On Mar 21, 2:39*pm, "Bill S." > wrote:
> Blind tasting notes:
>
> 2008 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc – opened after a nice Chablis turned
> out to be corked! Grass and tropical fruit nose, good acid at end.
> Very good.
>
> 1996 Cape Mentelle Zinfandel – I was on the right track in guessing
> this an American wine, I suppose. Medium dark with watery rim, coconut
> in the nose, sweet entry but a bit lean in midpalate narrowing at the
> end with a slightly hot finish.
>
> 1982 Cos d’Estournel – nice classic claret nose, mostly cab with a
> slight green hint, mellow and *medium full in the mouth with a long
> balanced finish.
>
> 2000 Penfolds Bin 389 – this baby Grange was interesting a couple of
> days after tasting an earlier vintage of Grange itself. Eucalyptus
> nose that later added some burnt sugar and cherry. Sweet and fairly
> soft in the mouth, ready to drink but lots of soft tannins, so no
> rush.
>
> 2000 Ch. Gloria – WTF? Henri Martin must be spinning in his grave!
> This is the first time I have tasted this vintage and it was a great
> disappointment to me, not because it was a bad wine – it wasn’t, but
> because it seems to be a sell out to the forces of evil. *A one note
> burnt sugar and vanilla nose, sweet entry and sweet on palate with
> surprisingly little tannin, shorter than I’d like and very slight bit
> of sourness at the end. *This may play well at a California wine fair,
> with the lush fruit and obvious big flavour and single note nose, but
> what a come-down for a classic over achieving Bordeaux producer!
> Think I may have to go pop a bottle of the 75 or the 88 to restore my
> perspective!
>
> 1999 Stellenzicht – this is the estate wine of this Stellenbosch
> winery, a cab based blend, I believe. *Nice nose with good fruit
> levels there and on palate, mellow wine, good length. *On plateau now?
>
> 1997 Dom. Coursedon St. Joseph La Sensonne – a soy and leather nose,
> medium body, smooth in the mouth, but with less evident Rhone
> characteristics than other bottles have shown. *Not the best I’ve
> tasted.
>
> 1996 Ch. Beaumont *(Haut Medoc) – lightweight forgettable claret *with
> warm cabernet nose, woody, ending acidic and dilute. *If you have it,
> find a nice piece of meat that needs marinating!
>
> 2005 Iniskillin Zinfandel – a number of BC vineyards are in suitably
> hot microclimates to ripen Zin. This certainly wasn’t among the best
> I’ve tasted. *Simple with wine good colour, decent fruit in the nose,
> but overly sweet. *A wine looking for a Two Buck Chuck talent scout.
>
> 1985 Grahams – nice to end on an up note after the previous 2 duds.
> Colour on this one getting a bit lighter than other 85s, slightly hot
> nose, and although the entry was certainly sweet, it wasn’t as sweet
> as I usually expect for Grahams. *Nice concentration in the middle and
> lingering finish made this pleasurable but if this bottle was typical,
> I should be looking at my bottles earlier than I had thought
> appropriate.

thanks for notes. I think Gloria dropped their more oldstyle/ vin de
garde around 1990. I still like the wines, but no more long aging.
Beaumont is never great, and best drunk quite young imho