The Sampler, Islington

A visit to the Sampler is a must for those looking to accumulate a lifetime of vinous memories in a single afternoon. Those looking to fritter away seventy pounds in the space of thirty minutes may also enjoy themselves here.

The setup at the Sampler is basically the same as at Enowines in Monkstown, but on a London scale. The shop is equipped with ten enomatic wine dispensers, each stocked thematically. The machine works by blanketing open wines with nitrogen, meaning that oxygen cannot get at it. Open wines can therefore be kept in the machine for a couple of weeks without fear of oxidation, meaning that there is no fear that the proprietor will end up throwing out half a bottle of Screaming Eagle because it oxidised before he could sell it all.

But back to the Sampler. At the very top end is the wine icons selection, stocked with wet dream wines which you thought you'd never get to taste, the sort of wines that are terrifying to even pick up let alone buy. This selection changes weekly and the current listing can be found at www.thesampler.co.uk. This week's selection features 1971 Tignanello, 2006 Tignanello, Chateau Latour 1971, Pichon Baron 1961, Pichon Baron 1989,El Nido 2006, Faiveley Clos des Cortons 1990 and Caymus Special Selection 1997.

Other machines are stocked according to variety, theme or region. So we have Chardonnay; Sauvignon Blanc/ Pinot Gris; Other White Varietals; Riesling and Sweet; Cabernet/ Merlot; Shiraz/ Grenache; Spanish and Other Red Varietals; Pinot Noir/ Gamay; Italian Varietals.

You purchase a card from the counter, stack it up with credit then trawl the shop sampling from the machines. Samples come in single, double, or triple shots. The single is fairly meagre, but gave both of us two sups each per wine- no gulps mind.

The Sampler is also a pretty damn good wine shop in its own right, featuring numerous bottle-aged wines, some at fairly decent prices.

We began with a Chateau de Fiezal, Pessac Leognan 1996 which was oxadative and interesting in equal measure, but I wouldn't be forking out for it; then onto Didier Dagueneau's Buisson Reynard, Pouilly Fume 2004 which was a seriously good, although 65 stg for a Sauvignon Blanc? We faffed our way over to the Chardonnay machine and tastes a 2002 Bourgogne Blanc from Pierre Morey (oxidised and past it) ; a Meursault Les Charmes 2001 (good) also from Morey; Au Bon Climat's Santa Ynez Chardonnay 2006 (tasty). Finally we finished whites with 2006 Schlumberger Pinot Gris Grand Cru Saering which was round, ripe and smokey whilst retaining some elegance. I think Schlumberger's Grand Crus are fairly underrated.

The Riesling and Sweet had no bottle aged examples rieslings, and nothing from Alsace so I gave it a miss.

Then it was on to the serious business of reds. It is increasingly difficult to taste wines with serious bottle age and the necrophile in me took over slightly.
We started with the Pinot Noir, I played the role of boring arsehole whilst my companion feigned interest. We started with a Delta Vineyard Hatter's Hill Pinot Noir 2007 which was pleasant with sweet fruit and a hint of smoke. Then a Chambolle Musigny 2007 from Hudelot-Baillet which was less yummy but more elegant and complex on the nose; then onto a Charmes Chambertin 1995 from Bouree which needed food, and was serious and underwhelming in equal measure.

From the Spanish machine we tried Rioja Alta 904 1989 was full of leathery strawberries and undergrowth but still all there and a 1970 Rioja Bordan Reserva which was decidely gluey and too old.

On to Italy, which I thought probably had the most interesting selection of all.
We started with a 1995 Chianti Fonterutoli from Castello di Fonterutoli. I had never had the chance to taste a bottle aged Chianti before- sad but true- and I really liked it. Celtic Whiskey Shop stock more recent vintages here. Then onto to G. Mascarello's Barolo Monprivato 1996, a stunningly good wine. Nose full of violet and rose with tarry undergrowth and enough fruit to support the traditional nebbiolo structure. FANTASTIC. I had tasted their 2001 Santo Stefano previously and it was damn good too. Not sure their wines are currently available in Ireland, except via Berry Bros website. Finished here with a 1961 Borgogno Barolo Reserva. 8 stg for a taste. This was good too, although perhaps a little porty, and couldn't live with the balance between fruity and secondary development in the Monprivato.

Finally onto the Icons machines. Annoyingly- it is remarkable to become this fussy this quickly- the Chave Hermitage Rouge 1998 was empty, but we held each other tight for a moment and continued tasting regardless. Scab that I am I balked somewhat at forking out 21.50 stg for a snifter of 1985 Lafite-Rothschild, but the wine illness won out and we split our couple of meagre mililitres. Brickish in colour, the nose was quintessentially left bank Bordeaux- I read later that Michael Broadbent described it as oyster shell- and who am I to disagree. This smelt a bit like Bordeaux when you are a kid and I wasn't overwhelmed by it. Good to tick the box and all that, but give me the funny money and I would buy three Monprivato every time- well maybe two Monprivato and a Chave Hermitage. We finished off with a 2001 Mouton Rothschild, which was my companion's favourite. This was mid-development and starting to take on dried fruit character. It was certainly good, and I probably preferred it to the Lafite.

We finished with a frantic dash around the shop. Having told the wives we were already in a taxi en route to meet them, I didn't feel I could spend more than 20 minutes looking around! I lined up a bottle of Domaine Arrextea Hegoxuri White 2008, and Arrextea Rouge 2006 and a half bottle of Hugel Tradition Pinot Gris 2000- a gamble but could have been yum. Unfortunately their machine wouldn't accept my laser card and I had to leave them behind.

Final thoughts. I had spoken to a friend who works with Enomatics and he says that although you can't taste the nitrogen which blankets the wine preventing the from oxidising, he feels the wines got a bit tired in the machine and tasted a little flat. I couldn't help feeling that this was the case in certain instances here. Then again maybe I am just very suggestible. The girl in the shop says they don't bother listing the non-icon wines on line because they change so rapidly. The icon selection is changed every week, so if every wine is there for a week or less there shouldn't really be an issue.

This is a great way to wine taste wines that you would never, ever come across otherwise. It is fairly expensive at the top end, but many of less stratospheric but nonetheless desirable wines cost less than a fiver and there are plenty of wines for a pound or two. Still I will remember that I don't particularly care for Chateau Lafitte 1985, and have inherited a richer man's wine memory for less than a gross meal out in Dublin.