Last night's dinner with Dirk Niepoort (Portugal's leading winemaker?), Neil Beckett (editor of World of Fine Wine) and Zubair Mohamed (who owns one of the UK's top wine shops, Raeburn in Edinburgh), proved to be very serious indeed. It was tremendous fun, and the wines were quite brilliant. Here are my notes.

Raymond Boulard Petraea NV Champagne
Quite a rich, perfumed nose which is fruity and nutty. Complex with some spiciness. The palate is quite rich and fruity with some sweetness to the fruit. Quite developed with nice balance. Very tasty. Very good/excellent 91

Krug 1995 Champagne
A precise, focused wine of real intensity. The nose is tight with nutty, lemony and subtly meaty notes. The palate is rich, savoury and fine with high acid. Lots of concentration and some elegance. This is a complex wine that needs some time, and in time I reckon will become profound. Expect the score to increase. Very good/excellent 94/100

Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 1995
Very serious toasty, complex, nutty, minerally nose with great depth. The palate is rich, pure and minerally with good acid. Complex and concentrated: a brilliant wine. Excellent 95/100

Louis Remy Chambertin Grand Cru 1964 Burgundy
Earthy, spicy and perfumed with a tarry, aromatic, minerally complexity. Powerful, structured palate showing lots of evolution. Delicious and quite elegant. Very good/excellent 92/100

Giacamo Coterno Barolo Cascina Francia 1994 Piedmont
Full, perfumed spicy nose with an earthy character under the red fruits. On the palate it’s tight and very structured with some savouriness. A youthful, complex wine that’s tannic and quite savoury. Serious stuff. Very good/excellent 94/100

Chave Hermitage 1998
Sweet ripe dark fruits on the nose – very elegant and rich. The palate shows a nice spicy earthiness, together with good tannins, and some minerality. It’s spicy and structured under the elegant, open fruit. Brilliantly pure and elegant with great finesse. Excellent 96/100

Emmanueal Rouget Echezeaux 1997
Dark, pure, ripe sweet red and black fruits on the nose. The palate is silky and elegant with lovely subtle spicy structure, cherry and berry-ish fruit. Sweet and quite alcoholic but showing lovely elegance. Very good/excellent 94/100

Quintarelli Amarone Riserva 1985
Very sweet, aromatic, bold and complex. Ripe sweet red fruits with some spice. The palate is sweet and rich with lovely spicy, bold red fruits and grippy structure. A remarkable wine with lots of impact. Very good/excellent 93/100