Notes from a blind tasting:
2014 Tiberio Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Fonte Canale – some colour, a big time citrus nose, clean crisp acidity and a nice dry finish. Very good.
2009 Antonin Guyon Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes – medium colour, pale but not browning edges, a sweet earthy fruit nose I liked more than some, lots of stuffing and a good long finish. Good.
1998 Fox Creek JSM – darker wine with a very cabernet nose (it is shiraz, cab sauv and cab franc).Still abundant soft tannin, but drinking well now with black currant nose and good fruit, and little initial indication of being an Aussie.
2006 Talenti Brunello di Montalcino – dark wine with bricky edges, and a nose of ripe red fruit, good flavour density with cherry notes and a medium long finish, showing a slight astringency near the end.
2009 John Duval Wines Plexus – another medium colour wine with obvious dill American oak and some blackberry. This is a GSM blend from Barossa, ripe and smooth in the mouth, drinking well now and in my opinion without the acidity to carry it for the long haul. Drink up and enjoy. John was winemaker at Penfolds for three decades.
2003 Quails' Gate Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Family Reserve – warm ripe nose, chalky mouth feel and very one dimensional. Either over the hill or simply flawed.
1990 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection – medium red with no browning at the edges, a very nice nose of smoky cabernet fruit and moderate oak, nice entry with sweet fruit and a long, smooth, sweet finish. Showing some soft tannin. This is the first bottle I’ve opened since I bought this on release in 1994 (when it won Wine Speculator wine of the year and sold out instantly) and I’d say that the timing was perfect for my taste. Bit of lingering vanilla and toast at the end. Sad that they went so far wrong in the ensuing decades.
1988 Taylors Port Quinta de Vargellas – from ½ bottle. Would have loved to taste this side by side with the same vintage of Graham’s Malvedos, which I still have. Mahogany colour, ripe nose with a little heat, a brambly sweet impression on palate and a decently long finish.
2000 Balbach Niersteiner Ölberg Riesling Eiswein – this one came out of left field at us – a dark amber wine with spicy dried apricots in the nose and some toasty sugary notes, and in the mouth pretty much the same elements, ending with a long sweet finish. I enjoyed this wine a lot. A dessert all on its own.