1. Meya Corona 1995 Pinot grigio
Northen Italy. 12% alcohol. OK
£6.80.

2. Best's Columbard 1995
Light straw colour. Good zing, very fruity. Pineapple? Apricot. A bit of body. 11.5% Victoria, Australia.
£8.50.

3. Chatsfield Chardonnay 1995
Fine yellow colour. Quite intense vanilla nose. Very buttery/butterscotch, with lots of vanilla, tannins and tropical fruit. Too much oak? 13.5%. Australia.
£11.75.

4. Chateau Xanadu Semillon 1995
Light in colour. No terribly open, slightly grassy nose. Quite sharp on the palate but fruity, with a hint of apricot. Oaky, good acid. Margaret River, W. Australia. Good.
£14.99.

5. Lustau Reserva Sherry, Paolo Cortado Peninsula
Good dark whiskey colour. Nose is nutty with some marzipan. Nutty on the palate, quite a burn. Between Amontillado and Olorosa. Recommended ith smoked fish. Good wine at a good price.
£11.70

6. Periquita 1994 Jose Maria de Fonseca
Vino Regional Terras do Peninsula de Setubal. Castelao Frances & Espadeiro grapes. Light red, salty fish or seaside nose. Very salty on the tongue, but quite pleasant.
£5.99

7. Condado de Haza, Ribero del Duero, Spain. 1994
This is the second label of Pesquera. A deep velvety red, with soft, smooth, slightly farmyard nose. Very tannic, very oaky and dry on the palate. Too young, and perhaps not enough fruit to outlive the hardness. 13% alcohol.
£9.95

8. Sequioa Grove Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley California, 1994
Clear red with a hint of pink. Quite closed; a bit cold at first it developed to a good fruit/wood mix. Good fruit and tannin balance, bit of alcohol burn. Again too young, but with potential. Not my favourite of the night but widely liked by the company.
£12.95

9. Ravenswood Zinfandel, Sonoma Cailfornia, 1994
Crystal clear light red. Interesting, somewhat closed and quite uncharacteristic nose. Fruit and tannin on the palate, a good burn and rereshing zing. Way too young, but worth keeping. It's made for 7-10 years aging, left on the vine as long as possible and fermented by wild yeasts. Astonishingly, given my anti-Zinfandel bias, I liked it (so it can't have tasted like standard Z.). 14.5%!
£14.99

10. Best's Great Western Shiraz, Bin No. 0, Victoria, 1993
Sharply clear dark red, huge pastilles nose (said by one colleague to be stewed). Lovely, peppery and full of red fruit pastilles. Good tannins and acid balance. Will age. Doesn't have typical 'hot country' characteristics to my mind. Two years in American oak. 13.5%
£12.95

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