- 2007 Masia Can Tutusaus Penedès Vall Dolina Xarel.lo - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès (2/6/2009)
12,5% abv. A very attractive scent of green apple and minerals. Quite full body, high acidity, ripe but strongly appley fruit: unoaked and very refreshing. It seems like a great Cava except without bubbles. Interesting and very enjoyable and has a high evaporation rate. - 2007 Wieninger Pinot Noir Rosé de Pinot - Austria, Wien (2/6/2009)
12,5%. Very light salmon pink. Whereas in the 2006 I found much leafy aromas that reminded me of Cabernet Franc (strange to get such different grapes confused when blind and when rosé!), I found this 2007 to be classic Pinot in its aromas of root vegetables, bright red fruit and earth. Medium bodied, very refreshing acidity, crunchy, but also sweet and ripe strawberried fruit. Crunchy and mineral aftertaste. Very charming wine and has a huge evaporation rate. - 2005 Château Lafleur du Roy Cuvée des Lavandières - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (2/4/2009)
25,60€; 13% abv. Dark red. The scent is surprisingly open even without decanting and shows dark fruit, spice and plummy Pomerol character. There is some oak that could use more time to integrate, but there is so much classic Pomerol character, too, that I am not worried about it. Full bodied, ripe fruit, ripe but pleasantly upright tannins, moderate acidity - it is a well balanced wine that shows some ripe year character. Nice! Needs a couple years for the oak to integrate. - 2005 Château Gressier Grand Poujeaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc (2/2/2009)
21,70€; 13,5% abv; Cru Bourgeois Supérieur; 50% Cab Sauv, 50% Merlot. Dark red. The fruit is very ripe, but that isn't the first thing that caught my attention. Rather it was the uncommon balance despite the ripeness that did! I tend to prefer my Claret on the elegant, thin end of the spectrum where the green/herbaceous aspects are obvious and though this does have slight Cabernet herbaceousness, these aromas are in the background and a sweet, dark toned fruitiness is to the fore. Yet it is a refreshing rather than an overpoweringly fruity smell, so I enjoy it - especially because the oak is used with a very light hand. Full bodied, deep, juicy tannins, quite high acidity for what is obviously a warm year wine. Not a classically proportioned Claret, but a very enjoyable one nonetheless.