Blind tasting notes:
2006 Tyrells Vat 1 Semillon – lemon ime nose, not too much colour, rich and full in the mouth, finishing with good length. Don’t recall ever having a poor bottle of this wine. Not as much Semillon character as usual.
2014 Clossen Chase Chardonnay – this one stumped us. Ontario wine with an initial dill and oak nose, full flavoured, but over oaked for my taste (no doubt subscribed to the Mondavi theory that oak = quality). Some of the oak did blow off but not enough for redemption in my view.
2012 ‘T Voetpad – this white is a field blend of Chenin Blanc, Muscat, Palomino Semillon and Semillon Gris, made by Eben Sadie in South Africa. It had a very Rhonish nose, quite buttery, with some peach and long balanced finish. Very interesting wine.
1995 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle – cedar, oak and cinnamon in the nose was a promising start to this middle weight wine and a fair bit if tannin, and a pretty good wine, marred a bit for me by a certain lack of flavour interest in midpalate. Maybe I am being too critical?
1995 Domaine de la Janasse Cuvee Chaupin CNduP – my wine and unfortunately timed to go with a rather aggressive smoked mackerel dish, that did it no favours at all, not to mention going after a much bigger Northern Rhone. Lighter in colour, with a rather pretty dried cherry nose, and a bit of heat, I felt that it showed less well than it might have , seeming older than it should have. Will have to try another bottle on its own to see if that was true reading on the wine.
2005 Dom. Pavelot Savigny les Beaune – good colour, a typical pinot nose, heavy on the spicy side, drinking very nicely now.
2002 Mulderbosch Beta Centauri – an unusual and rare Bordeaux blend from the South African maker of that perennial fave of dog fanciers, Faithful Hound. Sweet in the mouth, obvious new world claret style, and delightful feel and finish. Good wine.
Sandemans 20 year Tawny Port – in an unusual clear bottle, this wine had an unusual mahogany orange colour, nutty nose, finishing with bitter almond hint. Sweet but balanced.
As a matter of convenience I am going to add some notes from wines tasted recently but not at that lunch.
2014 La Chablisienne Chablis La Pierrelée – slightly sweet mostly lime nose, bit tight, but with good crisp finish.
1982 Château Cos d'Estournel – excellent mature fruit nose melded with cigar box and currant, lots of acidity and still holding medium levels of tannin, typical of the commune, this wine still has time – no rush. Very good but eclipsed by the next wine.
1982 Château Mouton Rothschild – I’ve experienced a couple of tastings in the past 15 years where this wine showed as less than expected, but this showed it right back in form, more akin to early tastings but with delightful development. Darker, and richer riper nose with pencil lead, currant, spice and a bit of mint, and it developed cocoa after some time open. Immense depth to this wine with unassailable structure and a complexity lacking in earlier tastings. It has now hit plateau and should continue for years. Sadly, I have only a bottle or two in the cellar!