WTN: Caprai, Pontet Canet, Mann, Benoit

Monthly blind tasting notes.

Pierre Peters Champagne Blanc de Blancs (nv) – nice citrus and yeast nose, very fresh (this was just released) crisp and clean. Very good, from a producer I am not familiar with.

2002 Christian Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon – nice nose with floral and grassy notes, clean and full on palate with a chalky feel. Nice.

2000 Albert Mann Gewurztraminer Steingrubler – darker than the Chablis, with a typical spicy Gewurz nose, with some melon, very ripe but finishes dry. Excellent.

1998 Doudet Naudin Beaune 1er Cru Les Greves – we discussed this producer and concluded we always found them to be mundane. This wine was no exception, showing some cherry fruit. lots of acid, some volatile acidity, perhaps a bit cooked at some stage.

1995 Lopes Geredia Rioja Reserva Tondonia – warm nose, good fruit, with spice and leather , and lots of acidity. No rush.

2000 Dom. St. Benoit CNduP Cve de Grand Garde – dark and still fairly tannic, this wine showed a Rhonish nose, a little spice, though no pepper, and was of decent length with good fruit. Drinks well now.

2005 Sandhill Barbera Small Lots – a BC oddity. Mature minty nose, medium colour ripe flavours, but ultimately blah. Why do they keep trying to do some of these Italian varietals justice – and keep failing so consistently?

2003 Jaboulet St. Joseph Grand Pompee – primarily a fruit based nose in this fairly dark wine, with some metallic notes. We found it decent but atypical and impossible to pick as a French Syrah.

1978 Ch. Pontet Canet – this, on the other hand, was instantly identifiable as Bordeux, and seemed much younger until the nose started opening up and showing its complexity. Looked up my old notes and this was far better than a previous bottle I’d tasted. It had medium body and a typical mature nose, and retained enough fruit to be quite pleasurable.

1994 Arnaldo Caprai Montefalco Reserva – 70% sangiovese and 30% sagrantino, this refused to give any hints of origin. Clear garnet colour, lightly funky nose with good fruit as a base, carrying through on palate with a nice sweetness and none of the acidity usually associated with Italian wines. Quite elegant in fact.

1997 Heitz Cabernet – this regular cab showed nice black currants in the nose, was dark and a tad simple, but has years to go to develop complexity.

Okanagan Cellars ‘Port’ – this was a prank offering by the restaurant when they saw what the last wine was. It has to be the worst crap I have smelled and gingerly sipped in many moons. A wet fur nose that reminded me of a dead rat on a vinyl sheet, and the taste defies description. God knows what grapes they make this out of….and why. WTF?

1990 Sumac Ridge ‘Port’ – no idea what grapes went into this one, made by a decent BC winery. Dark with brown edges, hot and funky nose, sweet and simple. Should have stopped two wines ago. Oh well.

At the risk of appearing negative, my comments:
Peters Champagne - Excellent. Lovely balance between fruit and acidity.
Moreau Chablis - very good. Typical Chablis flavours of unoaked Chardonnay balanced with acidity and lovely chalky undertones.
Lopes Heredia. I thought it was short on fruit. but very interesting.
Sandhills Barbera - Yecch!
Jaboulet - Atypical and not very exciting.
Pontet Canet. Very interesting, but on an analytical level. probably better with more fruit 5-10 years ago.
Montefalco. Very good, nice fruit and acid balance.
Heitz. I don't think that this wine is going anywhere. Simple and going to remain simple.
"Ports" - no comment!

[Jenise]

My notes:

Pierre Peters Champagne Blanc de Blancs (nv) – pale yellow, obviously young, very fine bubbles, fresh and young with more assertive flavor than you expect based on the color. Very good.

2002 Christian Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon – Steely with decayed clay in the nose, mistook it for a late 90's white Bordeaux. Very good.

2000 Albert Mann Gewurztraminer Steingrubler – Could be nothing other than Alsatian Gewurz, which indeed it turns out to be. Lychee, spice, all the usual suspects with a rich, sweet entry. I'm not normally a gewurz fan but this one's so obviously grand it challenges my usual bias.

1998 Doudet Naudin Beaune 1er Cru Les Greves – obviously pinot. Smells dirty, minimal fruit. Not enjoyable.

1995 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Reserva Tondonia – It's pinot-ish, but with much better fruit than the Naudin. Very old-fashioned, with a slight orange glint to the color so when Ken says it has to be Spanish, Rioja, not pinot, suddenly makes sense. I like it a lot, but more for its potential than how it drinks now.

2000 Dom. St. Benoit CNduP Cve de Grand Garde – I smell grenache. Southern Rhone strawberry ripeness, pepper and spice. And that's what it is: very good. nic, this wine showed a Rhonish nose, a little spice, though no pepper, and was of decent length with good fruit. Drinks well now.

2005 Sandhill Barbera Small Lots – Weird! A nose somewhere between Hawaiian guava and used baby diapers. Better on the palate with candied, red licorice fruit and a round, milky malo finish. It was so different, I ended up kind of liking it but no one else did. It should be embarrassed to call itself barbera, however.

2003 Jaboulet St. Joseph – Major bandaids here with cactus pear fruit. Not attractive.

1978 Ch. Pontet Canet – this being my own wine, I didn't take notes and merely noted "no sediment". But I loved it.

1994 Arnaldo Caprai Montefalco Reserva – Elegant and Bordeaux-like with Italianish acidity. Very good.

1997 Heitz Cabernet – Years to go? Not to my palate. Light to medium bodied for both a Cal Cab and a wine from that vintage, it was drinkable but as you say simple, and I'd think it more likely to just fade away than go anywhere good.

Okanagan Cellars ‘Port’ – Loved the joke! So much fun when they brought out the plastic, half gallon jug bottle. Poor Jim, thinking this was his wine. Not that his Sumac Ridge was any better. And to think I worried about that Napa SB with the gold flakes I had originally planned on bringing being an underperformer.