I am about to go on a month's health and fitness plan which virtually rules out alcohol (apart from the occasional taste). At lunch with Brown Shipley Private Bank in Manchester I was very grateful to be given a choice of wines to accompany a plate of monk fish. I don't drink much dry white Bordeaux so I chose a white Graves from a hot vintage:

Chateau Olivier, Pessac-Leognan, 2003 ***

Youthful straw colour; very fresh and airy with lemon, lime and lanolin (Semillon doninating - 65% / 33% Sauvingon, 5% Muscadelle); lovely lime and grapfruit flavours with savoury oak, very crisp despite the hot vintage, quite full. perfect for a Manchester summer business lunch .  16 

Location: Brown Shipley, Manchester
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Le Reve, Carneros Sparkling Wine 1996 (Tattinger) ****

The title 'Carneros Sparkling Wine' does not do justice to this: still youthful in appearance with a fine,gentle mousse; quite soft and slightly sweet in style, the word 'soapy' came to mind on the first taste, fine blanc de blancs with a good, ripe wholemeal autolytic character, soft in style but still very fresh and well balanced, really very good indeed for its age. 17 

Dom Perignon 1996 ****

Fine youthful colour and good, lively mousse; restrained, lightly toasted aromas, I suspect not giving its all as yet; wholemeal toast and thinly spread butter, fine, gentle, still very fresh with well-defined acidity and toasty-savoury length. Lovely, plenty of life left and better on day 2. I expected more from this wine from a great vintage but I suspect this wine may still have some way to go. I still have one bottle left. 

Chambertin (Armand Rousseau) 1994 ****

Mid deep hue, looking quite mature on the rim; initially slightly lifted and high-toned but settled down with decanting to reveal supremely suave, scented, perfumed aromas; firm, quite lean initially but very suave, smooth fruit backed by crisp, mouthwatering acidity, still very fresh. Delicious wine with a beguiling scent from a very mixed vintage. 18

Chateau Cheval Blanc 1988 *****

Still deep and youthful in appearance, just a touch of browning on the rim; fully open and very forthcoming aromatic with a lovely leafy perfume (raspberry leaf), perhaps verging on green, Cabernet Franc dominating (apparently it made up 65% of the cepage in 1988); very fine, slightly herbal sweet fruit, supple, well defined with sinewy tannins, long and very fresh with plenty of life left in it. Overall very pure with near perfect balance and poise. I would expect this wine to develop for another ten to fifteen years. 19

Location: The Rookery
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Every year I try to celebrate my birthday with a wine from the year that I was born. It is fortuitous that this was 1961 but unfortunately no one had the foresight to lay down any Claret at the time! Instead I have a small stock of Rioja and Port from the said year and this year I added  Red Burgundy from the fine 1990 vintage (just in case the other wines were a let down):

Vina Pomal 1961, Bodegas Bilbainas ***

Still retaining good colour, garnet centre, tawny-brown rim; old fashioned woody, casky aromas, leathery with some fruit underlying, recognisably Rioja in style; retaining some strawberry sweetness, firm, fully mature and quite elegant though delicate, dry and rather dusty on the finish, a good bottle (others have been more brittle and dry) which survived until the next day.  15   

Pommard, Grand Clos des Epenots 1er Cru 1990 (Domaine de Courcel) ****

Good, bright mid-deep colour; fine, seductive aromas, ripe fruit refelecting the heat of the vintage, still holding together very well, just a touch gamey; fine, firm, dry tannins and tight-knit fruit underlying, well structured, verging on austere towards the finish (I think it was ever thus) but standing up very well. 17.5  

 Quinta de Vargellas 1961

See under Port notes 

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