Just in case you didn’t know, there’s a big problem with en-primeur tastings;

Back in January 2002 the 2000 Grand Cru of Clos des Lambrays really stood out for me at a tasting organised by the UK merchant Howard Ripley.

The problem is that the wines are sometimes not representitive of what eventually gets bottled. I drank a bottle of the retail ‘version’ this week and despite lovely fruit, the palate is like chewing wood – very disappointed – this will probably be affecting the wine in 10 years time – Given that there’s a 6-pack in storage, I hope this is just an isolated batch…