Firstly our hats must be removed for chef Ben Greene who cooked up a storm. A storm of chips and steak.  Sourced from Barons Court’s HG Walter, an organic, prime rib eye, bulging in size, seared and cooked to a perfect medium rare. And the chips, amazing!  Using  Heston Blumenthal’s three stage method, potatoes have never had it so good.

The evening’s wines took the shape of seven bottles all picked with the utmost stealth and secrecy and presented blind to the unsuspecting participants.

And so we begin….

Ha!  Fooled from the off. A white. Well, this was the aperitif and it performed perfectly with the Serrano and bean salad starter. Creamy, Crisp, beautifully integrated oak with a complex slightly oxidative style that reminded me greatly of its younger brother La Soula Blanc , only so much better. Gauby’s white was guessed correctly by one member of staff (me) and was also thought to be white Burgundy and a much more expensive white Hermitage, descriptions that do this excellent wine no insult at all.

The Wine: Domaine Gauby Vignes Vines Blanc , 2003. £34.95 (all prices stated at single bottle rate)

Dark and full with a heavenly nose of violets and lavender. Syrah was guessed as the dominant component but a tough choice as it really is a ‘kitchen sink’ of a blend. Still, people were guessing American and were very impressed.

The Wine: Pleides XVIII by Sean Thackery , N.V. £32.95

Grange des Peres”, was one of the guesses for the second wine of Lupicaia. A lot of people went for syrah again. Some for Bordeaux from a hot year, clearly identifying the cabernet and merlot in this Tuscan blend (33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Sangiovese, 33% Merlot).

The Wine: Tassinaia by Castello Del Terriccio, 1998. £29.95

“Definitely Bordeaux, Definitely”. Said one over-confident taster. But no, Sangiovese. Embarrassing. Still, it was universally adored and enjoyed by all as the steak ran dry but the wine glasses remained wet. The 1997 had been drunk previously by several of the staff and was even better. No easy task when faced with quality of this Chianti.

The Wine: Chianti Classico Reserva Cortevecchia, 1998. £34.95

“That’s a monster, Put it in a decanter we’ll get back to that later”.

The Wine: To be continued…

Instantly identified as Australian, the discussion came between choosing between Grenache and Shiraz as the grape variety. A beautifully integrated wine with soft tannins with plenty of sweet fruit and funky grape funk. The funk lead all towards Grenache and the exact bottle was guessed by one clever little chap (not me).

The Wine: Clarendon Hills Old Vine Grenache, Blewitt Vineyard, 1998. £29.95

Definitely cabernet with lots of primary fruit flavours and plenty of instant enjoyability that led us to believe it was Californian with may be some zinfandel…. No, just cabernet sauvignon. This is a great bottle of wine that would give a lot of Bordeaux in the same price point a run for their money.

The Wine: Frogs Leap, Cabernet Sauvignon,  2000. £44.95

Returning to the monster in the decanter, with taste buds suitably knocked into shape by the preceding wines, we all converged that it must have been from the states. Opinion varied quite a bit on this one, as to its overall merit. It was just so big, so powerful, that it was more of a statement than a wine. Aromas of fruit compote, figs, graphite, cherry, aniseed and spice all rose from the porty nose. In the mouth it was somewhat reminiscent of a Dal Forno Amarone or a vintage port. A couple of us had a stab at the wine and just about got there.

The Wine: Alban Vineyard Loraine Syrah, 2005. £149.95

Where do you go from a Parker 100 Pointer weighing in at 16.5% alcohol? Home would be the correct answer. In our case it was Whiskey Sours. A couple were knocked up before the thoroughly inebriated Roberson team stumbled into Taxis and looked forward to a bleary eyed Sunday morning. I blame the Whiskey Sour.

After years in the vinous wilderness, Languedoc & Roussillon have reinvented themselves in the past decade, transforming the reputation of Southern French winemaking from biggest contributor to Europe’s wine lake to the most exciting place in the world to be making wine. There’s more about that in this month’s newsletter, but regular customers will be more than aware that I love the south and have been working hard to increase our selection of interesting wines from the Languedoc & Roussillon.

My efforts in this arena have brought me in to close contact with the guys at the ‘Maison du Languedoc’, sort of an international trade mission set up to promote the food and wine of Southern France. They organise lots of great events across London and beyond, both for consumers and trade buyers like myself – notably the superb ‘Sud de France’ festival taking place throughout September. One of the most important events in their calendar is the ‘Top 40’ tasting, where they showcase the best wines of the region as selected by an esteemed panel featuring some of the country’s foremost experts on southern French wine. And me.

