Mild Shock

Apologies for leaving the blog. Not much chance to taste the cellared stuff lately.

It was with a little trepidation that I opened two of six bottles of 1988 Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc that we uncovered in a bit of a cellar re-organisation. I was going to open them and just tip them down the drain, as who would expect a 22 year old Savvie, from Cyclone Bola year be in any fit state? And on top of that, the last couple of bottles opened were oxidised to heck!

It was a bit of nostalgia, nevertheless. Those pale green bottles, Bordeaux shaped, with the Montana crest moulded into the shoulder. The crest printed on the label prominently, and branded on the cork. Those were the days...

Anyway, out came the corks. Damp to 7/8ths of the way, but still firm and they didn't break. They poured a light golden yellow, but thankfully not brown. The aromas of asparagus gently wafted up, out of the glass I poured them into. Acid, thin, some oxidation, but not dead! Mild shock-horror! Then I poured them down the drain. Shame on me! I must be a snob?

I gave two bottles away, and still have two to go. I'll save them for a special ocassion. Not.
I promise to have some good wine to write up next, now that the re-organisation has been done.

Phases

It's been a little while since the last post. I suppose you must go through phases with writing for the blog. For me, it has been a lot of work taking precedence. But a vist by a special guest meant that good bottles and good meals were on the card.

This time we headed off to the wee eaterie on the hill. That was after a thirst-quenching bottle of 2008 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett. Pale, minerally, austere and quite chalky-seaside, but clean, crisp and refreshing, with potential to last a decade. At a young phase, no doubt. At the bistro, we started with a surprisingly lean, raw and green-flavoured 2008 Moss Wood Margaret River Semillon. We expected something a little more lanolin textured, but this was a treat with its fine features. Sort of like a toned-down N.Z. Savvy-Sancerre cross, but more. Good to see the Aussies go through this phase of greater elegance...

But it was the red wine pairing that was intriguing. We've been disappointed by the 1982 Bordeaux we've tried of late. Lotsa horses and stinky brettanomyces, and dried out wines, even in the big names. So it was with a bit of trepidation we opened two Right Bank jobbies from this so-called star vintage. The Ch. Belair St Emilion 1er GCC started of animal like, but cleaned up in glass to become fresh, vigorous, structured and complex. It's funny, 'cos way back in the 80's, guru Parker didn't rate this wine. I though I'd keep it anyway. It didn't let me down over two decades later. Things become more equal with age. SWMBO and our special man thought this wine super. Then on to the Vieux Chateau Certan Pomerol. Not quite as dark, not quite as grunty, but more elegant, some VA lift, silky smooth fruit and feel, and still fresh, though secondary in evolution. I liked this one the most.

As wine drinkers, we are going through a phase of preferring the Burgundy and Rhone styles, and we are tending to put in the background the Bordeaux wines, because they need time to show well. Hopefully this will change, otherwise we will miss out on some of the glories of the wine world by being impatient.