Notes from another enjoyable lunch in sunny Vancouver. As luck would have it, Jean-Claude Zabalia, the winemaker from St. Martin de la Garrigue was visiting, happened to be at the restaurant, and looked lonely all by himself, so we invited him to join us.
2003 Oak Bay Gewurztraminer - this BC white is made by the St. Hubertus winery. A lovely nose, more flowery than spicy, huge fruit in the mouth, good balance, soft at the end. One of the top half dozen BC Gewurz I've tasted even if, paradoxically, it wasn't as varietally distinctive as some of the others.2001 Suckfizzle Augusta Sauvignon Blanc - Semillon - nice lanolin nose with a bit of grass, but much more Semillon than SB showing, with a bit of vanilla. In the mouth the influence of the SB was felt and the wine was crisp and clean.
1995 Nichol Vineyards Pinot Noir - lightish colour and a stand-out sweet pinot nose. Elegant with good length. Nichol wines often fail to impress me when tasted young, but often surprise me with some age on them.Served with large morels stuffed with foie gras - ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
1976 Ch. La Lagune - the crowd instantly identified this as Bordeaux, but as I'd expected when I chose it, they had some trouble with vintage. 1976 is not exactly the first one that comes to mind when trying to pick a 70s vintage. A mature nose, and as always with this particular wine, surprising weight on palate, solid long and sweet and perhaps a touch warm at the end. It drinks well now and will continue to hold, although, alas, this was my last bottle.1998 Dom. Du Pesquier Gigondas - oddly enough, I was getting a syrah nose from this, although it is only 20% syrah, the majority component being Grenache. Bright and peppery, it was only medium dark in colour but had good concentration and a beam of fruit running through it. It drinks well now and there is no reason to hold it.
It went well with the liver topped with sautéed onions and blueberries (soaked in vinegar to remove some of the sweetness).
2001 St. Martin de la Garrigue 'Bronzinelle' VdP d'Oc - a blend of syrah, Grenache, mourvedre and carignan. Dark with a sweet nose of dark fruit, spice and a little tar, and pleasant and full bodied in the mouth. Great summer wine at a reasonable price.1995 Vergenoegd Syrah - this Cape wine was showing as older than it was - pale edges, a non-distinctive sweet fruit nose a bit hollow in mid-palate and with high terminal acidity. As an interesting counterpoint to North American wines that are labeled with 'X%' alcohol, give or take quite a bit, the label of this wine advised that it was 12.06% alcohol…….
1996 Kestrel Cabernet (Yakima) - young appearance, dark with a new oak nose that included some mint. This wine would have surprised no one if it had been a 2002! 81% cab sauv, 13% merlot, 6 cab franc. Blackberries in the mouth and enough tannin to suggest a few more years of ageing. I was impressed with the wine, from a producer with whom I have no experience.1990 Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino - I have owned this wine since release and have watched it go through several stages - shut down for several years and then 'coming out' again. It is somewhat variable, but is now drinking as well as it ever will. You can see the age in the colour, and although there is some tannin at the end, and some acid, it will not improve. Sweet in the nose and now soft in the middle, this bottle was a good one, yet not the best I have tasted. Nonetheless it went well with the cheeses.