Having cut my teeth at the Decanter World Wine Awards earlier in the year, I was really pleased when they invited me to sit on the Top 40 panel, but I did have a little trepidation about tasting with luminaries like Charles Metcalfe, Anthony Rose (The Independent), Isa Bal (Head sommelier at the Fat Duck), Eric Nairoo (MD of Caves de Pyrenne) and MWs including Peter McCombie and Isabelle Legeron. Quite a line-up, but all thoroughly nice folks who made me feel very welcome despite looking about 12 years old.

The set up was a bit more relaxed than Decanter, although everything was also served blind. We tasted through the wines in flights (there was 153 in total split between the 3 teams) and divided them into yes, no and maybe. Initially we had whittled them down to about 55 yesses, so they were retasted and we got rid of the stragglers. Once we had our top 40, the next task was to decide on the best in show for white, red and sweet, so the highest scoring wines chosen by the 3 teams were retasted and eventually we voted on the best. My pick for both red and white was not the eventual winner (4th and 2nd respectively) but when the wines were revealed I was very happy to see that I had selected Peyre Rose Clos des Cistes as my favourite – one of the wines that we directly import! So it didn’t actually win, but at least I confirmed my opinion that Peyre Rose make the best wine in the Languedoc. I can’t reveal any of the actual results because they will be released to much fanfare in September, but there were some shocking omissions, a suprising winner and plenty of our wines made the cut so i’ll fill you in on all that soon.

We started off with the 2004 Spumante, a wine first made in 1983. 100% Pinot Noir purchased from a single grower, this is interestingly enough one of Bruna’s favourite wines. With no dosage, this still shows great fruit and ripeness. For me, good but perhaps a touch overpriced.

The 2008 Roero Arneis shows pure, soft fruit and good accessibility. But for me, not a profound wine.

Moving to the 2008 Dolcetto D’Alba, berry notes give way to a touch of almond and aniseed. Good Giacosa style. Not overdone.

The 2007 Barbera D’Asti comes from a vintage that Bruna describes as being better then 2008 and comparable in quality to 2001 or 1998. This was a good step up with grip and some good persistance.

The Barbaresco Asili 2005 showed fantastic persistance and real classic structure. For me the wine of the tasting, taking into account reputation and cost.

From the same vintage, the Barolo Faletto 2005 offered up slighltly more ripe aroma’s, cherry and herb notes. Very good.

The 2005 Barolo Rocche de Faletto, made from a small section of the Faletto vineyard, located towards the top of the hill, gave an extra dimension of depth and ageability. Still preferred the Asili though..

The final wine, 2004 Barolo Rocche de Falleto Red Label Riserva is a wine of some repute with Antonio Galloni annointing it 99+ points and calling it one of the greatest Giacosas he has ever tried and comparing it to the 1989. What did we think? Well, I must confess, I found it a little soft and forward and I get the impression that Bruna doesn’t rate it quite as highly as Galloni.

We did record a brief interview with Bruna which we should be able to get on the site if Ben pulls his finger out….

Flight one: Vray Croix de Gay, Ormes de Pez and Meyney

The first flight was of three relatively modest wines, one Pomerol and two Cru Bourgeois properties from St Estephe.

We started with VCdG and the group was a little underwhelmed to be honest. To be fair, this isn’t a wine designed to improve for 28 years regardless of the vintage, but it was certainly showing its age (and a very distinctive liquorice note). The Ormes de Pez was a definite improvement. This was the second time in a couple of weeks that I’ve had this wine and although it is well past its peak, it is a lovely drop of mature claret. Lots of brambly fruit, with hints of toffee and herbs. To finish up the first flight we tasted Chateau Meyney, a wine that Parker scored 92 points and heralded it as the best wine ever produced at the property. And, despite the somewhat muted nose, I can see where he was coming from. It still had excellent mouthfeel and presence on the palate, with decent structure and good length.

Flight two: Brane Cantenac and Grand Puy Lacoste

The Brane-Cantenac was the first Margaux we tasted – interesting because the commune of Margaux was the weak spot in the Haut-Medoc for the ’82 vintage. The critics seemed to differ enormously on BranCan, with Spectator giving is 90 points and Parker slamming it with just 76 points. I was certainly closer to Parker on this one, calling it ‘astringent and empty’. Harsh words, but I didn’t like it.

