Castle Rock Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Reserve

Grape                              : Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of Origin : United States
Region                           : California, Napa Valley
Vintage                          : 20o9
Alcoholic Content : 14.5%

Damage to my purse : Bought from a wine retailer at S$48.

Characteristic :
Vivid purple (in colour) and medium to full bodied.  On the nose, it has aromas of dark fruits with slight sharpness that tickled the senses.  Great forward taste of dark cherry, with hints of chocolate and oak.  Smooth, with mellow tannins and long finishing of cassis.

MY TAKE : This is one good cabernet sauvignon.

Chateau Moulin De Tricot 2006 Margaux

Grape                              : Blend of Cabernet Sauv, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc
Country of Origin : France
Region                           : Bordeaux
Vintage                          : 2006
Alcoholic Content : 12.5%
Appellation                : Margaux

Damage to my purse : Bought from a wine retailer at S$65.

Characteristic :
Deep ruby red (in colour) and medium bodied.  On the nose, it has cassis and fine French oak .  Very good mouth-feel (extremely smooth), with consistent dark fruits and balanced tannins and long finishing.

MY TAKE: Even though it did not present very sophisticated taste, it was a really enjoyable wine.  Isn’t this what we look for in wine drinking?!

COAL PIT Sauvignon Blanc 2009

 

Grape                              : Sauvignon Blanc
Country of Origin : New Zealand
Region                           : Central Otaga
Vintage                          : 2009
Alcoholic Content : 12.5%

Damage to my purse : Bought from a wine distributor at S$38.

Characteristic :
I found its characteristics to be very much as what mentioned by the Producer: “An aromatic wine with intense passion fruit and elderflower nose, and followed by classic gooseberry, capsicum, grapefruit and tropical guava.  The finishing is unusually long and opulent underpinned with minerality and candied orange blossom flavours.”

MY TAKE : My senses were filled with the tropics; this wine brought excellent surprises to the palate, great Sauvignon Blanc.  Please note for this 2009 vintage, the drinking period is till 2013.

Chateau Macay Cotes De Bourg 2007

Grape                              : Cabernet Sauv (15%), Merlot (65%),
Cabernet Franc (10%), Malbec (5%)
Country of Origin : France
Region                           : Bordeaux
Vintage                          : 2007
Alcoholic Content : 12.5%
Appellation                : Cotes De Bourg

Damage to my purse : Bought it from a wine retailer at S$39.

Characteristic :
Deep ruby (in colour) and medium to full bodied.  Fine aromas of oak and hawthorn.  On the palate, the wine has flavours of dark cherries and prunes, it was smooth, well-structured with a woody-feel and slightly sappy finishing.

MY TAKE: I liked the wine when I first sipped it and it tasted even better an hour later.  Although it was recommended to go with red meat, I thought it was also good on its own.  A note from the wine producer is to consume this wine within 3 to 8 years.

SMIDGE Houdini Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Grape                              : Sauvignon Blanc
Country of Origin : Australia (South)
Region                           : Adelaide Hills
Vintage                          : 2010
Alcoholic Content : 13%

Damage to my purse : Bought 2 bottles of this wine from a wine distributor at S$36 each.

Characteristic :
Golden lemon (in colour).  The bouquet was rather restrained.  The palate has a mineral edge, with citrus-y fruits and good acidity, and long and subtle finish.

MY TAKE : Tasted some really outstanding Sauvignon Blanc from a small wine producer (the Barratt) while I was at the Adelaide Hills a couple of years back.  This was also the reason why I bought 2 bottles of the Smidge Houdini Sauv Blanc (from the same region) even though I was not much of a white wine drinker.  This wine was good (but not outstanding).  While blogging about this, I came to realise that I need to drink up the other bottle quickly  since its recommended shelf-life is not more than 2 years.

RUSDEN Cabernet Sauvignon (Boundaries) 2003

Grape                             : Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of Origin : (South) Australia
Region                           : Barossa Valley
Vintage                         : 2003
Producer                     : Rusden
Alcoholic Content : 14%

Damage to my purse : About S$42 each for a case of 6.

