Acker pre-auction tasting

1985 Haut-Brion - smoky, mint and fruit.

1996 Pichon-Lalande - lots of smoke with minerals.

1996 Palmer - minty and mineral notes.  A softer wine compared to the Pichon, and dry on the palate with plenty of tannins left.

2003 Cheval Blanc - a bit more green on the nose than the others, smoky.

Peter Sisseck - the man behind famed Spanish winery Dominio de Pingus - was here to share his wines with us.  I have long been a fan of his wines, ever since I drank a bottle of 1996 Pingus at Postrio in 2001...  It's great to finally meet the guy, but I couldn't help thinking that he looked like a blonde Austin Powers with good teeth... Must have been the hairstyle and the glasses!

2008 Flor de Pingus - big nose with smoky, dried fruits, a bit of herbs, tropical coconut and vanilla notes.  Very sweet on the palate.  Peter said this was more a "cool climate" vintage, and I could kinda see that.

2008 Pingus - tons of sweet fruit, caramel, smoke, vanilla and mint.  A richer wine and definitely in another league compared to Flor de Pingus.

2009 Flor de Pingus - loads of potpourri, forest, herbs... a huge, sweet nose.  Very tannic.  The 2009s are still barrel samples that will be bottled in the near future.

2009 Pingus - sweet and ripe, with dates, dried fruits and caramel notes.  Lovely.  Supposed to be a bigger vintage than 2008 but I think the 2008 is drinking better tonight.

Comte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair was here and we tasted a few wines from the 2008 vintage of Liger-Belair.

2008 Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée Clos du Château - lovely nose of leather, animal, fresh and dried fruits.  Beautiful and lively.

2008 Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Reignots - lots of toasty, roasted corn, oaky and smoky.

2008 Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots - riper and sweeter, a little toasty.

2008 Liger-Belair Echezeaux - very smooth and lovely, with lots of fruit.  Obviously better than the 1er Crus...

Jean-Luc Thunevin was also here, and I actually had missed a dinner featuring his wines on Monday.  I was totally the groupie, telling him that one of my best buys ever was the L'Interdit de Clos Badon.  Jean-Luc thinks - quite rightly - that it is actually better than the classified wine and would last longer.

2009 Valandraud - huge nose, very ripe, smoky and very rich. 

2010 Valandraud - minty, a little greener compared to the 2009, with mineral notes.

1999 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva - rubber, alcoholic, a little fruit, acidic on the nose like lemon juice...smells like rubbing alcohol.  Totally not pleasant at all.

1996 Masseto - smoky, ripe, sweet fruit, tangerine, oak and vanilla.  Very nice.

2000 Léoville-Barton - smoky, minty, a classic claret, a bit fruity but crappy on the palate.

1999 Cheval Blanc - smoky, oaky with brett.