WTN: Giacosa, Siro Pacente, Louviere, Clerc Milon, Grahams

Blind tasting lunch notes.

2010 Ch. La Gravette (Minervois) – this light pink Rose had a very pleasant strawberry nose and was soft and inviting.

2004 Jean Marc Brocard Chablis Gr. Cru Le Clos – ripe tropical fruit on this wine, rich in the mouth, softer than expected and more like a junior league white Burg.

2010 Le Vieux Pin Sauvignon Blanc – from one of BC’s most exacting perfectionist wineries, this showed both grassy and gooseberry notes in the nose, was crisp and well defined on palate and had a nicely balanced lengthy finish. This has displaced my previous favourite as best sauv blanc made in BC!

2004 Blanc de Lynch Bages – a white we don’t see up here very often. Lemon and caramel nose reminded me of toffee, soft and off dry in the mouth. Unusual, pleasant.

2008 La Stella Allegretto Merlot – from another winery owned by the Vieux Pin group, this merlot showed sweet vanilla in the nose, was still fairly tannic in the mouth and some good flavours, although right now I found the oak a bit overpowering.

1985 Chalone Pinot Noir Estate – brought on spec by someone that had picked this up on the chance it might still be good – and it was. Browning edges, and excellent slightly funky pinot nose with tar hints, and smooth on palate with good length. Predictably faded in the glass, but fun while it lasted.

2000 Kettle Valley Pinot Noir – we were getting our BC content today! Dark colour put me off for a second as far as thinking about PN, but the minute I stuck my nose in the glass, I was headed toward new world pinot. Rich nose with floral highlights, good acidity and soft tannins. Drinking well now.

2001 Ca’ Marcanda Promis – Gaja’s blend of merlot, syrah and sangiovese, the wine had deep colour, a nice nose of pure berries with a hint of spice as well as a green tinge, and was soft and youthful with a balanced finish.

1997 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Falletto "Rabaja" Riserva – good legs, slightly browning edges, lovely classic nose of roses and tar, well balanced, good length. Lovely Barbaresco that the person who brought it had decanted earlier in the day (at which time he stated it had been tighter than….). If you open these, give them time in the decanter!

2000 Siro Pacente Brunello – we were getting some nice Italian content here! Deep colour, a black olive and tar nose, dry finish, very classy wine, and atypically traditional from this producer.

1990 Ch. La Louviere – clean fruit in the nose, which seemed to go a bit underground after a first good whiff after opening, smooth entry, tannin very soft, good acidity, an elegant classic claret.

1985 Ch. Clerc Milon – slightly funky nose changed to fairly straight ahead Bordeaux with a green tinge after airing. Good structure, a bit soft and with medium length and a level of fruit that made me wonder if it wasn’t better a bit earlier in life, nonetheless enjoyable now.

1991 Grahams Port – this one fooled us all as it didn’t show the typical sugar levels that Grahams usually has. Hot in nose, and in the finish, it was medium sweet with excellent body and good length.

[Jenise]

2010 Ch. La Gravette (Minervois) – rhubarb, celery and strawberries. Good.

2004 Jean Marc Brocard Chablis Gr. Cru Le Clos – Surprisingly ripe-seeming for a 2004. Good Grand Cru quality and comparison to the weaker-in-every-way 04 GC I brought last month.

2010 Le Vieux Pin Sauvignon Blanc – Outstanding new world SB, one of the best I've had in ages. Cat pee, gooseberry and minerals, perfectly balanced and very refined. Superb!

2004 Blanc de Lynch Bages – Off dry in the mouth? I didn't get that at all. Rather, it had a waxy, lemon Pledge kind of richness to it, and I'd peg it at peak or just slightly past. I liked it quite a bit but it wasn't done any favors being served out of sequence (actually, after the Chalone--you've just listed your notes in order of white to red), it should have followed the Chablis.

1985 Chalone Pinot Noir Estate, California – I like mature wines, but not necrotic. Therefore a wine in it's dotage that has lost all connection with it's who and what it is, fails to speak to me. And that was this wine. Where you got "excellent slightly funky pinot nose" all I got was "old wine, REALLY old". Fun to experience, but no value to me beyond that.

2000 Kettle Valley Pinot Noir, BC – You forgot to mention Hayman Vineyard, though perhaps they only made one so it's a moot point? I dunno! But anyway, unlike the Chalone this one had value. It's beautifully mature but very expressively pinot, if a bit on the rustic side, and impressive for it's age.

2001 Ca’ Marcanda Promis – We agree on this one. There was a greenish edge to the merlot component that was nicely balanced by the ripeness of the other two grapes, very elegant.

1997 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Falletto "Rabaja" Riserva – What you said.

2000 Siro Pacente Brunello – Very black olive, and gorgeous in every other way too. Excellent.

1990 Ch. La Louviere – I liked this very much, but found myself thinking this wasn't it's best day. Maybe it's past and will come again, I almost can't--five days later--put my finger on what I thought was incomplete here. Especially since it showed better than the wine it was paired with below. But something was missing, for me.

1985 Ch. Clerc Milon – This wine isn't aging as gracefully. It just didn't have enough fruit left to balance that green bell pepper note. And mind you, I actually kind of like green flavors, as with the Promis above.

1991 Grahams Port – What you said.