2006 Château Thieuley Blanc – this white Bordeaux showed a light citrus nose (it was a bit too cold at the beginning) And I thought it had a small hollow spot in the middle, but it filled in well and showed flavour interest with a fresh finish.
2006 Le Vieux Pin Pinot Noir Voila – this BC wine was salmon pink colour with a copper tinge, reticent nose that finally showed some strawberry, soft low acid finish – would have been much better a bit crisper.
1995 Bodegas Julián Chivite Navarra Reserva – browning edges, mature leathery nose, mature on palate, and losing fruit since the last time I tasted it. heading nowhere good, time to drink up..
1999 Doudet-Naudin Pommard Les Vignots – another reticent nose, but sweet fruit was present. Very pleasant but showing age and also needing to be drunk up.
1985 Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma)– in keeping with our apparent theme of superannuated wines I had unearthed this one, the regular, not the jack London bottling. Fairly dark in colour with ambering edges, it showed a pruny sweet fruit nose, was smooth on palate with no remaining tannin, but a nice hit of caramel at the end and good acid.
1987 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa)– always love the old Tognis and this was no exception. Good colour, with a spicy plum nose with hints of dill, then relatively soft in the mouth for these wines in terms of both tannin and acidity, both present but moderate, and good levels of fruit. Very enjoyable.
2000 Tommasi Crearo della Conca d'Oro Veronese IGT – sweet warm spirity nose with a hint of spearmint, good weight, not too tannic, and a good finish, but spoiled for me by excessive sweetness on palate.
1999 Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino – lovely mature nose on this wine, typical berry and a bit of oak, perhaps a touch on the sweet side. Typical excellent acidity and an all round pleasant wine. A winner. No rush on this.
2000 Te Awa Farm “The Boundary” – a New Zealand Bordeaux blend with a rich sweetish nose (but not too sweet), with spice and a bit of leather. Medium weight and a dry medium length finish. One to look for.
2001 Plaisir de Merle Cabernet Sauvignon – this Cape wine was dark, with a fairly sweet nose with white pepper, mint and fruit, very good acidity – some might say too much but I thought it correct to the source and not over the top. Could use more time.
