I’ve kind of got out of the habit of lunching well. You know: old school wine trade lunches where you leave your desk before noon and write off the rest of the day. So it was nice to have a chance to lunch properly, and in good company, at 8 Hoxton Square with Negociants. Their Christmas lunches can be quite epic and this was no exception.

The wines? Here are my notes.

Jansz 2009 Tasmania, Australia
This is taut and lively with nice focused citrus and pear fruit. Precise and pure with the focus on the attractive fruit, this is an impressive fizz. 90/100

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2010 Margaret River, Australia
Fine with lovely toasty notes complementing the citrus fruit. It’s very pure and there’s a lovely, integrated bready, toasty richness here. 92/100

Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling 2004 Eden Valley, Australia
Very fine with subtle toast and lanolin notes, and quite a limey kick. It’s bold and has depth and weight to it, with a nice spicy finish. Classic dry style Eden Valley Riesling. 92/100

Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz 2006 Clare Valley, Australia
This was a wine I used to love a great deal back in the late 1990s. It’s not really the style I go for anymore, but there’s no doubting that this is a superbly made, impressive Clare Shiraz that carries its considerable alcohol (15%) well. Lovely sweet, smooth, dense tarry, textured black fruits with some peppery notes in the background. A seductive core of sweet blackberry and blackcurrant fruit is the basis of this concentrated wine, and there’s plenty of detail here too. 94/100

Yalumba The Steeple Vineyard Shiraz 2010 Barossa, Australia
From a biodynamic vineyard in light pass. This is sweet, smooth and ripe with pure, well defined liqueur-like blackcurrant and cherry fruit. Lush, smooth and seductive with a savoury, salty character adding interest. 93/100

Nautilus Estate Pinot Noir 2010 Marlborough, New Zealand
From magnum. Beautifully pure and seductive with smooth black cherry and plum fruits. There are fine spicy notes here, with lovely morello cherry characters and fine grained tannins. Quite lovely. 93/100

Yalumba Museum Muscat NV Australia
You have to love this stuff: intense, raising and very sweet with rich notes of cherries, plums and spice playing supporting roles. 93/100

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