Monthly blind tasting lunch – this month blind as to whose wine it was while we muttered about the wine, then the disclosure of who brought it and some pointed questions aimed at the purveyor to attempt to identify it.
1999 Prinz von Hessen Johannisberger Klaus Auslese – for some reason the yellowing wine didn’t immediately click as German Riesling with some of us, and we were thinking about Loire before someone (Jenise?) mentioned Riesling at which point it was so obvious that there were the typical indicators in the nose that we (I) mentally kicked ourselves. Fair bit of botrytis in the nose (which dos tend to mask other aromas, he said, fighting a rear guard action) and a well balanced wine, with sufficient acidity.
2005 Dom. d’Antugnac Cote Pierre Lys Pinot Noir – I got this (eventually, as at first all the nose presented was flat Coco Cola nd ashes) French Pinot but then bogged down completely when it was not either Burgundy or Loire. It actually comes from much further south. Compact and tight.
2004 Castel del Remei Gotim Bru – blend of Tempranillo, Cab, merlot and Garnacha, this one had decent fruit, a ripe fruit driven nose, and a bit if blackberry. Drink now.
1990 Antinori Peppoli – the result of a cellar digging expedition and offered with a back up in case it was over the hill. In fact it wasn’t half bad – the appearance gave away the age, the edges were clear and the centre brick, the nose took awhile to open up, but eventually clicked in and it had (predictably) lots of acidity. While it would have been better at least 5 years ago, it was a slowly fading elegant wine today.
1998 Brusset Les Hautes de Montmirail – huge wine, dark with a slightly bretty nose sweet nose, sweet entry and nice stuffing. Seemed younger!
2000 Dom. de la Solitude CNduP – older appearance, (I thought maybe a mid 90s) with a mature, pleasant nose that reminded me more of claret than of Rhone as there was neither tar nor pepper present, the only clue being the slight ripeness. Pleasant and at peak. We thus followed a wine that seemed to b more youthful than expected with one that showed more development than I’d have expected.
1982 Ch. La Lagune – I’d kept trying the prevous wines thinking ‘Well, this could be mine, …except….” but instantly locked in once I tasted this one and knew it for my own. lovely mature claret nose with curranty overtones, balanced and smooth with good fruit, nicely sweet and medum long finish. Lovely Bordeaux at peak.
1997 Eileen Hardy Shiraz – the mint gave it away as to origin, and the wine was not overdone in the mouth, having shed the puppy fat of sweetness and mellowed into a very nice example of the type of Shiraz that I much prefer.
1994 Ch. Dauzan la Vergne – this is a liquoreux made very much in the style of Monbazillac and Sausignac, in the Dordogne, east of Bordeaux. I recently visited the area and it is a great area for bargains for wine lovers, using the same grapes, but thankfully not the same price scale as the Bordelais do. I know the Haut Montravel, but not this wine, which is not mentioned in the only references on the area. Not surprising as it may be a single farmstead producing small amounts of wine. In any case, I liked the wine a lot. Darker amber than the Riesling had been, not too sweet, and without any indication that it had received any fresh oak as some in the region will do. It had a candied orange impression but finished almost dry. What a nice way to end with the second wine discovery by the same person, both having stumped us!