The monthly 'business' blind tasting lunch notes:

2002 Guillemot-Michel 'Quintaine' - this is a Macon Cless=E9 that
impressed us all. The nose was pretty identifiable as a chard, with
good fruit and light oak, but the mout-feel was what was exceptional
- very full flavoured, long and crisp at the end. Very good.

1994 Robert Pepi Sangiovese Two Heart Canopy - this California
Sangiovese is an early example of the American experimentation with
Italian varietals. The wine had a nose that did cry out "Italy"
with sweet ripe fruit, and the feel was initially quite silky, but the
wine was ultimately simple and a little tedious.

2003 Sedlescomb Organic Vineyard Regent - brought back from England
as a curiosity, this wine was deep dark purple in colour, and had a
nose like odd slightly sweet still fermenting blackberry juice. In the
mouth, the most appropriate descriptor was beets.....agghh.......I
applaud, however, the intellectual curiosity that inspired this
attendee to pick this wine up and bring it - you never know until you
try something whether it is any good or not. In this case, 'not'
won unanimously!

2003 Winchester Sharp Rock Vineyard Pinot Noir - another
'unusual' wine, from one of the new BC wineries, made by Ken
Winchester. A BC Pinot at 14.3% alcohol, with just about no
recognizable Pinot characteristics! A ripe raisiny nose reminiscent of
an Amarone, but with a stewed plum element that is thankfully absent in
the Italian version.

1999 Doudet Naudin Savigny les Beaune - a little cloudy from the bus
ride over to the restaurant, and displaying a non-typical Pinot nose,
this wine nonetheless showed good balance, good acidity and is ready to
drink. I should add that this is not much like the Doudets of old -
back in the 80s and early 90s they were age worthy wines that would
just be hitting stride at 5-6 years of age. I believe there was a
change of winemaker and possibly a change in style about 15 years ago.

1996 Jaboulet Dom. Thalabert - this Crozes Hermitage showed wonderful
black olive tapenade and pepper in the nose and I kept veering toward
the southern Rhone in my attempts to nail it. Smooth and very tasty.
This was from a warm cellar and typical bottles will probably not be as
far along.

2000 Burge Holy Trinity - a ripe sweet GSM from Oz - as one
expects, tons of ripeness and sweet fruit, in the end a bit of a one
note presentation, but alright if you are in the mood. It's funny -
I took one sniff of this and pronounced it Australian, yet none of the
other tasters had the same reaction, and thought it variously American,
French etc. Maybe I've partaken of too many Oz wines lately.....

Thackrey Pleiades XII - I forgive myself for not getting Thackrey's
melange of Italian and Californian varietals - a real test in a blind
tasting! Minty nose with all sorts of herbs, leather, earth, then a
sweet entry and smooth feel, the wine very tasty and ready to drink.
I've had this oddball once before - maybe I'll remember it if
there is another time. The Pleiades are the Seven Sisters, yet there
seem to be more than seven components to this wine. I don't know
whether there were originally only seven, or perhaps Sean just had a
'thing' for nymphs....

1990 Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino - I've been drinking my
way through a case of this since release and it changes just about
every time I taste it. It went through a lean acidic phase, then
miraculously the fruit came back. It has been drinking well for several
years, yet this bottle showed much more tannin than recent tastings. I
found a little blood/iron in the nose, a bit of browning at the edges,
and lots of acidity to go with the surprising tannins, the finish a bit
hot and raisiny. Not the best bottle I've tasted and I look forward
to revisiting this.

1985 Kenwood Cabernet (Sonoma) - I tasted this early in its life and
decided that it would age well. While it hasn't got the legs of the
exceptional 1978 (sadly, I have no more of this), it has held up well
and drinks nicely now, a feat for a 'regular' wine. I suppose you
could call this a third label after the Artist's label and the Jack
London.
Also showing browning edges, the mature cabernet nose unmistakeable (at
least to me), this wine still has sufficient fruit to drink well, and
has turned out to show an elegance in old age that was absent in youth.

1978 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Cabernet - we were musing about what
had happened to this legendary, iconic winery. The wines of the 70s
were fantastic, then the winery seemed to slide after the early 80s and
while I've seen the odd good comment on later wines, it just
doesn't seem to be producing at the same level. Showing age only at
the edges, this wine had a lovely nose of oak and mellow mature fruit.
On palate it was as close to perfection as you'd like to see or taste
- still weighty with complex flavours and impeccable balance, it is a
wine for thoughtfulness - sure, the wineries in California are making
wine of an average quality level much higher than was the case when
this wine was made, with fewer failures. But do they attain the heights
that some of the 1970s wines did, full of character and individuality,
lasting for decades? I have my doubts. Have I had better California
Cabs? Probably, on occasion, maybe some of the other 70s vintages would
rival this, but with lunch with friends, this was a truly memorable
bottle, and my thanks to the one who brought it. My clear vote for best
of lunch!! I'll add one other comment. I've been fortunate enough
to taste this vintage of Diamond Creek pretty much across the board.
The last one I had was a Gravelly Meadow a couple of years ago, and I
found it to be much more like a Bordeaux. The Volcanic Hill was somehow
(to me) quintessentially American. Sorry to ramble on, but this wine
merits discussion!