Langenwalter Weisenheimer Hahnen Weisser Burgunder, Pfalz QbA 2010

Tasted 09/12/11. 12.5%. £6.50. Exclusively available in the UK from German Wine Agencies.
Pinot Blanc by another name. Pale straw colour, pleasant nose of damp grass and apples. Zesty palate with juicy gooseberry fruit. The acidity overpowers the fruit somewhat, rather short finish. From 2011, 14.5 / 20

Langenwalter Weisenheimer Hahnen Riesling, Rheinhessen QbA 2009

Tasted 09/12/11. 13.5%. £8.50. Exclusively available in the UK from German Wine Agencies.
Light golden colour, classic 'petrolly' nose, with hint of green vegetables and mint. Off dry. Great depth of zesty fruit and apples on the palate. Good balance of fresh acidity. Needs another year. From 2012, great value for money 16 / 20

Chateau Palmer Alter Ego, Margaux AoC 2005

Tasted 19/12/2011, with Sara, Beata and Jean Marc. 14% ABV, about £60 UK retail. The second wine of the great 2nd growth Chateau Palmer. Fantastic deep purple colour. Great nose of blackcurrants and forest floor. Very concentrated crushed dark fruits and juicy sweet berries on the palate, with mocha and coffee. A classic and excellent value for money - as claret goes. From 2011, 17 / 20.

Chateau Brane-Cantenac 2eme Margaux Grand Cru Classe 2005

Tasted 19/12/11 with Sara, Beata and Jean-Marc. About £85 when you can find it. Decanted for five hours. Dark, inky with a purple rim, clear with little sediment. Clean on the nose with cassis and pencil box notes. Medium-full on the palate with youthful acidity and integrated tannins. A classic Margaux in style - floral nose and quite sweet on the palate. Quite long finish with dark fruit and a layer of oak masking the fruit for now. Drinking well now - I tend to enjoy claret quite young but if you want to keep it for 2 decades, no problem! From 2015, 18/20

Zeyssolff Selection de Grains Nobles Pinot Gris, Alsace 2007

Tasted 19/12/11 with Sara, Beata and Jean-Marc. 50cl, 13% abv. n/a UK, private import only. c. £12 ex-cellars. Only made in exceptional years, botrytised Pinot Gris is quite rare to experience. Golden colour, the nose is complex and full of seville oranges, the palate raisins and apricots. Not too sweet and with a dryish finish. Rich and full, this is more at home with pate or cheese than a dessert. Lovely, unusual wine. From 2012, 17.5 / 20

Bollinger Le Grande Annee 2002

Tasted 19/12/11 with Sara, Beata and Jean-Marc. 12 % ABV, widely available UK, about £70. Lovely light golden colour, tight, small bubbles in the glass. Still rather young, tight on the nose with candied fruit and zesty notes. A very rich palate and complex but still a little restrained. Needs longer - from 2013. 18/20

Langenwalter, Weisenheimer Hasenzeile, Gewürztraminer, Pfalz QbA 2010

Tasted 09/12/11. 13.5%. £8.50. Exclusively available in the UK from German Wine Agencies.
Light golden colour, honeyed nose with apricots. Sweet at first but with a dry finish. Great depth of tropical fruits, apricots and almonds. A luscious wine with great concentration of fruit. Excellent balance of fruit and zesty acidity. Good now, from 2011. 17.5 / 20

Langenwalter, Weisenheimer Halde, Spatburgunder, Pfalz QbA 2009

Tasted 09/12/11. 12.5%ABV. £9. Exclusively available in the UK from German Wine Agencies
Mid purple with just a hint of brown tinges. Cherries and oak on the nose. The palate is complex. Dry with fresh strawberries fruit, a long finish with tobacco and cinnamon. A well balanced and elegant wine. From 2011, 16.5 / 20

Steinmühle Spatburgunder Rheinhessen QBA 2009

Tasted 09/12/11. 13%ABV. £8. Exclusively available in the UK from German Wine Agencies. A revelation of a wine. A world away from many Spatburgunders (Pinot Noirs) of old. Bright pink colour, youthful, clear, and very little oak evident. A pure expression of Pinot Noir fruit. A delightful nose of rosehips and strawberries. Elegant palate, balanced with firm tannins. Juicy red fruits. Excellent finish. Ready to drink but will last. From 2012, 18/20

Tupungato 2010 Catena Zapata (Mendoza)

Tasted 06/12/2011, 13.5%, about £9 in M&S.
A Bodega Catena Zapata wine sold under various guises, I think - this one M & S. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec blend. A lovely wine. Inky colour. Great aromas of damsons, prunes and salty figs! Very forward dark fruits, fresh youthful palate, with coffee and allspice on the finish. Good to drink now, from 2012. 16/20
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Zeyssolff Reserve Particuliere Pinot Noir AOC, Alsace, 2009

