La Conseillante 1989

First time Id tried it, but it has been recommended to me by many previous customers all of which seem to like big expensive claret.

The colour was a deep purple core with a slightly redder rim. On the nose the aromas were very plummy, mulberry fruit, totally different to the Margaux. I would have to say that the nose was quite youthful, certainly not what I would have expected from a wine that is about 18 years old. On the palate there was certainly bags of fruit flavour, again plummy, mulberry, almost mixed fruit jammy kind of flavours. But wrapped around those flavours was a layer of earthy tones- cedar wood and tobacco, almost musky - like an eighties "macho" aftershave. On the palate it is a smooth as the proverbial babys bottom, soft silky tannins wrapped around the flavours of ripe victoria plums and greengages with the underlying essense of a fine cuban cigar. Over time this really opened up nicely. Pricey at £600 a bottle, but bloody good, I must seek out another bottle.

l'Hospitalet de Gazin 1997 en Magnum.

These came in as a slightly botched purchase from a brokers, who had incorrectly identified them on their broking list as bottles. I was well chuffed to discover I was getting twice the volume for the same price, so we took them. l'Hospitalet used to be quite popular on Andrew Fairlies wine list when Johnnie Walker was the sommelier there, and even when Niall Keddie took over from Johnnie it sold quite well. A combination of a cracking wine at a good price from Pomerol is always going to help.

L'Hospitalet is the second wine of Chateau Gazin, one of the larger estates in Pomerol, with some 24 hectares of vineyards planted mostly to Merlot with some Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The heavy clay soil is rich in iron oxide, giving it a distinctive red colour, and allowing the Merlot to "keep its feet wet". The estate combines the best of modern equipment - stainless steel vats for fermentation sit alongside concrete vats- with traditional techniques of viticulture and vinification. The grapes are all hand harvested and undergo a rigorous triage before being fermented between 15 and 25 days. Upto 18months oak aged in mostly second fill casks (upto 33% new) provides the wines with the perfect pedigree and their well deserved reputation for quality.

I hadnt experienced this wine in magnum before so there was a slight degree of trepidation. On the nose I was very surprised by the rich spicyness of the nose - very savoury with clove, cinnamon and nutmeg all quite dominant. Over time the spicyness took more of a backseat and allowed the fruit to show more - victoria plums and elderberry, with a forest fruit jammyness. By the end of the meal, the customers where really loving it.