attitude towards oak, have been aiming for a little less yield per vine, have perhaps been picking a little earlier and the resulting wines are often far more taut, mineral and generally delicious than their fat and flabby counterparts of the early part of this century. In an interview with Drinks Business recently, Anne-Claude Leflaive stated that she believed California was the best producer of new world Chardonnay, claiming that it was due to the prevalence of chalky soil within certain areas and the age of the vines. We wouldn’t disagree that California has some amazing Chardonnay (see below), but our recent tastings suggest that there is extremely high quality Chardonnay in Australia and New Zealand – and at incredible value.

Kat Wiggins

California

2009 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, Ramey
£228 per case of 12 bottles in bond
Immediately open and expressive on the nose, with notes of butter and ripe citrus, alongside a touch of clove-like spice and a hint of apple blossom. The palate is intense and mouth filling, with a concentrated burst of white stone fruits and a touch of grapefruit pith complexity. There is finely-judged oak here, rounding out the palate to give soft edges, a silken texture and an attractive savoury, toasted character on the finish.

2009 Parmelee-Hill Stone Flat Chardonnay, Kistler Vineyards
£95.88 per bottle duty paid **12 bottles available**
 “The 2009 Chardonnay Parmelee-Hill Stone Flat Vineyard is one of the more structured, mineral-driven wines in this lineup. It shows marvelous focus and length in an energetic style that is immensely appealing. This head-spinning Chardonnay boasts tremendous integration of fruit, acidity and overall textural elegance. Give it another year or so in bottle and enjoy it over the next few years. 95 points. “ Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate

2009 Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay, Kistler Vineyards
£95.88 per bottle duty paid **12 bottles available**
 “The 2009 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is one of the most complete wines in this lineup. It boasts extraordinary class and elegance from start to finish. All of the elements are in the right place in this multi-dimensional, textured Chardonnay. Pineapple, mango, spices, white flowers and creme brulee are some of the many nuances that inform the understated, polished finish. This striking wine is all about nuance and transparency. 96 points.” Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate

New Zealand

2009 Coddington Chardonnay, Kumeu River, Kumeu
£180 per case of 12 bottles in bond
One of three single vineyard Chardonnays produced at Kumeu River, the “Coddington” is the newest to the range, only added in 2006. Subtle on the nose, with white stone fruit characters and a touch of woodsmoke. The palate has an immediately-evident dart of racy acidity, which gives lift and balance to ripe orchard fruit notes, vanilla and a touch of apple blossom. Mouthwatering on the finish, this is an incredibly drinkable and moreish wine.

2009 Hunting Hill Chardonnay, Kumeu River, Kumeu
£180 per case of 12 bottles in bond
In contrast to the rounded nature of the Coddington, the Hunting Hill is more linear and restrained, with vibrant citrus characters and hints of white flowers immediately evident on the nose. The palate is also citrus led, yet with notes of savoury buttered toast and meal lending depth and complexity. Finishing very long and concentrated, this is an excellent expression of new world Chardonnay.

2011 Chardonnay, Neudorf Vineyards, Nelson
£174 per case of 12 bottles in bond
Bright and fresh on the nose, with attractive notes of ripe citrus, combined with a touch of oak and a struck-flint minerality. The palate is immediately highly appealing, with mouthfilling white stone fruit characters given balance and brightness by a dart of lemony acidity. Finishing with toast and soft smoke, this is a deliciously moreish Chardonnay.

2011 Chardonnay, Te Whare Ra, Marlborough
£198 per case of 12 bottles in bond
Made using the fruit from 30 year old vines (no mean feat in Marlborough), this is an example of the great quality produced in the region. Highly appealing on the nose, with notes of white peach and hints of toasted brioche and hazelnut. The palate is concentrated, but balanced, with ripe fruit characters combining with a steely mineral element and a touch of toasty oak. Unmissably good.

