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When I made wine in France, we always used to use nitrogen to chase out the air that was in the neck and then create as much of a vacuum as possible before putting in the cork. Thinking about it this is a little strange if you are then going to put a breathable cork in, which will negate the effects of the nitrogen and a vacuum. As to Graig Camp's question why I hate screw caps, it is the way they look (and possibly the only wine that I have had with a screw cap, which was from NZ and the name escapes me, was supposed to be very good but was awful). I have discussed this topic with a few people and the most interesting line of thought was that it doesn't really have a place in wine. The reasoning (which is flawed) was that wine should be reveered and putting on a screw cap downgrades the whole experience of drinking a good bottle. I sort of agree although, as I stated, I know that this train of thought is flawed.

I agree that the cheaper range of wines that are not designed to be aged should not use "real" cork as this does not give any benefit to the wine. However until synthetic corks can breath I cannot see any expensive wines using them. Personally I do not mind synthetic corks but I cannot stand screw caps.

When I said problems I did not mean that the producers were going to ban him from coming. The Bordelais on the one hand love what he writes but hate the influence that he has on sales (of wines with low scores) as well as the way that the wines themselves are produced. I suppose what I mean is that the producers are not looking so much to curry Parker's "approval" (now that he has already promoted their wines!) and that they feel that wines should be made in the more traditional manner. As for 2002 Bordeaux - there are supposed to be some good wines but it is not going to be a great vintage and purchasers should choose with care. We will just have to wait a month or so.

Personally I think that Parker has other reasons (maybe I am being cynical) and that he is having problems with the producers. Many of them have said that they are going to stop making Parker-style wines and they do not appreciate his influence over prices. I think that RP would be more than happy for the chateaux owners to set their prices before he comes and visits, as the pressure on the man must be intense especially after last years scorings where he was accused of nepotism. Speaking as someone in the trade, I think that this is a good move. In the past customers only wanted to buy wines that Parker had scored well rather ignoring all others (and RP like all of us can be way off the mark sometimes). This played directly into the hands of the producers who began to set crazy prices. Anyway, the primeur tastings in a month or so's time are fairly irrelevant. Producers choose their best barrels and show something that is never quite liked the finished article (and there is no way of checking). What I would love to see is the wines being held back another year before showing them, ie rather than tasting the 2002's in 2003, it would be great to be tasting the 2001s. Not only would this give a truer picture of development, the blends on show might resemble the finished article.

Generally speaking - no I think that the shop that was mentioned was L'Intendant. It has a nice circular staircase with bins of wine all the way up the stairs. When I lived in Bordeaux it was my favourite shop as I loved the design. It is possible to buy some cheap champagne there at the other end of the Cours de L'Intendant from the wine shop (name escapes me at the moment). You can sometimes find some real bargains. You want to heck out Leclerc supermarkets and in particular the one in Leognan (which when I lived there 10 years ago was selling 1899 Lafite and 1906 Latour). They occasionaly have Foires aux Vins and some of the prices are good. I also remember going to a warehouse in the middle of the Medoc were there was a big wine sale with some great prices. I remember picking up a case of Phelan Segur 1990 for about $5 a bottle. However I think that the days of the very good prices may be long gone, but keeop an eye out for these sales.

Don't forget these are retail DPD prices. Alas in the UK we pay outrageous tax and VAT on wine Yes - I noted that these were DPD prices. I am a UK based wine merchant and have come across these companies before (hence saying that they give a good service).

Pol Roger's balthazars of White Foil, are made up from decanted bottles and are about 1 year old at most because of the problems. With the empties they are quite expensive. I seem to remember that an jeroboam costs about $25.

While the service that they offer may be very good, both merchants that you gave the URL of are a bit on the pricy side!

http://www.dooyoo.es/product/155067.html Useful if you can read Spanish!

To a certain extent the blended spirit will always be a little different, as is also the case with champagne. I suppose a lot of it comes down to the distiller and his ability to use what he has to make a blend that tastes the same. If anything goes into wood then there will always be a difference, unlike a neutral tank. I would also imagine that the changing fashion of drinks will affect the way they taste and a gradual change might be intorduced. This is not so common as the way it tastes is paramount to the brand image. More frequently a repackaging will accompany a marked changed in ("improved") taste. With whisky, I go back to Macallan 18yo. This is bottled and sold as an 18yo but they also put the distillation year on the packaging as they know that there are differences from year to year.

Mika, Did you see my earlier thread? Mount Gay XO is far better than the VSOR and I really would not go too far out of the way to get some VSOR. I would offer to post you a sample from the bottle I have but realise that this is a little strange! Had Cadenhead's 10yo rum last week, and was a little disappointed by it. Lovely nose but a little thin. Having said that I did taste it after 5 hours of whisky tasting!

