ctgm

I am not sure if there is any truth in it (but I am sure someone knows) that certain European wine producers used to rinse their casks with cassis to add a bit of flavo(u)r

Jason, I think that Tres Vieux has to be only 5 years of age and Hors d'age 7 years. I always think that they are a little misleading in the way that they imply an age of 20-30 years. But as you say most rums are under 10 years old. I think that one of the reasons is that the angels share is so high (compared to about 1% pa for scotch) Bristol Spirits rums range from a 10yo up to a 25yo. At my last job, I bottled a 28yo Demerara which in all honesty wasn't that good as it had picked up all the bad points from the cask. As for Fat Guy's question about aging in the bottle, he is right that it won't improve. Apparently the only spirit that will improve in the bottle is Chartreuse but not haviong drunk enough of it I am unable to comment. With regards to the vintage statement rather than an age statement, I am sure that some of this is down to marketing. I have a client who is only interested in vintage rums as his perception is that they are of better quality.

If its red, put it in a very cold fridge If its white put it in the freezer and then drown it with cassis

depends if they know anything about wine and whether they are likely to open it when you are there. sometimes has to be kept for a larger gathering when many a bottle is open, thus giving you a chance to distance yourself from it.

I'd be up for it. Craig, if findable in London I could always post to you. As for the no Chardonnay, reminds me of a great interview that I saw on TV once with an Australian producer saying that they made 9 great chardonnays in 10 years compared with the French who might only make 1 or 2. Then you had the French producer saying "we do not make a chardonnay but use chardonnay to make a Puligny Montrachet"

I have done some research and have come up with something that might help. There is an Italian Company who have a website http://www.enotecacostantini.com who apparently had a bottle of Rum Sugar Estates 1949 at about $67. Not sure if this is still available but over to you.

Can do 1929 Bally and 1939 Lamb's but not 1949!! Even in the Carib I think that you won't find it too easy to find a 1949. Having said that I think that some of the flagons of Royal Navy rum were distilled in 1949. I will check this out and see if they have an age statement on the bottle.

ILB, I sent you an e-mail. I can do some (not a lot though) of the ones that you sent. Unfortunately can't do Freedom any more but can do WT Kentucky Legend. Also the 1855 Reserve comes in 37.5cl bottles only (or at least that's all I can get). The biggest problem will be the fact that all the bottles are UK Duty paid. For example the Kentucky Legend is 119.2º which will add on about $14.50 to the bottle.

I love Bonny Doon's Cigare Volant (Flying Saucer). Aparently Mr. Graham saw one when he was walking in the vineyards!! (Edit: found this not to be true but it was a law in Chateauneuf that banned flying saucers from landing/over-flying the vineyards) There are some weird names out there: Utter Bastard Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush The Dog's Bollocks Check out http://www.winelabels.org/labels.htm Nice to see that some people have a sense of humour. Unfortunately many of these wines are diabolical and have to have a silly name to sell.

From a personal point of view, I think that Chile has let a fantastic opportunity slip. In England they made a concerted effort to take on the Australian wines and had a lot of success. Maybe it was the novelty of it, but it seems that the cheaper range of Aussie wines reassesed themselves and are making much better quality than the Chilean wines of similar price. To a certain extent I believe that over production is the problem with Chile. The 2 wines that have ahd a "glorious" past who under achieve are Cusino Macul and Los Vascos. I have been lucky enough to try some from the days before big investment and find them much better than todays wines (having said that I must confess to having been put off them so have not tried for a couple of years now). The only Chilean wine that I have in my cellar is the 1988/1994/1995 don Melchior which is quite a nice drop. As far as Argentina is concerned the UK market share is still very small. I am slightly biased about the wines as I have a friend who makes and has a vineyard in the south. His own vieyard makes a fantastic 100% Malbec, which he sells to his distributors at about $40.

I missed out on Vinexpo as too expensive (even from England) but heard that all the tents of the Grands Marques had no air conditioning and that their fridges weren't that great. It was only 40ºc!

Maybe you should go round my parents house and drink some of their beer which has a best before date ranging from sometime between 1995 and 2000.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,...-736331,00.html I suspect that you Americans will not really think that much of what Mr Cazes has to say!!

