2. Savennieres AOC Domaine du Baumard 1993
Rich golden yellow, a slight orange tinge. Dry, asparagus and a hint of wood on the nose, but apparently it hasn't seen any. Fruity with good acid balance, very long aftertaste. This is Chenin Blanc, and recommended with fish and complex foods. Buy now for laying down; Parker is rating it highly.
£12.20

3. Pessac-Leognan Graves Grand Cru Classe, Chateau Olivier 1994
A light silvery yellow. Sweet on the nose, a bit closed. Wood a bit overpowering on the palate but good fruit behind it. A sweetness on the front of the teeth. Way too young, probably will be good. 60% Semillon with Sauvignon Blanc and a bit of Muscat.
£14.00

4. Muscat Vin de Pays d'Oc, Cuvee des Lilas Chateau de la Peyrade 1996
Similar colour to last, decidedly Muscat on the nose - soft, round and honeyed. Very intense, but light and fresh. Very long, lingering aftertaste, very high acidity, 14% (maybe 15%) alcohol. Excellent, and will be even better as it becomes more rounded. Try blue cheese with it. It was recommended to decant it.
8.45

5. Coteaux de Murviel, Domaine de Limbardie, 1995
Deep dark red. Nose opens to a rich Christmas cake, and some mint comes through. Hot country flavours, most un-French. Should be good with roast beef. Slightly watery finish but a very good wine, especially at this price. Cab. Sauvignon 70% and Merlot 30%.
£6.85

6. Coteaux de Languedoc, Grenat Domaine l'Aigueliere 1995
This is Colm Brangan's own production. Red with a hint of pink, incredibly big nose (ripe blackberry?). Fruity, spicy, light but very rich and good tannins. Flavours of raspberriies, loganberries; perhaps a bit jammy. Very long aftertaste. 13%, Grenache with 15% Syrah (this addition was through fear that 100% Grenache would not be good enough. Shouldn't be there next time). Too dear, I fear.
£10.25

7. Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er Cru Les Vergelesses, "La Bataillere" Chateau le Creusotte, Albert Morot, 1990
Darker red than expected. Heavy farmyard manure nose, with a hint of austerity. On the palate fruity, some violets and a bit jammy. Colm reckons it to be much better value than equivalent quality Bordeaux. 1993 and '94 reported to be much better.
£19.30

8. Musigny Grand Cru, Domaine Comte Georges do Vogue, 1989
Light with some brown rim. Farmyard and boot polish nose. Smooth but with personality. "Woody" flavour, mahogany, and wine gums. Slightly sweet, a bit hard; way, way too young. Very concentrated. Probably going to be great.
£81.00

9. Coteaux d'Aix en Provence, Domaine de Trevallon, 1993
Another old favourite. Very dark, deep red. Cab Sauvignon and Syrah. Complex sweet nose. Full of fruit pastilles, some mint, but very syrah like. Lovely, perhaps not the complexity of a good Bordeaux, but a very good wine.
£18.40

10. Quarts de Chaume, Domaine de Baumard, 1989
The Quarts are four ridges reaching into the river Chaume. This is deep gold with a lovely nose, caramel, rubber and ferns. Extremely rich, notes of melon. Gorgeous. Will last indefinitely. Set to double in price. 100% Chenin, with lower yield than Ch. d'Yquem. With Cheese it is incredible. I checked Parker, who gives it five stars.
£33.00

A most unusual and excellent evening.
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