- 2014 Mud House Wines Pinot Noir Estate Claim 431 - New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago (2018-05-14)
Medium brick in colour, with a nose of cherry liquour, earth and herbs.More cheery on the medium-bodied, smooth palate and a long, pure finish. Still a nice QPR pinot with life left. (B+/A-) - 2007 Northstar Merlot Columbia Valley - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (2018-04-28)
Dark brick/purple in colour, with a tiny bit of bricking. Plums, smoke and earthy notes on the nice, ripe nose, and there are black plums, milk chocolate, coffee, tar and a creamy texture in this medium-full bodied wine. Some tannins still, to add structure. Very tasty! Drinking well now, but should last a few years easily. (A-) - 2011 Carpineto Cabernet Sauvignon Farnito Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (2018-04-24)
Hazy notes. A solid medium-bodied cabernet with classic blackfruits and slight herbs, but quite healthy tannins too. Will they outlast the fruit? (B+) - 2008 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Terrunyo Block Las Terrazas - Chile, Maipo Valley, Pirque (2018-04-14)
Hazy notes from a couple of days ago. This is in a good spot now, very well balanced. Medium-full bodied on a silky palate with blackfruit, earthy notes and a hint of herbs. This should should last at least a few years yet. Nice wine and good QPR. (A-) - 2012 Château de Lancyre Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup Vieilles Vignes - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup (2018-04-06)
This has really improved over the last couple of years: it is really in the zone now. A gorgeous nose of earthy and gamy notes with plums. Medium-full bodied on the palate, with excellent purity and more redfrruits, earth, garrigue, herbs and game. Ripe tannins add excellent structure. The syrah, which really excels in Pic St Loup, is really impressive and the wine has beautiful texture, balance and elegance. Outstanding QPR, this really over-deliivers. Excellent now, but I think this will improve over the short-medium term. (A-) - 2006 Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Nagambie Lakes (2018-04-04)
Deep ruby in colour. A powerful and classic cabernet nose of blackfruits, a hint of mint, cedar and basil - lovely. There is more of the same on the medium-full bodied palate, but the very healthy tannins are the main attribute here. They are still quite aggressive, and I am a fan of tannins. So there's a weird juxtaposition between the nice nose and fruit and then the huge wall of tannins at the end. Hold off several years if you can - hopefully the tannins will subside over time without losing the fruit too quickly. I still enjoyed the wine, though. The second day, the tannins did subside somewhat. (B+) - 2016 Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc Old Vine Reserve - South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch (2018-03-10)
Still young, but drinking well. This is more of a chardonnay-esque version of SA chenin, with the oak a amjor component of the wine. That said, it is well done in the style and shows great overall balance and crispness. Good QPR here if you enjoy oaked SA chenins. (B+/A-) - 2006 Domaine Pavelot (Jean-Marc et Hugues) Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Vergelesses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru (2018-03-10)
A little browning in the colour of the wine, with a wonderful nose of earth, forest floor and cherries. These notes transfer to the medium bodied palate, and the still healthy, ripe tannins give this wine great structure. Lovely now but this should last several years yet. (A-) - NV Alvear Montilla-Moriles Fino que va para Amontillado, Criadera /A - Spain, Andalucía, Montilla-Moriles (2018-03-07)
I don't drink a great deal of sherry, but always enjoy it when I do. Not for the faint of heart, this is an extremely dry, intense, oxidative wine with classic nutty aromas and taste and with an interesting minerality note as well. I had it over several days as both an aperitif and digestif and it worked well in both situations. Nice with cheese and almonds too. (A-) - 2001 Château Potensac - France, Bordeaux, Médoc (2018-03-07)
Hazy notes from last week. The tannins were still somewhat fierce on this wine, and I'm not sure if the fruit is declining now or still fighting the good fight. Better with food, and classic Bordeaux in style, this medium bodied, structured wine is a nice match with steak. (B+) - 2010 Domaine Filliatreau Saumur-Champigny Vieilles Vignes - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny (2018-02-18)
Hazy notes from two days ago. Still rather young, but this medium-bodied wine had lovely red fruit flavours and a nice texture. It didn't really scream Cab Franc or Loire, with only a hint of a herbal note and no secondary notes yet. I think this will continue to improve (B+). - 2011 Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (2018-02-13)
A deeply coloured wine, with a somewhat reticent nose of blackfruits, plums and light oak. More blackfruits and tar notes on the medium-full bodied palate, with the healthy tannins my favourite part of the wine right now. Somewhat simple but still tasty and well structured. (B+/A-) - 2015 Alto De Casablanca Pinot Noir Ritual - Chile, Casablanca Valley (2018-02-10)
Tried this again a few days ago and was more impressed than with the first bottle. Quite a big pinot, but not over the top. Rich cherry and plum flavours and a velvety, medium-full bodied palate. Great QPR and should improve in the near term. (B+/A-) - 2015 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (2018-02-03)
Tried this at the winery a few days ago. A very solid if somewhat pricey estate wine. Very elegant and restrained, still young of course, but I liked the tannins at the end that suggest a great future. Perhaps a tad more concentration would help, but overall this is a very nice pinot whose best years lay ahead (A-). - 2013 Blue Pyrenees Estate Shiraz Section One - Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Pyrenees (2018-02-03)
Deep red in colour, with plums and spice on the aromatic nose. Medium-full bodied with a very elegant style and velvety, rich (but not too rich) texture. More plums and pepper and a hint of mint (on the second day) on the well balanced palate: fruit is dominant but there are supporting acid and light tannins too. Classy wine that's ready now but should last a while. (A-)