Blind tasting lunch notes
2000 Albert Mann Riesling Furstentum - big fruit in this nose, obviously Riesling, smooth and tasty with good flavour intensity and length.1990 Prince Poniatowski Aigle Blanc Vouvray - no way anyone thought this was as old. Pleasant nose with a hint of wax and honey, and more than a hint of almonds and talcum powder. Rich and full on palate, off dry, excellent acidity - not to much, not too little.
2005 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir - immediately identifiable as Pinot and also as an American wine, but then we bogged down trying to think which producer. Obviously a top winery, but we failed to ferret this one out. Sweet nose, good entry, and smooth on palate. If pressed to come up with a weak point, I'd say that it seemed to narrow down a bit at the end, losing some of the lush fruit and focussing rather on acidity, but not a serious complaint.1990 Chapoutier La Bernardine CNduP - I found a case of this in the cellar and figured I'd better get to it. The nose had lost any pepper it may have had in youth, and this confused many of the crowd into thinking it might be a mature Bordeaux. It did however have some tar which should have been a hint. Some slight browning at the edges, fairly rich slightly warm nose, elegant on palate, fully mature. 100% Grenache.
1998 Delas Clos St. Georges Crozes Hermitage - this was, as always, an event without a theme, yet we saw almost nothing but Rhones coming out one after the other. Leather/Damson nose, medium body, some tannin, caramel and olives.2005 Tinhorn Creek Syrah - this BC winery made around 50 cases of this wine, and it showed a fruit and coconut nose, was sweet in the mouth and ready to drink. A pleasant yet simple wine, it made the Delas seem more complex when you went back to it.
1998 Jean Lionnet Rochepertuis Cornas - dark wine with leather and cassis nose, the tannins surprisingly resolved at this age, I was amazed to find this ready to drink. I'd have expected it to be much more backward.2001 Dom. de Pegau CNduP - yet another drinkable wine in relative youth! Nice nose - smoked meat and a floral hint, soft tannins, but not firm and very tasty and stylish. No rush but hard to resist.
1999 Meerlust Rubicon - I have always wondered how this Cape Bordeaux blend coexists with Coppola's wine of the same name. Must get confusing to customers. The only hint that this was South African was the slightly high terminal acidity, otherwise a creditable Bordeaux clone, pleasant drinking now.1998 Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz - I always get a kick out of these wines. I tasted them on release and instantly lad down a case each of the 1997 and 1998, then watched all the wailing and moaning a few years later as people tasted it, acted like the sky was falling, and lamented that it was in decline. In fact, as long as you aren't a taster easily seduced by youthful fruit and then dismayed by any loss thereof, this wine just keeps getting better and better. It is just starting to drink well and has many years ahead of it. It is undoubtedly powerful, but not at all unwieldy. Still purple, with then nose a tad hot, it is not a sweet lush in your face Shiraz, but a classic massive yet not over the top example of the best of Australian Shiraz. FWIW, I still like the 1997 even a bit better than the 1998, but I won't push that judgement until I have the chance to try them side by side again.
1991 Quinta do Vesuvio Port - the colour mandated an 80s or early 90s vintage, the nose sweet, a bit hot, a hint of cinnamon, and mouth filling fruit. Good length. No rush on this one. Wish I'd bought more of it, but this was the first vintage - who knew?