Will Gardener

Taittinger Comte Blanc de Blancs 2000 / There is surprisingly little colouration, pale gold, tiny bubbles. The nose is delicate, with faint cappuccino and a meaty edge, marine too, there is definite elegance and purity. The tension here admirable with fine citrus, towards grapefruit which hits you and then drifts off into a rippling effect, tantalising the taste buds. Not sure I would get it blind it’s less evolved than the first release bottle tasted last year, where softer more honeyed notes appeared. There is precision here like a youthful white Puligny it definitely grows on you, with hints of ginger and marine carried into the finish. A good life ahead here. Drink now – 2025+, 94/100.

Taylor's Vintage Port 2016 / Deep purple, the aromas here are lifted, beautifully intense and concentrated, but restrained, with pink rose and lilac, holding so much back, the palate is very polished, and silky, with plenty of spicy peppercorns on the back, this has an impressive shape, the texture is very impressive, a calm density. There is a sense of chest-pouting, majesty and Taylor’s hall mark delicate spiced length. A beauty and definite buy. Will Gardener 96-98p

Salon 2004 / The colour is surprisingly deep, golden glints, very fast fine bead. The nose is quite light, a hint of lime and cashew nut. It comes accross immediately streamlined, with nothing poking out. Very mineral too. Leaves the palate slowly disyfering the complexity. I feel like this will evolve quite quickly. The texture is impressive too, there is no loss of concentration in what was a big vintage in Champagne. I love the subtlety and serenity in this wine. Beautifully long and elegant. This will be very hard to leave alone. 95-97p

Château Duhart-Milon 2016 / Great deep colour, soy, irony inky-edged nose, lovely perfume, touch of earth and black cherry, the initial impact is salty minerality, this quite tight knit with plenty of fine grained spicy tannins, the oak is apparent too, white pepper, this is a big traditional style seems to lack a little of the plumpness of some, quite linear with plenty of muscle and power. That is Duhart...

2015 was overall a very dry year, with hydric stress a major concern in July. August brought welcome relief, rejuvenating the water table and unblocking the evolution. By this time, when veraison (the change of colour) took place, the berry size had already been set – small with thick skins. This is where the vintage’s tell-tale ripeness and silky textures come from.

The harvest conditions were ideal, again generally dry with cool nights, helping shape the vintage’s freshness and aromatics. The merlot crop would be picked in ideal conditions and at the vigneron’s leisure, aiming for optimum ripeness per plot. Many of the top châteaux now have the means to dissect and elevate dozens of different plots independently, all helping to improve the final assemblage. At Cheval Blanc we spoke with the technical director Pierre Olivier Clouet, who explained that they had taken practically a whole month to pick, with the result being almost every plot at perfect ripeness.

Each plot is fermented separately. Barrel samples of each are blended together in many different combinations and tasted blind to select which blend works best for the first and second wines. The final assemblage for the first wine consisted of all the plots except two that were ultimately discarded and sold off in bulk. And so for the first time since 1988 there will be no second wine at Château Cheval Blanc, a tribute to the overall consistency and quality of the harvest.

This is extraordinary scenario but a familiar tale in this vintage. In

general the percentage of first wine was comparatively high at most

châteaux and so there should be good volumes.