Notes from wines tasted over the weekend.
Dame de Montrose 2003 - Very tannic, dry, unyielding. Needs major decant time. Dried herbs and a little ashy and bitter in the finish. Not showing much fruit at all. Should be left alone for probably 5 years before trying again.
Domaine Tempier Bandol 2006 - Sweet, ripe fruit on the nose. Lovely ripe, concentrated berries on the palate. Ripe fruit and sweet baking spices. After all the fruit comes some roast meat. Surprisingly friendly and approachable but certainly has the stuffing to age. I'm really loving this; it's just put together so well. Good length on the firm, dry and somewhat leathery finish. Killer wine. Outstanding.
Staglin Family Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 - Initially sweaty musk and leather scents giving way to sweet fruit. Very sweet, ripe fruit with an obvious overlay of creamy oak. Berry syrup, strong tannins and good length but the oak really needs to be dialed down in a major way.
Canon la Gaffeliere 1998 - Deep purple; very youthful looking despite its age. Bacon, tobacco, leather. Pretty tight. After an hour, cherry, bittersweet chocolate and cough syrup. Getting a bit creamy after 2 hours. Very good but has room to improve.