Last Thursday Manila suffered a direct hit from a typhoon, the first direct hit in 11 years and the most powerful to hit in the last 20. Power was cut in most of the city for the next 5 days so any excuse to go out and consume the warming stock of wine in the Eurocave was welcome. We settled on Uno in a part of the city where power was quickly restored.
Guenoc Victorian Claret North Coast 2001 - A Bordeaux blend. Medium-bodied, good sweet fruit. Soft tannins. Oak becomes noticeable after 30 minutes of airing. Perfect to drink now. Very good.
Rustenberg John Merriman 2003 - A Bordeaux blend. Very dry, dried fruit character. Some charcoal notes. I didn't like this. A letdown after the Guenoc.
Quinault L'Enclos St. Emilion Grand Cru 1998 - My bottle. Soft, almost alarmingly so. Earthy, mint, some wood notes. Seems like a rather insubstantial wine. Fruit seems to be fading as well. Good enough but not what I expected. Perhaps a bad bottle?