- 2005 Dominique Piron Morgon Côte du Py - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (6/1/2014)
I thought I'd age a bottle a bit just to see what happens. Dark garnet in colour, with some bricking. Classic, fruity beaujolais nose with mainly cherries, plums, and a hint of tar.Very fruity on the smooth, velvety, medium bodied palate. It really hasn't moved very much at all yet. Still quite simple and youthful: it should last a while (B+). - 2003 Grans-Fassian Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (5/30/2014)
Apple juice-like in colour (light golden)! Honeyed lime and stonefruits on the nice nose. Quite rich, auslese-like, and very sweet too but not cloying. There's honey, apricot, pineapple, lime and mango on the full bodied, integrated palate. A nice long finish too. Drinking well now but should last. (A-) - 2007 Domenico Clerico Barbera d'Alba Trevigne - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (5/9/2014)
Notes from second night open. This is a modern style, with very plush fruit, some oak still and good concentration.Somewhat anonymous, but certainly tasty and ready now. (B+) - 2011 Quartz Reef Pinot Noir Bendigo Vineyard - New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago Bendigo (4/25/2014)
Popped and poured from a 375ml. Lovely cherry and asian spice notes on the nose. Medium bodied, great intensity, starts out very smooth, but ends with tannins. Very young now - sit on this one or decant well in advance. Great promise. Rudi et al. always makes strong wines from a great site. - 2004 Domaine Jo Pithon Anjou Les Pepinieres - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Anjou (4/19/2014)
Too dark in colour, oh oh, and yes totally oxidized. NR (flawed) - 2008 Kumeu River Chardonnay Maté's Vineyard - New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu (4/19/2014)
Hazy notes from last night. This was a nice chardonnay, medium bodied, medium oak levels, lot of popcorn and caramel on the nose and palate. A well made wine that just needs a little more concentration to get to the next level. Ready now but will last a few years too. (A-) - 2005 Domaine de Cassan Gigondas - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas (4/18/2014)
Hazy notes from over the last two nights. This was really singing from the get-go. Classic Southern Rhone notes of earthy cherries, plums, garrigue and tar on the pure, medium-full bodied palate. The mixture of purity and rustic aspects is also classic Gigondas to me. Great now, but will last many years as well. Very impressive. (A-) - 2001 McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Lovedale - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (4/14/2014)
Hazy notes from a few days ago. Popped and poured for a red pepper soup course. This really wasn't showing well on the night. Started out very shrill - lots of acid and little fruit - but did improve a little bit as it warmed up. But over the hour we tasted it, it didn't ever really impress. Given the recent notes, perhaps I should have decanted this wine. But, as it was on the night, not a thrilling semillon. (B-/B) - 2007 Hightower Cellars Red Wine Red Mountain - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain (4/11/2014)
Hazy notes from last night. This was a big but balanced wine. Concentrated combination of red and black fruit with some tar notes from the oak. I decantered this for 2 hours, and it kept improving as the night went on. There is still lots of time for this wine. Nice on its own, best with some beef. (A-) - 2007 Famille Perrin / Perrin & Fils Vacqueyras Les Christins - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Vacqueyras (4/7/2014)
Hazy notes from last night. Smooth textured, easy drinking wine with mainly red fruits on the medium bodied palate. No heat or over-ripeness, just a solid Southern Rhone blend from this always good QPR wine. (B+) - 2007 Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva Old Vines - Portugal, Douro (3/29/2014)
Hazy notes from last night. Nice deep nose with a fairly complex medium-full bodied palate, with mainly red fruits and tar. A little sweet fruit on the end of the palate. As always, a nice wine and fairly good QPR. (B+/A-) - 2006 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (3/23/2014)
Just had a quick taste last night. Lovely nose, medium bodied and finishing a little dryer than expected. Very nice, will last a long while. - 2007 Le Clos Jordanne Pinot Noir Claystone Terrace - Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Twenty Mile Bench VQA (3/15/2014)
