Bordeaux etc.

[bills]

Impromptu gathering a week ago to taste wine:

2003 Black Hills Alibi – this BC wine is a sauv blanc Semillon blend that I find needs a bit of time to show well. Clean lemony nose, and clean and crisp on palate, this vintage is now showing what it’s got.

2000 Montes Alpha Syrah – nose of marjoram and fruit, chocolate on palate, smooth and ready. Very hard to place this one blind.

2000 Ch. de Valcombes Costieres de Nimes – this syrah Grenache blend had good colour, a sweet Rhone nose, and was also soft and ready.

1988 Mouton Baronne Phillipe – the last vintage with this name, the wine had a good ripe nose, the tannins still firm, with good length. Showing quite nicely, with no rush.

1989 Armailhac – same wine, different vintage and name. Decent nose, softer in the mouth and a bit shorter. Not as good as the 88.

1988 Clerc Milon – we were covering the various Mouton wines that evening. Weakest of the three – fair nose, bit astringent on palate.

2000 Quinta do Vallado (Ferreira) – purple in colour, with nice ripe nose, quite concentrated on palate with good length. Rather like a dry red Port, if that makes any sense.

1995 Zenato Amarone – ripe medium weight Amarone, decent rather than outstanding but a nice foil to the cheeses.