The GPL went down much better with the group and many of the tasters were seriously impressed with the structure and vivacity of the fruit. Personally, I’ve never been much of a GPL fan and I felt that despite it being far better than the previous wine, it was still a little on the mean side. I appeared to be in the minority however, as most of the group were impressed.

Flight three: Montrose, Lynch-Bages and Evangile

This flight was originally to include Cos d’Estournel, but when we opened the bottle it was in pretty bad nick (despite looking absolutely pristine with the best level of all the wines opened), so we decided to replace it with l’Evangile from Pomerol.

The Montrose was well received although I wasn’t on my own feeling that it lacked a bit of definition. I likened it to ‘Bordeaux soup’ which seemed to find favour with a few of the group. Effectively I was saying that the flavours were a little blurred and I would have appreciated a bit more clarity on the nose and palate. The Lynch was a real step up in class and it was showing very well a year on since the last time I tasted it. Still youthful with deep fruit and good structure, there is definitely more to come from Lynch ’82, although it is so delicious that I would be drinking up if I had any in the cellar. The Evangile got a massive Parker score (98 points) and I thought it was delicious, although im not sure it has the concentration to continue improving. The nose was big, open and very inviting and the palate was full of fruit, leather and all sorts of complexity going on. Delicious stuff, but on balance I think the Lynch was the wine of the flight.

Flight four: Haut-Brion and Margaux

We finished on a flight of two of the big guns and the Haut Brion was leaping out the glass by the time we got to it. The nose was lovely, but on the palate it was a disappointment. It was focused and had a certain intensity, but it just didn’t follow through on the promise of the bouquet. Good, but by no means great – although im sure there are many bottles in better condition than this that would live up to the billing.

The Margaux was a different story entirely. The nose was big and still to be fully integrated, with plenty of oak in addition to the wondrous fruit. This was confirmed on the palate, but rather than appearing clunky it was just youthful and very exuberant, asking for more time so that all the delicious constituent parts could gel together. If I had this in the cellar I would not be touching it for a few years yet because the vibrancy and concentration on the palate, not to mention the length, promise that this beautiful wine will continue to improve for many years.

Margaux the winner for me, followed by Lynch and then Evangile.

1982 is often spoken about in the same breath as other great 20th century vintages such as ‘29, ‘45, ‘47, ‘59 and ‘61 – another of those candidates for ‘vintage of the century’ that come around every decade or so. Regardless of whether ‘82 was any better or worse than years it is compared to, there is little doubt that it was a fantastic vintage – and there can be no doubt whatsoever that it fundamentally changed the fabric of the fine wine world.

To be a truly great vintage, mother nature must be on your side. At the start of 1982’s growing season the excellent weather conditions brought an early and even flowering, giving the growers hope that the crop would be ripe and large (it proved to be the biggest on record up to that point). The good weather persisted as Bordeaux headed from a hot and dry summer in to a cooler but still dry September. When harvesting began midway through the month the vignerons were very happy – the must weights were high, ripeness levels superb and the crop was a bumper one.

Almost everywhere in the region had benefitted from the excellent conditions, although many wineries failed to cope with both the large amount of fruit coming in from the vineyards (where to put it all?) and the temperatures (this was before widespread cooling technology). In Sauternes they suffered from torrential rain late in October, dashing hopes of a great year for them although a couple of chateaux still made some good sweet wines. The other blip came in Margaux (the commune rather than the Chateau), where conditions were not quite as optimum as they were throughout the rest of the Haut-Medoc (and, indeed the major right-bank appellations).

All in all, it was a thoroughly satisfactory vintage and many in the region were very excited. The great Emile Peynaud declared that he had never seen “such a level of richness and quantity together”. Joining the chorus was a French wine writer called Michel Bettane (now one of the world’s most famous commentators), who is credited as being the first voice in the media to ‘come out’ on the quality of the 1982 vintage. His pronouncements turned out to be the first in what would become an international debate.

The debate centred around disagreement as to whether 1982 was a good vintage, in the same way that ‘79 and ‘81 had been received as years that provided plenty of ‘good drinking claret’, or a spectacular vintage to rival the greats from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Many of the Chateau owners were very bullish about the quality of their fruit, although some doubts lingered due to the lower than usual acidities, higher than usual alcohol and bountiful crop – none of which implied to the traditionalists that these would be vins de garde.

