Yalumba The Octavius Shiraz 1988-2020 tasting: 2019 vintage: Medium-deep crimson. Intense dark plum, black cherry, blackberry aromas with praline, vanilla, hint black pepper notes. Generously proportioned wine with superb pure blackberry pastille, cassis sage flavours, fine chocolaty firm tannins and beautiful integrated ginger, roasted chestnut oak. Finishes chocolaty and long. Wonderful follow-up vintage. Drink 2030–2048. 14.5% alc

ARGIANO Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Vigna del Suolo 2020 / One of the pinnacle of the zoning project of the house, now an untouchable name, cranberry nose, wild mint, shades of yellow peach and underbrush. Mouth with refined tannins, citrus appeal, mentholated lashing, extraordinary drinkability.

When you are fortunate enough to taste nineteen Rousseau Chambertins at one meal, you can be sure you will have some perspective. The range of vintages was 2018 back to 1990 with almost all the most heralded vintages (no 1991), and the one that stood out above the rest was the 2005 Rousseau Chambertin. Make no mistake about it, there were many standouts, but the 2005 hit the highest note. It was deep but more hi-toned than some of its younger brethren, in a bright red way. It has a raspberry, cranberry and citrus mélange. While rich and saucy, it wasn’t like the other saucy vintages as it had more tension and style. This was a wine to restore one’s faith in the often glacial 2005 vintage. It had enough spice to satisfy the entire House of Atreides (99, Paris).

Tastingbook tasted champagnes at Taittinger, Krug, Bollinger, Philipponnat, Ruinart etc.

Bordeaux 2024 Whites + Sauternes: Château Haut Brion Blanc 2024: 56.1% Semillon + 43.9% Sauvignon Blanc. Great intensity of green apple, pear, and pineapple, acidity, crispiness, structure, and length. Vibrant. Long lemony aftertaste. Sheer class. 98+p.Tasted in April 2025. 2028 to 2042.

1994 Vintage Ports - Anyone who has had the privilege of tasting vintage Port from the 1960s or earlier will agree that these are some of the best wines they have ever tasted, and the 1994 Vintage Ports have all the ingredients to follow in the footsteps of those great years.

John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($175) – From its very first release with the 1982 vintage, this has invariably been one of Australia’s great Cabernets and its status seems to soar every year. Forty years later, this wine will only enhance that reputation. Maturation was for seventeen months in a mix of French oak barriques and hogsheads, 43% of which were new. If anyone thought that attempting to follow the amazing 2021 would be a bridge too far, this wine will have confirmed that nothing is impossible. Another stunning effort, which I have actually scored a touch higher than its wonderful predecessor. 

Opaque maroon, there is a refinement and suppleness to this wine, which is all a bit thrilling. There is finesse and immaculate balance. The nose exhibits an array of flavours, black fruits throughout, notably blackberries, with chocolate, tobacco leaves, plum pudding, blueberries, cassis and aniseed. The oak integration is of the highest order and the tannins are simply silk. There is great length here and while the elegance is a highlight, the intensity here never wavers. A brilliant John Riddoch which has at least twenty years ahead of it – even more if you have the patience or are keen to make your grandkids think very highly of you. 98.

Dom Pérignon 2003 P2 / Medium deep golden colour with rather small and vivid bubbles. Pure and intense nose, fine development without oxidation, roasted pine and pistachio nuts with confit de citron, fresh peach and brioche notes. The palate is ample and rather opulent with a rounded acidity yet with a nice fresh bite from fine extract, mild creaminess, nice layers of finely spicy yellow fruit, nougat and nutty flavours with a long and embracing finish. 95p

Château Pétrus 2024 + other great St.Emilion and Pomerol red wines from vintage 2024.

Petrus 2024 /Ruby. Scented, blueberries, floral, nuanced, red fruits, detailed, bright and lifted nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruits, juicy, fruit forward, detailed, elegant, bright, lovely balance, wonderful texture that builds up elegantly throughout the palate, long finish. Refined.  96-98

The new collection of Martin Korrell showed excellent qualities although the vintage was quite challenging.

Screaming Eagle 2021 / The aromatics on this are stunning, offering black cherries, blackcurrants, lead pencil, spearmint, Spanish cedar. and wild roses. It’s medium-bodied and starts slowly on the palate and then takes off with muscular tension. Nicely chewy, toned and firm. Goes on for minutes. Flexing and showing its propensity for longevity. Rock on. Best after 2028 and beyond.

Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillion 2015 / This is the top dog from the Brokenwood stable (does one use a stable for dogs?). ILR, released only after a long spell in the cellar, is a tribute to their long term, peripatetic, former chief winemaker, Iain Leslie Riggs. It is whatever is the best wine from any of their vineyards. For the first time, the wine from their Murphy’s Vineyard, planted back in 1966, won the gig. If you are not familiar with that vineyard, it is in the Lovedale sub-region, so not a bad pedigree. Hand-harvesting, the fruit is crushed, chilled and pressed, neutral yeasts, no oak, no malo. Sounds so simple. And if any wine exceeds the vintage in 2015, this is it. There is a fine minerally background with serious length and a persistent finish. Notes of citrus, lemons and limes, pears, crisp green apples and more. Finely balanced, a seductive texture, excellent length and even the emergence of some early complexity. It already has some development, but it has many years ahead. In the year since first tasted, this has already picked up a little and shows every sign of doing so to a greater extent. 95p