Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe blanc 2006

As Chateauneuf-du-Pape goes, the British market tends only to drink red, of which you can find countless (mediocre) examples in supermarkets and middle-of-the-road restaurant wine lists.

Vieux Telegraphe, owned by the Brunier family, certainly does not belong in this category. The red wine of this estate has achieved an almost cult like status amongst Chateauneuf lovers and this white is not to be sniffed at either. A most excellent example of how white Chateauneuf should taste.

The white Châteauneuf, sourced from the five hectares of white varieties, is dominated by Clairette and Grenache Blanc, which comprise 40% and 30% of the blend respectively, followed by Bourboulenc and Roussanne which contribute 15% each. This wine is, however, more likely to see some oak, with some varieties, 40% of the total, fermented en barrique, whilst the remainder is fermented in stainless steel. It is aged in both, then bottled at nine months of age.

Colour: Deep rich golden white, sign of the 9 month oak ageing

Nose: Great minerality on the nose - sign of the great terroir on which it's grown in the Southern Rhone, the La Crau plateau

Palate: An array of white fruit such as peaches and apricots and also of violets. Great perfumed wine. The texture is gras, which is fantastic and the low alcohol for a white Rhone (13.5%) augurs well for the smooth and creamy finish this wine has. Slight herby notes and good acidity despite its 4 years of age.

Meerlust 'Red' 2005

The Meerlust estate is a world reknowned estate located in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa, famed for its excellent examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage.
The Meerlust "Red" is a Bordeaux Blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, which has been matured in barrel for 18 months before bottling (40% new French oak, 60% second fill barrels)

Colour: Deep, purple, inky black. Intense
Nose: Intense aromas of blackcurrant and other black fruits with surprisingly enough quite a nose of blackcurrant leaves with slight herbaceous notes.
Palate: Again quite powerful aromas of black fruit, chief amongst which blackcurrant. The 14% alcohol is hardly noticeable; it shows the wine has been very well crafted. Long long lingering finish with coffee aromas on the aftertaste. Deep, powerful, long-lasting wine.

Veuve.A.Devaux Cuvée D de Devaux 2000

Devaux champagne is based in Bar-sur-Seine, in the Aube departement (the south) of the Champagne region where a great deal of all Champagne's provisions of Pinot Noir are from. The Grand Réserve NV by Devaux is normally an 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay blend although this is more a 60/40%. The 2000 vintage was a decent year in Champagne, not the best, although far from the worst with little mildew and rot in the vineyards producing a quality wine. Not as hot as let's say 2003, which means that the champagnes still have a good adicity. This champagne is aged on its lees for much longer than most - 7 years (which is 4 years more than stipulated by French AOC law for a vintage champagne)

Robe: Pale golden colour, slight green. Still youthful for 10 years old.

Nose: Not a typical champagne - not overly yeasty or biscuity but citrusy and big aromas of mango and slight vanilla.

Palate: Slight acidity but not harsh, crushed lime on the tip of the tongue, gooseberries and physalis are also present on the aftertaste. This champagne is not yet in its prime although it is drinking very well, further ageing to smooth it out even further would not do any harm.

La Revue du Vin de France: 15.5/20 (although I'd give slightly more)

Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill Cuvée 1998

Pol Roger, a champagne house based in Épernay, was a firm favourite of war-time British prime minister, Winston Churchill and this champagne was created in his honour. Family friends, Churchill named his racehorse "Odette Pol Roger" after the lady of the house and he insisted she accompany him to lunch whenever he was at the British Embassy in Paris. In honour of his life, every bottle of Pol Roger since his death has been bordered with a black ribbon. In 1975 the first vintage of the Sir Winston Churchill Cuvée was released according to Churchill's tastes although in reality this champagne will be quite different to his as he, undoubtedly, drank champagne with a very high Pinot Meunier content. The proportions of grapes used in this blend are not made public, however one can hazard a guess that at least 80% of the blend is red grapes, more likely Pinot Noir than Meunier seen as this champagne is made from 100% grand cru vineyards. It is also worth noting, that this cuvée is only available in the UK and in no other country in the world, France included.

Robe: Peachy, straw with brown reflets (often a sign of tiredness but nothing of the sort)

Nose: Musty, well-aged, notes of oak ageing, strangely reminiscent of old red burgundy, forest floor

Palate: Extremely good length, different to any champagne I've ever tasted, oozes class, well balanced, candied fruit, christmas cake, mocha and coffee notes, deep and intense, big Pinot fruit.

Maybe one of the best champagnes ever produced!

Krug NV

Krug, was until not long ago a family run business in Reims, before it was bought out by LVMH (along with Veuve Clicquot and the rest). The family still control winemaking in the business however and quality has not slipped in the slightest. The exact proportion of grapes in the blend are never confirmed - although one can easily taste that there is a high percentage of chardonnay there, most likely from grand cru sites such as Avize or Cramant (hence the chalky minerality in the wine). First fermentation in practised in oak fûts and/or foudres as well as the Malo where needed. Henri Krug blocks the malo on a lot of his older wines as he believes the malo will naturally take place in bottle over the course of its long ageing.

Robe: Deep golden, far far deeper than most, well aged.

Nose: Hazelnuts, beurre noisette, big extremely ripe exotic fruit

Palate: Sparkling Corton-Charlemagne, big rich, fat chardonnay cut through only by the bubbles. Not as steely as a blanc de blancs but well rounded and structured. Big, big Chardonnay!

Dom Pérignon 2000

Dom Périgon is a champagne produced my Moet et Chandon (supposedly from grapes around the Abbaye de Hautvilliers although this is almost certainly impossible seen as Moet produced hundreds of thousands of cases of Dom Pé).

It is named after Dom Pierre Pérignon, the supposed inventor of champagne who after tasting the sparkling wine reportedly said "I'm drinking stars". We, of course, now know that Dom Pérignon was not the first person to produce champagne and it was, despite the outrage of the French, first produced by an Englishman! Despite the fact this isn't by any stretch of the imagine a rare champagne (hundreds of thousands of cases are produced annually) good marketing strageries with the help of Claudia Schiffer and Karl Lagerfeld demand a premium of over £100 a bottle.

Robe: Light, strawish with green reflets

Nose: Ripe exotic fruit, mango, with a slight earthiness

Palate: White flowers, white peach, very slight autolysis, quite acidic and quite short length.

La Revue du Vin de France summed this champagne up by saying that it isn't a regular Dom Pé, where you'd expected big, rich, toasty, yeasty flavours and if you were to take off the three 000's from the vintage, it would lose half its charm. 16/20 RVF

Louis Roederer Cristal 2002

Cristal is the premium cuvée by Louis Roederer, a champagne house based in Reims. It was first produced for the Russian Tsars and strangely enough is the only champagne bottle I know that has no punt! This champagne is from the excellent 2002 vintage where weather conditions were perfect and there was minimal rot in the vineyards. This produced ripe grapes of fine maturity and champagnes with a fantastic potential for ageing. The best vintage since 2000 with the exception of 2009 (which when released should be exceptional).

Robe: Golden, paille, lucious yet clear.

Nose: Maderized in a positive sense - the goût anglais that the French rave about so much. Honeyed with a certain pepperiness, most certainly from the 60% Pinot Noir in the blend.

Palate: Slight menthal notes, sugared almonds with coffee notes. Unfortunately not much length despite the fact that this champagne has been aged for (at least) 5 years.

La Revue du Vin de France: 19/20