Notes on my February tasting lunch - on the anniversary of the 1840 signing of the treaty between the English and Maori peoples - Waitangi Day, yet not one Kiwi wine was brought by the historically insensitive crew!
2001 Suckfizzle Augusta Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Margaret River) - barrel fermentation works well for this wine - a very nice blend of flintiness with moderate oak added, good, primarily sauvignon blanc nose, soft middle and clean finish.Served with shaved ham and melon.
1995 Jade Mountain Mourvedre - showing good colour with a paler rim, a sweet nose which then immediately showed some spice. The entry was slightly sweet and that note followed through to a soft finish. A well made California Rhone-clone, showing more balance and subtlety than most.Served with scallops and white asparagus.
1993 Ch. Musar - it isn't very often that we head for the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon with a wine - less often than in the past, for while I found the old (70s) vintages quite attractive, there was a slump in quality thereafter that predisposed one against buying and cellaring the wines. Given the evidence of this bottle, I'd say they are back on track. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, and Mourvedre, so I suppose we were still in Rhone-clone territory. The colour of this wine was almost Burgundian, and the edges were quite pale. The nose was also more reminiscent of a Burgundy than a Bordeaux blend, and the cocoa that I had often noted on older vintages was absent. Smooth feel, medium long finish. A great wine to bring to stump the crew, as we didn't quite know what to make of it.1998 Quilceda Creek Red Wine - this is the second wine of Quilceda, made from 'declassified' barrels not used in the main wine. Typically a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot - I don't know the exact blend in this vintage. Very decent primary fruit nose, not showing much subtlety at this point. Quite sweet early on in the mouth, then a smooth medium long finish. I'm not quite sure what this wine will do with more age. It is nice now, and it could either pick up some complexity, or it might just gently fade.
Served with a venison chop.
1998 Greg Norman Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot - There are two types of people in the world - those who can talk interminably about golf (you can tell them by their dimpled balls) and those who would run miles to avoid listening to people talking about golf..... we have both types in our lunch group, one of whom even whipped out his own personalised packet of tees at the mere whisper of anything related to golf, and others who cringed at the mention of the word. In any case, this wine, made by Mildara Blass and marketed using the name of some antipodean club-swinger apparently of some notoriety to those in the know, wasn't all that bad. Dark, and with a somewhat closed nose, a good feel, and lots of acidity (perhaps the most I recall seeing in an Australian wine), although the fruit came rushing back at the end, thus distinguishing it from other areas that typically exhibit such high acid. Not bad.1995 Joseph Phelps Merlot - I enjoy and cellar quiet a few Phelps wines, but I admit that I have not given their merlot much attention. Ripe nose with some chocolate giving away the varietal. Medium to full body, almost elegant, with well integrated fruit and tannins, this one should continue to improve for a few more years.
1996 Quail's Gate Family Reserve Cabernet - a local treat thrown in to stump us by our host. It still shows good fruit in the nose, good entry, then it went rather acidic. I don't think this will benefit from more time.2000 La Piaggia Carmignano Riserva - I often add a wine agent or two to our mix as leavening (and often do get a 'rise' out of them over the course of the meal), and we had one on this day. I commended his dedication on attending when his wife was about to deliver a child, but noted that true dedication would entail turning off his cell phone for the duration of the lunch. He got extra marks, though, for the phone did indeed ring and I heard him bargaining for more time while he finished his 'business' meeting..... This wine was not the Carmignano we know and enjoy (I have purchased Ambra, for instance, over many vintages). It is Carmignano on steroids! In fact we thought (mentally cheating a little based on our knowledge of the daddy-to-be's portfolio) that it might even be Australian, for it did show that sort of concentration of fruit! Purple wine, nose in which I detected some raspberry and cherry, cocoa and coffee, and not too sweet on entry but with great concentration and excellent balance and length. This wine has been a 3 bicchieri in Gambero and deserves it. An indication of our impression of the wine is that all 6 of us (other than the agent himself) instantly put in orders for the wine! 70% sangiovese, 20% cabernet, 10% merlot.
1989 Pine Ridge Napa Chenin Blanc - a bit of a poser to guess - the 4% muscat threw us off a bit, and we didn't guess an American chenin. While I recall tasting a dry Chenin that was quite passable, I didn't know this winery did the Loire thing with a sweet version. Showing a fair bit of colour, very sweet nose with a Muscat element obvious. Very nice wine and a pleasant end to the lunch - I left our expectant father still chatting about wine as I had to go back to work.....