Taste it Again / Lost & Found

Taste it Again: 2005 Cabs from the Chateau

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Category: Lost & Found / Taste it Again

Read the original reviews from August 2007
Cabernet Sauvigon ... Cabernet Franc

(Re-Tasted August 3, 2014) ... Here we have two Cabs from Chateau des Charmes, one a Franc the other a Sauvignon, both from the same vineyard (St. David's Bench) and both from the hot 2005 vintage ... This should be one heck of an interesting tasting.  

Kicked things off with the Franc, at nine years old I expect to get some smoky and tobacco flavours and aromas ... But at first the wine was exceptionally closed and shy, it gave nothing away as to what I might taste.  Over the course of a couple of hours the aromas and flavours opened up to reveal something rather simplistic:  smoky, dried raspberry and tobacco, but this did not stick around long as the palate soon turned to cigarette ash and ended on a very smoky note that seemed to linger almost to the point of being unpleasant.

The same could not be said for the Cabernet Sauvignon, which proved to be the real winner here.  The aromas came roaring out of the bottle almost the moment it was popped, but certainly as it was poured you could smell something inviting coming from the glass:  aromas of coffee and dried blackberry with hints of anise filled the olfactories ... Flavours vanquished the tongue, pummeling it into submission with mocha spiced-blackberries, tannins were still present and added depth of flavour along with hints of smoke.  This was a really lovely, aged and stunningly good Cabernet Sauvignon from the folks at the Charmes, and what made it even more exciting was the  linger on the finish of spice and oak with just a smear of dried fruit.

Taste It Again: Rosehall 2006 Pinot Noir - Rosehall Vineyard

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Category: Lost & Found / Taste it Again

Click here to read the original review from April 2008

(Re-Tasted July 28, 2014) ... If memory serves this was one of the most dangerous wines I have ever tried.  Usually, when doing a tasting at home, I take about a dozen bottles and taste through the wines, when done the rest of the bottle sees the sink, a waste I know but I have to show responsibility somewhere.  Anyway, the night I tried this wine I could not bare to dump it afterward, so I poured another glass to enjoy, then another and another ... Less than an hour later the bottle was almost gone and I was in dire need of something to eat (I'm sure we've all been down this road) ... That was some years ago now ... How would one of my favorite Pinots fare after so many year?  Would I still be enamoured with it?  

The simple answer is yes.  Popping the cork and pouring the wine into a big bowled Burgundy (Schott Zweisel) glass the aromas had some smoky-earthy quality with Craisin-like character kicking around. Not an auspicious start.  The palate showed much better with subtle black cherry nuances and spice in the form of white pepper.  As the bottle remained open there were also subtle signs of the original sour fruit that made this wine such a pleasure way back when and a seam of acidity that really helped make this wine quaffably delightful (still) ... The most amazing part is, that after 8 years it shows little in the way of age.