Last night's theme - 50% or more Cabernet.
Only odd wine out was the starter - 1995 Pol Roger - pretty fine (as in small) mousse, elegant and didn't seem quite bone dry. Maybe some age will add complexity.
1991 Leonetti Cab - nice vanilla and coconut American oak nose with a hint of dill. Medium body, decent acidity, but a tad watery at the end. Nearing the end of its life.
1986 Happ's Margaret River Cab/Merlot (65/35) - this has always presented as much more European than Australian. The nose was a bit musty straight out of the bottle, and needed a few minutes to clean up its act, at which point you notice a bit of spice appear. Elegant, not quite French, but certainly a departure from the usual Australian style, and with tannins fully resolved. This wine peaked a few years ago and is now approaching the end of its life.
1995 Xanadu Reserve (CS 70%, CF 30%) - another entrant from the Margaret River area in Southwest Oz. Dark wine with a nose that we described as perfumed - maybe some violets with the usual cassis and some mint on this one. Soft tannins and an excellent mouth feel, it drinks well now, but has a life ahead of it. I believe they use French oak in this one, which no doubt contributes to the lack of Oz 'brashness' (quercosity?).
1988 Mouton Baronne Phillipe - last time I tasted this it was showing a biot short and tannic, but it has developed considerably since then. The tannins are still there as an underlay, but there is more evident fruit and the cedar nose is attractive. The wine now drinks quite well, though not as good as the 1989 (the last time I tasted that one blind, I asked if it were MBP, and was told no
- it was, but they changed the name in 89 to Armailhac, a fact seemingly lost on RP in his Wine Advisor). Drink now - I doubt the balance of this wine will improve any more than it has now.
1999 Il Peccato - a Super-Tuscan made by Jacopo Banti (I wonder if Erik, maker of Morellino, is a relative?) Hot, sweet nose followed by warmth in the mouth. Smooth, and without the terminal acidity of a typical wine from this area.
1998 Poliziano 'Le Stanze' - another IGT wine with something like 65% cab (the rest merlot). Quite dark, with a cocoa and blackberry nose and tight but well balanced in the mouth. Needs time. I also like this prodcuer's Asinone.
1985 Meyney - elegant claret nose identified the region before we even tasted it, something we couldn't be as sure of with the previous wine from Bordeaux. Amber tint at the edges, with obvious age, it was soft and smooth in the mouth with some pleasant plum and anise in the nose.
1996 Woodward Canyon Artist Label - I prefer this vintage to the 1995. It showed fascinating elements of buttered almonds and citrus fruit in the nose, was forward bright and sweet in the mouth, and drinks perfectly now, with a life ahead.
1998 Katnook Estate 'Odyssey' - wonderful vintage, and an excellent producer - as could have been expected, a very enjoyable wine with lots of sweet berry fruit and cedar in the nose, and curranty flavours on palate, with good length. A tasty wine I liked a lot.
1996 'Cyril Henschke' Cabernet - interesting nose with cherries and a touch of cranberry. Warm and smooth in the mouth, with slightly higher terminal acidity than you'd expect, but not enough to make it 'edgy'.
We then tasted an off topic wine that is being released here - the 2000 Quinta do Crasto Reserva, which I can highly commend to you at the price.
Finally:
1996 Beringer Napa Port - 19.1% alcohol, 100% cabernet, this is Sbragia playing about with dessert wine and doing a pretty good job. Hot spicy nose, sweet but not cloying, and dark and soft - a fitting end to a theme tasting that amazingly, given that the host is in the American club, produced no other Californian offerings.
The dinner of thick very rare beef tenderloin with a slab of chevre cheese on top melting under the sauce, and the sizeable array of cheeses made it a memorable event.