La Mission Haut Brion 2003

Graves Pessac Leognan AOC. The de facto Queen of Graves behind Ch HB. Oak dominated nose with hints of dark berries. Great complexity in play. Extremely tannic and packed w power, impressive. Full, rounded texture. Mouth-filling. Classy oak, plums and minerals in the mix. Persistent finish (9.0/10). Great but a bit too pricey for this value proposition.

Taillefer 2003

Pomerol AOC. Lightish ruby in colour, atypical for an '03. Rounded good nose - violets and vanilla/ coconuts - attractive. Thin entry, q oaky but silkiness in texture is compensating factor. V light bodied again surprisingly for the vintage. More fruit would be nice. Grip is q loose and unfocused. Short finish (7.9/10).

Michel Torino 2009

Malbec, Argentina. A nice restrained bouquet of greens and candy. Q pretty. Palate however is very unbalanced. Abrupt and brute attack, followed by a hollow mid-palate dominated by acids. Coarse tannins evident towards the end and finished off highly alcoholic (6.4/10). At least it's q drinkable unlike the preceding bottle.

Gossips 2011

Cab Sauv, Australia. Nose is extremely plasticy and artificial - some vegetal elements on the side. Again in the mouth, nothing much but plastics and chemicals. Can't take another sip honestly (5.0/10) Not many good experiences from free wines served at airport lounges.

Rausan Segla 1993

Margaux 2GCC. A wonderfully aged and delicate nose of polished leather, copper and some ketchup elements. Still lush on entry, secondary flavours aplenty. Complex web of mushrooms, pepper and a little fruit. This contrasts with the v floral tones that younger Rauzans have. Light to medium-bodied. Pleasure to drink and sense is that it's nearing the end of its drinking window (9.0/10). NB: '93 still carries the"Rausan" name before it reverted back to the original "Rauzan" in later years.