Collalbrigio Prosecco NV: An opener to the tasting, alongside a Champagne from Ruffin et Fils which sadly I missed. This has a clean, apple-skin nose, with some notes of herby banana. Crisp and lively on the palate, well defined, with firm and vivacious acidity. Really fresh and full of spirit, with a nicely polished finish. Despite that banana-shaped nose I find this fairly attractive. 15.5/20 (£9.95)

Domaine Octavie Touraine Sauvignon 2007: Remarkable over-the-top tropical fruits here, lychees and pears, and yet also a green, leafy, herby element to it. A touch confected and sweet. There is a lot of life and substance on the palate, a big plump style, but still a very forceful Sauvignon structure though. Lots of raw fruit swimming about here too. 14.5/20 (£6.95)

Vina Sanzo 'Valsanzo' (Rueda) 2008: After the Sauvignon this biodynamic wine produced from 40 year old vines has a rather appealing, restrained nose, merely suggestive of honeyed fruits. The palate, however, has a forceful and punchy character, with a firm, vibrant backbone of acid, a clean style and some nice substance. Rather muted in terms of flavour and character, and a short finish, but this will drink well in many situations. 15/20 (£7.95)

Markus Molitor Riesling Trocken 2007: Bright, lemony, minerally and papery fruit here, leading us into a rather lean palate very much in the trocken style. Soft, not bone-dry, and with a chalky-talcy substance and texture to it all. It picks up a little weight in the midpalate. It is certainly clean and refreshing, although I prefer the traditional styles to this. 15+/20 AP number: 2 576 609 10 08 (£8.95)

Boirà Pinot Grigio (Veneto) 2008: A light, crunchy, pepper and fruit nose here, albeit with a rather steely, metallic edge. Clean, uncomplicated, with soft acidity and some nice flesh. This is a rather subtly styled wine, perhaps rather neutral in terms of character, but it is certainly drinkable. Surprisingly, this wine has spent time in oak - happily it didn't show through on this tasting. 14.5/20 (£8.95)

Pierre Janny St Véran Merloix 2008: A very different style here, a more golden hue, with plump golden fruits on the nose. The same style comes through on the palate, with  is fresh and lively, with bright fruit alongside an obvious presence on oak. Soft, with moderate acidity, this is another very drinkable wine, and one which may repay short-term cellaring. Rather clipped finish though. 15+/20 (£9.95)

Domaine la Motte Chablis Premier Cru Beauroy 2006: A marked oak influence on the nose here, grainy and sweet. It is admittedly quite appealing - as new oak often is in tastings - but it isn't what I come to Chablis for, and I would quickly tire of this if drinking at home. Good golden fruit, good substance too, the fruit buoyed up on the palate by all that oak as well. A nice midpalate texture, attractive, a touch honeyed, and a nicely defined finish. Actually a good wine, but you need to be (a) oak tolerant, and (b) able to pretend you are drinking a Côte de Beaune substitute rather than a Chablis. 16+/20 (£12.95)

Pierre Janny Pouilly-Fuissé 'Margolliets' 2008: The first bottle was horribly corked, and there were a good number of pours already gone from the bottle. The second was freshly opened, so might not have been as expressive as it might be with a little air. It did open up in the glass though, to reveal lightly honeyed and minerally fruits, with a good texture on the palate, with plenty of fat. It really softens up in the middle, with rather subdued acidity against the creamy texture. This should develop nicely within a year or three, I think. 15.5-16+/20 (£14.75)

Mas Carlot Costières de Nimes 2008: Juicy fruit here, perhaps slightly gravelly, light and fun, plump, wild and herbal too. The same character comes through on the palate, first juicy but then more oily, soft and squishy, lacking definition and clarity of flavour, with some burnt fruit notes. Some decent, slightly chewy tannins are in its favour, though. 13.5/20 (£6.60)

La Reserve Claret 2006: A second taste of this wine, from Jonathon Malthus. It has nicely clean fruit in the nose, showing a pretty plumpness perhaps reflecting a Merlot influence. Actually this is really quite approachable. These is some nice texture on the palate, although it isn't over-the-top, with a dry and reserved but certainly not mean character. Nice and gentle substance, well integrated, this certainly has good form. Berry fruit, dry, a little grip too, a touch old-school in flavour but with a more modern texture. A good effort. 15.5/20 (£7.55)

Altos de Oliva Gran Reserva (Cataluña) 2000: A nose here of stewed red fruits, with touches of biscuit, perhaps reflecting some use of oak? A wild, herby element too, also a lifted, rather high-toned fruit character. Nice weight at the start, with some unusual herbal fruit coming in through the midpalate, and a more burnt character towards the finish. Notes of volatility too. Firm structure, and also a rather oily character to the texture. 13.5/20 (£7.95)