I was asked to test a cheap copy of the Screwpull by s friend who was thinking of putting it in a mail order catalogue. We managed to snap the handle in two on the first bottle (which admittedly had quite a stiff cork but nothing over the top) so caveat emptore I love the sound a cork makes when you pull it out so love those plain T shaped ones. I also use a fish (as my wife gave it to me as a present and it would be rude not to use it!!) which works well without too much trouble.

How about the "original" Budweiser or Budvar or whatever it goes under? Seems to be one of the better massed produced beers from the Western world. If you want good massed produced lagers I think you have to go east or to Africa. Tusker Cobra Castle Singha etc etc

I hope that Americans boycott all French wine (why they should feel so anti-French because they disagree with US thinking is beyond me) as this will surely push the prices down for the rest of us.

I have and sell a Vin de Table from Domaine La Bouissiere in Gigondas and find that this benefits from being open for 2 or 3 days. Open bottle with a cork shoved on top. Bordeaux/Burgundy I find goes off unless using a vacuum cork

Jeroboams is owned by Laytons, who are a reputable wine merchant. I personally would not worry that the wine is on a shelf as they well know the risks involved with heat/sunlight. If you were interested I could sell you a bottle of 1944 Yquem at half the price as well as some 1955s. If you are worried about provenance these bottles have been lying in one of my customers cellars since "new".

Far rather have a Kronebourg than a Fosters that we get on tap in the UK. At least it is not as gassy.

If you are not sure whether the $100 bottle would be appreciarted why not go for 2 at $50

Thinking back on things I could have answered my own question. I bottled a 1972 Port Morant (in 2000, so was a 28yo). We had 2 casks and one was a lot better than the other. I tried to persuade my bosses to bottle only the good one, but they didn't want to be left with an inferior cask, so they decided to blend the 2 casks and bottle everything even though the quality of the good cask would be compromised (while at the same time the inferior cask would be "improved"). Mickblueeyes said that the quality of the distilate is poorer these days than days gone by, but don't you think that it is the commercial pressure to maximise output (and therefore be less selective over which casks are used) is the real problem and that the modern distilate is in fact of similar quality as that from the past?

On the whisky front, Macallan is an interesting example. They bottle their 18yo with the distillation year on as well, because they are well aware of the differences in the different vintages. The whisky is chosen barrel by barrel for the final blend, and those that do not come up to scratch are not used thus ensuring the best quality. Macallan are fortunate enough to have enough barrels to be able to do this. Can the batch of barrels make a big difference to the quality of rum? I do not know how much (might as well use St. James as an example) rum they made in 1976 under this particular label, but I would suspect that it would be harder to blend out the bad points due to a smaller production run. Therefore the differences that might be experienced from year to year might be larger than one would imagine, especially if they took the view that they had to use all the barrels available for their final blend, whether good or bad. I might be writing complete rubbish but I have experienced many "bad" casks when dealing with (bulk) malt and grain whisky. Perhaps someone could enlighten me about rum casks.

John, The story. I was trying to do a deal with one of my rum suppliers and i asked whether they had any 1967. They said no but were going to Martinique and that they would look. They found this bottle in a rum museum and snapped it up. However as it is over $300 a bottle my customer hasn't said yes to it yet!! To be honest don't really blame him as I wouldn't spend that much on a bottle! Charlie

I bought my VSOR in Barbados, so if it is bottled in the States (??) then the shipping back (??) would probably make it more expensive. However I presume that it was distilled locally. How much Cockspur is distilled in USA?

1 bottle of 1967 rum - FOUND!!! 1967 Rhum St. James, and by heck it's pricy!

Adam, I am sorry to say that you are spot on but at least you aren't going to get into any trouble there when enjoying a pint. To be honest I moved away from the White Horse for a few months because of all their beers tasting really dirty. (Wasn't just me who thought so, 2 or 3 of my friends who drink proper beer thought so). Didn't notice any Buron's on tap but will have a look next time i'm in but thought that their Yankee's ale was fantastic although lacking a little depth - perfect for 5.30pm though

Just sitting here at 11.30pm and decided to have a little glass of something so decided to try the Mount Gay Extyra Old at the same time as the Cockspur VSOR. I knew which one I usually prefer but have never tried the 2 side by side. Anyway nothing new to report as I still like the cheaper of the two - the Mount Gay - but can't work out why it is cheaper. While the XO is in my opinion above average for a mass produced rum, I find the VSOR very disappointing. Maybe it is just the style but it just a bit too thin, spirity and caramely. Don't know what you others find.