Life is too short to drink bad wine

I found this wine in a winebar called 28-50 in London. 2002 is not a great year but Robert Arnoux makes beautiful Vosne Romanee. And good it was. Beautiful delicate flavours of red fruit and some chocolate. Great balanced and velvety taste. Absolutely lovely stuff and perfect for meditation. Vosne Romanee 2002  Robert Arnoux Ca 80£

This is a lovely seductive wine, a bit like Chambolle Musigny. Pale to medium red colour. Beautiful complex nose of red fruit and mineral like tones. Taking into account the pale colour, light and seductive smell the taste quite surprising as it is more on the heavy side, a solid mouthful, nut very seductive, complex and long. Perhaps the tannins are a bit too stringent and need a couple of years to be smoothened. Morey-St-Denis 1er cru "Aux Cheseaux" 2011 Domaine Arlaud High price (ca 500 NOK or 40€)

I have been dying to write about a Krug tasting I attended back in November last year, but I never seems to have the time. The Champagne that were tested were as follows: - Krug Grand Cuvee (Jereboam sized bottle) - Krug 1981 - Krug  1982 Selection - Krug 1985 (magnum) - Krug 1988 - Krug 1989 - Krug 1989 selection An amazing selection that had been gathered by Frank Sanden. We all had our different favourites but we all agreed it was a fantastic evening. Below follows some explanations from the website as well as personal notes. Krug Grande Cuvée is the archetype of Krug’s philosophy of craftsmanship and savoir faire: A blend of around 120 wines from ten or more different vintages, some of which may reach 15 years of age. Blending so many vintages gives Krug Grande Cuvée its unique fullness of flavours and aromas, its incredible generosity and its absolute elegance - something impossible to express with the wines of just a single year. Its exceptional finesse...

Montille has a fantastic structured style and makes some of the best red Beaune wines you can get hold of.  On the nose really nice fresh fruit of red berries. Extremely finetuned taste and balance with a lovely firm acidity and smooth tannins. This is just a wonderful red Beaune from a warm year (2009). Beaune 1er cru Les Perrieres 2009 Domaine de Montille High price (ca 400 NOK)

This is just a stunning Meurasult by Remi Jobard! It smells of delicious white flowers and discrete citrus fruit and the taste is just unbelievable balanced with a length and aftertaste that takes your breathe away. Food is not really required. This is a meditation wine, wine for the big occasions or when you need to be lifted up in life. Meursault "En Luraule" 2010 Remi Jobard High price

This is a rare and special Condrieu by a producer called Gangloff. Yves Gangloff who, despite the slightly rock-and-roll look, maybe a little too well-established to be described as an ‘ enfant terrible ’, continues to astonish even his fellow winemakers with the concentration and quality of his wines. His popularity is legendary in France, which means that not very much of the already diminutive production is available for the export market.  With a very limited production  and high demand, the prices are high, but so is the quality. Extremely dense and oppulent Condrieu that goes well with most Asian food. Fantastic smell of tropical fruit, apricot and pear.  "Yves’ Condrieu displays its customary brilliance, with ripe but finely textured fruit, a comely Rubenesque shape, and a pleasingly tailored finish." Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer Condrieu 2009 by Gangloff High price

Barolo wines are high on alcohol, tannins and acidity and can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. Food is thus required. This single plot Barolo from the "Le Vigne" by Sandrone is just wonderfully balanced with a sublime taste. Notes of dried fruit, autumn leaves, liquorice and rose. Absolutely delicious. The taste is equally beautiful and is balancing on a shoe string. Sandrone is perfectionist and this just shows is this wine. 2005 is drinking perfectly now. It would be great to compare this one to the Cannubi by Sandrone, maybe some other time. Barolo "Le Vigne" 2005 Sandrone High price

Magnum bottles are great stuff. Especially if you have visitors of the thirsty kind. I came across this magnum from Paulliac at the local wine shop and just had to buy two although they were slightly pricy. This is a classic and mature Pauillac from the underrated 2004 vintage. Beautiful nose, lovely balance and so easy to drink. Perhaps a slight lack of weight in the middle, but make no mistake, this is top drawer stuff. Lovely Pauillac nose of black fruits, liquorice and old wood. Earthy and soft tannins on the palate. Perfect with the confit de canard. Pontet Canet 2004 Paulliac High price

This is super delicious white Burgundy from Meursault. The producer Coche-Boouillot has really hit the target with this one. Pale straw colour with a hint of green. A very rich and beautiful constructed smell of sitrus, butter and minerals. The taste is so balanced and delicate that you just have to drink slowely to treasure every second. Long aftertaste,very concentrated, big solid taste with a nice mineral finish. A truly great Meursault. Meursault "l'Ormeau" 2008 Coche-Bouillot High price (440 NOK or 40€)

