This is an interesting tasting. I had a number of bottles from the late 70s and early 80s a number of years ago, which I recall were pretty traditional Graves/Passaic (leather/smoke/cedar) and good but rather four square. It seems they have raised their game somewhat. Has the style itself changed?

Well, Jim, not sure about you, but by the third bottle I may as well be drinking Great Wall for all the difference it would make to me.

Ah. White Vouvrays can be truly aristocratic. And last forever. Semi-sweet or off-dry. I have some Huets from the 30s which are absolutely superb.

I have only had red Valency a couple of times. As I recall, a nice summer drink. Light, fruity and a bit spicey. Sort of reminded me of Beaujolais. A lot of French lesser-known wines, when well made (certainly not always the case!) can offer something a bit different for a reasonable price. And ther...

Latour was not so relatively expensive back then, but even so....

Any recommendations for restaurants with decent wine lists in Stuart, Florida? Been struggling....

So, wandered over to an Italian opposite my hotel in FL and did not raise my hopes. Cheerful server at least. Rather random pick of the wine list and it was not at all bad. Too young (for my palate, at least) and took time to get going, but typical Barolo, balanced, smooth and altogether enjoyable. ...

I think it may have been a bad bottle, or perhaps too young. I have had the Grand Reserva just a few times (it is not a particularly common wine in NZ) and it has always been excellent. Benefits from decanting and I have noticed that, notwithstanding being a pretty traditional Rioja, they seem to be...

1994s have been a bit of a mixed bag. Pretty hard and taking time, but only the ones with enough fruit seemed to have made it, with others drying out before the tannins soften enough. A reasonably priced vintage, though, if chosen wisely. Generally beats the 91, 92 and 93 and cheaper than 95 and 96.

In magnum. A drizzly day and the Brunello came out for dinner. Livened things up. Balanced, smooth and fruity. A nice drop.

Not specifics (I may well have had it, but do not remember), however I have found Jadot Domaine wines to be generally pretty good. Pommards can take quite a long time to soften out though.

Enjoy an owesome evening. I shall be flying to Florida, coping with a different sort of hurricane.

Nicolas Rossignol I know makes nice wine. I have not come across Rossignol-Jeanniart before.

With lunch. Flowery nose. Not much mouthfeel. As it warmed up, gave more. Light, balanced but slightly lacking. Short finish. A pleasant lunchtime wine, but nothing special.

With Burgundies, I have noticed some makers are better than others. E.g. Whole cases of Roulot and Blain Gagnard have been poured down the sink, but Leflaive and Lafon not so bad. I do not know why it seems to have affected some makers worse than others.

Two different evenings. Barde Haut was fruity, full bodied, slightly acidic finish. No great complexity. Good, but not great. Went best with food. Latour a Pomerol a notch above. Well balanced. Pomerolly plums, leather, cedar. Soft tannins. Long finish. Really shone after about an hour, by which tim...

I have been having awful trouble wi prematurely oxidised burgundies, from GC down to village, from the 90s. Two today: 1999 Dauvissat Chablis Forest- oxidised, but not massively so. Saved to be used in a suave. 1997 Amit Guy et Fils Demoiselles Puligny Montrachet - completely gone. Gave up on whites...

Jim, it did not seem overly soft to me. Maybe just needed time?

Opened up really well. Soft, supple and smooth. Plenty of fruit. Well balanced and, as expected, classic Pauillac.

Just opened a bottle to go with lunch. Rather to chilly (out of the wine fridge) but even so showing a classic Pauillac nose and smooth texture. I think this is going to be nice.

I have enjoyed some "young" Cortons, but also found some hard and unyielding. I put it down to the fact that they go through phases, between which they close down. Generally, they show their best at 20+ years, but can be enjoyable at 5 years, although in a different way. Almost a different...

BYO Vietnamse. Started with a Vietnamese beer, which was pleasant enough but tasted like many other lagers. Then: Perrier Jouet Blason Rose. Fresh, light, fruity, elegant. Not multi-dimensioned or over sophisticated, but a very nice, crisp champagne. Clos de Tart 2005. Fruity, unctious. Far too youn...

Not sure what relevance it has to wine, but the presidential vote does seem to be of excessive interest.

I always liked the 97. A widely-dismissed vintage, but the Lafite sang (to me, anyway) and was superb value at about 50 a bottle 10+ or so years ago - I bought a few cases and it became one of our everyday wines for a while. The 86 showing poorly surprises me. I have not had one for a number of year...

I have a (cheap) decanted with a wide opening that does tend to dribble or pour wine onto the table, but the others of a similar design do not. The main difference is that the cheap one is made from thicker glass. I suspect this may be the reason. Around the lip, the thickness causes wine to not pou...

A bit much to call it an epiphany, but the first time I tasted a wine and started to get what "decent" wine is about was a bottle of Ch. Lascombes in the early 90s (so presumably the vintage was late 80s) at a restaurant somewhere in Asakusa.

I like the so-called ships decanters, with a very wide, flat base that allows plenty of swirling and has a large area in contact with air. We have a couple from the cheaper range of Riedels which pour well (have a good lip) and a wide neck to are easy to clean. Certainly it is not worth spending too...

The 86 Talbot is indeed legendary. We kept a box, together with a box of the 82, in the UK for when we visited and drank one or two of each pretty well every year throughout the 2000s. They both were superb at the beginning and only got better. I can only imagine what they would be like now - sadly ...

Hi Jim. I have a bit more time on my hands now, so hope to be ale to get over Stateside more often in the future.

It was lovely meeting all you guys again, some of whom I have seen for the best part of a decade. Truly memorable wines, as always. Hard to choose any favourites, but The 64 Dominique still very much alive stands out, and what can one say about 00 lynch-Bages, other than it seems to just keep gettin...