My friend Oswaldo brought back some examples of Brazilian cabernet/cab
blends with him from a trip to Brazil, and invited a few of us to
sample at his apartment. He put out a nice spread- salami, ham,
soppresatta, and a very nice salad with truffle oil; he also passed
around some cheeses- one goat, one cow (Pierre Robert) and my fave, a
sheep's milk (Abbaye de Belloc).

For opener we had a 2002 Johann Donabaum Spitzer Point Gr=FCner
Veltliner Smaragd. Showed a bit softer and less crisp than I expected.
My guess is this was a tad too warm- it had been chilled, but the train
ride down in my bag had warmed it up too much. But still showed some
distinct GV characteristics. Warm full apple fruit with a
greenpea/lentil note and some pineapple, and some clear white pepper.
Good length. Nice wine that deserved to be treated better. B+

Then to the reds. Miolo is the big producer in Brazil, and they've put
a lot of investment into making red wines. I don't think any of these
are imported to US at moment. Oswaldo had brought back their top 3
Bordeaux-grape wines:

2002 Miolo Riserva Cabernet Sauvignon (Vale de Vinhedos)
Lots of green bell pepper on nose, but not especially evident on
palate. Soft acidity, almost imperceptible tannins. Red plum fruit. A
bit short on finish. But clean and easy. Not remarkable, but at a $10
price point he paid providing a respectable alternative to the base
Montes, Laura Hartwig, Veramonte, etc. B-

2003 Miolo Cuvee Giuseppe
60/40 CS/Merlot. Soft, easy, and oaky. Good concentration, but the oak
is distracting and there's not a lot of "there" there. Frankly a bit
anonymous and boring. Seemed more Merlot than Cab to me. I thought some
air might calm the oak and bring out some secondary characteristics,
but after hour plus it was if anything less exciting. Still, stuck in a
selection of $20-25 California Merlots I'm not sure I'd have picked it
out as a ringer (but that's not praise). This was $26, and not a good
deal at that price. B- (C for value)

2002 RAR Reserva de Familia (also Miolo, though it's not on front
label)
Hey, wait a second. This is actually pretty good. Same 60/40 cab to
merlot blend, but this one grown at a higher altitude (1000M). Deep
cassis fruit, again plenty of oak (but the depth of fruit makes the oak
seem more integrated). Far more interesting wine than previous two.
Some leather and tobacco with a little time. At $30, well worth the
tiny premium over the previous wine. B+

Then one dessert wine:
1996 Bastor-Lamontagne (Sauternes)
Soft, with whispers of light botrytis. Soft tropical fruit, a touch of
candied ginger. Sweet and a bit empty. Can't get any enthusiasm up for
this one. B-/C+

I had to dash out to make a train. An informative and interesting
evening, with a nice group of people.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency

Thanks for the notes, Dale.
I'm going to buy you one of those little chilling sleeves for train &
car rides! You know, I was never in the habit of using them before I
started drinking more Austrian whites, but I see them on the bottles at
any private dinner party we go to over there, be it out in the country
or right in Vienna.
e.

I actually have one, just didn't expect to need it. My mistake was just
throwing it in a backpack, rather than using my wine bag. Good wine,
wish it had gotten better chance to shine.