Blind tasting notes – common theme, all wines must be from the 2000 vintage.
2000 Ch. Larrivet Haut Brion – (blanc) light straw colour, mature citrus nose, full in the mouth, but soft , finishing with an impression of being slightly off dry, perhaps partially as a result of lacking acidity.
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah – medium garnet colour, nose of brambly ripe currant with hints of white pepper, sweet and long in the mouth and a sweet juicy finish with a smoky element. Still drinking very well. Wish these stand out Cape Syrahs were less expensive but the quality level is sure there.
Black Hills Nota Bene – cab nose, medium body, sweet middle sweetish finish, medium long, simple and ripe. Nearing the end of useful life for this BC wine. Must find my last couple of bottle soon.
Dom. de Pegau CNduP – a surprise here. Leather and plum nose, good entry with tons of immediate acidity following through to the end, with an almost salty hint, this wine was surprisingly forward compared to other bottles.
La Louviere – corked
La Piaggia Carmignano – I opened a bottle of this Tuscan wine on purchase, figuring how long would a Carmignano need to be drinking well. I immediately noted the wine to be stashed away and forgotten about for 5 or 10 years! Biggest damned Carmignano I had ever tasted. Well, it still is. Purple edges, dense colour, huge concentration and excellent length, not yet at the best drinking time in my estimation. I checked RP on this one – he figured this one is good out to 2020 or so. I think he is right.
Cuvee du Vatican CNduP Reserve Sixtine – supposedly a wine with a similar drinking window, this bottle showed very forward. Good medium dark red with reddish edges, a nose of red fruit and hints of road tar, but the bright fruit in midpalate and the soft tannins make this a very approachable wine now, much sooner than I’d thought it would be. Time to approach some, I guess.
Vega Sicilia Valbuena – a wonderful nose of tobacco, cocoa and hints of anise kept us/me with our noses in the glass for quite some time before we thought to taste this. The oak seemed to be more French than American, despite the actual 65/35 ratio of American. Sweet in the mouth, rich and creamy texture with good fruit all the way through. No rush here.
Lakes Folly Cabernets – this Hunter Valley wine had some good jammy fruit in the nose and was a tad hot, but identifiable as cabernet with an olive hint. Good length.
Tignanello – medium dark wine with soft tannins, some cocoa in the nose, favouring the cab over the sangio, smooth medium long in the mouth with slightly high acidity. Tasty – very good showing.
1991 Quinta de Roriz Porto – medium colour, hot nose of candied fruit cake, medium sweet in the mouth and not overly hot, medium length finish with some bitter chocolate notes coming in. Not bad.
