The party lighting at this presentation meant that everything was a sort of brown. Comments on colour should be treated with caution.

1. Luigi Bosca 1995 Chardonnay
A boutique wine, with 13.5% alcohol very well masked. Light and fresh. A little soft; not the hard edge of a Chablis. A hint of wood and nice fruit. Argentinian but quite "French". Good.
£11.99.

2. Long Gully 1993 Chardonnay
Much bigger nose than the first; citrus. Much softer wine, with oak, loads of (mainly citrus) fruit and a long finish. The 14.5% alcohol is noticeable on the back of the palate. Yarra Valley, Australia.
£10.99.

3. Senor de Robledal, 1996, Chenin Semillon Luigi Bosca
Darker colour. Not a huge nose. Lots of residual sugar. Huge aftertaste and burns more than its 12% alcohol implies. Pleasant but too dear.
£7.99.

4. Long Gully 1993 Riesling
Green gold, nose more German than Alsace.Very full, rich,quite grassy, with a hint of petrol. Good acid balance. Very good.
£8.99.

5. Long Gully 1995 Sauvignon Balnc/Semillon
Light in colour, with a gooseberry nose and a hint of "dolly mixture". SOme wood, sugar and acid well balanced, with a caramel aftertaste. Refreshing.
£22-24

6. Navarro Correas 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon
Our bottle was a bit corked, so no comment.
£10.99

7. Luigi Bosca Malbec, 1991
Velvety dark red. A bit cold, so the jammy nose was not immediately apparent on this occasion. Big, chewy, good tannins and a good balance of acid and fruit. A hint of mint and liquorice, improving the more I tried it. Still young, worth laying down.
£11.99 but special offer available

8. Luigi Bosca, 1989, Syrah
Inky, closed. Too cold, and tannic. Not ready yet. Quite a lot of leather and pepper when it warmed. Wait a few years, but it's still expensive.
£11.99

9. Maglieri 1993 Shiraz
Dark, dark red. A warm, big, typically shiraz nose but with a harsh pepper. Wonderful fruit gum taste. Young but excellent. Oaky. Could take another 10 years, maybe.
£12.99

10. Maglieri 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark red, not a big nose. Huge bottle difference, one slightly oxidised, unfortunately. Very well put together, integrating well but needs 2-3 years. Others liked it a lot.
£12.99

11. Wolf Blass 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label
Big nose of blackcurrant pastilles. Woderful oak and pastilles taste. Not yet integrated but what a wallop! Not sure that it's that much better than his Yellow label, and very pricey. I'd like to try it when it's a lot older.
£21.90

An excellent first visit to Preamble.

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