Bordeaux 2009-2012 compared

It was an unseasonably warm, sunny day in London at the end of April and the rooms were uncomfortably crowded and hot, despite the very best efforts of the organisers. Plenty of daylight is wonderful in a tasting environment but it can make it very hot in historical rooms such as those of Somerset House.

It was a battle to get to the tables and then to be able to get out of everyone else's way and withdraw to the vicinity of a spittoon to write a note, all the time still trying to keep hold of your glass. (Why...