Adelsheim Pinot and Coudoulis Lirac (Oregon / France)

It's Sunday, the last day of the Ontario Wine Awards judging - the day traditionally saved for the sweeties ... and it went off without a hitch.  Afterward, during lunch, someone pulled out a bottle of Adelsheim 1994 Polk County Pinot Noir - Seven Springs Vineyard, an few ooo's and a couple ahh's went around the room.  People who were preparing to leave suddenly shucked their coats and grabbed a glass.  The cork went pop and the wine splashed into a number of glasses.  Tony Aspler proclaimed that 1994 was a good year in Oregon, as he eyed up the bottle.  Now we all hold our collective breaths as we look at the wine our glass, the room goes quiet, there is a universal sniffing sound, some slurps and swishes as we taste.  Not half bad for a 16 year old Pinot.  The nose is earthy with dried cranberry, and forest floor / dried leaves notes.  Still has decent acidity and some tannins to back it up - the tannins overwhelm the fruit but there is still some stuffing here that makes it enjoyable with dried fruit and a chalky finish ... big thanks to Jan for this.

Later that evening, as I am whipping up some dinner (hamburgers) I grab a bottle of Domaine Coudoulis 2006 Lirac - a blend of Grenache, Syrah ad Mourvedre ... The wine is big and bold and spicy.  The nose is full of red berry fruit, white pepper and blackberries while the palate is peppery, spicy with blackberry, cassis and big tannins.  Turned out to be a perfect mach for the meat. What an interesting day for wine.

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Happy Birthday Raiding of the Cellar (Australia / France / USA)

I attended a 60th birthday party last night and it was a riches of old wines that materialized out of the old man's cellar.  The youngest wine was 11 years old, the oldest 21.  Kicking things off was a 1999 Cape Mentelle 'Trinder Vineyard' Cabernet-Merlot from Western Australia; lots of leather, dried fruit, tobacco, anise, and forest floor notes throughout ... smooth across the tongue, not a lot of life left in it but I wouldn't be dumping it down the toilet anytime soon either.  Another Cape Mentelle proved to be equally up to the task of still be drinkably good, the 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon, with its dried red berries taste and cherry Fruit Roll-up smells, a touch foresty but still very nice to sip on.  Neither wine stayed in the glass long because there was always another set to be opened.

Leaving Australia we set sail for the Old World with a bottle of 1995 Chateau Clarke from Bordeaux, dried berries and dried leaves, it was time to drink this one and drink it we did - happily.  The oldest wine materialized, a 1990 Chateau Cruzeau - not a well known house from Bordeaux but one that made a very good wine in 1990.  Surprisingly alive with red fruit, a touch of red berries and soft leather notes.  Quite possibly the most interesting wine of the night ... Until the American showed up.

The final cork to pop, that I was present for anyway, was a Ridge 1994 Geyserville, a blend of 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignan, 8% Petite Sirah and 4% Mataro, 16 years old and the fruit still showed through, though it was definitely all dried, raspberry and cherry with some semblance of tannins (though not intrusive) and a hint of sweetness - I meant to look at the alcohol content but missed my opportunity.  Finally, as mother nature began to dump snow on the land, we decided it was time to leave, just as a bottle of Vouvray was on deck.  But as in baseball the on deck batter never gets up to the plate (or the glass in this case) once the game is pronounced over.

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