Notes from a blind tasting at a lunch at a local restaurant:
2015 Gaba do Xil Godello – the wines were split equally between white and red and this one had Telmo Rodriguez and a local varietal going for it. Some colour, and a nice melony cantaloupe nose, sweet entry, full mouth feel and good length and acidity.
2004 William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos – remarkably good bottle with a nose you had to swirl to get, much more austere than the previous wine but clearly a good bottle – showing less colour than I’d have expected and only the barest whiff of oxidation, it drank nicely.
2010 Flowers Chardonnay Camp Meeting Ridge – more colour in this wine than the previous one. Lots happening in this nose – citrus and some tropical fruit, some mineral and a faint floral element. Sweet, good fruit and length. Nice chard.
2014 Perennial Vintners Melon de Bourgogne – French varietal made on Bainbridge Island Washington, and sadly it was corked. We will never know if Washington State Muscadet exists….unless we find another bottle.
1986 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley – I had collected these when car racing in California, from the era when all the publically available wines from St. Jean were almost all white and Dick Arrowood was playing around with reds that were sold only at the winery, if at all (I don’t think any of the 1970s reds were sold in general distribution, but by the later 80s they may have been starting to think of them as a commercial possibility). . He founded his own winery that year, but remained as winemaker for St Jean until 1990. This one showed a minty rubbery nose that resolved fairly quickly, losing the rubber and gaining currant in its place. Adequate fruit, decent length, sweet end and drying finish. Drank well for its age.
1975 Ch, Leoville Las Cases – another oldie. Mellow nose, decent fruit, still showing good concentration, good length and still has some dry tannin. Faded with time in the glass, which isn’t something I’ve seen with my bottles – may be time to take a look again soon.
1999 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici Riserva – still quite dark, nose of smoked cherry, excellent fruit, the only hint that it was Italian was the slightly high terminal acidity. A good Aglianico!
2008 Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon The Mint – no surprise than the nose was minty – enough so that I was thinking of Oz, although the up front fruit wasn’t as sweet as Aussie wines often exhibit. Sweet entry, good stuffing, and length. Attractive wine.
2001 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 – medium colour, some brett in the nose but not so much that you’d call it a flaw, sweet in the mouth, but it dried out almost immediately and the fruit disappeared. Thinking that it may have been corked in a rather unusual way, showing no TCA as such? Who knows?