2002 L'Enclos du Chateau Lezongars – Premieres Cotes De Bordeaux.
Ruby and quite pale with some bricking. Nose of coffee, smoke, earth and sweet black fruit. Medium bodied and elegant with some sweet fruit on the palate but a bit reduced in scale with a short finish probably a reflection of the vintage more than the wine

2007 Pierre Usseglio CNDP

Liquorice, dust and herbs initially with sweeter fruits coming through after a few hours...delicious and more complex on day two hinting at great things to come. 92pts

2007 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Cuvee Tradition

Very saucy, nay exotic medicinal nose of blueberry, spice and sweet black fruit, sensationally meaty but pure and balanced....OMG these wines are good..93pts

2007 La Bastide Saint Dominique Cotes Du Rhone Cuvee Jules Rochebonne

Purple at the rim. Provencal herbs with peppery meat, plums and a gunpowdery edge. Medium to full bodied with a nice smooth texture, still young but approaching its drinking window.

2005 Marques De Riscal Rioja Reserva
Ruby red with a lot of barnyard initially followed by precise and quite refined red fruit and dusty liquorice. Medium bodied, rustic but not unbalanced. I think this will age into a very pleasant but not particularly fabulous wine.

25/07/09
Sociando Mallet 1996
at St John
with roast bone marrow with parsley
Opened at 9.00am double de-canted for the journey to St John, WOTN for most, drinking very well with expressive blackcurrant, coffee and cedar nose. Medium-full bodied smooth and frankly delicious if not the most complex wine...poised and perfectly balanced.

Sociando Mallet 2000
with sweetbreads , peas and bacon
WOTN for me on the nose, with great complexity. Graphite, violets with host of dark fruits including blackcurrants and blueberries. A tad austere on the palette with a more prominent tannins than the 96, but a fleeting hint of very deep and dark black cherry on the finish...both wines were dark ruby with the 2000 still purple at the rim...so young.

2002 Chateau Tour De Pez - Saint Estephe Cru Bourgeois
Lightish ruby red. Nose of wood smoke, wax polish, graphite, cola and cassis. Nutty on the palate, not without power with slightly rude tannins. Open another one in 2 years time to see if it has softened. 89pts

2004 Chateau Ormes De Pez - St Estephe Cru Bourgeois
Dark Ruby red. Classically correct nose of blackcurrant and saddle leather - fine texture if a little short on the finish. A very good wine at this price point. Drinking pretty well for young St Estephe - if a little bit tight. 90pts

1993 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron - Pauillac, 2è me Cru Classé Haut Medoc
Deep red with brick at the rim. Rich, yet with a greenness that seems wrong in a wine of this pedigree. 88pts

2005 Chateau Bel-Air-Ouy - St Emilion Grand Cru
Profoundly lovely nose of black fruits, graphite and coffee. Great depth of fruit, delicious and hedonistic. Extremely well made wine from a great vintage to drink at any time during its life, but will undoubtedly age well. 93pts

15.10.2008
2006 Sociando Mallet - Haut Medoc 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot
Purple and black. Simple, powerful nose of predominantly blackcurrant fruit, but on ones palate such structural clarity, power and elegance leads one to forgive the olfactory simplicity of this wine….cellar for 5-10 years and complexity will be forthcoming. 91pts

07.05.08
1996 Camensac
Ruby red with a nose comprising graphite and restrained cassis. Medium bodied with an acidic kick, nice texture but not a whole lot going on really. Pretty resolved with a short nondescript finish. Drink up. 88pts

14.04.08
2003 Pegau Cuvee Reservee CNDP
Medium opacity blood colour with flashes of purple, closed at first then tobacco on the nose with some subtle herbs and spice with a smidge raspberry fruit. Medium to full bodied with smooth tannins and slightly forward acidity…not much fruit on the palate.
Later on the fruit powers through and deep aromas of black and red fruits jostle with the tobacco…..I really prefer the 2000 and the 2004.

