Blind tasting notes on new world reds (starter whites and finishing wines not necessarily in theme).
1997 Tyrells Vat 1 Semillon – lots of colour, clearly mature but still in great shape with a long toasty finish.
2002 Turley ‘The White Coat’ (San Luis Obispo) – interesting white Rhone blend showing some oxidation in the nose, decent fruit on palate and then more oxidation at the end. Interesting but clearly well past prime drinking.
2007 Amity Pinot Noir (Willamette) – bricky colour, dusty chalky nose with some bitter cherry, well perfumed, mellow with dry finish. OK.
1979 Ch. St. Jean Cabernet Wildwood Vineyard – back in the day, Dick Arrowwood was making stunning whites for St Jean and some largely experimental reds in small batches, often sold only at the winery. I used to pass by on the way back from vintage racing at Laguna Seca and would pick up the odd bottle. I’d had this one since release and had no idea of how it would show. All the other tasters thought this was in the 1990s and were astounded when I told them that it was two decades earlier, as it showed still tannic and had deep colour without much paling around the edges. Some rubber in the nose, and ripe fruit (only 12.9%) and hints of tar. In the mouth, medium fruit levels, soft tannin and a slight astringency, medium length finish. The nose later changed from rubber to herbal. My only bottle; must have been a monster when young.
2002 Sandhill Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah – this BC winery has always done interesting things in their Small Lots program. Dark wine, ripe nose showing far more syrah character despite the 65/35 split the other was. Tasty wine with bright acidity and sweet finish. 138 cases made.
2003 Susana Balbo Brioso (Mendoza) – I am not a huge fan of Argentinean wines for the simple reason that they suffer the same issue as Australian wines for me – you have to wade through oceans of insipid hot overly sweet wine to find the few jewels, and I no longer willingly don my wading boots; it is too easy to achieve oenological gratification with far less trouble elsewhere. This is an exception, though – dark, with a nice claret nose – the blend is 68 CS, 19 Malbec, 10 Petit Verdot, 4 CF – good concentration, good balance and long smooth fresh finish. If they were all this good, I’d be out there wading more often.
2001 Viader (Howell Mt.) – 55% Cab sauv, 45% Cab franc. Mellow claret nose with cedar, slight greenness, some cocoa, soft and elegant with medium length. A tad on the simple side and seems quite ready to drink. Time I dug out my 1995!
2000 Calliope Cabernet Merlot (BC) – a fine example of why you don’t leave your BC wines more than a decade without checking up on them. Had this one been checked it would have saved us a positively anticlimactic end! Tired decrepit wine.
Quinta do Vale Donna Maria Reserva Lot 10 – van Zellar is making this essentially Ruby Port for early consumption, and while I’d probably not have opened it this soon had it been from my cellar, I was happy to pitch in and taste this one. It showed some lightening on the edges despite being a 2010 port, was fairly sweet, and slightly hot in the mouth and was, I thought, a tad coarse in the finish. Lacks refinement. I don’t think I’d bother buying this and would opt for Cristiano’s LBV instead.
