A fairly light dinner party by my usual standards

We had guests around last night for home-made baked beans and rather good sausages; I thought robust wines would go best with them.

Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 2003, Trimbach

Compared to the usual directness of CFE this had a nose that was a lot more exotic and round; 2003 was so hot this is not surprising. It was still reasonably complex and interesting, though, with plenty of fruit and a creamy minerality to it. The palate was quite weighty, with ripe fruit and some good acidity. This was a good 2003 European white, but I think my old favourite producer, Jean Boxler, made better wines in this vintage.

Morillon Pinot Noir Tete de Cuvée 2004, Port Phillip Estate

This had a really ripe, fruity nose of cherries and raspberries. It was recognisably Pinot and was not so ripe that the flavours were cooked and jammy. The palate had good fruit too, and a degree of severity to the tannins and acidity that kept this alive. For an Australian Pinot Noir this was really quite good.

Basket-Pressed Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, Château Reynella

This smelled extremely ripe with Ribena-character fruit and a hellishly high level of new oak. It had the nose of another tedious Australian fruit bomb. The palate was over-ripe, heavy and soupy. It was incredibly dull and I had a hard job finishing it.