Gimblett Gravels v Bordeaux 2005

Here are my verbatim tasting notes taken on the spot at yesterday’s fascinating blind tasting New Zealanders take on Bordeaux firsts, complete with my guesses as the wines developed. As you will see, the wines did change in the glass and, in general, the bordeaux improved with time whereas the New Zealand wines tended to become less impressive in the glass. Nevertheless, the most notable thing is how similar the wines were at first. We all had to work really hard to discern the wines’ provenance.

I have listed the wines in descending order of my preference although they were...