Australia

 2010 Single Vineyard Chardonnay, Yabby Lake, Mornington Peninsula
£120 per case of 6 bottles in bond
“A roughly equal blend of P58 and Mendoza clones, wild yeast-fermented, cloudy juice in French oak puncheons, 15% new. The wine has exceptional mouthfeel, drive and length, with white flesh peach on the mid-palate, and marked minerality on the finish and aftertaste. Yabby Lake’s Block 6 provides its flagship chardonnay, but also 30% of this wine.”. – James Halliday, 96 points

2010 Block 6 Chardonnay, Yabby Lake, Mornington Peninsula
£216 per case of 6 bottles in bond
“Bright, pale green-quartz; with no yellow yet appearing; a beautifully made wine, with a fragrant bouquet, and a palate that magically combines intensity with finesse; linearity and intensity; fruit, oak and acidity are so tightly woven together, it is pointless picking out one or other, except to say that the purity of the Chablis-like fruit is exceptional”. James Halliday, 96 points

2010 Faultline Chardonnay, Kooyong Estate, Mornington Peninsula
£192 per case of 6 bottles in bond
Named – perhaps unsurprisingly – for the geological fault that runs through this vineyard, the Faultine Chardonnay is a layered and mineral wine. Bright tropical fruits and ripe citrus are to the fore on the nose, but this leads into a palate that shows far more restraint, with a taut acid structure, vibrant citrus characters and an almost chalky finish. Enticing Chardonnay; the perfect combination of old world structure and new world fruit.

After 4 hours sleep (see day 2) we set off at 8.30 for our appointment at the fabulous chai at Cheval Blanc. The chai was built in 2011 and apparently cost €13m, which is difficult to comprehend. Only when you visit this magnificent place can you start to appreciate its value – Karen and Paula were both suitably amazed. Think Grand Designs and multiply the best project you’ve ever seen by five and you’ll get an idea! Onto the wines and here we started to see the benefit of having Merlot grapes coupled with clay soil – hydric stress is reduced and the wines show more in terms of fruit and the tannins are more manageable. Château Ausone beckoned at 10am – a property in a lovely position overlooking the delightful village of St.Emilion. This a wonderful property and you can’t help but feel relaxed in St.Emilion – so much so that we stopped for coffee and croissants before moving onto Château La Gaffelière just down the road. I really enjoyed the Clos de L’Oratoire – 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc gave excellent balance – clay subsoil here too, so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised. It’s a wine I’ve never tasted before and one I will look out for in the coming weeks – if previous vintages are anything to go by it looks likely to be very good value.

Two UGC tastings followed at Château Soutard (St.Emilion) and La Conseillante (Pomerol). The UGC tastings today were a little busier, but still very manageable. We had a ‘stand-up’ lunch at La Conseillante due to lack of space/organisation and, at the Pomerol tasting, tried two very good wines in Châteaux Beauregard and La Conseillante. Fortunately car park fun and games don’t lead to a ‘stuck in the mud’ situation – I’m not sure what our B-Team were doing at Phélan-Segur because we manage to glide through the mud with ease! (Ed. (and B-team member) – it was REALLY muddy, honestly…)

The afternoon ahead looked ‘tough’ with  Pétrus, Vieux Château Certan and Le Pin all on our schedule. Our accomplished navigator, Nick Dagley, guided us ‘seemlessly’ to Château Pétrus, where extensive building works are underway – another new chai in Bordeaux! Pétrus was fantastic to taste – a truly wonderful experience to taste a wine of such complexity and balance. Brilliant.

Just down the road, at Château Vieux Certan, we tasted with the son of Alexandre Thienpont, before moving onto something completely different in terms of size at Château Le Pin. Both Vieux Château Certan and Le Pin are owned by the Thienpont family, but managed separately – Vieux Certan is 14 hectares, whilst Le Pin is 2.7 hectares. Le Pin is such a tiny estate and reminded me somewhat of the smaller cellars seen in Burgundy – the wines were super and the intimate tasting in the barrel store included Le Pin and L’If. The latter was purchased by Jaques Thienpont in 2010. UK distribution for L’If is still to be agreed – watch this space because we think this is a winner!!

Next, it was onto L’Evangile and we were now unfortunately late, but thankfully warmly welcomed. L’Evangile is owned by Domaines Barons de Rothschild and predictably did not disappoint – exotic, floral,clean and well balanced were comments noted by me in the rather dark surroundings! Lights please!

Finally we called  in at L’Eglise-Clinet and Denis Durantou who showed us five wines at the end of a long day. Although 2012 provided the lowest yields in fifteen years – even less than 2008 – Denis feels ‘quite relaxed’ about the vintage. We enjoyed both La Petit Eglise and Eglise Clinet here, although my tasting notes now left a lot to be desired!

Back at Château Meaume our cottage was in one piece and we had hot water and electricity. We enjoyed another fabulous evening, care of our hosts, and retired to bed rather earlier than the previous evening, ready for a very early start.