Following the en primeur tastings during the spring of ‘83, the British merchants and press were impressed, although not as enthusiastic as Bettane had been. The consensus was that these were delicious wines that would provide generous early drinking and plenty of enjoyment, although they were not classically styled or structured enough to warrant buying for long-term cellaring.

The reaction in the U.S.A was similar, with plenty of positive noises but not much in the way of glowing praise. The major critics of the time were Terry Robards of the New York Times and Robert Finigan, who wrote a number of columns and published his own wine newsletter. Finigan’s newsletter was widely read around the time of the ‘82 debate and he had started relatively positive, reporting the excitement that had been generated amongst the region’s winemakers and chateau owners. However, once he had travelled to Bordeaux to taste cask samples for himself, that position changed. Finigan didn’t feel that the wines came close to justifying the hype and the March ‘83 edition of his newsletter told his readers this in no uncertain terms.

If the 1982 Bordeaux vintage was going to sell in the U.S.A, it would need someone to champion it and for people to listen. Stand up Robert Parker.

Robert Parker was a lawyer in Baltimore when he began writing the Wine Advocate, a publication that would go on to become the most influential in the wine world. By the early 80s the Advocate had built up a solid readership, although at this point it was #still something of a hobby and he wouldn’t walk away from the legal profession until 1984. He was looking and hoping for new subscribers and his blend of detailed analysis and enthusiastic tasting notes was turning an increasing number of heads. Of course there was the 100 point scale too, but the unabashed honesty and devout integrity of the Wine Advocate had given Parker an early reputation as a consumer champion. The 1982 vintage would get him a reputation as one of the world’s finest tasters.

Despite being relatively young and unknown, Parker had been travelling to France for a few years in the late 70s / early 80s. Talking with winemakers gave him invaluable insight, but tasting scores of wines from barrel and bottle had also equipped him with tasting experience that would prove to be invaluable during his visit in early ‘83.

After his return from tasting the ‘82s in Bordeaux, Parker was certain that they would be spectacular wines that would rival the best of the 20th century and prove to be an excellent investment for anyone buying on the ‘wine futures’ market. According to Elin McCoy in her book ‘Emperor of Wine’, Parker considered Bordeaux ‘82 to be “the best wine buys since he started tasting wine in 1968”. He couldn’t wait to get the next edition of the Advocate out to his readers and share the good news – even more so when he spoke to the lukewarm Terry Robards and the downright frosty Robert Finigan, who were happy to share with Parker their opinions on the ‘82s. When the Wine Spectator came out in mild praise, Parker really was the only American critic left that was waxing lyrical and his newsletter was littered with adjectives and superlatives that have become familiar to readers of the Advocate – ‘prodigious’, ‘stunning’, ‘blockbuster’ and the like.

Of course, the wine retailers were pleased to see a critic go positive on the wines – they had to sell them after all – and wine merchants all over the country got behind Parker’s version of events. They filled their displays and mailers with references to the Wine Advocate, quoting tasting notes and scores and pointing out that Parker was one of very few journalists in the world that had tasted the ‘82s thoroughly and repeatedly. Buyers took notice and in addition to buoyant sales of ‘82 Bordeaux, Parker had found the boost to subscriptions that the Advocate had been crying out for. Sales of the newsletter began to rise exponentially on the back of all the publicity Parker was receiving – Finigan’s newsletter stumbled on for a few years before being wound up.

Unhappy that his team had missed out on catching the ‘82 story early (or, indeed, accurately) Marvin Shanken of the Wine Spectator ran an article by the (then new) European correspondent James Suckling that was very enthusiastic about the vintage – the tide of opinion had turned and within a few years the common consensus would reflect Parker’s original assessment. But it always remained Parker’s assessment and the one that took him from being the editor of a regional wine newsletter to the most powerful journalist in the wine world.

The rest is history, from the hegemony of the 100 point scale to the perceived homogenisation of wine styles and all the other anti-Parker rhetoric that floats about the wine trade. But love him, respect him or loathe him, it was the ‘82 vintage that facilitated his rise to prominence.

The big project behind the scenes this year has been working more directly and establishing relationships with growers and domaines. It has been a pleasure (and an adventure) getting over to France and meeting winemakers that have added enormously to the wines on offer at Roberson. The fruits of these forays have already started to filter through on to the shop floor (and wine lists at some of London’s best restaurants) but it is also a case of ‘watch this space’ as we have some very interesting wines set to arrive in the new year.

