'01 Clarendon Hills Kangarilla Grenache; I really wanted to like this. I have had some good bottles of CH grenache in the past. Well, this once again is not one of them (I have been disappointed more times than not). This enters the mouth tasting sweet, big, and yet somehow thin at the same time, and it almost devos into white heat (sorry for the mixed musical references). Undrinkable right now. I am sticking a cork in it and will try again tomorrow night. Should something new emerge, I will report.
Not wanting to drink bad wine while trying to enjoy some nice duck legs marinated in lime juice, garlic, and chinese chili and cooked til crispy under indirect heat on the Weber, I opened something I expected would show some much needed structure, a Bordeaux. Well, my eye looking among the denizens of my cellar fell on something close, a '00 Clos Puy Arnaud. I bought a case of this on release from PJ wine (IIRC) after someone there raved about this giant killer. One of the best buys I have ever come across, fo sho.
'00 Clos Puy Arnaud Cotes de Castillon; black fruited and framed by cigar box cedar and a whiff of bell pepper and sweet fresh cut hay, I could just smell this and be happy. I guess my standards have been lessened by the CH train wreck. Even better is the way this wine delivers the goods once tasted; crisp and taut, big yet elegant, silky black fruit and pepper, no bell pepper or green flavors hit the tongue/brain, long seamless finish. This is Bordeaux to me, appellation be-damned. I gotta guess this is cab and cab franc primarily, low yields, and put together by someone who lavished some love upon the grapes in this tremendous vintage.