WTN: Spy Valley SB, Cantemerle, La Galante, Warre's Otima, Macallan 1851

Notes from dinner last night at Lemuria

Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - Ripe guava, passion fruit and green peppers. Faint mint. Very crisp. Sweetish and friendly. Not bad.

Chateau Cantemerle 2002 - Slightly oaky. Tobacco. Lightish, Quite dry, earthy. Still slightly tannic even after a one hour decant. Good, solid Bordeaux. Went very well with escargots and mushrooms.

Chateau La Galante Bordeaux Superieur 2000 - I thought this was a very good wine when I first tried it about two years ago. Berryish, fruity nose. Quite tannic and dry. While still in balance, I'm not sure the fruit will hold out against the tannins.

Warre's Otima 10 Year Old Tawny Port - Light tawny. Gentle. Walnuts and figs. Very easy to drink with an amazingly long finish. Went quite well with the endless assortment of great desserts the kitchen sent out. In particular, the chocolate mille feuille with raspberry jam stuffing and the heavenly nougat which had the texture of turkish delight.

After dinner, we moved to the garden for stronger stuff:

Macallan 1851 Inspiration - This is supposed to be what whisky tasted like 150 years ago. Very smooth and dry with a sweet, chocolatey finish. On the light side. I suspect I still prefer the Macallan 18 year old although the Inspiration is much more expensive. Perhaps a side by side tasting would be good.

[Jenise]

No bitter edge on the Cantemerle? The 03 had a bitter taste like raw artichoke (think Campari) to me, and David Bueker commented that he's found that since 01 all of the Cantemerles have had something of that quality to them.

I didn't notice any bitter edge in the Cantemerle. There were 4 other people at the dinner and no one mentioned anything like that.