Highlight of the year:

On a personal level, and I would like to think for the company and our customers too, it has to be the November trip to Burgundy and the Rhône Valley. Myself and Joe spent a week driving thousands of miles and tasting hundreds of wines across two of France’s most important winemaking areas with the goal of finding enough gems to make the trip worthwhile.

And we did. There was a feeling of elation after tasting at domaines like Marc Colin, Thomas Morey, Hubert Chavy, Goubert and Marc Sorrel. All were fantastic for different reasons, but knowing that you have either secured an allocation of spectacular wine or ‘discovered’ a producer that isn’t represented in the UK was a great feeling.

Best wine under £10:

Has to be 2007 Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains from Domaine Dupont-Tisserandot, as predicted this time last year. Possibly the best example I’ve tasted of this rarely seen appellation and such a versatile wine that sales have been consistent right through the year. Let’s hope the 2008 picks up where the ’07 left off!

2007 ‘La Dame’ from Mas des Dames has also been a resounding success and one of the best selling wines in the shop since its arrival in late summer. I don’t remember seeing a wine become so popular, so quickly with regular customers.

Another great seller for us this year and arguably the best value wine in the shop was 2008 Falerio from Saladini Pilastri. This fresh and crisp white wine from North-Eastern Italy stole the show at our ‘Summer Open Evening’ tasting – which is not surprising considering how good it is for only £7.95. As the weather warms up we expect sales for Falerio to take off again.

Special mentions must also go to 2007 Coteaux-du-Giennois by Guy Saget, 2007 ‘Les Nuages’ Pinot Noir and 2008 Sangiovese I.G.T from Castello Querceto.

Best wine under £20:

When you taste and sell as many different wines as we do at Roberson, it is easy to forget the classics – those wines that have graced the shelves for many years and provide the backdrop to all the small parcels and ‘flavours of the month’ that come and go. One of these is getting better and better every year (to be expected from decent claret, I suppose): 2001 Château de Candale Haut-Médoc. Peak drinking right now and still a bargain, many of our regular customers have been lucky enough to chart the progress of this delicious wine since we started stocking the ’01 vintage a couple of years ago.

One of my wines of the year was 2003 Le Soula Blanc by Roussillon legend Gerard Gauby. Mineral laden, fresh as a daisy and almost salty, it took me a few minutes to decide whether I loved it or hated it. Once I’d decided that I loved it I couldn’t get enough and to be honest I think it was a wine that opened my mind (and palate) a little more. The oxidative aspect takes a little getting used to, but now im well and truly sold on southern French whites.

Finally, the bargain of the year has to be 2005 ‘Bien Nacido’ Syrah from Qupé, which we were selling for £18.95. It was absolutely superb and one of those wines where it was sad to see the final bottle leave.

Best wine under £60:

So many candidates to choose from here, but one of the better ones was 1985 Côte-Rotie ‘Brune et Blonde’ from Guigal. We sat around after the Sylvain Cathiard tasting to serve this blind and were very impressed with how concentrated it was, with most of the group guessing it was far younger than its 25 years. Superb stuff for £47.95.

Another stunning bargain that was surprisingly fresh was 1970 Muga Rioja Reserva. At £29.95 this was worth a punt and it proved to be absolutely delicious. In actual fact, I drank this at home with my parents (they are avid Muga drinkers) and it went down a treat.

Finally, one of my favourite winemakers in the world – 1997 Barbaresco Santo Stefano by Bruno Giacosa for £59.95. Needless to say that the 6 bottles we bought lasted all of 5 minutes although one of those was consumed by me, Gav and friends over dinner. Absolutely delicious and one of my wines of the year.

Best wine from the fine wine tastings:

Always a difficult one. Last year one of my votes was 2000 Romanee-St-Vivant by Sylvain Cathiard. Well we had it again as part of the Cathiard tasting and it was every bit as good as the year before. The Barolo v Barbaresco 1998 tasting was one of the best in terms of the overall standard of the wines and 1998 Barolo ‘Rocche del Falletto’ by Bruno Giacosa was jaw-droppingly good. 1974 Vega Sicilia Unico was just one of a collection of spectacular wines at the Vega Sicilia tasting and the 1961 Leoville-Barton was a great way to end a wonderful tasting of Anthony Barton’s wines.  A special mention should go to 1998 Grange des Peres Blanc, which I and a couple of others at the Languedoc Icons tasting thought was superb.