Waiting to get a picture and once I have one I'll try and post it on the board. All I know is that the flagons are in their original straw baskets (!?). Being a pedant, I believe that these are property of the Ministry of Defence (rather than being specifically for the Navy) although I am not sure if this makes a difference (expect not).

I've been offered a couple of Royal Navy flagons (2 gallons each) 97º, distilled c. 1945 (or it could be 1949) Does anyone have any information about these and what they are worth? I know that the rum is relatively young and unaged and that it is not that rare, but any info would be appreciated.

Just received some offers from one of the negociants I use in Bordeaux and included was the follwoing: "As you know, the Crus Bourgeois of the Médoc have just been reclassified. Of the 450 Châteaux previously entitled to use this mention on the label, a mere 247 remain......a selection of the newly classified Crus Bourgeois Supérieurs, the category just below the 9 Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels." Nice to learn something new.

The problem with ALL scoring systems is that they ALL score too highly. How often does Parker (not picking in him in particular) score a wine 15 out of 100. Talking to people and his scoring system there is a feeling that you might as well mark the wines out of 50 as I am not sure that I have ever seen a wine at the 50 point mark. I think that I have seen some at 67 ish where he says they are thin, dilute or nasty (but in his more literate style). If they are truly nasty why mark in the 60s and not the 10s or 20s?

Jancis says that she is just calling as she see's it. So does Parker. It's as FatGuy says, why do people follow Parker so closely? Maybe he is in tune with the "average" wine drinker or maybe drinkers are afraid to take the plunge without some reassurance. I think that it has also got alot to do with people investing in wine. The more influence he gets the more people. Here in England I sometimes feel that people are afraid to state their own opinions especially if it differs from Parker. Merchants (myself included) will find it easier to sell wines if they have higher scores so tend to "let" him sell the wines for us. We dont like it and (personally) disagree quite often with his thoughts but.... My Japanese clients are even more influenced by him that the British - I think that this is down to the wine market being very young there and it goes back to the opinion/reassurance that Parker brings. Whether you agree with him or not, you have to admire him for making such a success.

OK - the Fruits de Mer was presumably an Edelzwicker. If this is established already and approved then what are the discenting growers complaining about. Is there a difference in what Deiss is doing?

I always thought that there was a wine that was a blend that was perfectly legal with INAO. The vineyard that I used to import had a wine called Fruits de Mer. I am not sure how common Fruits de Mer is but it was a blend of all sorts - Sylvaner, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc etc etc (I also want to add Chardonnay but am not sure any is allowed to be grown in Alsace). I preume that Fruits de Mer is the vineyards particular blend but perhaps someone could enlighten me as Alsace is not my forte

There's a great van on Chelsea Bridge that stays open all night (serving the cab drivers). It does good, greasy "low" food.

Ringwood Fortyniner. Fantastic beer from my local brewery http://www.ringwoodbrewery.co.uk/fortyniner.htm

Hi Marcus, How things in Brussels? The rep. said that the goods are now made in Dom Rep but the label on the miniature says Florida. Is there a difference between the Florida bottlings and the Dominican one? Do hope so as the Florida one has far too much caramel on it. It reminds me of a slightly stronger than normal Bailey's {oops - let the cat out of the bag there by confessing to know what Bailey's tastes like :•)}. Presumably the reason that this is not made in Cuba is the trade embargo? {This reminds me of a great story I heard, which is totally off topic. An American admiral was giving a press conference and had a Cuban cigar in his mouth, when an alert journalist pointed out that he was smoking contraband. The admiral replied "Isn't it normal to burn your enemy's crops?"}

Just received a sample of the Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 anos. I presume that this is the same as being discussed. However this one is produced and bottled in Lake Alfred (Fl). I must say that I am a little disappointed in it. It really does not taste like a 40% spirit but more like a 25% liqueur. The 5cl sample is in a plastic bottle so am wondering whether this has been tainted in some way. Does it always show such smoothness?

I heard about this but cannot remember if it was Beaujolais in general or just Beuajolais Nouveau?