nv Keswick Virginia Viognier Les Vents d’Angers (USA) 13% - (blend of 2002 and 2003 vintages) smell gentle oak, vanilla, slight pineapple, with air soft and a touch of alcohol, very slight tropical, hint of salt, mouthfeel is stringy, silky, cheesy, feels like you are gnawing at wine after a while, taste is very slight, capture some spice from oak, occasional strong alcohol, but almost no flavor to wine itself, which feels limpid and lifeless, a disappointment for me, felt more like concocted chardonnay than any type of viognier
2004 Dr Heger Ihringer Winklerberg Baden/Kaiserstuhl Grauburgunder Spätlese (Germany) - smell stone, slight herbs, only hint of sweetness, with air, lots of fragrant fruit, mouthfeel spicy and nice acidic edge, quite dense texture, taste great full fruit, wonderful dry finish, quite tasty, bold finish was winner for me
2001 Casa de la Ermita Jumilla (Spain) 13.5% - (blend of tempranillo, monastrell, cabernet sauvignon) smell strong raspberry, spice, leather, smoke, raspberry, taste strong heavy and suave fruit, balanced by really wonderful spice, long dryness midway through, good thirst developing and thirst quenching cycle with dryness and rich fruit juice, that playful cycle actually makes the wine interesting the whole way through, which I would not have expected, delicious and fun
2005 Gelisi Antonio Grave Del Friuli Cabernet Franc (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy) 13% - smell dark green bell pepper, big fragrant—but sort of a heap of uninteresting different essences, with air pink bubblegum, apple juice, mouthfeel very light, some stringiness, taste sweet honey, mostly sweet fruit, touch of lazy dryness, as wine airs, it quickly degrades into tartness, not entirely bad, but not for me
2005 Hawley Ponzo Vineyard Sonoma County Zinfandel (California, USA) 15.2% – smell leather, sharp cherry, fennel, fragrant herbs, with air, tons of raw fruit, strong spice, blackberry cobbler, mouthfeel silky, hint of acidity lurking, taste heavy set thick wonderful fruit, lovely finish, but overall a bit warm and sticky, fruit was really nice as was finish, but spice was too fleeting for me, didn’t feel integrated, wine had faded to just the fruit by the second day, the hint of flair had disappeared
nv Bastijana Dalmatia Prosek Hectorovich (Croatia) 16% -(blend of Bogdanuša, Maraština, Prc) smell slight almonds, hazelnuts, autumn, some lime, gingerbread, quite powerful nose with a bit of air, mouthfeel wonderful thick yet quite juicy, no stickiness until finish, taste is sweet, lots of nuts, slight caramel, quite soft and soothing in mouth with variation on finish, sometimes finish is light toasted pecans, almost creamy, with a bit of air it turns quite spicy and a bit dense, fun, lively dessert wine