However, if I had to choose one I think it would have to be 1979 Echezeaux from DRC. The ’69 was also fantastic, but the extra life in the ’79 added to the depth of complexity made it a memorable wine indeed.

Worst wine from the fine wine tastings:

There were a few duds to be honest, although that is to be expected when you take a few risks and try and create ‘interesting’ tastings. 2004 Echezeaux from Confuron-Cotetidot was a shocker, but perhaps a casualty of the vintage more than a reflection of the grower. 2004 Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ from Jaboulet was punching well below its weight and 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon from Dunn Vineyards was perhaps the stingiest wine of the year.

The winner (or loser) though had to be 1995 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru ‘Cros Parantoux’ from Meo-Camuzet. It split the group between those that loved it and loathed it, although there were definitely more in the second camp. Complex? Hidden depth? Maybe, but it just seemed dusty, musty and devoid of any interest to me which would be a shame if I’d stumped up the £500+ out of my own pocket.

Highlight of the fine wine tastings:

Staying behind after the ‘Burgundy Promotion/Demotion’ tasting to drink 1990 Meursault from Coche-Dury with a group of like-minded wine folk. Probably the best wine tasting experience I’ve ever had.

Best red/white of 2009:

The best wines I drunk all year, anywhere? 1998 Richebourg by Domaine Leroy and 1990 Meursault from Coche-Dury.

Wines we could’ve sold out 10 times over:

The aforementioned 1997 Barbaresco Santo Stefano by Bruno Giacosa and 1998 Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Château Fortia. The Giacosa disappeared in record time, whereas the Fortia sat there until a few people had tried it and then we almost had a fight over who got the buy the rest.

Also, 2008 Mas des Dames Rosé. I only bought 5 cases of this when we began working with the domaine and they were sold within a week – that was in August and we haven’t seen it since, although the 2009 should be here in the next few months. I’ll be sure to reserve more next time….

Wine that nobody wanted to buy:

2008 Monty’s Red. Last year I wrote “We sold every bottle we had after the last episode of the series but people are still asking for the stuff. Amazing what a bit of TV coverage can achieve”.

Unfortunately it is also amazing what a lack of TV coverage can achieve. Candidate for the January bin-end sale?

Most interesting visitors to the shop:

As usual lots of fascinating wine personalities took part in our tastings – Jancis Robinson, Michael Broadbent, Neal Martin, Steven Spurrier, Julia Harding to name but a few. It is always great to welcome experts like this to our events as they add so much to the experience for the rest of us tasters. Let’s hope that we see more of them all next year!

In terms of winemakers, the guys from Frog’s Leap in California were wonderful company and we had great fun with them at an instore tasting for the staff. Sebastiano Rosa from Sassicaia was honest, candid and very very interesting.

Best of all though had to be Paul Draper. An absolute gentleman and legend of the wine trade.

Biggest disagreement between the team on a wine:

We were actually pretty close on most things this year. There was the 1997 Clarenden Hills Merlot that Joe and Ben loved but Cliff hated. And there was the Charles Joguet Chinons that Joe hated but I loved.

Perhaps the biggest chasm came over the wines of La Peira, a new icon domaine in the Languedoc with massive Parker scores (well, Schildknecht scores). I think their wines are stunning and some of the most exciting I tasted all year. Joe thought they were over made. We had their top wine from ’06 at the stars of the Languedoc tasting and the group was split. Half on my side, half on Joe’s!

Most embarrassing moment:

The moment when me and Joe arrived at the new Vincent Jaboulet domaine in the Rhône Valley.

Vincent is a big man (with a big moustache) and comes from one of the most important families in wine so I was relishing the opportunity to meet him and make another prestigious contact in the wine world. Joe stepped forward with his best ‘bonjour’ and a shake of the hand. I followed behind expecting a similar greeting, when out of the blue he grabbed me by the cheeks and exclaimed to all in the vicinity that ‘you have the head of a baby!’ while shaking me back and forth.

From what I can gather, he was somewhat surprised that a man of my tender age (6months apparently) was legally allowed to buy wine!

Predictions for 2010:

1) Sales of Mas des Dames to continue upward. I am convinced that this domaine will become a Roberson Wine stalwart over the next few years – they are already heralded as one of the most exciting estates in France and next year we will be adding the white wine to the two reds and the rosé. There will also be magnums and at some point a top-secret wine made from the oldest vines at the domaine (it is still ageing in barrel and has no name at this point). Definitely more to come from Mas des Dames.

