Two 2001 Rioja's

2001 Marques de Caceres Gran Reserva;
Ruby with bright ruby rim, dark stone fruits, some vanilla, blueberries and liquorice. God acidity, nice structure, mouthwatering, a very elegant Rioja, flavourfull, great balance, fresh, youthfull and lively, good length. 87

2001 Montecillo Reserva;
Bright ruby towards garnet rim. Cherries, tobacco, hints of liquorice and leather, even blackcurants with more air. Maturing flavours, good acidity, some woody highnotes and a touch of oak tannins. Good length but maturing quite quickly or have this botle been stored incorectly? 83

L'Insieme

2004 Gianfranco Alessandria, L'Insieme;
Deep ruby, bright ruby rim. Closed first, slightly spicy over dark fruits, herbal notes and hints of coffee and chocolate. Good structure, ripe tannins, good acidity and balance, flavourfull, almost mouthwatering, on the verge of tipping with 14,5 alcohol but lands on the right side. Good length. 85

1982 Chateau Kirwan

1982 Chateau Kirwan;
A level fill, cork dry on the upper half cm. Bright ruby, garnet rim, sediments. Pencil, prunes, liquorice, stable and leather. Well balanced, fresh acidity, mature tannins still giving structure and some grip, could have had a longer finish. But was both fresher and more complex than expected. Drink now. 84

09 Pavillon Rouge

2009 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux;
(Barrel sample) Ruby with bright ruby rim, floral, complex, deep, dark berries, even overtones of cedar and leather. Such elegance and balance, mouthwatering, very ripe tannins, so complex, absolutely marvelous, intence, yet elegant and voluptuous, and so long, I honestly thought this was Chateau Margaux itself. Fantastic. 90-92, and I could be a bit critical even.......

09 Chateau Margaux

2009 Chateau Margaux;
(Barrel sample) Ruby with bright ruby rim. Seductive! Velvety! Hints of sweet tobacco, cigars, dark berries, finesse, overtones of perfume and jasmin. So silky, balance beyond words, I got goosebumps on my back twice of this wine, from a barrel sample! Absolute perfect structure, so ripe, tannins so you can't believe it, floral, mineral, mouthwatering, you feel every drop of wine is playing a funny game, and just laughing in you're mouth. Perfection. Lost for words. 98-100

08 Chateau Margaux

2008 Chateau Margaux;
(Barrel sample) Ruby with bright ruby rim, floral, layered and transparent, red and black berries playing hide and seek, some vanilla, black tea, so seductive and complex. Fantastic texture, great ripe tannins, fresh acidity, balanced and very complex, long finish. 91-93

09 Pavillon Blanc

2009 Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux;
(Barrel sample) Pale straw yellow, light, lemony mixed with minerality, very closed, but a great freshness shines through. Great acidity, on the palate the lime minerality explodes gently and evolves into this super elegant and so mouthwatering wine with a lively acidity dancing on the tongue, just amazing purity, lovely, ripe and with a great long length. 91-93

06 La Lagune

2006 Chateau La Lagune;
Ruby with bright ruby rim, kind of creamy, chocolaty with ripe plums, and a bit closed. Good texture, ripe tannins,good acidity, but would hav loved for it to be more mouthwatering, elegant body, even if on the lean side, very structured and herbacious, needs time, keep 4-5 years or more. 86

07 La Lagune

2007 Chateau La Lagune;
Ruby with bright ruby rim. Some toches of white chocolate, and ripe red berries, coverd with vanilla. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, giving a good grip, a bit lean body, but on the other side, that really balances the flavours and acidity, good length. 87

08 La Lagune

2008 Chateau La Lagune;
(Barrel sample) Ruby with bright purple rim. Very youthfull and fruity, hints of chocolate, dark berries and a peppery/ spicy touch. Good acidity, lively wine, but it's the fruit that livens things up more than the acidity, balanced and complex, nice structure and very long finish, elegant. 86-88

09 La Lagune

2009 Chateau La Lagune;
(Barrel sample) Ruby with bright ruby rim. Closed but some chocolate and vanilla. Doesn't quite want to let it's secrets out yet, but there is something good lurking underneath. Nice and fresh acidity, feels quite lively, great ripe tannin structure, flavourfull, very good finish, and long length. Where's the sweetness Jancis? 88-90

06 Bahans

2006 Chateau Bahans Haut Brion;
Bright ruby, perfumed, some minerals, black fruits, hints of coffee, tea, very youthfull and complex. Fresh acidity, great balance, ripe tannins, mouthwatering with strawberries and redcurrants, increadibly fresh and elegant, great pleasure to drink at this stage, but will also age gracefully. 90

14,5

2004 Quinta do Mouro;
Deep ruby, garnet rim. Intence, sweet and alcoholic touch, blueberry jam, plum marmelade, cooked red fruits, what happened, to this structured wine? Now its all alcohol and huge, sweet as candy, jammy, extracted, boring......and 14,5 alcohol. 72

