2009 Huet Le Mont Moelleux
With fantastic Thai food at Thai Sa On in Calgary. Young, sure, but already drinking so well. Fresh and sweet all at the same time, there’s a definite thread of fresher apricot to go with some floral and citrus notes. Sneaky length. Glad I have 2 more.
2009 Rudius Cabernet
My best friend had this one stashed from when she bought it on my recommendation. I was very happy with this showing. Still plenty of heft and rich red fruit on nose and palate, but there’s definite harmony to the whole here. Jeff should rightly be proud of this bottling, which should easily last another 8-10 years. The oak has been very nicely integrated.
2016 Carlisle Papera Ranch Zin
What’s not to like? Delicious red and black plum and some sweeter blackberry, and there’s a hint of meats on the nose. Great with burgers and the filets we had from the BBQ, this holds its alcohol really well and is not at all over-sweet. Good depth, another winner here.
2000 Dante Rivetti Barbaresco Bricco Riserva
This was a surprise to me, though not in a bad way. The colour and aromatics all speak of a mature wine. That is echoed initially on the palate, where some very intriguing tertiary earth and cocoa tones have built themselves in. What was interesting is that 2 days later, it had actually gained liveliness and had much more red fruit in the palate component. The only thing I’m sure about is that I should go and get another bottle or two of this if I can.
2007 Graham’s VP
Opened for a cheese, chocolate, wine and beer/cider/mead grand tasting event. Of course it’s much too soon. I ordered a 12 hour decant. Toddlercide, could only get an inkling on that night. 3 days later, one can make an assessment. Very full purple fruit and lightly grapey notes in nuzzie. To taste, it is rich and sweet with fine grainy tannins to take you along for the ride. It’s too early to tell where the final resting place will be, but my thoughts are that the fruit will always be the dominant part of this wine. My next one will be left for at least 7 years if I can.
2017 Cullen Wilyabrup Dancing in the Moonlight Rose
Get this—Merlot, Malbec, CS and Petit Verdot (in descending percentages order). It makes, I’m afraid, for a clashy beast of a wine–it has character, sure, but the problem is that the character is schizophrenic. I left this as well for about a week and that impression didn’t change. Can’t recommend, and although I loved their stuff in the past, this is not the first relatively unhappy recent experience I’ve had with Cullen.
Haere Ra,
Mike