Solihull Fine Wine Society October tasting.

I have been lurking of late as have been travelling a bit. My first tasting
for three months.

This is a varietal simple tasting, blind as usual. It would turn out to be a
long hard slog, but very educational as you will see.

Jacobs Creek, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir Fizz, Oz, 2004.
Is this water? pale++, nose of cheap sweets, bubbles but no mousse, sweet
yet bitter........foul

Nottage Hill 2004 Chardonnay Oz
Watery thin dull. nose of rancid sweets and chemicals, even worse on the
palate, watery syrup and bitter.

Pouilly Blanc Fume, Wine Soc generic 1996.
Good looker, pale gold, complex earthy nose, soft entry then searing acidity
and finished bitter. At least I spotted the SB

Mainzer St Alban Kabinett, 1977, Pieroth!!!!
Brown, maderised to hell, so lacking in residual alcohol, we thought it had
to be Germanic, I suggested Falkland Islands Tete de Cuvee.

Berncastler Schlosberg Spatlese 1988
Green tinged viscous, with a complex smokey nose, yet soft with some
sweetness, long. I hadn'y a clue, only one taster mentioned Riesling!!!

Declassified Y'Quem 1992, ( or so we were told)
Beautifull deep gold, bright. Nose of Evostik glue as was the palate, sweet
cloying and bitter. ( you could be arrested for sniffing this in public)

Fleurie, 2004, George of alleged adulterating wine fame Duboeuf.
Simple easy drinking light gamay, at least it was alive.

Beaune Marchonets Premier Cru 1982.
Pale brick with brown edge. Soft **** pinot nose with some vegetal strains,
but dried out and almost dead.

Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet, 1980, brown edge to a dull wine, still
complex syrah nose with tinned tomatoes, dryin out with little fruit left. I
thought it was an old Croze.

VCC Pomerol, 1989.
At last a serious wine, deep with huge extract, a complex vegetal faecal
nose which was not unpleasant. Soft full entry with firm tannins and all in
balance, long. Beautiful. ( although after the previous wines a Gallo box
wine would be pleasant)

Ch D'Angludet, 1989. Very similar to the VCC, but lighter in all ares. Again
a vegetal margaux nose like Brane- Cantenac of old, chewy fruit and spice,
long, most pleasant but not up to the VCC.

Lessons learnt

Wines die eventually, especially if your central heating boiler is in your
cellar.
In the UK Nottage Hill and Jacobs Creek have a large % of supermarket sales
of Oz wines. What can I say?