pleasant surprise

1) la sirene de giscours 2000 (margaux), second wine of course ...



2) domaine les chenets croze hermitage 2007



later

not happening 3

segla 2003

accidentally boiled ... sheeesh.

triple treat, almost

suspects gather

1)saint cosme st. joseph 2007

2)chateau de fonsalette CDR reserve 2006
lovely, see earlier sample

3)chateau lynch-moussas 2000 (pauillic)

later

lone wolfe

drinking solo sucks but someone's got to do it ...

les hauts de pontet 1996 (pauillac)

ruby, slight rust on the rim; nice nose, hint of blackcurrant, fruit/wood melded, a little metallic?; initially a little flat? but opened up after about 15 min; ... everything's melded nicely, mineral; linear; balanced, soft acid and tannins; medium/light bodied; medium length; sipped it all night;

second echelon to a 5th growth? ... works for me BANG!

decent 10 days work

1)spring vale pinot noir 20052) chateau malescot st-exupéry 1998

3)domaine santa duc gigondas des hautes garrigues 2003

4)brunely vacqueyras 2003

earlier

5)leasingham clare classic shiraz 1996

6)puygeraude 2000

7)mischief and mayhem chablis 2005

8)mischief and mayhem pugliny montrachet 2005

later

bad habit rising ... weekday drops

roger sabon cdp reserve 2006

what can i say, consistent ... hardly any bottle variation ... but this sample was smoother and even more intergrated ...

chayeau puygueraud 2000

consistent with earlier sample, but tannins seem to have a little more bite ... which i like.

nice day

quintet

1)chateau cantemerle 2004 (haut-medoc)
ruby; spice ... cinnamon, cardamom?, vanilla hint; blackcurrent, plum, leafy; fruit, a little chalky/mineral, lean; some structure ... furry tannins and acid; medium bodied and length; with food; POP!(-) ... maybe in a coupla years but i'll pass.

2)chateau vilhars 2005 (fronsac)
ruby; dusty spicy nose, cherry?, plum, oak hint; aforesaid fruits and berries?, mineral, spice, dried orange peel?; nicely balanced by soft tannins and juicy acid; light/medium bodied; medium length; BANG!(-) ... thought it was a nice light rhone in a blind some time ago ;-P ... but what do i know? ...

3)domaine dugat-py gevrey chanbertin les evocelles 2007
ruby, purplish tint; blueberries, hint strawb, floral, damp earth; aforesaid berries, mineral/chalky; tannins firm, acid a little tart; light/medium bodied; ...bit lean ... not really ready? POP! expensive

4)yarra yering dry red no.1 1999

5)st cosme cote du rhone les duex albion 2006
this sample had a very "medicinal" sour nose initially ... someone said paracetamol(?!)... ow ...blew away somewhat after 30 mins, but this sample was still a little too funkeee (see earlier sample)... methinks that the said sour note was an extention of chinese spices and the "cow pat" on the palate ... yes, bull doo doo ... an extreme incarnation of wet clay. not a very pleasent bottle this.

lean mean & good

chateau potensac 2000

ruby, thrown a crust; closed nose ... never really opened up, casis, plum, pencil shavings, vanilla hint, cedar?: plummy, berries, some fruitcake, savoury and lean, bit metallic; medium bodied; tannins still firm, enough acid here; longish drying finish; was in the mood for this almost austere drop ... with food; BANG! well priced.

weird white

sequillo 2007 (swartland ... supposedly grenache blanc,chenin blanc, voignier,rousanne) [a sadie family white]
light gold; nectarine, quince, nutty?/almond?, restrained; rich, glycolic?/oily? (like an islay whisky), nutty, nectarine, mineral; some nice acid does make an appearance after you get over the moreish mouthfeel; longish; POP! for me.

chateaux pibran 2003 (pauillac)
dark ruby; berries (black/blue?), spice, musk???, something floral, whiff of wood; them berries, casis, pepper, mineral/chalky, bit lean initally and did not broaden much over time; fine tannins and balancing acid; longish; POP (-)!

on the rhones again

1)domaine courbis cornas "champelrose" 2005
consistent with earlier notes cept that this sample did not have that sarspirilla note and was if anything a touch leaner. still ... a BANG!

