2003 Yering Station Yarrabank Cuvée
Sparkling Pinot-Chardonnay blend from the Yarra Valley in Australia, but this doesn't bear much resemblance to Champagne - closer to Prosecco with a bright melony/pear fruit profile over minerals, faint yeasty notes and bright acids, but not much depth or presence in the mouth. Tasty but quite simple and light.
N.V. Deutz Champagne Brut Classic
Onto the real thing now where the fruit isn't as bright and prominent here as in the Yarrabank, and the flavour profile is dominated by bready and yeasty notes with touches of citrus and pear and decent acidity underneath. Enjoyable with a bit more depth than the Yarrabank - but neither of these particularly grabbed my attention. On the other hand...
2005 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim
Huge, soaring aromatics of rose petals, musk, lychee, spices and some smoky elements that could be smelled the instant the cork was pulled. A powerhouse in the mouth combining rosewater, peach and lychee flavours with lots of richness and power, but with enough acidity to keep it from being too heavy or syrupy. Really fun and enjoyable, even if the alcohol does become a little prevalent as this warms up.
2005 Yves & Mathilde Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Barbarine
Delicious stuff combining leather, white pepper, red fruits and faint meaty and floral elements over a spine of grainy tannins and bright acidity. With an hour in a decanter, the flavours start to come together in a seamless package and the tannin takes a step back, making this really lovely to drink. All the elegance and depth/breadth of flavour I would expect from a quality Côte-Rôtie.
2005 Cayuse Syrah En Cerise
My first taste of a Cayuse Syrah - I had been looking forward to this given all the hype I'd read about this Walla Walla producer. Quite disappointing though, as this seems to fit the stereotype of the giant, overextracted new world Syrah full of oak, blueberry, plum and perceptible alcohol flavours, soft tannins, low acidity and lacking in precision and balance with its sheer size and concentration the only things notable about this wine. Bleh.
2004 Cayuse Syrah Armada Vineyard
This on the other hand is a very different beast. If I was served this blind, I would probably peg it as something from the Northern Rhone from the flavour profile - this is full of blackcurrants, olives, earthy and herbal notes with the oak very subtle and well integrated, and a polished, silken texture in the mouth without the overt power and extract of the En Cerise. Great stuff with really good balance and length.
2005 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard
Holy crap. This is superb - perhaps the best non-Rhone Syrah I've ever had. Stunning aromatics - starts out smelling like an old-world Syrah full of leather, bacon fat, olives and blackcurrants, then with more air this picks up floral elements and riper blueberry and black cherry fruit. Tremendous power and depth in the mouth, with the ripe fruit and concentration making its New World origins clear - but there's a lovely earthiness and meaty character beneath that becomes more prominent over a couple of hours, with plenty of tannin and decent acidity keeping it in perfect balance and a very long finish.