Blind tasted last night, and people thought it was a village Burgundy. Medium bodied, with a classic pinot nose and palate. Impressive for a Ontario pinot, and a very solid wine, but not quite outstanding. (B+) - 2009 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Homer Shea Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (3/15/2014)
Oops - thought I was opening the Estate last night... Pretty closed, of course, but this was a big, structured pinot with great concentration and power. But not over the top, even with some elegance. Not rated, but quite tasty even now, but wait 5 years if you possibly can. - 2005 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Terrunyo Block Las Terrazas - Chile, Maipo Valley, Pirque (3/10/2014)
Again, an impressive wine. Blackfruits, herbs and mint on the nice nose. Great silky texture to this full bodied wine, with a real blast of blackfruits, chocolate, tar and herbs. Lots of intensity and concentration here, but not OTT. Nice long finish too, and well structured. Drinking really well now, but should last a while yet. Great QPR. (A-) - 2007 Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon - South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl, Franschhoek Valley (3/8/2014)
Nice cab. Didn't take notes, but this was a medium-full bodied wine with a nice texture and a classic cab nose and palate. Just a touch of green. Drinking well now, but will last several years yet. (A-) - 2009 Stark-Condé Cabernet Sauvignon - South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch (3/4/2014)
I drank this over 3 nights. Each night it had a lovely texture and good concentration, but the first two nights it had a pretty intense green streak that was off-putting. The third night, the green streak disappeared. So it's hard to rate this one, a B on the first two nights and maybe a B+ on the last night. Some cellar time is needed? - 2006 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Nahe (2/22/2014)
Took this to a BYO dinner tonight, and didn't take notes, but this was a tasty, if somewhat soft riesling. A mix of maninly stonefruit with some tropical notes as well. Fairly sweet, probably reflecting the vintage. Very tasty, but rather simplistic and primary still. (A-) - 2002 Domdechant Werner Hochheimer Kirchenstück Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Rheingau (2/21/2014)
Lovely light gold in colour. A rich nose of mainly tropical and stone fruit - pineapple, mango, peach, pear and cherry. A medium bodied, rich palate, with apricots, mango, pineapple and cherry the main fruits on show. On the sweet side, as others mentioned, but I think it is nicely balanced, though it doesn't have the minerallity that help Mosel wines balance the sweetness. Still young, this will last several years yet. A harmonious, well integrated, tasty wine that drinks more like an auslese than a spatlese. (A-) - 2006 Jurtschitsch/Sonnhof Riesling Auslese Zöbinger Heiligenstein - Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal (2/15/2014)
Didn't take notes, but this was a nice dessert-style wine last night. Nice mix of tropical and citrus fruit with good acidity still. Nice now, but it should last a few years yet, although I'm not sure if it will improve substantially. (B+) - 2004 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Catena Alta - Argentina, Mendoza (2/8/2014)
Hazy notes from last night. This was a rich, ripe wine that had some interesting flavours - deep plums, chocolate, blackfruits, tar. A little too 'slutty' for my tastes, but certainly a well made, concentrated, full bodied malbec. A bit more lift and/or tannins would have improved the wine for me. (B+/A-) - 2003 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage Blanc Chevalier de Sterimberg - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (2/8/2014)
Didn't take notes, but this was a really enjoyable, interesting wine. Not a 'hedonistic' style, and it kept changing in the glass with air. Some light fruit notes - peach, honeysuckle, lanolin, but it was more texture then fruit oriented. There was a hint of alcohol and oxidation in the wine, but they didn't distract from the wine too much at all. There are some similarities to a Lopez de Heredia rioja blanco. Nice intensity to the flavours, and this should last a while yet. (A-) - 2000 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Crianza Viña Gravonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (2/2/2014)
Light gold. Pineapple, talc, apples and lanolin on the light nose. Medium bodied, just slight oxidation in this bottle - every bottle is a different taste experience - with a lovely mouth coasting texture, a saline impression, and more pineapple, lanolin, butterscotch, pear and lemon notes. Probably the best bottle of this I've tried. (A-)