WTN: France, Chile, Oz, Canada

Notes from a lazy Saturday at Arnie's Tagaytay home.

La Dame de Montrose 1999 - Mature rim. Very dry but with good fruit. Good balance with an acid kick in the finish to make this a great food wine. Still slightly tannic so this might improve a bit more with another year in the bottle but it's already very good to drink now.

Concha Y Toro Don Melchor 1991 - Still a vibrant, youthful hue although the it's not a deep color. Good nose. Slightly sweet with an herbal edge. Soft with fruit fading. A little vegetal. Didn't start out too well but improved in the glass. Still pretty good but drink up fast.

Concha Y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 - Quite dark. Strong coffee on the nose. Good, sweet fruit. Soft and rich. Holding up very well and probably at peak now.

d'Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz 2001 - Lots of alcohol heat on the ripe raspberry nose. Rich, caramel/butterscotch candy. Raspberry syrup. A very good example of the full-blown Oz style although my tastes have moved away from this kind of wine. Good length and at peak now.

Mission Hill Family Estate SLC Merlot 2004 - From Okanagan, British Columbia. Deep color. A bit of heat. Dry, slightly bitter finish. There's a hollowness to this wine. Clumsy.

Grant Burge The Filsell Shairaz 2001 - Spicy/woody nose. Sweet oaky and soft. Not my type.

Domaine des Entrefaux Crozes Hermitage 2005 - Quite dark. Dried herbs and spices. Smoky. Bright acidity. Light bodied. Needs a bit more cellaring as the tannins are still a little obtrusive. Good, solid wine.

[David M. Bueker]

Wow. You actually had to drink like the rest of us.

The Dame de Montrose does not surprise me. I am enjoying the state of the '99s now.

two observations:

1. i suspect that each of these VERY divergent wines would have tasted better (or worse) on its own. wines are good qua bordeaux or qua oz or whatever and therefore show much better (or worse) by themselves or with their cohort.

2. my impression that the local temps are fairly warm. is this the best environment to drink exclusively red wines?

two observations:

1. i suspect that each of these VERY divergent wines would have tasted better (or worse) on its own. wines are good qua bordeaux or qua oz or whatever and therefore show much better (or worse) by themselves or with their cohort.

2. my impression that the local temps are fairly warm. is this the best environment to drink exclusively red wines?

Regarding #1, I agree with you completely. This was something of a cellar clearing operation hence the diverse group of wines and the unstructured program of tasting.

On #2, while it's getting fairly warm in Manila (about 25 to 29 centigrade) going into summer, we did this in the highlands south of Manila where the temperature is in the low 20s during the day and below 20 C at night this time of year so no problem drinking just reds. We did have a cheap French white but nobody paid it any attention.