The event was a casual dinner in the garden, inspired by the gift from a client of a couple of venison tenderloins (the deer in question probably walked out of the forest and fell dead at his feet, but in any case no bumper marks were in evidence...)
Theme - anything that goes with Bambi.
Domaine Chandon Cuvee 2000 - some American bubble I came across in the cellar. Clean, lemony, refreshing, and not likely to cause any loss of sleep in Rheims any time soon.
1983 Ch. La Tour de Mons (Margaux) - this property is one you don't often see, and it has the reputation of being in a bit of s slump compared to its performance in earlier decades, but this wine was just delightful! Good colour, a really good, typical mature Bordeaux nose, rich and ripe in the mouth with good concentration, bright and balanced, ending with a fair degree of sweetness.1999 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc - a step back to white to accompany a tarragon chicken salad (we had the Bordeaux as an intermezzo on it's own). The nose on this was sweeter than usual, and with none of the gooseberry/cat's pee element one expects. I like my CB with a bit of age - they seem to lose enough acidity to snap into focus at around 3-4 years of age - but I'm not sure this particular vintage was ever really typical of what you expect from this producer. Nonetheless, a pleasant wine, somewhat sweet on palate and well balanced by the remaining acidity.
1999 De Angelos Anghelos - a Gambero 3 bicchieri IGT wine from Tenuta De Angelis in Marches, a blend of Montepulciano, cabernet and sangiovese. Big dark wine with cocoa nose, big and sweet with only a hint of the usual terminal acidity to betray origin, otherwise you could have been tasting a California wine.1989 Meridian Paso Robles Syrah - ripe nose with some berries and a tad of pepper, excellent weight in the mid-palate, and a smooth sweet finish. This has never failed to perform well. My last bottle.
1990 Vincent Arroyo Petite Sirah (Napa) - small producer. This must have been enormous when young, and it was still pretty big and dark. Leather and mint nose, and a good whack of softening tannins, and if tasted blind, a ringer for several Australian wines I can think of. If you don't think so, try putting one of these into a blind tasting from Oz and see if anyone blinks. Good cheese wine, will hold for some years yet.