Saturday, August 30, 2008

Five Rivers 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon (California)

Tonight I picked a wine that I have been eyeing for quite some time. This Five Rivers has a very unique label (red woman figure floating in the starry night sky), every time I would make my way to the downstairs fridge this bottle would catch my eye ... tonight I finally decided to drink it. I bought this is April 2006 for a whopping $18.95 and have been sitting on it ever since. The nose was full of blackberry, vanilla, spice, dried cherry and a little bit of jamminess; while on the palate there was strawberry, blackberry, vanilla, cedar and cherry. Quite the nice bottle for a Saturday night ... not the one to watch Hamburger Hill with (all that blood and gore) I am just glad I didn't spill any on myself, would have thought I was bleeding. It was a great wine to get curious with, halfway through the movie I realize the surround speakers were not working on the stereo, so I fixed the probelm - the movie sounded much better - maybe it was a great wine afterall, although now I have to find another bottle to catch my eye.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Boschendal Estates 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon (South Africa)

A few nights later I open this Cabernet Sauvignon from the same vintner and same year as the Lanoy blend (August 26, 2008). This one showed its age more on both the nose and palate; it was still quite enjoyable and still had good fruit character, but the flavours were more dried fruit, with a dehydrated/phony strawberry taste, kinda like those cereals with the strawberries - or the way Frankenberry used to fake that strawberry goodness ... though it was still very enjoyable. I used a Spiegelau Cabernet glass for this one.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Boschendal Estates 2000 Lanoy (South Africa)

This was fantastic - it had none of what I call the South African stink (smell of Band-Aid or Road Tar which is present in many SA wines). A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (no mention of percentages on the bottle. Great black fruit, smooth and delicious - proves to me the South African wines need time to settle down and ditch the stink. I was very impressed. No idea how much I paid for this bottle but I am sure it was under $15 - and well worth it.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Chanson Pere et Fils 2006 Le Bourgogne (France - Burgundy)

Bought this one on sale (total impulse purchase - got an email from an agent that said the wine was on for $2.00 off - so rare to have a discount like that at the LCBO that I just had to try a bottle ... plus I was going to the liquor store anyway). This one did not blow me away, but nor was it something I would pour down the sink ... in fact it was very pleasant, nice cherry with a touch earthy on both the nose and palate ... all-in-all a very nice wine for the money ($17.95 on sale).