Wine cooling Norwegian style

2007 Schloss Johannisberg, Riesling Kabinett Trocken;
Bright and pale straw yellow, closed first, apples, lime, touch of minerals, lean body and firm structure, very youthfull, but getting more in balance with it's firmness, that was almost a bit too hard at birth, great balance, complex, very long length, dry, but some ripe fruits mellows it into a perfect balance, fresh acidity, keep. 87

04 Segla

2004 Segla (2nd Chateau Rauzan-Segla)
Ruby with bright ruby rim, leather, cassis, minerals, touch of herbs and floral notes, elegant structure, balanced, good acidity, ripe tannins, slightly sweet fruit, ripe, good length. 84

96 La Fleur-Petrus

1996 Chateau La Fleur-Petrus;
Ruby with garnet rim. Greenish note, paprika, blackcurrants, herbal and spices, very elegant, touch of liquorice. Balanced and good acidity, ripe tannins, slightly hollow still, but really starting to shape up, needs time, even if it starts to charm, and a long length.87

First time I tried this, around 01-02, it was so firm and green and tannic, it was just too much. I remember the day so well, I was on the other side of the Oslo fjord, in a warm June day, and I was a passenger of a stunning, bright red Jaguar E-type Series one roadster, one of the first ones, with a 3,8 litre engine, with the bottle in my lap, on the way to a sea-front barbeque. The Jaguar was a perfect car on this day, looking over the bonnet, seeing how the fresh and green oaks and beech and pines mirrored themselves as fleeting glimpses of memories as they rushed over the bonnet of this fast aproaching classicThen the wine, after all this excitement and expectations didn't deliver, at all. It was too brutal, too young, and I was the only fool to blame, I know that now.

Also, another, much more sad chapter is now linked to this memory. The host of this same barbeque, Architect Nils Vosgraff, passed away this last Christmas in a car crash, possibly in one of his bellowed Jaguars. May you rest in pease.

94 Beaucastel

1994 Chateau de Beaucastel;
Ruby with garnet rim, elegant if maybe a bit thin on the nose, cool fruit, hints of liquorice and spices, some coffee, red berries and darker fruits, even leather behind. Fresh acidity, a near perfect balance, ripe tannins, lacks in complexity, good length, some green, oreganoish touch, and even some floral notes. 82

01 Trevallon

2001 Domaine de Trevallon;
Deep ruby, bright ruby rim. Coffee, dark chocolate, the darkest of the stonefruits, fresh acidity, ripe tannins, but you feel the 14% alcohol, and I regret it, because I love the greatness of Trevallon, how they normally manage to make so good wines, I'm dissapointed.....78

Rhone Margaux

2007 Chateau Mongravey;
Deep ruby, big, heavy, very sweet, alcoholic, unbalanced and awfull, not as a wine, but as a AC Margaux, almost like very cheap, not Parkerised, but trying in that direction Rhone. What happened, the 05 was so much better.......56

Gruaud-Larose 1966

1966 Chateau Gruaud-Larose;
A level fill, deep ruby with garnet rim, some sediments. First pure earth, really needed air to open and shed theese aromas. Then suddenly a leafy, even quite dry, kind of green tea moment before leather showing, then prunes and spices, even fresh plums, mineral and slightly vegetal. Beautifull body, fresh acidity, some tannins still, gripping with their bare hands, holding on for their lives, slightly metallic minerality in the aftertaste, great balance, blueberries, blackberries, and a very long length. 88

When you give a wine like this 88, you kind of think, how can I give the young, and much less telling 02 Domaine de Chevalier below 89? And that is an intrinsic question with no simple answer(s). This one is far more exciting, maybe also more complex than the younger Pessac, but the latter has better overall feel to it, better balance on the flavours, and lacks the kind of interruptive metallicness that is robbing the Gruaud of a few points for shure. But this is also why I love wine, so many questions, and sometimes, so few answers....

1996 Billecart

1996 Billecart-Salmon, Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart;
Pale golden, beautifull bubbles, oxidized apples, brioch, bready yeast, minerals, plaster, very youthfull still, even if some signs of development. What an outstanding balance, wow!. Such elegance, and so seductive, fresh acidity, but you really doen't notice it in the glamour of it's elegance, complex and long, and will age gracefully further.....94

Ruberpan

2006 Pieropan Ruberpan (Valpolicella);
Bright ruby, floral, dark fruits, perfumed, even cinamon. Balanced and good structure, hides 14% alcohol well, but would be fresher with lower alcohol, good acidity, ripe tannins, good length. 76

2002 Chevalier

2002 Domaine de Chevalier;
Deep ruby, pale ruby rim, herbs, blackcurranys, liquorice, some elegant spicyness, complex, some leather, very elegant. Good acidity, ripe tannins, great structure, well balanced, very attractive with this herbal touch and paprika overtones over cool and fresh fruit, and lively long length. Can keep further. 89

05 Duckhorn

2005 Duckhorn, Napa Valley Merlot;
Deep ruby, bright ruby rim, youthfull, cassis, blueberries, dark morellos, vanilla and floral highnotes. Fresh acidity for a merlot, ripe tannins, complex, great balance and silky texture, alkohol is balanced, even at 14,5, and I really hope it will age well, because it's quite seductive at this stage. Very long length. 91