Tasted 4/2010 and 11/2010 and most recently 30.11.11 with Sara, Beata and Jean-Marc. 14% ABV. n/a UK, about £10 ex-cellars. An incredibly good wine in a fine year. Never tried Alsatian pinot noir? Well, this is a good one. Pale red-brown, no sign of age at all. Vibrant cherries and boiled sweets on the nose. Initially closed. Slightly tannic but drinking well already. Good strawberry drops on the palate with a long-ish finish. A fine Alsace estate that is a bit 'below the radar' in the UK. There is a private import to the UK. Let me know if you are interested. From 2011. This wine has imporved in bottle over 18 months and is ready now. 16.5 / 20.

Zeyssolff Reserve Particuliere Gewurztraminer AOC 2007

Tasted 30.11.11, with Sara, Beata and Jean-Marc. 13% ABV, n/a UK (private import only). Ca. €12. Medium golden colour, beautiful full, slightly honeyed nose with pear drops and apricots. Long and complex. Excellent balance medium sweet, with citrusy notes and melon with a dry finish. A stellar wine from a stellar vintage in Alsace. Improved from last tasting one year ago. From 2011, 18 / 20

Concha y Toro Trio Reserva 2009 (Maipo Valley)

Tasted 20/11/11. 14% ABV, about £12 UK retail (e.g. Slurp). This is CyT's premium blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz. This vintage has just been released in the UK. Crimson colour. Fantastic aroma of blackcurrant, plums and white pepper. The palate is complex, juicy black fruits, allspice, cherries and coffee. I am not sure how long this wine is made to last, but it is certainly lovely now. Elegant and velvety tannins. A great food wine and excellent value for money. 16.5 / 20

Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Colchagua Valley)

Tasted 22/10/11 at with the Tews in Clapham. 14%, about £12 UK retail. I have tasted several recent vintages of this and the '07 seems to be the pinnacle. Deep purple colour and it has the classic New World Cab Sauv nose of green bell peppers. Beautiful cassis notes rise in the glass and the palate is a sophisticated melange of dark fruits, mocha, pimento and liquorice. A lovely wine, ready to drink. A world away from an Chilean '£4.99 glugger'! 17.5 / 20. From 2012

Casa Lapostelle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot 2007(Apalta Vineyard, Colchagua)

Tasted 22/10/11 at with the Tews in Clapham. 14.5%, about £15 UK retail. This is a lovely wine, now coming into its stride. This is actually a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Carmenere from 60 year old vines. Deep purple colour, the nose is full of cassis and plums and other dark fruits. The palate is slightly spicy, with cherries and dark chocolate. Rich, silky tannins and a long finish. Chilean wine making at it best. Ridiculous value for money. 17.5 / 20, from 2012.

Chateau Latour 1978 Grand Cru Classe

Tasted 22/10/2011 with the Tews in Clapham. 12.5%. We felt privileged to be able to taste a mature First Growth. The wine was a medium brown colour as befitted its age. Cork and wine level both good. Upon opening and decanting, the aroma filled the room - comments variously were figs, dark fruits and smoked ham. The palate was dry. The tannins were still there but the fruit was in abundance too. In the mouth, there's the great sense of terroir that you'd expect from this classic wine - intense and austere as you could hope for from Pauillac, with a very long finish. 19/20. Drink now.

Picpoul de Pinet 2010 (Languedoc)

Tasted 16/10/11 with Sara, Beata and Jean Marc. 12.5% ABV, about £8 Tesco Finest. This wine won a couple of awards recently including Decanter Gold Medal in their regional competition, which prompted me to buy it. This is a great little wine, clean, fresh citrus nose and nice acidity on the palate, balanced by the unusual but pleasant Picpoul fruit - sort of apples and gooseberries. Drink now. 16/20

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG 'La Ciarliana' 2006

Tasted 16/10/11 with Sara, Beata and Jean Marc. Lovely! I tasted this a year ago:
and it has imporved greatly. Really drinking beautifully now, from 2012, 17.5 / 20

Santa Julia Malbec 2010 (Mendoza)

Tasted 14/10/11. 13.5% ABV. ca. £6.99 Waitrose. Bodega Santa Rita. A new wine to me and new to Waitrose. Very much an entry level Malbec but pleasant enough. Plums and coffee on the nose, with a palate that has notes of pimento and dark fruits. A shortish finish but quite well structured with soft tannins. At the price I am not complaining too much - this could cost you £20 in an Argentinian steakhouse! Drink now. 14/20
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Maray by Tabali Carmenere 2009 (Limari)

