Impromptu gathering a week ago to taste wine:
2003 Black Hills Alibi - this BC wine is a sauv blanc Semillon blend that I find needs a bit of time to show well. Clean lemony nose, and clean and crisp on palate, this vintage is now showing what it's got.
2000 Montes Alpha Syrah - nose of marjoram and fruit, chocolate on palate, smooth and ready. Very hard to place this one blind.
2000 Ch. de Valcombes Costieres de Nimes - this syrah Grenache blend had good colour, a sweet Rhone nose, and was also soft and ready.
1988 Mouton Baronne Phillipe - the last vintage with this name, the wine had a good ripe nose, the tannins still firm, with good length. Showing quite nicely, with no rush.
1989 Armailhac - same wine, different vintage and name. Decent nose, softer in the mouth and a bit shorter. Not as good as the 88.
1988 Clerc Milon - we were covering the various Mouton wines that evening. Weakest of the three - fair nose, bit astringent on palate.
2000 Quinta do Vallado (Ferreira) - purple in colour, with nice ripe nose, quite concentrated on palate with good length. Rather like a dry red Port, if that makes any sense.
1995 Zenato Amarone - ripe medium weight Amarone, decent rather than outstanding but a nice foil to the cheeses.