Les Charmilles de Tour Blanche (Sauternes) 2001: The second wine of La Tour Blanche. In the glass, this wine displays a rich orange-golden hue. The nose is bright and characterful, with a really pithy and zesty edge to the sweet orange fruit, nuanced with the freshness of lemon zest, flower petals and ginger, sweetened with elements of barley sugar and a light honeyed character. Lovely bright substance, showing purity of fresh, sweet, orange and barley sugar fruit, touched by a rich seam of pithy-grippy bitterness. This adds a lovely backbone to the wine, which with the fine acidity underpins the attractive, polished, slightly fat sweetness. A fine acid core. Notes of apricot botrytis comes through too, but it is the bitter, minerally structure of the wine that really lifts it. Very impressive, especially for a second wine. Long, too. 17/20

Château Filhot (Sauternes) 2001: Although I did not intend adding any other Sauternes to this tasting, having tasted a fair selection of 2001 Sauternes in the last eighteen months and finding them rather sullen, I decided to at least include Filhot, as an experiment if nothing else. That was a mistake, as this wine shows as anticipated; aromatically it is very closed and ungiving right now, with just a sense of honey-tinged grippy fruit and little else. The texture is very appropriate for the vintage and property, showing a moderate weight, with a nice grip to it. There is good structure, rather pithy in style, with an appealing vein of mineral and a very welcome backbone of acidity too. Overall though, on this outing, withdrawn and unflattering. As with the other wines of this vintage, this one needs time. 16-17/20

Domaine de Vauroux Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre 2001: A very light gold, cool-climate hue here. The nose that follows is just super, all matchstick and stone, the latter showing a particularly interesting smoky, struck-flint character. And behind this there is a low level of nuanced yellow fruit, lightly dried and slightly floral. The palate starts convincingly and displays a lovely mineral backbone as suggested by the nose, and there is a fine structure underpinning it all as well. It doesn't display the fine harmony I would like though, and at times I can't help thinking I would like a little more substance or stuffing in the midpalate. It does build towards the finish though, where it takes on a more honeyed character in keeping with its premier cru status, backed up by a pithy grip, and only the slightly dry, dusty weight detracts. On the whole though, very typical of the appellation, and it will be interesting to revisit this. 16.5/20

Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 2001: The nose here immediately shows a delightful liquid stone and floral character, as it opens out also showing some very expressive, pithy-bitter citrus fruits, nuanced with slightly riper notes of peach skin too, although this should not be taken as a sign of over-ripeness or exuberance. This is a taut, finely defined wine from an aromatic point of view, with a stony, biting character. Texturally it has that polished gras that grand cru wines can show, with plenty of pithy bite behind it, and a zesty-bitter streak of lemon. Grippy, yet ultimately pleasing, long and rather polished, with firm structure in the finish, this is a very good wine. Very light matchsticky elements in the finish and length add some interest. A wine still on the way up. 17/20

Domaine Huet Vouvray Pétillant 2001: Not quite my last bottle of this, but it is close to it. A lovely golden hue in the glass, with a gentle and quite fine bead. The nose is just as delightful as always, quite toasty, but with the golden apple fruit of Vouvray. This is very typical of the appellation. There are secondary scents of smoke, apple and apricot. On the palate it has a lovely, tense feel. There is the subtle suggestion of richness but this is more than cut through by the bright minerality and acid core. The flavours include citrus fruits, with a beautiful, almost dried-fruit concentration, and there is a slight tinge of mushroom too, leading into a sappy, fresh finish. The best showing yet. An exceptionally good wine. 18/20

Château d'Epiré Savennières 2001: This has a richer hue than I was expecting, and this first impression continues onto the nose; aromatically it is open and expressive, but with a very soft, mellifluous suggestion. It has a ripe clean fruit style with a sweet edge, with a gently sugared, honeyed character. It suggests softly baked apples, with little organic suggestions of wool and straw. Then it tightens up showing green apples and seashells. The palate, however, is a complete contrast; there is none of the softness or flattery that the nose suggests. It starts off in an austere and upright fashion, with a slightly lean feeling, steely fruit, and a reserved weight. The acidity isn't so prominent though, so that it keeps a solid rather than bright feel on the palate, and rolls into the finish with a little twist of dry, salted (rather than sweet) caramel. Attractive wine, but no real outstanding features here. Long and slightly bitter in the end. 15/20

Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu Clos de la Soucherie 2001: This wine has a slowly deepening hue here, taking on a slightly more golden-yellow tinge now. Aromatically this is delightful. with scents suggestion of quince jam, herbal tea and over it all a great sense of deep and evocative minerality. Behind this, a little high-toned nuance, honeyed but also sharply defined. The palate is immediately rich and broad, but never spreading out too much, remaining defined by soft but adequate acidity, lending the wine a very gentle, polished, slowly rolling feel. It has, as the nose suggested, apricot and quince jam, mixed with honey and herbal tea nuances, and a firm grippy minerally backbone. The end of the palate is really quite firm, allowing the sweetness through but showing a firm grip all around it. Long, bright and really nicely structured, although to be critical the acidity doesn't provide much of the definition here. All the same, this is a real pleasure. 17.5/20

Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu L'Anclaie 2001: This has a fine, honeyed, orange-gold hue in the glass, a tinge richer than its Pierre-Bise peers in this tasting. Aromatically it comes across very bright, with a nose of lemon freshness behind richer honey tones, and a fine crystalline, herbal tea nuance. Despite this suggestion of definition this is certainly showing a seductive richness though, with a luscious and fruit-rich character defined by the stony and laser-bright frame. Smoky, minerally, honeyed and textured on the palate, with quite a pithy nuance to the fruit. It seems rather fatter than I remember on this assessment, with intense nut elements suggestive of praline and almond paste, but with a lovely freshness and character all the same. Pithy bitterness contrasted against creamy sweetness here. Great length too. 18/20

Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu Rouannières 2001: A golden hue, and for me probably the truest to the appellation in terms of the aromas on this tasting. There are some evocative and exuberant characteristics here, with bright, crystalline, herbal tea character, along with some richer notes reminiscent of honey-candied pineapple swirled with fresh cream. Good quincy botrytis substance too, which in combination with all the noble richness makes for a very special character. Bright and well defined on the palate, quickly broadening out and filling up into a fleshy substance through the middle of the palate, but maintaining a very fresh grit too, and as it progresses into the finish it continues with this very fine balance of substance, sweetness and acidity. I don't find any volatility (as previously noted with my last bottle) but there is certainly a stern, structured seam running through it. And around that, a wealth of sweet fruit flesh, with a delightful, tropical, mango-like twist. This is just delicious. 18/20

Château Pierre-Bise Quarts de Chaume 2001: A delightfully rich hue here, certainly a shade deeper than the preceding Coteaux du Layon cuvées. The nose says it all really; it is heady, complex rather than sweet, with deep and bitter citrus fruit, yet it remains bright and aromatic. There are hints of almonds and sage, with also a very slight twist of volatility. Certainly complex, with some beautiful apricotty botrytis notes, like flower blossom. An amazing texture, rich and certainly creamy, with orange citrus fruits, with a bitter hint, but subtle when set against the substance of the wine. Lovely freshness. Not just sweet, lovely savoury seam to it here as well. Really fine development here, great structure, and massive length too. Superb. 18.5/20

Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume 2001: From a half bottle. A fine, burnished, orange-gold hue in the glass here. Aromatically this seems to be more dense, concentrated and more complex than I recall from previous tastings even within the last year. It kicks off with rich notes of biscotti and concentrated orange-honey fruit, opening out to reveal more peach and apricot, and then that seam of caramelly richness which has marked this vintage ever since I first tasted it. But despite this depth and complex concentration, it still feels bright and fresh. This is also the case on the palate, which is broad and intensely flavoured as the nose suggested, with a solid texture underneath the character, underpinned by a very fine lightly pithy, lemon-orange citrus bite. Very long. This is just lovely now. 18.5/20

François Pinon Vouvray Cuvée Tradition 2001: A shimmering wine, pale although not free of pigment, just a faded straw-yellow hue. The nose has freshness, purity and interest, with bare hints of liquid stone bringing in a fine sense of structure and minerality, whilst alongside there is apple skin and orange zest too, with a little more time opening out to reveal more evolved Chenin notes, fluent notes of straw and wet wool. Beautifully fleshy on entry, the wine showing a weight that belies its residual sugar. There is an appealing savoury bitterness too, matched by fruit essences redolent of orange zest and pear, matched by a building minerality and lovely, gritty, pervasive core of acidity. This pithy-gritty backbone of savouriness really comes to the fore towards the end of the wine, and it dominates the finish, the sugar taking a backseat. It keeps the finish going on and on as well. A lovely wine, bright but structured and savoury. 17/20

Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Émile 2001: A rather soft nose at first, reticent too, although it does open up within an hour to reveal more overt notes of honeyed limes on toast. Nevertheless the aromatic definition does not improve, the scents remaining definable but hardly the most precise. The same characteristic is currently afflicting the palate, which is rather full and broad, but with little interest through the middle and it is only in the finish that I see a sudden flourish of depth and character. The structure on the palate currently seems very diffuse and warm. This is being really awkward at present, and I suspect this is simply a matter of youthful inhibition; ten years is just too young for this cuvée (when will I learn?). There is a rather solid length to the finish. This needs time, and hopefully it will tighten together if left to slumber. 17-18/20

Domaine Courbis Cornas Les Eygats 2001: A wine that shows the value of decanting as this was dull and almost buttery when freshly opened, but developed a much more savoury, dry and succulent character with some time in the decanter. The nose soon moves into a mature, animally and slightly rubbery place, with aromatic complexities redolent of juniper berries, smoke and roasted game meats. Really very expressive and even a touch evocative; there's no searching for the aromas here. Slightly animally which I really like. Fresh, savoury, dry, leanly textured and full of substance, Really quite substantial on the palate, and although it has an abrupt and dry attack, and still carries quite a lot of tannin here. Although it is ripe and crunchy and well polished, it also has a great mouthfilling density which really gives it a real presence. A slightly chalky edge to it as well which keeps the texture in check, with touches of raspberry. A smoky charcoal finish, supple but revealing an intense structure and substance. Delicious stuff, very long, great now but could keep for years and years. 17/20

Coudoulet de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône 2001: The second wine of Beaucastel. This looks a little pale at first, but in the glass there is a good depth. It opens up and asserts itself rather quickly, showing roasted meat and baked cherry fruit on the nose, with a firm savoury-spicy backbone which gives this wine a lot of appeal. Don't let that baked comment fool you; despite it this is fresh and aromatically appealing. There are smoky-smouldering elements to it as well. Certainly lots of savoury, concentrated interest here. Really well balanced on the palate, showing plenty of concentration, with a cool baked cherry element, also spice and certainly great substance, but it is also thankfully quite coolly structured, with grainy tannins which run into the very long finish. Any nuances of over-richness seen on previous tastings have now gone; this is savoury and deep, but also well-framed and composed. Lovely texture to it in the finish. No rush to drink up here. 17.5/20

Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: A dark and maturing wine, with a very deeply coloured core and a dusty red rim. Richly styled on the nose, a very ripe character, with slightly baked cherry fruit, sweet with the scents of dense, freshly tanned leather along with tobacco, liquorice and spices, especially cloves. There is little in the way of fruit, the aromas more earth, cedar and mushroom. There is a slightly chalky edge to it, and a raspberry-on-toast element though. On the palate it is dense, hugely concentrated, firm and still tannic. Around this lies a plush and creamy substance. The fruit character is baked, with some sweetness, and a peppery finish. After a couple more hours in the decanter it feels more tightly reined in, more elegant. It remains dark and dense but with a more savoury, meaty element to it, and a cooler sense to the structure, with greater freshness as a result, but it still shows all that unresolved substance. There is great potential here, but it feels a little confused at present. 18-19/20

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf du Pape 2001: A surprisingly mature hue here, with quite a mahogany red tone to it, and not the depth of pigment I was expecting, but I don't think this is anything out of the ordinary for aging Grenache. It still predominantly has fruit on the nose, with an aged, maturing, slightly cooked feel to it, along with scents of leather and tar. If I were to try and encapsulate the scents in as few words as possible I would suggest baked cherries that have lost their sweetness, mixed with dried autumn leaves, sprinkled with cloves and cumin seed. At least it does not have the volatility of the bottle I tasted last year. A good substance to it on the palate, rich and full but not with the broad and creamy sweetness I find in some examples of Châteauneuf du Pape, wines which tend to appeal to my palate less than this one does. The fruit here has an autumnal feel, an emerging 'brown' edge to it like those leaves, along with a pile of spicy, peppery sensations which I think reflect the wine's 14% alcohol as much as any other component. It has a rather straight-sided structure which is welcome, but more peppery spice and a touch of heat in the finish too. 17/20

