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I'm working my way through the Xmas offline's leftovers, and I've yet to clock any obvious deterioration. To minimise aeration I'm resisting the temptation to have 'a bit of this and a bit of that' but I have done another comparison of the two Roriz LBV's today, finding it a close call, but with a m...

Just polishing off the dregs of the SW50. This is a good wine from a lesser, but distinctive vintage. It has a really classy bouquet, lovely on the palate, then as you swallow - it vanishes! - no finish to speak of at all - but a very nice donation Simon - Thankyou!

Tom

I very much hope 2008 is a blockbuster also, but for a different reason. The 2007 vintage was compromised by a late start, low temperatures and an early bath. Despite that, the main producers have been talking it up - leading me to suspect that the need for a vintage declaration may prevail against ...

Have just re-visited the two 20's.. Both very good, but the Taylor has some slightly odd notes that are hard to place - reminds me of some very old Chinese liquor I was once offered! - the Taylor signature has been well described as 'a bit of a beast' and these notes may be the skeleton... The F20 i...

If popularity can be judged by degree of consumption, it may be of interest to know that the only decanters that were actually finished last night were:

Sandeman '70
Taylor '48
Cockburn '12

A few of the others have no more than a glass left though..

..I have some drinking up to do..

Tom

The Dutch contingent have gone for a walk in the icy air.. ..I am on coffee #4 Why didn't I do any water last night..?? We managed to positively identify every bottle, and none were corked - some of the unknowns proved much older than expected! Here's the line-up - Alex took notes: 1) Taylor 20yr, b...

Will arrange - what's the flight number?

Tom

Ok, for those travelling from afar - the Bell's telephone number is: +44 (0)1799 540382 - postcode (for SatNav) is CB11 4JY Address is: The Bell Inn, Royston Road, Wendens Ambo The Bell is a black hole for mobile phone signals, but you can contact (or text) me (before 7pm) on 07721 567870 I can prob...

Decanting has begun! All the condemned are stood up with their capsules removed, tops cleaned off - each one wearing it's numbered decanter label.. .. two have been topped already, three more will be despatched later this evening, and the rest will be dealt with tomorrow..! Keith Gould has had to gi...

The longer the gap between vintage and bottling, the longer the wine has spent in the barrel - so it will be paler and have more concentrated sugars. This is known as oxidative aging, as the wine is able to breathe through the wood of the barrel. The time it spends in bottle afterwards will result i...

Did I only decant this four days ago? - it seems like this decanter has been around for ages - I've had so many distractions.. Still, I've finished it now, and need to proffer a score.. For immediate gratification, I mark it down for it's youthfulness - others might be less critical on this front, b...

When I last encountered this one I was impressed by it's quality and maturity - but I think it will mature some more.

I'm increasingly convinced that in the long term, '91 is going to trounce '92 as a vintage year...

Tom

Thanks for the Paxton link Julian - while they seem to be the Berry Bros of cheese, it's a rather 'safe' range - and all at top dollar! I can't help feeling that there are a lot of small time cheesemakers out there who have to keep their heads down for fear of hellfire and damnation from the likes o...

It's quite hard to describe in words, but not difficult to identify when drinking. In simple terms, the window starts when the harsh young tannins soften to the point where they no longer present a detriment to the wine, and concludes when the fruit elements degenerate. An unwelcome overlap is possi...

Have large bolt and rubber mallet at the ready - we'll try pushing them in then!

Tom

PS: Have made it steaks ten BTW - I promised none would go to waste

The discussion above suggests that not many people have lots of 66's sitting around

It is noticeable on the auction scene that 63's are far more common than 66's

Tom

I've just tried offering up my Noval port tongs to the two bottles I would most like to decapitate - Alex's being one of them - and on both of them, the point at which the tongs grip is well above the base of the cork.. :evil: Alex - do you have a pair of your own that you could bring when you come ...

To the list add my old friend - Paul Jacobson

Painfully little feedback on the steak front, so I'm ordering eight - hopefully that'll work out!

Decanting starts tomorrow...!

Tom

Unfortunately, people who put advice like this into print have very often done no experimentation of thier own, and merely copy the errors of others...

Tom

OK the day is drawing near - the wine list (and drinking order) is nearly finalised. The decanters are ready, as are numbered decanter labels With the addition of my business co-director, Dave Mitchell - the updated list of attendees is: Uncle Tom AHB Conky KillerB Ronnie Roots Lady Roots Stevie Koo...

For the last six months I've been ruthlessly targetting bottles that have had poor levels, signs of seepage, - or dubious origins. Despite that, I don't think any of those bottles has fallen seriously below what I would have expected from a bottle of impeccable provenance - some de-merits certainly,...

I omitted to post the final chapter on this one - finally blossomed after 36 hours, scored 6-7

Tom

Thought about it, but decided against it after reading Alex' description "fading in reputation, but with the occasional decent vintage port". I was under the impression that Cockburn is on the way back up when it comes to VP's... My thoughts entirely - but we're running out of options..! ...

We havn't tried Cockburn yet..

Tom

Thinking about the relative physical properties of cork and glass, and the circumstances of their contact in the neck of a bottle, I'm doubtful that modest vibration would cause a moist cork to 'wobble loose'. However, it seems quite possible that the micro shocks of noise or vibration might act as ...