24-27 July 2009

2001 Bellevue; Shiraz (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM70?
One word: JUICY. Add wine metaphoria and you get; smokey plum and leather notes encase a plush cassis driven palate (both on nose and palate).

1999 Robert Mondavi; Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, California) Euro 30 (RM150)
Well structured and rich cassis with nice sprinkling of secondary notes. Drink now.

2001 Morgenhof: Estate (Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM150
My kinda wine. Elegant, structured, brilliantly layered, savory, complex, OK length.

2004 Chateau La Prade; Bordeaux Cotes de Francs (France) about RM80
I remember this wine having seen better days. Musnt ask too much of a Bordeaux at this price. Nicely balanced and structured but the fruit was tired. Confirmed when tasted same bottle next day. Drink yesterday.

2003 Darioush; Shiraz (Napa Valley, California) USD64 (RM355)
Woww! What a package. Plush, rich, layered, textured, long, intense, complex, juicy, tasty, restrained. Worth every cent. Pic of winery visited exactly 3 years ago.

22 July 2009

2004 Mulderbosch; Faithful Hound (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM?
All 5 bordeaux varietals but wine, whilst balanced is unimpressive.

2001 Santa Rita; Medalla Real (Maipo, Chile) RM?
Cooked (heat damage) with owerpowering oxidisation notes which reduces in intensity to allow the luscious cassis notes to peek out enough to make it drinkable, though I suspect we sold out our good taste for the alcohol content.

2003 Kanu; Shiraz (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM?
Lovely vanilla and plum notes take front stage on this uncomplicated wine.

2005 De Trafford; Blueprint Shiraz (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) RM140
Have no recollection of what this wine tasted like thanks to the effect of the first 3. Tasted next day and found an open, berry driven wine with reasonable complexity. Given that it lasted through to 2nd day with a quarter of the bottle left, I envisage this wine will keep well till 2012 at least (but why wait).

1995 Produttori del Barbaresco; Asili Barbaresco Riserva (Piedmonte, Italy) Not Commercially Available
Bottle 8830 out of 13,240 bottles produced. 14 years old and still going strong. Perfumed nose leades into a well structured, if somewhat beefy wine with fruit just starting to tire and tannins standing slightly prominent. Drank well 4 hours after opening. Well made.

1999 Parusso: Barolo Mariondino (Piedmonte, Italy) Not Commercially Available
Enticingly textured 10 year old. Mocha and stone fruit notes in a silky concoction, slowly gaining in intensity and complexity over the 5 hours it took to kill this bottle. Helped me understand why people always prefer aged barolos. The wine took to the parmesan and other cheeses like a labrador to water. Picture of me tasting wines at this vineyard.

19 July 2009

2005 Anne Gros; Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits (Burgundy, France) s$72 (RM180)
Initially dispalying good pinot cherry fruit on a nicely textured palate. Unfortunately the fruit fades off rather soon leaving a wine suitable only with red wine friendly food. Tasted next day with same conclusion.

17 July 2009

DRY WHITE: 2008 Ruffino; Orvieto Classico DOC (Italy) RM51
mmmmmmmmmmm, a white whine. mmmmmmmmmmm, not much more. Tad bitter ending

DRY WHITE: 2007 Ruffino; Borgo Conventi Pinot Grigio DOC Isonzo del Fruili (Italy) RM75
oaked pinot grigio (trying to make a chardonnay?). Tad bubble-gummy aromatic notes. Lacks "crispicity" that makes apinot grigio a pinot grigio

2004 Ruffino; Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva Ducale Oro (Tuscany, Italy) RM137
Perfumed on nose, juicy and pleasant on palate

2004 Ruffino; Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG Lodola Nuova Riserva (Tuscany, Italy) RM149
Structured and balanced with a hint of spice. Rich yet elegant. Good, GOOD length. My kinda wine at this price.

14 July 2009

OFF-DRY WHITE; 2007 Houghtons; Late Picked Verdelho (Swan, Western Australia) RM70
Pleasantly sweet, simple fruit driven wine with delicate, balanced sweet and citrus flavours. Lady pleaser.

