Blind tasting notes
1990 Dom Ruinart - fresh, decent complexity in the nose, with pear and lemon in finish. Good showing from a bubbly I don't often taste.2005 Ridge Santa Cruz Monte Bello Chardonnay - light straw colour, enticing smoky nose with honeysuckle, and not immediately identifiable as a California Chard.
1975 Ch. Margaux - I was amazed at this wine, as most of the Ch. Margaux between 1970 and 1977 were utter crap (the 78 was the first one to get back into the groove). Pale edges, decent fruit, soft wine- a real surprise that it was a 1975 as it had none of the usual characteristics. Very decent showing all things considered.
1996 Ledson Sonoma Reserve Merlot - bacon and slight pepper in the nose lead us away from Merlot. Chewy wine, soft in the middle with the chocolate at the end of a medium length finish being the only Merlot clue.1997 Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz Clare Valley - medium dark with a slightly warm mint and blackberry fruit nose. Mellow wine with good length and nice fruit. The mint became more spearminty with time.
1997 Fox Creek Cabernet Reserve - dark wine with a hot nose, lots of tannin, dry finish with good length, a little less massive than other vintages of this wine (the cab tends to get overlooked in favour of the Shiraz).1998 Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz - very dark, with a currant and cherry nose, but mellow on palate with soft tannins. This one is ready to roll and while it will probably continue to improve, anyone that owns this superb wine owes it to themselves to try a bottle (which is why I am now down to only 11 bottles...).
2001 Dom. Tempier Bandol Cuve Speciale - somewhat funky nose, but nothing like some of these Mourvedre based wines can sometimes show. While not exactly forward, the wine showed lots of fairly sweet fruit in the mouth. It has quite a bit of tannin and will continue to age for some years.2002 Black Hills Nota Bene - the owner of this BC wine thought it might be corked. It wasn't. Supple and still a bit simple, it needs a bit more time.
1998 Burrowing Owl Cabernet Franc - from the 'good' period when this BC winery had Bill Dyer as a consulting winemaker, this showed a primary simple fruit nose, slightly alcoholic, and on palate a simple wine without much complexity.2002 Oliverhill Jimmy Section Shiraz - the first bottle I've opened. Dark purple wine with sweet peppery nose with fruit and tar. Very full bodied, classy without being cloying and with excellent length. This needs more time, but it will be hard to stay away from it!
1979 Grahams Malvedos - now losing colour, sweet, but not as sweet and many Malvedos are, almost too hot, but pleasant on palate. Time to drink