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Odd Bottles

A collection of tasting notes from a local meeting. 24/5/01)

Tasting Notes

Tasted in May 2001. Click to locate stockists:

Perrier Jouët Grand Brut Champagne NV: Served from a magnum. I tried this recently and was unimpressed by the sherbetty and foaming mousse. Tonight the appley and slightly yeasty nose is pleasant but unexciting. A strong, foaming mousse dominates the mouth, less sherbetty than I recall, but still too much for me. Good acidity. Really quite simple for PJ. 15+/20

Migual Torres Santa Digna Sauvignon Blanc (Curicó, Chile) 2000: A nose very much of fresh, green vegetaion, nettles, grass and the like. The ripe fruit has resulted in an almost plump wine with soft acidity, and there is a slightly sweet, lemon-drop edge to it. There is an appealing pétillance and a sharp, prickly finish. 14/20

Constantiri Laziridi Winery 'Amethystos' (Macedonia, Greece) 1998: A very interesting blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the former dominating. This is evident on the nose, with aromas of slightly honeyed, ripe melons, and a touch of nuttiness. The palate has classic toasty, honeyed, nutty Semillon flavours, with pears and other white fruits. Soft but sufficient acidity. A touch bitter on the finish, but this doesn't distract. An appealing, easy drinking summer wine. 15.5/20

Masi Valpolicella Classico Superiore (Veneto, Italy) 2000: Some leafy, crunchy black fruits on the nose, with fairly typical confected, bubblegum aromas. Light, sweet and crunchy, somewhat confected summer fruits on the palate. A soft wine, fortunately with reasonable acidity. 12.5/20

Brown Brothers 'Everton' (Victoria, Australia) 1998: Anything (or at least any grape) goes with this typically American oak dominated Australian red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Malbec, Ruby Cabernet and Cabernet Franc. Vanilla and spice dominate the nose, but there are lots of black fruit aromas to match. Lots of extract on the palate, with firm but integrating tannins which ride through to the finish and are quite persistent on the length. Spice, pepper, liquorice, sweet cough candy and crunchy blueberry flavours. A slightly coarse, high alcohol texture, and prickly acidity, probably adjusted, but overall this wine has interest. 13.5/20

Saltram Stonyfell Metala Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon (Langhorne Creek, South Australia) 1998: A good opportunity to try this, as I particularly enjoyed the 1997 which was a Winedoctor Recommendation of the Month. It is a more stylish and slightly less oaked style than the Everton. Spicy blueberries and spicy American oak on the nose. Smoothly textured, with crunchy, peppery blueberry fruit. Plentiful tannins, and a strong, spicy finish. 16.5+/20

Weinert 'Cavas de Weinert' (Mendoza, Argentina) 1994: What a surprise - a nose dominated by volatile acidity, with what red fruits were there hiding beneath a layer of acetone and related aromas, paintstripper and nail-polish remover and the like. There is a slightly green edge to the peppery, summer fruit flavours. Strong tannins and a good acidic backbone suggest that the wine would benefit from some more bottle age. Some soft fruit on the length. Not what I expected at all, outshining even the Musar in the VA stakes. 15+?/20