Notes from Il Giardino

[bills]

Bacchus was good to us - I assume it was he, patron of wine appreciators who made the sun come out of a cloudy sky to allow the al fresco tasting of wine yesterday in the garden.

2004 Vergelegen Chardonnay – fair bit of oak, enough to satisfy most oakaholics, but in this wine quite well integrated and it had the typical good acidity of Cape wines. Very good value here.

1997 St. Innocent Seven Springs Pinot Noir. Very Burgundian in colour and framework, yet I doubt anyone would take it for a Burg – they might have a moment’s pause before assigning it to the US, though. There was some nice cherry and a hint of burnt sugar in the nose, medium body and well focussed.

2001 Scherrer Vineyard Alexander Valley Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines – had to ask about this one – can you have old and immature vines? (I KNOW you can have old but immature winetasters….) I liked this quite a bit. Fine raspberry nose, lots of fruit in the middle, soft and long – nice Zin!

1997 Joseph Swan Redwood Ranch Zinfandel – very ripe nose, long finish and a bit hot (high alcohol), and a bit less well integrated than the previous wine. but pleasant nonetheless.

1985 Mugneret-Gouachon Vosne Romanée – a stinky nose that blew off, then some good mature fruit from this amazing little village wine from an excellent vintage. It went on and on, and reminded me why I like mature Burgs so much.

1999 Les Cailloux CNduP – very nice pepper and leather nose and surprisingly forward with sweet fruit – very pleasant now, but I wonder if it will be a long haul wine like the 95 and 98 (both of which admittedly also drink exceptionally well right now).

2002 Vergelegen Mill Race Merlot Cabernet – second time this week I’ve tasted this. Dark wine, rich fruit nose, soft tannin, great QPR

2000 Termes – a wine from the Spanish region of Toro, made from ‘Tinta de Toro’ – I don’t know if this generic term includes the Tempranillo I’d expect to be in this wine. Fairly dark with tobacco and a hint of rubber in the nose, and a nice streak of licorice on palate, slightly warm and good balance.

1994 Pesquera – this crianza was showing well. This time around the nose was distinctly blackcurrant, and while there is still a bit of oak evident, the flavours are now melded together into a mature harmonious whole. It finishes with only moderate acidity and soft tannin. Drink now and for a few years.

1998 Temple Bruer Reserve – produced in South Australia (Langhorn Creek) of 86% cab and 14% petit verdot, this one had a spearmint nose that would have betrayed its origin, had this been a blind tasting. Highly concentrated with lots of extract, lots of tannin and lots of acidity, this needs more time, but worked alright with the cheese.

1983 Dows Port – the nose on this wine has smoothed out since the last time I tried it, but it is still a bit of a baby, somewhat sweet, though not to the extent of a Grahams, and with the flavours just beginning to integrate well. A hint of anise on the nose, and a floral note. Good colour at the rim, and just getting into drinking territory.

2000 Fabiano Recioto della Valpolicella ‘Rugola’ – sweet mellow porty-figgy nose and soft in the mouth, ending with a fair bit of RS. This was pulled when one person came late and qualified in our ‘one bottle per person’ regime. Either that or there was a passing raccoon that looked thirsty or ……..Probably Rondinella and Corvino, mat dried.

Edited July 17, 2005 by bills (log)