2) Beaujolais to gain increasing credibility. I have been known in Roberson circles for my dislike of Bojo for some time, but recently the noise coming from a lot of artisanal producers in the top villages has got too loud to ignore. I think that top quality Beaujolais from small producers will take off in a big way over the next few years and that will start in 2010.

3) 2009 Bordeaux to be BIG. The ground is already shaking on the run-up to the biggest en primeur campaign since ’05. Hype or not, the big spenders will be out in force for this one.

4) People to spend more. We’ve definitely felt the purse strings loosening over the last few months and that will continue in 2010. I think people are sick of austerity and while it will be years before we get back to where we were, the smiles are starting to creep back on to people’s faces.

5) England to win the world cup! I think we’ve genuinely got a chance this time, although it has more to do with the lack of top drawer opposition than us being world beaters. Get the champagne on ice!

Good luck for the year ahead and happy drinking!

With those seven words horror passed through the car as we realized the long drive to Burgundy was going to get even longer. Still, the way I figured it, everyone is allowed to forget their passport once in their life, if you do it for a second time, you’re an idiot. I have forgotten it once, and pray I have learned my lesson.

Sure enough, by the time we settled down in our room in Beaune at midnight we were pretty beat but also excited about the packed itinerary we had for the next week, seeing some of the most exciting producers in the Rhone Valley and Burgundy in a week long sourcing trip

Monday morning. Washed and groomed, I poked my head out of the hotel window to a crisp Burgundy morning with a wonderful blue sky. As coffee (and a cup of tea that Mark was so disgusted by he didn’t even touch it) further eased us (well, me anyway) into the day, we set off on the short drive to Puligny Montrachet to a visit with Olivier Leflaive, one of the biggest personalities in the village.

With lots of changes in the UK market this year, our ‘intentions’ were immediatletly questioned by Olivier before heading to a tasting with Franck Grux  the winemaker.

Grux sharpened his teeth working for Guy Roulot in Meursault before joining Olivier in 1988. He went on to describe some of the hallmarks of the 2008 vintage. Low yields, uneven ripening but good balance and ripeness. We tasted through the Bourgogne Rouge, the village, premier and grand cru’s and found some impeccable wines with purity and freshness, for me perhaps almost too correct and lacking a bit of personality. Saying that, the power of some of the top wines made me think that these should last very well and the visit really reinforced the reliability of Oliver as a top source of beautiful, straight-down-the-line, quality Burgundy.

Making our excuses to leave the lovely meal at his restaurant we had been invited to we headed to Chavy-Chouet in Meursault.

What a contrast. From the polished oak boardroom and modern winery of Olivier Leflaive, we turned up to what looked like a slightly down-at-heel village farm, complete with dogs and assorted farming equipment. I wandered around, trying to find someone to talk to. Only managing a low level conversation with a wheezing English Bulldog (with most of the conversation coming from me) we couldn’t work out what was going on. Where was everyone? The doors were all open but no-one seemed to be in. After a couple of phone-calls, the young Romaric Chavy turned up. Dressed in a shell-suit, his hands were dirty from coming straight from the vineyards. No urbane ambassador here, just a hard-working man doing what turned out to be amazing things with his vineyards. The history of Domaine Chavy-Chouet is a mixed one. A large proportion of the wine was sold in the past to local negociants and it was only with Romaric that complete Domaine bottling came, a few years ago.

Romaric is a young guy, but one with broad horizons. After working at Radford Dale in South Africa he joined the Viticultural Institute in Beaune and got to work early in his father’s Domaine. Clearly there is still significant work to be done here, yet the buzz we heard in the UK was fully justified in the wines. Romaric is blessed with some great vineyards and he does them justice. The style is not one for long ageing, rather it is one of minerality, pure fruit, and, above all, great balance. What’s more, these wines are all remarkably fair priced. This is a domaine that we left in a state of some excitement about. It just felt right.

Speaking of feeling right, it was about now that my famous aversion to rich French food was kicking in, and I made my first stop to the chemist to get some milk of magnesia. I didn’t feel right.

Stomach fortified, we enjoyed a rather lovely lunch in Meursault and a moment of Ministry of Defense style madness, where I left the highly sensitive Roberson ‘Dossier’ of appointments in the restaurant.

Dossier recovered, we GPS’d our way to Santenay to an appointment with Lucien Muzard in Santenay, a producer who looks set to be considered the finest producer in the village.

