And a very merry Christmas to you

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Last Saturday Julia and I celebrated exactly 10 years of working together, and combined it with our annual Christmas dinner for members of the JancisRobinson.com team. 

Our Spanish specialist Ferran Centelles was able to join us in London last year when I was still suffering from pneumonia, but this year only the UK-based members of the team and (most of) their other halves were round the table so we were a mere dozen. (Perhaps Ferran was put off by the slightly bizarre nature of the wines we served last year – two Ningxia fizzes and another collection of magnums which included a Chateau Mercian, Kiiroka Koshu 2007 from Japan and a Movia Slovenian 1999 oaked white blend – both in fine form.)

Before dinner Rachel Shaughnessy’s husband Lee, a professional photographer who would doubtless have set up the shot rather differently, took this picture of (left to right) my husband Nick Lander, Emily Percival, who helps Tam upload all those tasting notes, Tamlyn Currin, Richard Hemming MW, me, Alex Hunt MW, Julia Harding MW and our subscriptions supremo Rachel, the longest-serving member of the team other than Nick and me.

As usual, and as you can tell by the distinctly distressed apron, Nick was chef for the evening and served us Quality Chop House smoked cod’s roe on toast; fresh crab with heirloom tomatoes; roast beef with fresh horseradish cream, baked onions and his very own cross between roast potatoes and chips; a whole Risely (our current favourite British cheese, a washed-rind cousin of Wigmore); and a wide range of sweetmeats to finish off with.

We kicked off with a magnum of Cristal 2005, specifically chosen to celebrate Julia’s 10 years in harness. We are all so lucky to benefit from her exceptional diligence, appetite for work and eye for detail. I can assure you that this site would have a far, far greater incidence of typos and grammatical infelicities were it not for the role Julia plays as copy-editor in chief – quite apart from her brilliant contributions to articles and tasting notes, as well as all her work on The Oxford Companion to Wine (all the viti and vini entries), The World Atlas of Wine (checking all the maps) and Wine Grapes (almost all of the sections on Where it’s grown and what it tastes like).

This 2005 set me thinking that I would make the theme of the dinner vintages divisible by five – not least because we are drawing to the end of a year that ends with a five and is looking very promising in terms of wine quality. It was a bit of a struggle to find suitable magnums as most of my cellar is made up of bottles, with quite a few halves of sweet wines. But I managed – until we got to the Graham’s 40-year-old tawny port very kindly donated by the Symington family in recognition of my 40th anniversary as a wine writer on 1 December. That 75cl bottle disappeared with lightning speed and was supplemented by various other favourite leftovers from my researches into sweet and strong wines.

My tasting notes, taken just before everyone arrived, are below.

Louis Roederer, Cristal Brut 2005 Champagne

Magnum. So powerfully scented that it perfumed the room on opening. Meaty, savoury nose. Not at all sweet. Bone dry and upright somehow. Very appetising – not at all rich. A seriously good aperitif champagne though not one of the most concentrated Cristals. Impressive persistence though.

Drink
2012
2020
18

Ramey, Platt Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 Sonoma Coast

Ramey's coolest site with Wente clones from the Hyde vineyard planted densely in 2003. Just 5 miles from the Pacific.
Magnum. Mid straw colour. Lightly leesy, quite tight nose with a palate much more agreeably rich than the introvert, 'minerally' nose suggests. Quite rich with a green streak in the mid palate and then very refreshing, lifted and clean on the finish. I don't think you would put it anywhere in California other than in a cool section of Sonoma Coast. Absolutely no hurry to drink this from magnum.

14.5%
Drink
2013
2018
17

Ch TrotteVieille 2005 St-Émilion

Magnum. Mid lively crimson with a ruby rim. An initial inspection of the base of the bottle shows no sign of sediment. Reticent nose of ripe fruit and some charcoal. Some fine tannin and quite a bit of acidity. This is still quite tightly wound so I shall decant it before serving in three to four hours' time. More classic than anything OTT right banky. But not that exuberant. I will try to come back and add my impressions of it later – and possibly re-score it. Later: This relaxed and opened out to be really rather charming – though arguably with more obvious Cabernet than Merlot, so I upgraded it from 16.5+ to 17! 

14%
Drink
2016
2028
17

Contino, Gran Reserva 2005 Rioja

Magnum. Healthy crimson colour. Rich brambly nose with structure but with tannins in retreat – even if it is not yet at its apogee. Agreeably, lightly gamey note on the end. Really lively and refreshing. Long and rich. A very complete wine with no obvious sweet vanilla – no overt oak note at all – just concentrated, well balanced fruit. I am in two minds whether to decant it but am hugely impressed by the persistence. 

14%
Drink
2014
2030
18

Tempier, Cabassaou 1995 Bandol

Magnum. Mid ruby. Lightly gamey/animal on the nose (that's Mourvèdre for you!). Smoky, black olives (honest – not just the Provençal connection). Very sweet and round. Great joy to taste a mature vintage of this famously tight, concentrated wine. Very warm and tarry with masses of sweet fruit too. Lots of fun but definitely evolved.

13.5%
Drink
2010
2023
17.5

Graham's, 40 Year Old Tawny NV Port

Very pale fox red. This wine must date from very soon after the Symingtons took over Graham's and must contain masses of wine that pre-dates their era. Wonderfully waftily perfumed. Some rancio but the sweetness and featherlight orange peel impression trumps it. It's like being caressed by a feather. With some walnuts on the finish. Very delicate but such a treat.

20%
Drink
2010
2020
18