This month's lunch notes, all wines tasted blind.

2000 Poggio alle Gazze Sauvignon Blanc - made at Bolgheri by the Ornellaia
winery, and no longer produced as the Mondavi joint venture caused it to be
ripped out in favour of more cabernet. More tropical fruit than grass on this
bottle, full mouth feel, and lots of acidity. One can't help feeling that the
world would have got along just fine without any additional Mondavi style
cabernet, but the loss of this rather nice Tuscan white is a bit sad.

1999 Albert Mann Pinot Noir Vielles Vignes. This was probably the best Pinot
I've tasted from Alsace, followed closely by the Marcel Diess product. A
slightly stinky style of Burgundy nose and an acidity that was high right from
the start but was carried very well by the wine made one think of nowhere but
Burgundy.

2002 Fairview Cellars 'The Bear's Meritage' - a BC winery in the middle of a
golf course! Purple right to the rim, with an enticing cocoa and fruit nose.
Smooth sweet and balanced, one of the best BC reds I have tasted so far!

1999 Colombo Cornas 'Les Mejeans' - While I have been cellaring his more
serious Cornas, Les Ruchets for years, I haven't paid as much attention to this
one. He does a new age sort of Cornas anyway, in other words something that you
could actually expect to drink and enjoy in the same decade it is bottled, and
the Mejeans is even more user-friendly than the Ruchets. Nice slightly warm
white pepper and dark fruit nose with a ton of concentration and good length.
It went absolutely perfectly with the course of fresh morels! In fact as I
write this, I have just consumed a very good morel and shallot omelet, and lost
the inner debate as to whether to submit myself to the ordeal of 'discussing'
the possibility of having a single glass of chilled rosé with breakfast
(she-who-must-be-obeyed having a strong temperance streak, at least when it
comes to indulging in wine before the sun is over the yardarm). This wine
drinks well now and will do so for several years to come.

2000 Poliziano Le Stanze - another Tuscan entry, this time a blend of cabernet
and merlot. Very dark wine with a lovely currant and coffee nose, the fruit
sweet and concentrated in the mouth and a fair bit of tannin backing it. Big
wine, great legs sheeting down the glass, and a good future to look ahead to.

1995 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Rosso di Montalcino - this wine should have
come before the previous two in terms of weight. Medium colour with a maturing
nose of spice herbs and dark fruit that could have been a bit more forthcoming,
although it did develop over time in the glass. Elegant wine ready to drink

1987 Nederberg Private Bin R163 - a cabernet from the Cape. Obvious age in the
appearance, a coffee - mocha nose, medium body, elegant with good length, and
falling off a bit quickly at the end.

1997 Trapiche Iscay Merlot Malbec (Mendoza) - from Italy to the Argentine. Very
dark wine with dark fruit that included cherry and I think raspberry in the
nose, lots of soft tannin, good length and good balance. Michel Rolland bats
another one in!

1994 Rust en Vrede Estate Wine - back to the cape for a cabernet syrah merlot
blend. Sweet black cherry nose, mature wine with pleasant sweetness on plate
and slightly raisined fruit at the end . Good length. I have this in the
cellar, and believe it will continue to hold well. Given the Portuguese origin
of our restaurant host, I would be delighted to be able to find the Tinta
Barocca that this South African house rather inexplicably produces, to spring
it on him blind one day.

1997 Phoenix Vineyard Cabernet - blend of 87% cab and 13% cab franc from this
small producer with a most annoying website (someone should tell them that
pop-ups are a bad thing). Dark wine, big sweet nose, some sweetness in the
mouth and decent acidity at end. Impressive enough to make me keep an eye out
for this one. They apparently have a whole 3.6 acres under vines, so you may
have to look awhile.

I cannot end these notes without mentioning the main course - 'Tongue in Cheek'
- a combination of veal cheek and tongue on a bed of asparagus and haricots -
the owner must have been listening to me and my puns for too long.