TN: Tignanello, La Mouline, Charvin

Monthly blind tasting lunch notes:

Cap Classique Colmant Brut Reserve – this Cape wine was light in colour and quite spritzy with Acidic fruit in the nose, smooth on palate, a combination of chard and pinot that does a good job of aping a Champagne but at a lesser price. A far cry from the days when chenin and sauv blanc would have been the grapes you expect in this blend.

1997 Drouhin Cote de Beaune – must be the month for bargains. Lots of smoky, funky Burgundian character in this nose, medium colour, supple and smooth, at peak now and should be drunk.

2009 Cos Cerasuolo Vittoria – OK, I hand it to the attendee that nailed this one as I haven’t to the best of my recollection tried it before. Nero d’Avola and Frappati blend, it showed a nutty smoky nose, sweet round entry, and medium body, pleasant and ready to drink.

1996 Portteus Cabernet – this Washington State winemaker has been doing interesting things for years, but doesn’t seem to gather much press for all his efforts. Big sweet fruit driven nose moderate soft tannins, and a lingering impression of vanilla in the medium length finish made this a pleasant wine.

1994 Tignanello – I hadn’t popped a cork on one of these for about 4 years and thought it was time. The last one I opened passed as a Bordeaux imposter, and this one also seemed to have a clarety nose, albeit with a decided cherry note to it. There was significant soft tannin even at this age and the wine was smooth and succulent finishing well with good acidity. Hitting plateau now – no point holding but no rush.

1994 Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline – a repeat of a wine we’d had before that showed under expectation. This time it lived up to its name – a good bottle! Nose of ripe sweet berry fruit, well balanced acidity and tannin, long smooth finish. Much better in a larger bowled Burgundy glass than the smaller Bordeaux style it was first served in – a very marked difference. Lovely.

2004 Charvin CnduP – very nice licorice and caramel nose, perhaps a tad flat in the middle, finishing better, but over all perhaps a tad roasted in character. I had this a few months ago and it seemed much \better, less roasted and more elegant

2004 Ferrand CnduP – a slightly metallic nose with citrus elements, bland in the mouth and flat, I expect having been heat damaged at some point.

Quady Starboard Batch 88 – this 1988 Port copy from the US was sweet with a hot nose, and reminded me of a sweet pudding in the mouth, very Port-like, but not the type of Port I prefer – too sweet for me.

  • NV Colmant Brut Réserve - South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl, Franschhoek Valley
    Tasted blind – Medium straw in colour. Pronounced nose that is quite Champagne like with notes of toast, lemon pastry and citrus. In the mouth this is fresh with great acidity and flavours of lemon, orange peel and toast. Crisp, fresh and youthful and drinking very well but this should age nicely. Most people were guessing this to be Champagne. Great qpr. This is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Very good. (89 pts.)
  • 1997 Joseph Drouhin Côte de Beaune - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune
    Opened and served 30min later. Light to medium red core with some amber colouring at the rim. This had a beautiful Burgundian nose of funk, red pinot fruit, earth and hints of cheese rind. Some (mostly) resolved drying tannins along with good acidity make up the delicate nature of the mouthfeel with enough fruit left to offer a decent length finish. This is fully mature and at peak and should be drunk sooner rather than later. Very good. (89 pts.)

Just a side note: I got very slight hints of TCA on the nose but no one else did and there were no signs of any flaw on the palate so perhaps my sniffer was playing games on me. As this was my first bottle of a 6pack, I have no benchmark for this wine. I will open another bottle soon and see how it aligns with this one.

  • 2009 Azienda Agricola Cos Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico - Italy, Sicily, Cerasuolo di Vittoria
    Tasted blind – Medium red colour. Smokey nose (was more towards camp fire/ashtray than the smoky aroma I typically refer to in a wine) with cherry notes and a soapy/chemical smell that was slightly off-putting. Medium weight in the mouth this was warm, but not hot, with hardly any tannin at all with some acidity. I enjoyed the palate much more than I did the nose on this one. This was very different from anything I’ve ever tried before and was quite interesting and tasty. Drink now. Very good. (87 pts.)
  • 1996 Portteus Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
    Tasted blind – dark colour, brown near the rim. Dark fruit nose with spice and hints of green/dill and American oak. On the mouth this offers nice concentration with a soft and round mouthfeel with lighter tannins and good length. Notes of vanilla on the palate with nice acidity and fresh finish. Drinking well now and I don’t think this will improve. Soft and beautifully mature. Excellent. (90 pts.)
  • 1994 Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
    Tasted blind – medium red, bricking at the rim. Really nice nose that has notes of poopy funk, cherries and earth. Soft in the mouth with beautifully resolved tannins, nice acidity and mature flavours of cherries, earth and tobacco. This is well-balanced and smooth and drinking really well right now. I don’t see this getting any better. Excellent. (91 pts.)
  • 1994 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    Medium to dark red, bricking at the rim. At first this had a dark and tarry nose with aromas of white pepper and dark fruits. In the mouth more dark fruit, hints of sweetness (oak) with soft but apparent tannins and solid acidity. This was served to us in a smaller Bordeaux style glass and most of us decided to switch to a Burgundy style glass which seemed to open up the nose quite a bit with notes of violets, sweet fruit, hints of meat and earth. This was much better than my last bottle, which I thought was flawed, but this one still didn’t hit the heights of my first two bottles. Either way, it’s drinking well now. Excellent. (91 pts.)
  • 2004 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Tasted blind – Flat nose, tannic, roasted fruit. No good. NR (flawed)
  • 2004 Domaine de Ferrand Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Tasted blind – nose had this chemical/metallic thing going on, very acidic on palate with dried out fruit. Too bad. NR (flawed)
  • NV Quady Winery Batch 88 Starboard - USA, California, Central Valley, Madera
    Tasted blind – medium red colour, browning throughout. Sweet and warm nose with notes of Christmas cake and sweet red fruit. Sweet flavours of dried fruits, brown sugar and Christmas cake. This was very port-like. Decant acidity and smooth finish. Excellent. (90 pts.)