Grouped as we tasted them. Notes that ruby is aged in bottle and tawny aged in cask, except that cheap tawny will be a blend of ruby and white whereas cheap ruby will just be cheap.


Not very port-like and I wasn't very impressed, but Tony liked it. Aged in cask, dry and acidic, almost sour. It might grow on me, or Tony might get most of a bottle.


The first was sweet and smelly and bland, the second more complex and opaque and less sweet. For a cheap pleasant drink I'd go for the Monteira and I'm not sure that the Graham's was actually twice as good and therefore worth spending twice the money.


I liked both of these, and again the Monteiro was the simpler and sweeter taste. The Warre's was more complex, very blackcurranty, almost like Cassis but less sweet. I'd definitely buy the Warre's rather than the Graham's, I think it hit the value-for-money spot.


Not a vintage, but port from a single quinta, which I understood as farmholding. Very lovely and blackcurranty and dark and warming. This was my favourite and the one we walked away with (currently in the inherited decanter).


At this point we were getting onto the seriously long finishes, having to wait quite a while for the taste of one port to leave my mouth so I could taste the other. The Taylors was good tasty tawny port, a good standard. The Niepoort was heavier in smell and taste, and I think better, but I didn't think half-again as much better. If I were going to spend 30 pounds it wouldn't be on this, except as a present for someone who really liked it.


By now I was quite drunk, but the Quinta do Roriz was ok, fruity and flavoursome, but really needed more time. The manager said it needed another 10-15 years to be great. But already too expensive I think to buy now and wait that long. The Croft was just great and I hummed happily over it for some time. Rich smell and complex warmth say my notes, as well as a scrawled lovely.

During the neverending tidying-up, I discovered the notes fanf and I made during a champagne tasting at Cambridge Wine Me:rchants on 5th October, and decided to transcribe the increasingly-dodgy handwriting for posterity. The prices in brackets are rough price per bottle.

1. Non-Vintage, Launois Pére et Fils, Cuvée Reserve Crand Cru, Blanc de Blanc, Brut (£24)
Me: fine bubbles, strong yeasty smell at first, dies fairly quickly, buttery grapefruit taste
Tony: buttery, hint of marmite, peachy, citrusy, grass/cows, acidic

2. Non-Vintage, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Brut (£20-£26)
Me: much less yeasty, if any smell, very very fine bubbles, sweeter, smoother, rather blander than Launois
Tony: jucy, hint of toast, sweeter, smoother, not much smell, bland

3. Non-Vintage, Royer Pére et Fils, Brut Rosé (£18)
Me: much fizzier, yeasty, strong summer fruits, quite simple, alcopop, makes Veuve look complex
Tony: summer fruits on the nose, sweet - like kriek!

4. 1996, Joseph Perrier Fils & Co, Cuvée Royale, Brut (£30)
Me: bright, light, not yeasty, crisp lemon curd smell - LOVELY
Tony: lemon curd, crisp, chewy, orangy juicy, fantastic

5. 1995, Joseph Perrier Fils & Co, Cuvée Josephine, Brut (£50)
Me: yeasty smell, more subtle
Tony: apply granny smiths, cinnamon, bland

6. Non-Vintage, Krug, Grand Cuvée, Brut (£90)
Me: paint stripper smell! cool flavours - apples, mint
Tony: oaky, whisky, absolutely brilliant

Still amused that we both preferred the Cuvée Royale to the supposed flagship wine Cuvée Josephine. Tony of course makes up for that by liking the most expensive bottle best, whereas I'd probably be perfectly content with the Launois, and delighted with the cheaper Joseph Perrier. Not that we are currently in need of wine (or whisky for that matter).

Thursday before last I went to a whisky tasting at the Cambridge Wine Merchants, along with most of my technical colleagues at work and a few extras. I went in never yet having managed to taste all these wonderful things in whisky, but with a good will to learn after reading Raw Spirit. There were two members of staff from the shop talking us through the whiskies and encouraging us to taste with and without water. Water, oatcakes and a thing to tip excess whisky into were also provided. Despite my best efforts to only sip, by the time we got to the end I was more than a little tipsy, but it was great fun. For some reason Tony & I were sitting with all the Aussies and this led me later on to be asked if I was also from Australia (admittedly by a Canadian).
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