Notes from a recent blind tasting lunch:

2007 Gayda Cuvee l’Occitane – Languedoc/Roussillon blend of Marsanne,
white Grenache, Roussanne and Viognier. Lots of flavour, decent fruit,
not bad.

1998 King Estate Pinot Noir Reserve – pinot nose and the right weight,
with maybe a bit of excess ripeness in the nose, fruit only moderate –
tired.

1996 Finca Valpiedra Rioja Riserva – very good nose with big fruit,
good colour, good fruit levels on palate, not too sweet, soft tannins
and good length. No hurry here.

1990 Ch. Les Ormes de Pez – oddly, RP has revisited wines he
previously rated and downgraded them based on his recent tastings, but
when I have tasted the same wines (notably this one and the 1970
Latour) the wines are in fine shape. Not sure what is going on with
his cellar sources, but it can’t be anything good! This wine showed
as fairly dark with a very good nose of cassis and blackberry, with a
bit of wood smoke, the tannins fully resolved, with good length.
Drink now or in the middle term.

2002 Ch. Cos d’Estournel – my first taste of this. Dark wine still
with purple edges, very nice nose of fennel and currant with a hint of
thyme, gobs of fruit but the tannins are quite soft now, so while it
will age well, it is delightful right now.

1989 Ridge Monte Bello – this was a fairly …well, crappy … vintage in
Napa, and anything less than this would be pretty much a disaster, but
this wine showed at least decently. Big warm nose with lots of fruit,
it was rather Bordeaux-like, and the mediocrity of the vintage was
manifested mostly in the shortness of the finish and lack of flavour
definition at the end.

1920 Grand Cru des Carruades – sadly this bottle was toast, but an
interesting way to end the tasting. The vineyards at Lafite include
areas on the plain, and that area is called Carruades. The terminology
on this old label was used into the 1960s at least, but wine made as
the second label is now called simply ‘Carruades de Lafite’.

Thanks for the notes Bill

2007 Gayda Cuvee l’Occitane – Languedoc/Roussillon blend of Marsanne,
white Grenache, Roussanne and Viognier. Lots of flavour, decent fruit,
not bad.


In the UK, these S France artisan wines with Rhoney grapes are superb value
and damn good wines . The Wine Society is really strong on them

John T

On Mar 13, 2:07*pm, "Bill S." > wrote:
> Notes from a recent blind tasting lunch:
>
> 2007 Gayda Cuvee l’Occitane – Languedoc/Roussillon blend of Marsanne,
> white Grenache, Roussanne and Viognier. Lots of flavour, decent fruit,
> not bad.
>
> 1998 King Estate Pinot Noir Reserve – pinot nose and the right weight,
> with maybe a bit of excess ripeness in the nose, fruit only moderate –
> tired.
>
> 1996 Finca Valpiedra Rioja Riserva – very good nose with big fruit,
> good colour, good fruit levels on palate, not too sweet, soft tannins
> and good length. No hurry here.
>
> 1990 Ch. Les Ormes de Pez – oddly, RP has revisited wines he
> previously rated and downgraded them based on his recent tastings, but
> when I have tasted the same wines (notably this one and the 1970
> Latour) the wines are in fine shape. *Not sure what is going on with
> his cellar sources, but it can’t be anything good! *This wine showed
> as fairly dark with a very good nose of cassis and blackberry, with a
> bit of wood smoke, the tannins fully resolved, with good length.
> Drink now or in the middle term.
>
> 2002 Ch. Cos d’Estournel – my first taste of this. Dark wine still
> with purple edges, very nice nose of fennel and currant with a hint of
> thyme, gobs of fruit but the tannins are quite soft now, so while it
> will age well, it is delightful right now.
>
> 1989 Ridge Monte Bello – this was a fairly …well, crappy … vintage in
> Napa, and anything less than this would be pretty much a disaster, but
> this wine showed at least decently. Big warm nose with lots of fruit,
> it was rather Bordeaux-like, and the mediocrity of the vintage was
> manifested mostly in the shortness of the finish and lack of flavour
> definition at the end.
>
> 1920 Grand Cru des Carruades – sadly this bottle was toast, but an
> interesting way to end the tasting. The vineyards at Lafite include
> areas on the plain, and that area is called Carruades. The terminology
> on this old label was used into the 1960s at least, but wine made as
> the second label is now called simply *‘Carruades de Lafite’.

Thanks for the notes. I would concur with your comments on the '02
Cos. Lot's ahead but tasty now.