Jamie Goode

Beaulieu Georges de Latour Private Reserve 1970 / It's a rare treat to be able to try an old Californian classic like this. Sweet open spicy nose with some herby fruit showing a savoury, spicy, earthy/meaty edge. The palate is soft and spicy with some American oak still showing. Tarry and sweet with some evolution in the glass. Very nice, this historical old wine. Very good+ 88/100

Cheval des Andes wines are ripe and rich, as you’d expect from Argentina. But they do have complexity and interest, too. 

The AOP Languedoc wines are made from traditional varieties well suited to the climate and soils here, and most often they are blended together. The wines speak loudly of the place. Languedoc Wine Camp is a creative, innovative program. It’s a three-day immersion experience for small groups of wine professionals, and this was the first edition of a series of six held in the second half of 2021. The idea was to combine time in the vineyard with some structured learning, including group activities: learning by doing and experiencing.

Clos de Tart wines are just lovely, and this is reflected in the high scores. The two anomalies are the 2004 (which had a problem with ladybirds) and the 2003 (which was just too hot). My favourites were 1999, 2002, 2005, 2010 and 2013.

Gérard Bertrand considers Clos du Temple 2020 to have an ageing potential of 15 years. A blend of red grapes and Viognier, this is a structured wine with a broad fruity and spicy palette. A beautiful balance and sense of harmony, combined with depth. The fine spicy thread runs through the fruit. The finish is marked by a touch of apricot and grape.

Suntory Shiojiri Winery Iwadahara Merlot 2015 Shiojiri, Kikyogahara, Nagano / Floral, aromatic nose of sweet cherries. The palate is supple, fresh and shows pure red fruits with nice texture and a bit of grainy tannin. But the emphasis here is on lovely pure fleshy fruit. Really expressive and pure. 92/100

Seppeltsfield Para Tawny 1884 Barossa, Australia. Seppeltsfield have an unbroken line of tawny ports in bottle from 1878-2012. Amazingly intense nose of treacle, spice, raisin, balsamic vinegar. Viscous and amazingly concentrated. Powerful, spicy flavours with treacle, molasses, raisins and stunning acidity. Some crème brulee too.  A remarkable experience. 98/100

Château Latour 1961 / 98 points / A great chance to try a legendary wine. This bottle came from Hugh Johnson’s cellar, and it’s the most expensive wine on sampling at £175 a pour. It is still amazingly youthful looking and has a taut, perfumed nose of herbs, blackcurrant and spice. The palate is actually youthful, with spicy mineral notes and good acidity under the blackcurranty fruit. Fine, elegant and structured, this wine has real precision and focus, and isn’t yet fully mature. A remarkable experience: if I’d tasted it blind I would have said with was from the 1980s or 1990s. 98/100

Armand Rousseau Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 1992, Burgundy, France
A 17 hectare vineyard. Complex nose with earth, tar and minerals as well as some herbs and mint, and red berry fruits. The palate shows some evolution with real elegance, some spicy tannins and a bit of tar. Still structured with nice cherry fruit and complex tertiary notes. Very fine, for drinking now. 93/100