Spent a few nights at Whistler Mountain B.C. with friends, and while away we drank the following wines:
2021 Kelley Fox Wines Pinot Gris Rosé Maresh Vineyard Dundee Hills
Exquisite rich pink color. On the nose and palate, strawberry, apple and pomegranate. Smooth entry and a little crunchy on the finish. As good as it gets, really, for domestic rose. Ordered off the list at Wild Blue in Whistler.
2021 Inama Soave Classico Vigneti di Foscarino Garganega
Bright yellow. Intense nose and palate with riper, bigger fruit than I'm used to from Soave, and I loved it.
2012 Passopisciaro Passorosso Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese
Tired, and oxidation crept in while we drank it. Should have been a lot better.
2012 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT Sangiovese
Coop's bottle, and his notes capture it perfectly: Medium dark red with some brown. Tremendous aged Sangiovese nose, soil, black cherry, dried mushrooms, thyme and nutmeg. Dry delicious earthy black fruit flavours and a nice balanced finish.Medium dark red with some brown.
2022 Olianas Vermentino di Sardegna
Similar notes to last August, it hasn't aged at all. Should coast in a cool cellar for a couple years more.
2021 Château Simone Palette Blanc White Rhone Blend
Startling color (for someone new to this wine) of deep, bright gold. Very good nose of peach, almond and a little orange blossom with extracted stone fruit and lime leaf on the palate. Unique and interesting; I see estimates of another 15 years aging potential here, and can barely imagine where it would go. I'm not sure I'd care for an even stronger version of where this is now.
1999 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Syrah
Not as good as another bottle one year ago--third of three I owned. Good, not great, nose and leaning more toward acid than fruit. Took to a restaurant where it was decanted properly but only for service, and it didn't have the time it might have otherwise been able to use to come out of hiding--presuming, lacking any other flaws, it would have done so.
1999 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis Syrah
Corked. But the bonus was, we took it to a restaurant where our waiter was excited to see this--he grew up in that village and even picked grapes for Guigal there. Sad about the cork especially since if one pulled a Bill Clinton and didn't inhale, it was otherwise an obviously great bottle and better than my Chave.