3 Whites from the Rhône:
2008 Ferraton Côtes du Rhône Blanc "Samorens" - In the nose, it shows pleasing scents of sweetish fresh lemon, faint honeysuckle, lightly honeyed, peach pit. On the palate, it has a bright lemon acidity bordering on being too tart/sharp (should do well with food though). Lean, well focused, linear citrus over peach pit, not much of a middle, turns floral after some air. Long, floral lemon and orange rind finish. Best amongst the three Rhône blancs for me.
2007 Ferraton St-Joseph Blanc "La Source" - Nose: More honeyed and riper fruit than the Samorens blanc. On the palate, riper, rounder, broader, sweeter more tongue-coating and has a comparatively waxy texture. Soft ripe peach, apricot, orange peel, bit of minerality. Evidently more ripe fruit forward and lower acid than the Samorens blanc - probably more approachable to those new to wine.
2007 Ferraton Crôzes-Hermitage Blanc "La Matinière" - Halfway ripe between the above 2 blancs. Sweetish, tangy, somewhat leesy, white flowers, stone fruit, peach, lightly honeyed apricot. Not much of a middle, similar to the St-Joseph Blanc "La Source", but less hefty, less lush. Acid also a bit low.
Red Rhônes:
2007 Ferraton Côtes du Rhône Villages Rouge - Nose of sweetly toasty wood, cedar, camphor, jammy/brambly red/dark berries, spicy, minerally, a touch medicinal. On the palate, Jammy red fruit leads, low acid, not much of a crescendo, sweetish, with dark minerals/slightly medicinal.
2007 Ferraton Côtes du Rhône Clos du Mont-Olivet "Font de Blanche" - Spicy, faintly "tinny"/raisiny cherry and raspberry. Finish a bit on the short side.
2006 Ferraton Côtes du Rhône "Samorens" Rouge - A bit of heat on the nose, with cedar, ripe (but not jammy) raspberry, cherry, violets. In the mouth, notably lighter than the Font de Blanche CdR, flavors mirror the aromas with added cassis, slight minerality and torrefaction notes. Pleasant enough, if not very distinctive.
2006 Ferraton St-Joseph Rouge "La Source" - A bit watery black cherry, black currant, not brambly like the CdR Villages Rouge. Smooth and easy to drink. A quaffer.
2006 Ferraton Crôzes-Hermitage Rouge "La Matinière" - Dark cherry, cassis, a bit flat, short. Quaffable, but uninteresting.
From Bordeaux:
2006 Ch. Dauzac - A 5th growth from Margaux, formerly owned by the Vigneron's family until the late '70s if I'm not mistaken; I am pretty familiar with these wines. Clean, familiar, good balance, a bit on the light side of medium-bodied now. Refined violets, cassis, mild toastiness, hint of gravel and licorice underneath, good breadth. Easily my and many others' favorite red of the entire tasting.
2005 Ch. Marjosse - Good cedary nose, cassis, medium-bodied. Wholly unremarkable.
2005 Ch. Canon St-Michel - In the nose, sweet cedar, camphor, faint dark berry. Not much of a middle and finish just short of medium. Pleasant, straightforward, don't look for complexity here, but very easy to drink.
2005 Ch. Ripeau - Reticent nose. Faintly toasty oak, black cherry, plum, cassis, violets, toffee, medium bodied. Quite nice over all, but the finish has a bit of drying wood tannins in it. I'd say this would be very approachable and pleasant to many.
2004 Ch. Ducluzeau - Slight truffle and game topnote with cedar, violets, cassis and cherry. Mirrored on the palate, but woodier and more viscous than the Dauzac, fruit riper and with more apparent toasty oak - but not obtrusive.
2004 Ch. Peyreau - Bit of game/funk in the nose with cassis and a bit of ripe tamarind. On the palate, nice sweetish-tartish cherry, raspberry, preserved tamarind. Barely medium-bodied at this point. Very approachable. Nice enough, easy to drink.
2001 Ch. de Cugat - Light funky topnote, cedar, cassis, toast. Decent on the palate, medium-body, medium finish. Nothing very distinctive, but pleasant enough. A quaffer.
2001 Ch. Karolus - Reticent nose. Flavors of sweetish-tartish tamarind, cherry, raspberr. Structure a bit weak Not bad, decent at best.
For a job well done, the Stockbroker rewarded us with some mature St-Emilion:
1990 Ch. Grand Mayne - Drinking very youthfully I and several noted. Shapley, medium bodied wine with nicely ripe, comforting, warm cherry, dark raspberry over a bit of mocha, slight oak (very well integrated), whispers of tobacco, leather, minerals. Nicely reserved. Nice sleek curves. A welcome wine after all the young ones.