Prieuré de St Jean de Bebian Coteaux du Languedoc 2001: I can hardly believe this is my first bottle since 2003, as this is the last one in my cellar; where did all my other bottles go? Lots of colour in the glass, maturing but with a sure red pigment, and plenty of density at its core. The nose is full and expressive, with smoky, smouldering garrigue notes, scents of bacon and olive, and also a firm, bright, minerally suggestion. Aromatically it seems dense but also crisp and defined which is very welcome; and happily this fine definition does indeed come across on the palate, where the dense and yet savoury black olive character marries well with smoke and cherry skin notes, backed up by a seam of elegant tannins and fresh acidity, keeping the finish very clean. A wine of substance, but also freshness, and a bitter and savoury edge, this is a remarkably good showing; what a blow that this is my final bottle. 17.5/20

Domaine de la Rectorie Banyuls Cuvée Leon Parcé 2001: This wine is now taking on a mature, tawny-chocolatey hue, dark, matt and deep. This seems remarkably advanced compared to my last bottle, only 2-3 years ago. The nose has really developed in keeping with the wine's appearance, losing any primary cherry fruit characters it once had, now showing a much more evolved character; the fruit profile focuses much more on figs now, sprinkled with cocoa and chocolate, and alongside there are elements of tobacco, cloves, undergrowth and brazil nut. A rather seductive character on entry, rich and polished rather than fleshy and through the midpalate revealing some peppery grip as well as a fair whack of spirit. This brings a warmth and kick to the finish of the wine, which pervades and enhances the finish. The Brazil nut and leather-tobacco complexity found on the nose is very apparent also. There is a chance, considering there are some very faint elements suggestive of oxidation here, and also the wine's advanced character, that this bottle isn't entirely typical though. 17/20

Domaine Cauhapé Jurançon Noblesse de Temps 2001: This has a glorious golden hue in the glass, rich and shimmering. Aromatically a fabulously complex and evolved character, rich in deep, botrytis-tinged aromas. It is bright, perfumed, direct and well-framed. Coming along with this this is a panoply of rich aromas, of caramel and toffee, with hints of roasted banana (a rare moment when banana seems attractive in wine) and candied lemon, melting sugar and cinnamon. Intense fruit. Delicious mellifluous style on the palate, with soft and caramel-tinged fruit, carried long beautiful by an apricot and lemon lift, and underneath there is crunchy structure. Touches of coffee. Beautiful balance and freshness, but also great weight and breadth. Delicious, mouth-watering finish, with a flourish of grippy, pithy, phenolic elements which add a fine twist of bitterness to the fruit. And it is very long too. Stunning wine. 18.5/20

Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo 2001: A very reassuring aroma as soon as the cork is pulled, slightly sour and dry cherry fruit, imbued with notes of leather and spice, especially clove and cinnamon. With more air it seems to withdraw into itself, and strangely display more primary aromas. The fruit shows some sweeter tones, more like ripe plump cherry, dark and rich, although alongside I find more evolved notes of orange peel and white pepper. Nicely texture at the start, although certainly not fat or flattering, and this appealing, reserved style is maintained through the midpalate. There are little notes of smoke and cherry stone coming in, but the fruit still manages to feel fleshy and ripe, even if there is a slightly spiky structure underneath, primarily acidity although there is also a seam of crystalline tannins giving some backbone here as well. The slightly citrusy notes come in with cranberry and more of that cinnamon, so overall the fruit style is crisp and bright. And the finish is long, slightly severe and structured. A very appealing although still rather awkward wine at this point. Looking back at my previous notes, it is fascinating to see how this wine has evolved from glossy youth, through uninterpretable adolescence into nascent maturity. But this wine still has a lot to give. I'm glad I have another couple tucked away. 18/20

Castello di Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 2001: A really dark hue, but with a seam of maturity to the colour. The nose is deeply concentrated, with elements of maturing bitter fruit, dark bitter-sweet cherries, dark chocolate, smoke and coffee, and overall it comes across as very compact, still with a very intense, tightly-wound character. There are little notes of custard powder too, tar and aromatic floral notes, but also a soy-balsamic intensity. Very full in the mouth, rich and concentrated as the nose suggested, with a huge and very tangible solid substance to it. Great acidity, wonderful lift, with a slightly sour character to the fruit, smoky with tinges of cranberry and soot, with great defining acidity. Most notable we still have a very considerable seam of tannins here, very ripe with a great, velvety weight, less obvious through the midpalate but more gripping at the end. Long and very substantial. Bitter fruit finish. This is truly great wine, which needs years yet. 18.5/20