2)domaine st cosme gigondas 2006 (their basic ... anything but)
dark ruby; wet clay, cherry/kirsch, spice, whiff of grilled meat, bit of soy; aforesaid cherry, spice and meat, ripe fruit but not over, plum, chocolate (cherry ripe!), mineral/chalk; heaps of fine tannins and acid do their balancing thang; medium bodied; rich and refreshing all at once; quite long; BANG! for sure. see 2005
3)chateau patache d'aux 2000
same as it ever was, same as it ever was ... partner likes the stuff.

so so

pintia 2003 (toro) [tempranillo]

a denizen of the hole suggested this one ... nuther drop from the vega sicilia gang.

dark ruby, almost opaque: plum/berry, cedar, bit smoky, closed; rich ripe plum/ dark fruit, oak/vanilla (luckily only a hint ... not enough to gag), syrupy feel, still rather primary, confectionary; heaps of fine tannins ... mouth-coating, bit of mineral?, could do with a bit more acid to balance the fruit and wood (said denizen decanted the stuff and put it on ice!? ... brought out some acid ....!.); medium/big bodied; longish; 15%; someone said unexciting, another one dimentional, ... i'd agree ... boriiing; the exercise went nowhere ... did not get better over time; put it away and wait? ... maybe, nah! heaps of other things to drink ... it's cousin alion for example; POP(-) and expensive.

chateau chantegrive 2003 graves
ruby; raspberry, plum, oak, whiff of musk; plum, meaty flavours; ripe tannins; balancing acid; linear; medium bodied; not very long; BANG(-)

chateau patache d'aux 2000 medoc
somehow not as interesting nor as fun as earlier samples.

consistent evening 8-0 ... ho hum.

revisiting ...

brancaia blu 2001 similar notes as earlier samples except this one has developed further ... nose and palate are mo secondary ... things have come together ... bit of raisin/prune midpalate and at the finish. still a BANG! but drink up already.

chateau patache d'aux 2000 this one hadn't changed much ... earlier still BANG!

last drop

goin away tomorrow for a few days ... dry place.

clos l'eglise 2003 (cotes de castillon) [merlot led with cab sav and franc plus malbec]
purplish ruby; plum, cherry, bit oaky, someone said chocolate; plum/prune; lotsa firm but fine tannins; juicy acid; medium bodied and length; not complex but quite sleek; BANG!(-)

quiet red

tea time saturday
chateau olivier 1998 (pessac-leognan)[mainly merlot and cab sav]
garnet; initially some blackcurrent, plum, cedar, tobacco, hint of mushroom/corn as it opens up, secondary, with air ... parts melded, fresh, someone said sweaty t-shirt?; fruit, wood, tannins and acid intergrated, very nice; linear; long with dried fruit/flower finish; 12.5%; BANG!

bourgeois

chateau fonreaud 2000 (listrac) [donno what's inside ... cab sav led, merlot, cab franc?]
garnet; plum, blackcurrent, mushroom, hint of soy, hint of menthol/peppermint,oak, all intergrating/ed; secondary flavours, fruit, wood, tannins and acid melded, subtle underlying minerals, spice; tannins not very fine but mellow now; still has enough acid to balance things out; medium bodied and length (was a little short in the beginning but lengthened over time); smooth drop; 12.5%; BANG!

late lunch

chateau puygueraud 2000 (cotes de francs) [merlot led with bits of cab franc and malbec]
dark ruby; plum, berry, cedar, floral, secondary; some fruit still evident but melding together with the wood, fleshy, someone said spicy (malbec?), hint of raw meat?; tannins and acid mellowed; balanced; medium bodied and length; 13%; BANG!; goes down easy; very nice for the price.

weekend past

1)grand corbin despagne 2005 (75% merlot, 24% cab franc, 1% malbec) [st emilion]
young, almost purple; plum, blackcurrant, smoke, a little vanilla, cedar, mushroom/earth, hint of musk/violets?; follows onto palate, mineral/stones; lots of furry chalky tannins and acid... said young didn't i, and with the fruit it will keep, i happen to like the tannins here; lean kind of feel now; medium bodied and length; 13.5%; BANG!(-)

2)basel cellars cab sav 2002 [walla walla ... i kid you not, washington state]
fruit from 4 different parcels, vinified separately ... blah, blah, blah ...
ruby; plum, blackcurrant, cedar, bit of vanilla, earth/ mushroom, a little funky ... old world like?; clean flavours, ripe fruit on the palate; fine tannins, acid to back that up; medium bodied, longish; 14.5%; BANG!(-); supposedly 100% new wood but pleasently surprised it's not fruit and wood monster.

