Monthly blind tasting notes:
2003 Jaboulet Hermitage Chevalier de Sterimberg – what a great way to start off, with a white Hermitage! Mid straw colour, ripish sweet fruit nose, and a rich oily feel with long finish.
2000 Faustino I Rioja Gran Reserva – this wine has a tendency to be discounted by wine snobs because it comes in a purposefully cellar dusted style of bottle, but it has always performed well for me. This example showed medium red colour, an oaky nose, toasty, and some dark cherry on palate with some spice. My only caveat was that it seemed to be drying out a tad.
1997 Baron de Ona Rioja Reserva – we had ordered these wines blind according to everyone’s suggestions as to the best place to put them , so it was happenstance that placed two Riojas together. Medium colour, a strawberry nose with vanilla, mellow and resolved on palate. Very decent.
1996 Produttori del Barbaresco Pora – oddly, this presented as a cabernet nose rather than Nebbiolo at first, but later opened up to become more varietally typical. Medium colour ans still carrying significant tannins, this wine opened up a bit in the glass, but I think it needs a few more years yet to peak.
1997 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle – I don’t know what the chances are that two people would show up with a Jaboulet Hermitage, one white and one red, but it was good luck for us! And as it turned out, good luck for me, as I got to taste it without sacrificing one of my few bottles. The wine showed some very nice ripe red fruit in the nose, and a sweetness on palate, but I think it needs a few years yet. Note to self to revisit in five years.
1988 Ch. Mouton Baronne Philippe – this was my bottle, and the last year it was called this as they switched to Armailhac for 1989. The wine showed a typical claret nose with tobacco and cedar, and on palate some green hints but adequate fruit. Needs drinking but a very decent showing.
1997 Portteus Merlot – good colour, and a nose that started off well with grapy mint, but quickly added some stewy notes and big time American oak – dill time. Simple jammy, soft. Not my kind of wine. I've enjoyed this Washington producer's Cabs in the past.
2005 Arcadian Syrah Stolpman Vineyard – well, another one not exactly in my wheelhouse. Dark with a lifted menthol nose, sweet entry and even sweeter on palate. You’d think they had a guest winemaker from Oz on this one. First Arcadian I really haven’t wanted to drink.
2005 Edmunds St. John Syrah Wylie Fenaughty – third try was the lucky one for American Syrah. Excellent nose with iron and fruit, herbs and a bit of raw meat. On palate it was quite full bodied but balanced and a lot of character. No rush here!
2002 Cheval des Andes – a high end cab/Malbec blend from Argentina, this married blackberry nose with excellent but not overboard levels of fruit. Well made enjoyable wine.
2009 Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Auslese – pale wine with a marker pineapple and floral nose, on palate perhaps a touch soft, but tasty.
1988 Taylors Vargellas - seriously bricked colour and the nose was more of a tawny than vintage nose, with hints of blackberry and while it showed good persistence, I felt that it was past the plateau and needed drinking up.