happy returns?

devil's lair 1998 (cab sav) [margaret river]

ruby; blackcurrant, cedar, licorice?, suprisingly youthful nose;

later

dinner on the 5th

1)chateau de st cosme gigondas "le claux" 2006 (100% grenache ... supposedly really old vines ... >100yrs??? ... 30% new wood: 40% 1 yr old: 30% 2 yr old)) [1st vintage as a standalone]

purple almost; berries/plum (unripe), closed/ restrained, green peppercorn, herbal, vanilla ... hint; plum/berries, bit lean now, mineral, someone said meat ... not me; still heaps of furry tannins; nice juicy acid; hardish?/structured; tight/backward ... didn't really open up even after an hour; needs fatty food now (had pork ribs :-)) ... can be refreshing ; medium/big bodied; medium length; for the long term; BANG!. sibling slightly mo complex/approachable now.









2)pierro cab sav/merlot 2001 (cab sav, merlot led and bits of franc, malbec and petit verdot) [margaret river]

ruby; blackcurrent, berries, smoke?, bit of cherry vanilla, bit stalky but not green; aforesaid blackcurrent/some plum (unripe), someone said savoury, mineral; lots of fine tannins; good acid; medium bodied and length; a little lean still, bit simple?; pick up some flesh in a coupla years?; overall still a BANG!(-). pork helped.

trial and errors on friday

1)columella 2005 (shiraz:mourvedre, 4:1) [swartland]

supposedly a cult drop by some whizkid/guru...eg. fruit from 7 tiny parcels with different soil conditions, individual berries hand sorted, open wooden fermenters, longish fermentation, basket pressed, long aging in french oak, blah, blah, blah. the label is in latin, for goodness sake; normally, "cult" is synonymous with "w*nker"; bottle was recommended by a denizen of the establishment, with good intentions i might add, but alas . . .

purple (think goober grape); cork out and you are hit by a musk and sandalwood shockwave ... and i mean a blast not just a whiff, extreme like some perfume ... characteristic of the big M? ...urgh, most of this blows away after about 20 mins. but still very apparent and too overt, sarsaparilla, plum, cherry, damp earth, mushroom and alcohol on the nose; cherry, dark fruits, alcohol, gravel/stone, lots of fine tannins apleasant acid, balanced but very lean palate; short drying finish; slightly bitter aftertaste; medium bodied; angular?; 14.5%; too young now. and too expensive ... it's in decent barolo territory. FIZZLE!

complex, but so's a trainwreck.

3 out of 4 present could not "get" this wine. the fourth was his usual contrarian self (someone's got to be one ... be bleeding boring otherwise) and found some interest, he even guessed correctly that it was a dry vintage. but all felt the nose did not reflect the palate ... like from 2 different wines.

this thing has got so many good reviews from camps you do not expect to agree, from ws to the brits.

this punter will still pass on it.

had to have something less stressful and challenging, so

2)alkoomi jarrah franklin river shiraz 2001

ruby; plummy nose; cranberry, red plum, furry tannins (still lots), acid pleasant, medium bodied and length; 14%; boring ... another inspired choice by yours truly. FIZZLE!

crappy strike rate, so had to get out of there ...

sunday last

howard park chardonnay 2005 [great southern]

light yellow; peach, lime or grapefuit rind and toast on the nose; follows through to the palate plus some oak and maybe some green apple; that rind thing was obvious; not a fruit bomb kind of experience (thankfully); [flavours confirmed by altogether less abused taste receptors residing in a 13 year old, and before anyone shouts child abuse, it was only 2 test drops]. not very rich (but a bit more so than the chablis had earlier); light/medium bodied; fine tannins and balanced acidity; sleek; did i hear rich seafood? BANG!

had it with 2 versions of the same seafood risotto recipe courtesy of friends who feed me for free.

knocked off a bottle of ceretto monsordo (la bernadina) 2002 thereafter. BANG!