3)godolphin 2005 (shiraz 80%/ cab 20%) [barossa]
speaking of fruit bombs ...
reddish purple; plum, blackcurrant, cedar, vanilla, hint of cocoa, someone said butterscotch/toffee; cherry, sweet ripe plummy jammy fruit (hmm... 4 adjectives); lotsa fine tannins; acid AWOL; smooth, plump and lush?; medium/heavy bodied with a longish ripe/jammy fruit finish; 14.5%; did i mention ripe? POP! didn't think much of it but others begged to differ. am told this is a big bob fave ... and as a friend would say, hmmm.

4)gunderloch jean baptiste kabinett 2007 [rhinehessen]
straw; lime, bit of peach; off dry, bit lean, mineral; nice sharp acidity; short; 7.5%; ho hum; POP!

5)delas freres crozes hermitage tour d'albon 2005
ruby, purple tinge; initial whiff was really herbal and spicy (long pepper/ green peppercorn very obvious), cherry, grilled meat, sweet; cherry, herbal, meat, someone said bread and butter pudding and apple cider?, clove, balsamic, chalk/mineral/ stone; lot of fine tannins with nice juicy acidity; overall, a wee bit hard now; medium bodied and length, nice herbal finish; 12.5%; nice one; BANG!(+) extremely well priced. remember "cheap wine"?

coupla glasses for lunch

someone pulled out a chilean ... an '06 carmenere ... overipe nose and palate, off dry?, chalky, very little tannin and acid ... :-0 think of it as alcopop and everything will be fine. this bottle shall remain anonymous.

a colleague then proffers a clos beauregard 2005 (pomerol)
much better but not so sure about the nose, which was almost overpoweringly floral, spicy and musky ... bretty? ... but the fruit and flavours were still present. anyway was called away after 1 glass. will look into this one again.

missed a segla 2003 too, damned work.

turkey on new years day ... the bird not the wine

1) museum real cigales reserva 2000 (tempranillo)[cigales] blood; plummy, bit of pepper, creamy vanilla; ripe plum, woody, bit one dimensional; medium/full bodied; medium length; lots of fine tannins and nice amount of acid; oodles of ood, can imagine what it was like young ... uurgh. thought it was a borossa shiraz, hey, what do i know? POP!




2)chateau segonnes 2004 (margaux, am told from the lascombes stable)
ruby: blackcurrent, plum, a little vanilla, smoke; follows onto palate; fine tannins; could do with a little bit more acid; light/medium bodied; medium length; methinks made for early drinking; POP!

nightcap

at a friend's.

1)chateau gaumaran 2002 (medoc ... supposedly merlot led ... dunno)

none of us had seen one before. this sample came via hongkers. a search on the net revealed very little, even then in french.

seems like this is one insular label with a serious seige mentality......some weird (albeit badly translated) stuff on a site featuring this stuff:

Natural demand side of our French wine and safeguard our AOC and our know-how!

Technologies French wine is much more healthy and hygienic than s'autorisent producers in the southern hemisphere.

There was no difference between a Chilean sauvignon, California or New Zealand.

The New World wines are wines chemical which is a price while our French wines express their soil and a way of working.

The New World makes use of oenological practices (outlawed by Europe) who try to artificialize wine and transform a name of a universal standard drink "high technology".

Prefer the cork and at the same time, safeguard the ecosystem of the Mediterranean oak forest cork!

The use of cork has been certified by a favorable carbon (test implemented by Oeneo bouchonnier).

dull blood red, bit of bricking; bit of plum initially, then slowly revealed more exotic? and savoury scents, mushroom, damp earth, pickled jalapeno, soy, capsicum, latter 2 intensified as time went by; almost salty palate of said soy and capsicum/chilli (there's even a prickly aftertaste like the real thing!); fine tannins and moderate amounts of acid; textured mouthfeel like some of those riberas; longish; 12.5%; POP!,barely, didn't gag. don't even know if this is a typical bottle. anyway, a curiosity.

2)dr. loosen uziger wurzgarten riesling kabinett 2003

last of 2 dozen obtained by my aforesaid friend, rest were polished off when fresh.

gold; citrus (more oranges than lime/lemon), pear, apple (red not green, my 13 yr old friend opined), honey, kero; more than off dry; fruit follows onto the palate, orange blossom honey?, someone said pineapple, oatmeal, chalk/mineral; mouthfeel plump, rich but not flabby; enough minerality and acid to prevent things from decending into lolly water territory (03 had a sweltering summer); long; 8.5% BANG! nice one.