April lunch notes:
With truffled foie gras pate wrapped in smoked salmon and cabbage leaf:
2001 Ch. Tertre Grand Mayne (Entre deux Mers) - killer little value, this. From 30 year old vines, mostly Sauvignon blanc, some Semillon and Muscadelle. Showing some colour and a lot of character in the mouth, clean and with decent length. Marked down to $9.95!1983 Jaboulet Dom. Thalabert Crozes Hermitage - garnet colour with bricky edges, the only give away in the nose to the Northern Rhone was the slight bit of pepper. It still has tannin, and lots of acidity but it is balanced and pleasant, and having lasted this long, I don't expect it to take any sudden decline - it should last for a few more years. Nice to have a mature Syrah!
1997 Dom. Remizieres Cuve Christophe Crozes Hermitage - as these events are completely blind, it is amazing sometimes when two similar wines show up. This was of course very young and purple with pale edges. The nose didn't have a lot of pepper and was more prunish and vanilla. Quite soft in terms of tannin but lots of acidity, this is starting to drink well now and I'd be very surprised to see it last as long as the Thalabert.With marinated Saltspring lamb :
1997 Ch. St. Cosme Gigondas - nice segue from North to South while staying with the same vintage. Darker wine with mineral nose (less sweetness than last time I had it). In the mouth there are very slightly astringent tannins but the underlying fruit is sound. I have a couple of cases of this somewhere - it may be time to find it and start monitoring by tasting a bottle every 6 months or so.1998 Vieux Donjon - dark with a weighty Rhone nose of anise, leather and wood smoke. This wine has not yet really melded together and while it has lots of stuffing, a few more years should smooth things out nicely.
With duck confit:
1988 Ch. Beychevelle - I figured this for a 1989 for sure, or even possibly a 1990 but no way would I have chosen a 1988. Big oak nose, lovely and sweet in the mouth, and long. Best bottle of this I've had!1993 Tenuta Farnese Bongoverno - a mediocre vintage in most of Italy, but this internationally styled wine stands out as a winner. Dark with slightly bricky edges, and a nose of mint and mocha nose, it had bright fruit and good length. Very hard to nail this as Italian, blind.
With cheese:
1997 Heitz Napa Cabernet - Dark with a rich minty fruit nose, sweet entry, soft tannins and good balance. This wine will last a long time, but is excellent drinking now.1990 Kenwood Artist's Label Cabernet - big dark minty wine. The tannins have finally softened (when I tasted it at the winery, they were pretty darned hard!), and the fruit was out in spades. Oddly, given the early history, I think this wine is probably at peak right now and won't get any better, though it will last for years.