Claude resembles Mel Gibson, with something of a strapping physicality, while bespectacled Hervé has an erudite air. They complement each other well, and they consider themselves a part of a distinguished tradition of wine-making that has existed in this proud village for centuries (the Muzard family traces its lineage in Santenay back to 1645). Their wines emphasize fruit and terroir, with new oak playing no more than a supporting role. Typical for Santenay, roughly 95% of Claude and Hervé’s production is in red wine

Now Santenay, I must confess, always feel leaves me a little cold. I know that it’s easy to call a wine ‘rustic’ and to ignore its charms, because, lets face it, not every village has the exposure of Vosne or Chambolle, but it’s just not one of my favourites. Saying that, the wines we tried were great, and the whole operation exuded class on every level. The premier crus were wines of real excellence and really transcended the appellation.

From Muzard, we went on to Domaine Bouzereau-Gruere, now run by Marie-Anne and Marie-Laure, Hubert’s two daughters. Having trained wit Jacques Carrillon, one of Puligny’s greatest growers, Marie-Anne is more than qualified to make top white Burgundy, while her sister, Marie-Laure, has taken the commercial reins. Going down to the cellars, we tasted through the whole range of 2008’s. We liked the wines, they had good definition, good fruit. Perhaps a little nondescript for me, if I’m being harsh. But built so well, with great acidity and length. It’s difficult, because commercialism comes into the equation, but we felt that these wines would be difficult to work with.

After tasting what must have been around 40 wines, we had a quick bite at La Vieux Vigneron in Rue Magdelaine, where Mark had snails, and I had pig’s trotter, which unsurprisingly was a bad move as it didn’t agree with me and my haughty stomach at all.

A couple of Heinekens later, we were ready to turn in, as we had another packed day of tastings tomorrow and another early start.

Day two to follow….

Here shop manager and tall cameraman Joe talks through the wines, good and bad with Jancis Robinson MW.

Getting out to a surprisingly sunny Provence day, we set off on the hour drive to Clos Mireille, one of the three estates owned by the Ott Family. After the usual confusion of trying to find someone who knew something about our arrival, we were met by the charming Christopher Renard, ‘the silver fox’ who wasted no time in pouring a glass of Château de Selle to go with some delicious crudités. Whilst getting re-introduced to this great wine, we had a chance to look at the marvellous accommodation at the property. Recently redesigned, it had the look of an interior straight from the pages of a magazine. The floors were concrete, the walls were concrete, it had the look of a car park, albeit with amazing lighting and antiques, very striking. I don’t think it suited the tastes of our escort Charles King, the MD of Maison Marques et Domaine, the UK importer. Over the day we tried their Domaniers wines, entry-level cuvees which were deliciously fresh and very much in the Domaine style. After lunch we were taken to the beach where we frolicked around like small children on a day trip. Worryingly, there was a TV camera there as some film producers were making a documentary about the estate, Baywatch it was not. Following this embarrassing spectacle, and my clever ‘how far can you throw a rock into the sea’ competition, we showered and dressed for dinner.

With the Clos Mireille, we enjoyed a fantastic Cerviche of Salmon, something I always seem to get whenever I go to France. It went superbly well with the Clos Mireille Blanc de Blancs, a blend of Semillon and Ugni Blanc. Interestingly, this was the wine that forged the reputation of Domaine Ott, and it’s only with time that it has switched over to the Rose. The wine has a certain saline character, that allied with the lemon freshness of the Semillon went superbly with the fish. For the main course, we had some very tender roast lamb, served with the Bandol Rouge from Château Romassin, a cherry infused, spicy and juicy red, which I have to say, I like, but not nearly as much as the other wines of the estate, not that that stopped me from polishing off my glass with gusto. After dinner the more hardy palates tackled some rare Ott Marc de Provence, which was lovely, but attacked us with a vengeance the morning after.

Next day, after picking some grapes for the 2009 vintage  we headed to Château de Selle, where we saw the winemaking team in action in the middle of harvest and tasted the rest of the range, including a 1998 Domaine Ott Rose, which must be a bit of a rarity. I found it tasty but with quite an oxidative character creeping in to the point where I would advise early drinking on all of these wines. Still, at least we didn’t try the oldest wine in their reserves, a 1932 Clos Mireille Blanc, which looked a horrific colour.

After flying back and getting back home, despite the best efforts of our taxi driver, I restored culinary equilibrium with a bland baked potato. Can’t be having too much luxury!