03.04.08
At The Fat Duck
1999 Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Rosé, Brut
Pink and delicate with raspberries and strawberries..
2005 Henri Boillot Puligny Montrachet Clos De La Mouchere (Monopole)
Young and restrained with a nose of smoky oak and minerals. Great scale and structure with reticent fruit, smooth texture and the requisite minerality. Decanted - but never really kicked off. However, I find that these wines evolve relatively quickly and I would not hesitate to open another one in a years time.
2005 Vouvray, Les Bouchet, F. Chidaine
Powerful floral notes, unctuous texture with sweet exotic fruits and flowers on the palate. A smidge boisterous for the delicacy of the food.
2003 Colgin IX Estate
Deep blood red with an gorgeous overflowing nose of deep dark fruits (mostly blackcurrant and blueberry), liquorice and, as lunch progressed, chocolate. Full bodied but with alchohol and tannins currently to the fore, slightly backward - however the power, depth and complexity of the fruit will pull this through into something magnificent in 5-10 Years.

I have been unlucky...I bought two cases of 03 Pegau ...one from Majestic and one from the Bordeaux Index...two bottles from the Majestic case have been poor, I suspect heat damage. The single bottle I have had from the BI case was fine...however, I do consider the wine to be less approachable and currently less of a joy than the 04 and 05 also tasted this last week... both are, IMHO, more elegant and balanced than the 03.
My Top 5 Current Pegau Chart (for drinking now)
Nr1. 2001 Cuvee Laurence
Nr2. 2004 Reservee
Nr3. 2000 Reservee
Nr4. 1999 Reservee
Nr5. 2005 Reservee

2005 Pegau Cuvee Reservee
Dark ruby purple. Fascinating nose of sage, rosemary and meat! Medium to full bodied and extremely meaty on the palate, currently quite short and tannic - but wonderful.
93-95pts

2004 Pegau Cuvee Reservee
Wow! This was very good with fantastic depth of fruit with all the components ….garrigue, liquorice, smoke and blackcurrant. Perfectly balanced with a
very long and delicious finish. Currently more approachable than the 2003. This is my wine of 2008 so far. Interesting to compare with the 1999 which is more resolved but doesn’t have same power or complexity. 95 pts

2005 Henri Boillot Bourgogne Blanc
Pale straw with a hint of green. Tight, backward, nose of stones and gunpowder. Well textured with some vanilla and reticent fruit but good balance. This is pretty fine and will develop into something quite elegant in 2 or 3 years time. Tremendous value. 90pts

1997 Castello Di Brolio Chianti Classico
Initially quite mute, but blossomed as the evening developed ……nose of leather and cherries - not complex but what is there is very good indeed. Medium bodied, well proportioned, with layers of leather and tea with cherries. A pleasure if slightly underpowered. 91pts

26/01/08
1996 Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release
Double decanted - initially powerful and detailed nose of leather, ripe black fruit - not explosive on the palate at first but spreads to fill the mouth with delicious fruit -fine but still prominent tannins support a medium finish. Fabulous, could taste this wine for days after. 95pts

25.01.08
1997 Sociando Mallet
2nd bottle from a case audaciously purchased at Sothebys. Obviously from a well kept stash. Pristine case of bottles all with high fill. Dark cherry red. Beautiful nose of beef, chocolate, graphite, tobacco and molasses with blackcurrant lurking in the wings …medium bodied, soft and not long, but a distinct pleasure and a subtle joy the day after…92pts

25.01.08
2006 Domaine De La Janasse
Terre De Bussiere - Vin De Pays De La Principaute D’Orange
Straightforward nose of toasty oak, smoke and cherry, nice texture medium bodied, bitter black cherries, with a surprisingly long finish albeit with a touch of alchoholic heat. 88pts

24.12.07
2004 Catena Alta Chardonnay
Smooth and buttery with the oak more integrated than I remember rich with tropical fruits and subtle minerality.

12.12.07
2003 Cecilia Beretta PICAIE Veronese IGT
Wow… purple, Explosive, gunpowder, blackcurrant and meat nose - very smooth with layers of black cherry with a smidge of something medicinal, great depth and power and a long, raisiny finish. Alcohol at 15% balanced by acidity and tannins. Brilliant. 92pts

02.12.07
2004 Antinori Toscana
Slightly herbaceous nose with meat, raisins, smoke. Nice texture with cherry and fruitcake on the palate and more complex than many Tuscan 2004s tasted recently.