Characteristic :
Ruby-red and medium bodied.  Of pronounced aroma of cassis on the nose, and of slight spicy sharpness that triggered the senses.  On the palate, it was like a jammy fruit bomb, with picking up notes of cedar, almond, and oak.  Lovely texture, of velvety smooth tannins, balanced acidity, and good length.

MY TAKE : A very good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon (I haven’t drunk for a long time), and of great value too.

James Irvine Grand Merlot 2005 (Eden Valley)

Grape : Merlot
Country of Origin : South Australia
Region : Barossa (Eden Valley)
Vintage : 2005
Alcoholic Content : 14.5%
Producer : James Irvine

Damage to my purse : Great buy from a wine distributor at S$65 (which could cost around S$100 or more).

Characteristic :
Rusty burgundy (in colour).  This wine can pass off as a full bodied Merlot.  It was extremely jam-my, plummy, with lots of sweet preserved fruits and some undertone of oaks on the nose.  With generous creamy smooth entry, quite a savoury wine.  It has consistent rich and condensed sweetness of raspberries and preserved fruits,  slightly spicy with some oak in the backdrop.  Do decant this wine as it has lots of sediment and required at least an hour to aerate.

MY TAKE : This James Irvine Grand Merlot 2005 was not your usual Merlot; it was very heavy and full bodied.  Because of its densely sweet nature, the wine will pair well with food like foie gras, duck dishes, and even kurobuta pork belly.

Baron La Rose 2006

Grape                              : Blends of Cabernet Sauv, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc
Country of Origin : France
Region                           : Bordeaux
Vintage                          : 2006
Alcoholic Content : 12.5%
Appellation                : Bordeaux

Damage to my purse : Brought from a wine retailer at S$29.90.

Characteristic :
Light brick red (in colour) and lightly bodied.  It was easy on the nose with mild floral scent and hidden notes of oak and rust.  On the palate, it was crisp, light but smooth, with subtle flavours of berries and cherries and some tannins toward the end.  Not much of a finish.

MY TAKE: This was a light and refreshing wine that you would bring to a picnic.  Slightly overpriced for that matter; under S$20 would be more reasonable.

Chateau Du Tertre 2000 Margaux

Grape                              : Cabernet Sauv (32%), Merlot (33%),
Cabernet Franc (30%), Petit Verdot (5%)
Country of Origin : France
Region                           : Bordeaux
Sub-Region                : Medoc
Vintage                          : 2000 (Grand Cru Classe)
Alcoholic Content : 13.0%
Appellation                : Margaux

Damage to my purse : ZERO.  A gift from a friend who bought this at the HK-DFS at HK$800.

Characteristic :
Dusty purple (in colour) and medium bodied.  On the nose, it has elegant floral; pleasant aroma.   It was pretty tannin, of some acidity, quite smooth but rather simplistic on the palate.  I could be the odd one out, I found its flavours a tad too mild.

MY TAKE: “Bordeaux”, “Margaux”, “Grand Cru Classe”; call it for all you want.  This wine lacked the structure and finesse.  It was no doubt a decent drinking wine but nothing to applaud for at that price (luckily I didn’t have to pay for it).

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2010

Grape                              : Shiraz blended with some Viognier
Country of Origin : Australia
Region                           : Canberra (Australian Capital Territory)
Vintage                          : 2010
Alcoholic Content : 14%

Damage to my purse : Bought from a wine distributor at S$89 (a great buy).

Characteristic :
Bright crimson-purple in appearance.  A medium bodied wine, and has intriguing aromas.  It has got layers and layers of perfumes and spices; very addictive nose.  On the palate, again, it was drawing and the taste was not obvious.  It has got fine berries, plums and raspberries, of velvety smooth, with defining tannins and subtlety.  Very long lingering cascading arrays of flavours.

MY TAKE : This wine was of opulent elegance, every sip drew you to want more.  By far, the best wine I have ever tasted from this region.

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier is the best from the lot.