Tasted 12/10/11. 14% ABV, c. £6.99 (Majestic). Vina Tabali. Maray is a new brand to me and quite new to Majestic but Tabali have a solid pedigree.
This is very much an entry level wine. Purple colour, some coffee and caramel on the nose. A rather generic carmenere palate, rather short finish. A superior barbecue wine! Drink now, 13/20

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Tabali Encantado Late Harvest Muscat 2007 (Limari)

Tasted 8/10/11 with Clem, Ian and Sara on our 'South American tasting night'.
12.5% ABV, about £8 UK retail (50cl).
Mid-golden colour. Honeyed nose. Some of us detected botrytis 'marmalade' notes but other disagreed. Quite rich on the palate, with some floral notes. Sweet but not cloyingly so. Drink now, 16/20
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Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec 2007 (Mendoza)

Tasted 8/10/11 with Clem, Ian and Sara on our 'South American tasting night'.
14% ABV, about £12 UK retail.
This is the third or fourth vintage of this wine from Concha y Toro's Argentinian operation that I have tasted. Mid-purple, clear and youthful in appearance. The nose is gamey and has hints of white pepper. There's a full hit of American oak on the palate but then the wine feels a little closed. Not as approachable yet as earlier vintages at this stage. Needs longer, 1-2. Well made. From 2012, 17/20
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Fabre Montmayou 2007 (Patagonia)

Tasted 8/10/11 with Clem, Ian and Sara on our 'South American tasting night'.
14.5% ABV, about £10 UK retail (e.g. Waitrose).
Deep purple colour. Spicy dark fruits and coffee on the nose. The palate is classic Malbec: powerful damsons and prunes. Firm tannins. Needs longer but a truly outstanding wine. Fabre's credentials show through. From 2012, 18/20
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Clos de las Seite 2008 (Mendoza)

Tasted 8/10/11 with Clem, Ian and Sara on our 'South American tasting night'.
14% ABV, about £11 UK retail (various offers push it sub-£10 at the moment). The classic blend that has prevailed - Malbec with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Deep purple colour. Coffee, pimento and blackcurrants on the nose. The tannins are silky and there's lot of elegant dark fruit on the palate. Very well made and a bargain. From 2011, 16.5/20

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Catena Chardonnay 2010 (Mendoza)

Tasted 8/10/11 with Clem, Ian and Sara on our 'South American tasting night'.
13.5% ABV, about £9 UK retail. Light golden colour, toasty oak on the nose but not too oaky: the mango fruit (!) on the palate comes through well. Good length and some structure. Needs 1-2 years. 16/20

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Cono Sur Vision Gewurtraminer 2009 (Casablanca)

Tasted 8/10/11 with Clem, Ian and Sara on our 'South American tasting night'.
13% ABV, about £9 UK retail. Widely available. Light golden colour, nose is more citrus and tropical fruits rather than classic Gewurtz. Palate not as satisfying as the nose, a little short on the finish. Some pleasant zesty notes on the palate: pleasant enough but perhaps not in the same league as the CS Vision Riesling. Drink now, 15.5/20
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Tassinaia Castello del Terriccio 2006

Tasted 6/10/11 at Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society. £21.95 Lea and Sandeman. A Supertuscan blend. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese (the cepage lists Petit Verdot and Syrah too). Dark purple colour, classic 'cured ham' nose with cassis. The palate is big with coffee and dark fruits. A superbly crafted blend: this is a most enjoyable wine. Lovely now but will improve. Good value. From 2011, 17/20

CHIANTI CLASSICO Riserva Bugialla Poggerino 2006

Tasted 6/10/11 at Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society. £23.95 Lea and Sandeman. A single vineyard wine, well worth the money. Dark purple colour, youthful appearance. Great aromas of cherries and quite floral. Full bodies and very well structured. A little closed still - it needs longer from this fine year. From 2012, 16.5/20

Brunello di Montalcino 2006 Fuligni

Tasted 6/10/11 at Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society. £34.95 Lea and Sandeman. A superb wine. Mid ruby colour, sweet blueberries on the nose. A big wine with a long life but smooth and velvety tannins, gorgeous dark, complex dark fruits and even a little butterscotch on the palate, with a long finish. A tad closed at the moment but then it's a juvenile. From 2015, 18/20

Clocktower Pinot Noir 2009 Marlborough

Tasted 29/09/11. 14% ABV, £12.49 Marks and Spencer (Wither Hills). Bright ruby red, clear with a fine nose of cured ham and raspberries. This is a premium pinot noir. well done, Wither Hills - no varietal glugger here - elegant, ripe berries fruit and a long finish. From 2012, 16.5 / 20.