Fratte Pasini Valpolicella Classico 2007: This has plump, squishy fruit and ash, ash, and more ash on the nose. The same on the palate - plump and unclearly defined fruit with cigarette ash. Clearly not one for me. 12/20 (£8.95)

Il Palazzone Rosso del Palazzone (Vino da Tavola, Tuscany) NV: This is very unusual - a blend of 2005 and 2008 vintages - "declassified Brunello", I am told. It has a maturing hue, and an interesting nose, of wood-smoke and floral-cherry fruit, with nuances of tar and smoked meats. On the palate it has a leaner, tauter composition than I expected, but it has substance, and a polished character. It holds up very nicely in the mouth, and has a firm, appealingly bitter finish, spoilt a little by an oily fruit character here. Tannic too though, and I suspect this would repay cellaring. 15.5+/20 (£9.95)

Castello di Potentino 'Sacromonte' 2005: An estate owned by the son of Graham Greene, apparently. What of the wine though? A deep colour here, and a wine that is not so expressive on the nose, although with time it does open up to reveal a little cherry-custard fruit, dark and rather fresh, with hints of smoked meats. There is certainly some appeal here. The palate starts off quite nicely, polished and linear, with good acidity carrying it through to a firm finish. It has substance, but its structure means that it really needs some food. Some really good points here! 16/20 (£9.95)

Chateau Faîteau Minervois La Livinière 2005: Predominantly Syrah, I rather liked the 2004 vintage, which had a rather nice structure and bitter tea-leaf flavour. The 2005 is a different kettle of fish, with a nose of sweet, smoky, toffee-laced fruit. It has a good colour too. There is good substance on the palate, with a touch of cream, but here the toasty, marshmallowy oak comes through more than the fruit, which is a shame. It has a nice structure though. Perhaps some time in the cellar would allow the fruit to shine through a little more? 14.5+?/20 (£9.95)

Pierre Janny Chorey-les-Beaune 'Marvine' 2006: The tasting sheet blurb tells the FVD punters this comes from the "tiny and much sought after appellation of Chorey-les-Beaune", which is stretching it a bit I think. The nose here has some lean strawberry fruit, with oranges and cherry-flavoured cough medicine. Full and rather fleshy on the palate, although with a hard outer shell and not enough fresh fruit to fill the substance. This may improve with a little time in the cellar, perhaps. 14+?/20 (£13.95)

Chateau Ducluzeau (Listrac) 2000: A furry, animally, toffee-tinged nose here, with stewed-baked plum aromas. It has some nice texture on the palate, mellow but with some substance underneath it, overall quite soft and gently polished, with no hard edges. A gentle grip and rather subdued acidity, the grip building more towards the finish. There is a suggestion of Brett running through this wine, and if not Brett certainly some distinctive tertiary characteristics. Apparently this estate is run by the Borie family, better known for their tenure of Ducru-Beaucaillou, which is a surprise. An interesting wine. 14.5/20 (£14.95)

Les Mines Priorat 2006: A volatile here nose, and this is rancidly oxidised. A second taste later on in the tasting confirmed this, although in such a small event this may have been the same bottle, so perhaps a one-off? Not rated. (£15.95)

Pauillac 2006: This is one of those generic AC wines which are sold on the basis that they originate from a famous cru classé estate, in this case one of the "greatest super-second growths whose vineyards border Chateau Latour". The image on the FVD website shows Pichon-Baron, so that seems fairly cut and dried. Sweet, slightly confected, burnt sooty-cherry fruit on the nose, presented in a very soft fashion. It is soft on the palate too, although there is some grip beneath. Rather diffuse edges, with plenty of charcoal and wood. Overall rather lean. It has some promise for the cellar but ultimately the quality seems in keeping with a third wine and with the style of the vintage. 14.5+/20 (£18.95)

Castelnau de Suduiraut (Sauternes) 2003: The second wine of Suduiraut, of course. Slightly volatile on the nose, in that respect rather reminiscent of some tastes of the grand vin when young, although the 2001 (although this wine is nowhere near as pungent as that was) rather than the 2003. It has some intense, sweet tropical fruits, and also some botrytis notes, with apricot and marmalade character - this is impressive for a deuxième vin. Good substance on the palate, soft, with lots of impact and flavour, and a very fat, viscous texture. What it misses is acidity, which unfortunately spoils the package somewhat, but there is certainly some merit here. 15.5/20 (£10.95 per 375ml)

Churchill's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2001: I'm afraid Churchill usually tends to have a style I don't really admire, and this bottle seems true to form. It has a firm, old-school, meaty and feral, wild and animally nose. There is a fat and somewhat sweet texture on the palate, although not as sweet as you might expect. It has some heat, not an adequate concentration of fruit for me, other than some dusty, dried berries, but it does have plenty of grip. 14/20 (£11.95)