Monthly lunch wine notes:
2008 Walter Hansel Chardonnay Russian River Cahill Vd. – great way to start. Nice chard nose with significant oak, soft and mellow in the mouth, clearly well made, with good terminal acidity. Nice.
2004 Dom. Roulot Meursault Les Luchets – much lighter touch of oak on a deftly balanced wine, very clean and crisp with nice citrus quality.
2005 La Soufrandiere (Bret Bros.) Pouilly Vinzelles Les Quarts – hints of the ocean and flowers in the nose followed by reasonably lush sweet fruit. Rich in the mouth with good balance and sweet, medium long finish.
1996 Kalin Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Reserve – nice bit of dill in an otherwise pineapple and guava nose, not your typical varietal sauv blanc, but lovely wine.
1995 Dom. de Pegau CNduP – light colour, mellow wood driven nose (though probably no wood featured in the wine) with hints of herbs and a taste of earthiness with a medium long finish. Drinking very well now – elegant – but no rush.
2005 Nicolas Joliet Fixin Clos de la Perriere – light colour with clear edges, a nice sweet nose with spicy oak elements, good midpalate fruit levels and nice crisp finish.
1995 Giacomo Conterno Barolo – some interesting spearmint notes in the nose, light colour, mature fruit, good clean entry, crisp terminal acidity. Drink now.
1998 Bruno Giacosa La Rocca del Falletto Barolo – pale colour, nice cherry and tar nose, still a lot of tannin in the mouth, but not sure the fruit will be adequate for a long haul.
1990 Tignanello – this wine is now snapping into focus for me. Perfumed nose was almost cabernet like, and some mushroom and cedar notes, supple in the mouth, long and balanced in the mouth. Best bottle of this I’ve opened (it has been a bit spotty in previous tasting including bottles from other cellars).
1996 Ridge Sonoma Station Zinfandel - this zin was getting on, but showed an interesting slightly funky, almost fishy nose that had us wondering if all was well with it. Ripe red fruit and good mouth feel. Picked up some mint in the nose with time. Decent, needs drinking.
2000 Nannetti Luca Brunello di Montalcino i Verbi – A Verbena wine, this showed good colour, a rich ripe cocoa nose with a blood component that someone aptly likened to the caramelized outside of a roast beef. Sweet entry and soft tannin. Decent showing.
1999 Brigaldara Amarone – dark, with a warm green pepper nose, good flavour intensity and concentration. Finished quite dry.
1994 Quady Starboard – the best vintage Port clone mad ein the New World, this one had a warm but not hot nose, pale colour (paler than a Port would be) quite sweet and not overly complex but pleasant.
1997 Gysler Weinheimer Holle Riesling Eiswein – Petrol nose with some herbal component, not too warm in the nose and not too sweet – maybe an auslese RS level. Clean pure Riesling, very enjoyable.