Yet another lovely and seductive Chassagne Montrachet by Colin-Morey. This time a plot called Les Ancegnieres from the year 2012. The boquet is filled with lime, cloves, cardamom and with a hint of marzipan. The taste is so lovely, so balanced, so great and with such a wonderful acidity that it's just shocking. Simply a stunning white by Colin.... Chassagne Montrachet 2012 Les Ancegnieres Pierre Yves Colin Morey High price

This is a very special Pinot Noir as it is a combination of the new and old world; California and Burgundy. Boisset has mixed grapes from the two places and made a delightful Pinot Noir which expresses the two styles; the softness of California and the acidity of Burgundy. Sweet dark fruit on the nose.The colour is atypical Burgundy as it has a medium to deep dark red colour. The taste is a chapter on its own with a big smooth velvety taste that goes on and on. Overall a very high quality Pinot. JCB no3 Jean Charles Boisset California and Burgundy High price December 1, 2013 | The Wine Advocate The JCB 2010 No. 3 Red Wine is a blend of French and California Pinot Noir. The color is dark garnet, and the nose is spicy and smoky displaying notions of underbrush and red cherries. Dominated by Pinot Noir fruit characteristics, it is round, pure and velvety textured with loads of kirsch, plums and black cherries. This medium to full-bodied, elegant ye...

This is like a Rolls Royce Zinfandel. Deep dark colour and a massive smell of complex aromas of pepper, wet stone and dark fruit with a bit of raspberry. Focused, smooth, and full bodied with a palate with wonderful flavors and long finish. A heady 16% alcohol but great balance and a beautiful Zinfandel indeed. Turley Zinfandel 2012 Paso Robles, Dusi Vineyard High price

Les Greves, is one of the best plots in the Beaune appelation. It has many different producers with de Montille being one of them. Beaune 1er cru are good value for money but are never outstanding in terms of quality compared to what for ex Chambolle and Vosne Romanne can be. This Beaune by de Montille though is the best Beaune premier cru I have ever had. The quality, style, finesse and balance is just amazing and totally different from any other Beaune I have tried before. A real block buster of a wine. Absolutely brilliant. Beaune 1er Les Greves 2009 Domaine de Montille Ca 60€  

Omg...what is there to say? Certain Burgundy producers have certain styles and de Montille has one that just oozes of quality and finesse. Delicious red fruit on the nose and a massive silky long and complex taste. Great acidity that matches the fruit and tsoft tannins perfectly. It's pricy (100$) but oh so good. It's a fantastic experience to drink de Montille wines. A truly special style focusing on clean subtle fruit with tremendous finesse. Pommard Les Pezerolles 2008 Domaine de Montille Ca 80€

I have had this one for some time in the cellar and now it was time to compare it to the 2004. A very surprising dark colour with very limited sign of aging. Lovely complex "Bordeaux" nose with a brilliant long taste and great smooth tannins. A delightful wine with a lovely acidity, fruit and balance. Very good value for money and a great Bordeaux which is still young. Clos du Marquis 1996 Saint-Julien

Oh what a wine! We are getting close to heaven I think. Delicate, complex and wonderful Bordeaux nose. Lots of fruit, cedar, tobacco and coffee. Old cellar. Lovely. The taste is big, subtle, beautifully balanced, long and ever so smooth. Incredible really! How are any of the remaining wines going to match this ? Ch. Leoville Poyferre 1995 St.Julien High price ca 150€

So we decided to start with the 1985 and take the 1989 at the end. The 1985 was just fantastic. The nose was super elegant with all the complexities of  Bordeaux. More old cellar and wet wool type aromas, but ever so good and heavenly. The taste was just enormous with an incredible balance and length. It's definitely at peak right now and will not get better through further storage. A truly great wine. Massive stuff!!! Leoville Lascases 1985 St. Julien Very high price

The last wine of the tasting and what a wine! I thought it was going to be tough to surpass the Poyferre 1995 and then the 1985 Lascases, but this was like the 1985 but with more energy and power. Same complex nose, but the taste has more energy and power due to more tannins being present in the wine. Gourgeous wine with a massive long and elegant taste that goes on for ever. A wine that can be kept for another 5-10 years. Leoville Lascases 1989 St. Julien Very high price

This is a serious wine from Ribera del Duero in Spain. It's dark as the nights in north Norway during winter, but so warm and tasty as Provence in summer. Very pure nose mixed with red and dark fruit, plums, spices, minerals and some smoke. Delightful full bodied wine with a massive depth and freshness. Big soft tannins and a prolonged aftertaste. A truly delicious wine! Alion 2009 Ribera del Duero High price

Oh what a lovely Pomerol! Dark colour, dark fruit and packed with tobacco, coffee and dark chocolate. Big full bodied and mega smooth taste. Pure velvet! A great wine and drinking very well now. Ripe delightful tannins. 2009 is a great, but pricy vintage. Available among others at a tiny resto in Paris 7 called H.Kitchen. Delightful tiny place, but a gorgeous wine list. Ch. Moulinet 2009 Pomerol High price