2006 Morande; Carmenere Reserva (Maipo Valley, Chile) RM75
Mocha notes dominate its berry scented nose. Attractive, but unfortunately does not indicate what you get on the palate which is somewhat tannic and lacking in fruit

2001 Isole e Olena; Chianti Classico (Tuscany, Italy) RM195
8 years old and peaked for drinking. Well structured with adequate fruit. A winner with food but should have been broached earlier if to be consumed without food.

2000 Rust en Vrede; Estate (Stellenbosch, S.Africa) not commercially available
Cabernet Sauvignon, shiraz & merlot in a bold and beautiful South African style. Powerful, but no overwhelming. Complex with good length and balance.

13 July 2009

95 Castelli Martinozzi Brunello di Montalcino (Italy -Tuscany) Not Commercially Available
14 years old!! Lovely secondary notes precede a well structured palate with still enough fruit to keep most of us happy. Kudos to the 80 year old wine maker.

2005 Domaine Lucien Barrot et Fils Chateauneuf-du-Pape (France -Rhone) RM108 -half bottle
A beautifuuly textured wine with good complexity slowly revealing its fruit in the glass

SPARKLING WINE, ROSE: NV(non vintage) Marguet Champagne Grand Rose Brut (Champagne, France) R385 (RM169)
-fine and persistent mousse (bubbles) initially easily overflowing glass. sweet apple notes & other complex stuff on nose that follows into palate make this an outstanding champagne, easily enjoyed by all but wine snobs (a class of people who only drink expensive wines because they think they are better but usually cant tell the difference if their lives depended on it).
5 YUMMMYs.

2004 Danie de Wet Naissance Cabernet Sauvignon (Robertson, S.Africa) R70 (RM31)
-the chardonnay master making serious reds? had to taste this!!
-drinking juicily straight out of the glass, this wine quickly evolves into a deep and classy cabernet sauvignon, brooding its way through my palate. Good complexity with some layering of flavours. Decent length ,judiciuous use of oak. mmmmmmmmmm.......

2006 Laborie Merlot (S.Africa) R60 (RM26)
-a more astringent style of merlot, I'd probably drink this only with food.

4 July 2009

2004 Vriesenhof Euthopio (S.Africa) R65 (RM28.6)
-Interesting, aromatic banana essence component in nose. A medium bodied fruit driven wine, a definite crowd pleaser and with some complexity. Pinotage with some merlot, shiraz and cabernet franc.

2006 Raka Figurehead (S.Africa) R90 (RM40)
-Initially closed an short. Then some stink on the nose (brett.?). Then it blooms with fruit bursting forth with serious intensity and good length. Nice restraint on pinotage component. I liked the striptease. Drink slowly or keep 5 years. Blend comprising pinotage and all 5 bordeaux varietals.

2007 Reyneke ('raynecker') Cornerstone R87 (RM38)
-organic wine (no artificial fertilisers or pesticides except copper sulphate and usually lower sulfur content)
- plater(popular S.African wine handbook) 4star red blend comprising cabernet sauvignon, merlot & shiraz
-delightful expression of fruit (plum & cherries) from this richly textured, serious organic wine (many of the organic wines I have tasted to-date, tasted organic (for lack of a better usable word). Drink now or keep for up to 6 years. Good with food or on its own.

2003 De Toren Diversity Delta R40 (RM17.60 cough, ...cough ... stumbled on a good find here -must go buy remaining bottles)
-initial bottle stink of this 6 year old wine gave way to a well made red wine that went great with steak (yummm....). Good fruit, balanced, decent length -probably made from fruit harvested from young vines before they come of age and are used for the world class 'Fusion V". merlot 26%, cab.sauv.24%, cabernet franc 19% petit verdot 18% and malbec 13% alcohol 13.5% (if you have the time, and the mind, add them up and see if it makes 100%)

2006 Rhebokskloof Syrah (S.Africa, Paarl) around R130 (RM57 -this wine supplied by Du Toit Hoffman from the vineyard) -Initially restrained, this wine evolves in the glass to a long, almost intense, elegant wine with plum notes dominating and hints of vanilla masking the 14.5% alcohol content. Could have had more complexity or layering of flavours but a decent drop for the money and went well with the lamb cutlets we had at dinner.