Lunch notes November 2007-11-10
2002 Bourillon d'Orleans Vouvray La Colee d'Argent - this one was quite hard to place - we thought it had a chard nose, and it took awhile to work down to Chenin blanc as there were no telltales of that varietal. Steely clean nose, and a nice fruit element, sweet a little on palate but finishing dry. and with good acidity. Very nice.
2001 Roar Pinot Noir Gary's Vineyard - very ripe pinot nose gave away it's country of origin, and the sweet iodine element was not pleasing although it put some off more than it did me. Sweet and a bit uninteresting.
2001 Siduri Pinot Noir Gary's Vineyard - what a great comparison. Much closer to a Burgundian nose, slightly leaner, sweet middle and better acid balance at end. Easy to choose between these two.
1988 Lungarotti San Giorgio - a cab blend IGT wine from Umbria that I always enjoy. Particularly good showing with mature soft recognizably cabernet nose (it is 50% cab), with a hint of cheesiness, great mouth feel and the weight and feel of a Bordeaux. Excellent.
1994 Stellenzicht - from one of the Nederberg auction events and just a lovely wine. A bit of cherry in the nose, a sweetness at the tip of the tongue, elegant and long, with the only possible hint that it was a Cape wine being the terminal acidity which was slightly high.
1999 Montirius Gigondas - corked.
1998 Clos des Papes Chateuneuf du Pape - a nice wine now at peak. Medium colour, slight heat in the nose and a bit of pepper, smooth elegant and ready.
1995 Jaboulet Cornas Domaine St. Pierre - known more for their Hermitage or even southern Rhone offerings, Jaboulet bought a small
7.5 acre parcel in Cornas and started making a single vineyard wine which in my experience is far superior to the negociant version they also produce. Also medium colour with a but of garnet at the edges, this had a really good fragrant syrah with a little pepper and lots of mature cassis, medium to full body, much less rusticity than one finds in many Cornas, and a smooth lengthy finish. Good now and no rush to finish this one.
2000 Ch. de Beaucastel - this was a new age Beaucastel - the 'old age' wines wouldn't have let you near them at this age. Clean nose of sweet berries with a bit of anise and black pepper, and no hint of Bret. Smooth and sweet in the mouth and ready to roll.
2000 Thorn-Clark William Randell Barossa Shiraz - big mint and euicalyptus nose that we tossed around a bit between California and Oz, because the wine was not a big sweety as many Oz wines can be. Settled on Oz and shiraz pretty quick. Tons of oak and a hint of pine in the nose, sweet (but not cloying) on palate and although a bit simple a great cheese wine.
2003 Chapoutier Cornas - would have been intere3sting with the Jaboulet. Youthful nose with a metallic element, medium body, obviously young and one senses for early drinking. I still have some
1995 and it was made for much longer aging.