Notes from a blind tasting:
2013 Merryvale Starmont Carneros Chardonnay – lightly oaked, decent tropical fruit, clean finish
1998 Quintessa – medium colour, slightly sweet, slightly funky nose, with a tad of heat, soft mature wine.
1995 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia – light colour, cotton candy nose, bit astringent and acidic, narrowed at the end.
1992 Wolf Blass Black Label – this wine continues to drink well. A blend of cab and shiraz, with an American oak nose, it had a warm fruit nose without falling into the all too common jammy category and the fruit was clean and well defined. Tannins resolved. Drink up. Cab/shiraz.
2001 Moris Farms Maremma Toscana Avvoltore – darker wine with a lifted fruit nose with hints of earthiness, and cherry fruit. Still has significant tannin.
2002 Cedar Creek Meritage – slightly green nose with some cocoa, and a fully mature smooth wine, finishing medium long. Well preserved for a BC wine.
2001 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence – fairly dark with a dark fruit and blood nose, quite clean across the palate with tons of sweet fruit.
2002 Smith Woodhouse LBV Port – medium red in colour with decent, not too sweet nose with some nice smokiness and ripe fig. Not overly sweet. Decent showing