Saturday was dedicated to opening 36 bottles of wine to compare & contrast different styles and different origins to train my tasting memory. Here are a few little beauties discovered in the process:

Mitolo Serpico Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, the perfect "curve-ball" wine to shatter my blind tasting confidence this morning...

No wonder. Blind, I called it an Amarone. Still, there was something not quite right about this "Amarone". On reading the tech sheet, I realized why. This Cabernet Sauvignon is made in the "Amarone" method, unique in Australia, by drying the grapes for "5 weeks and 3 days resulting in 30% weight loss" before fermentation & long post-maceration.

The wine is deep ruby going-on garnet w/ purple highlights (this difficult color to describe when the grapes are dried). The nose is jammy, w/ stewed black fruits, pure essence of cassis (this should have been the give away) & subtle notes of dried raisins & prunes. Savoury w/ some sweet spices & a slight touch of eucalyptus. Fresh acidity w/ high, gum-coating & velvety tannins (perhaps the 2nd give away). Super dense fruit concentration w/ 15% ABV. Long & plush finish w/ mocha & dark chocolate.

The wine can drink nicely now but can keep to integrate tannins further. However, how will it age? Or should it? For sure, the perfect BBQ wine now....

Chateau Talbot 1995...It's time now...

This is when, a wine of this age shows what one has been waiting for in cellaring it for the last 19 years...

Mouthwatering medium garnet w/ a wide paler rim. Complex bouquet w/ tertiary aromas dominating & displaying beautiful notes of leather, cigar box, dried black fruits & a touch musky. All in finesse & elegance. The texture multilayered & silky w/ beautifully integrated components & a long succulent mid-palate. The fruit concentration has reached the end of the road & I did not think it had the constitution to develop further. To drink everything you own now.

Lip-smacking!

Casa Silva Pinot Noir "Cool Coast" 2012, a surprisingly delightful little wine...

Here was a surprise @ my practice tasting Saturday... A very good wine showing excellent value. Displaying a vibrant array of cool climate aromas w/ strawberries, sour cherries, & mint & a touch floral. Clear varietal character & a crisp, refreshing acidity w/ a silky & lively texture. Moderate but intense & succulent finish. A wine w/ personality & delicious to drink now or keep 1-2 more years.

For being the 1st Pinot Noir to be produced By Casa Silva from the cool climate of Chile's Paredones, 7 km from the cool Pacific sea, I think this wine shows very good promise in the vintages to come. Watch this space!

Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2010...Outstanding...

Excellent wine w/ unmistakable expression of origin & remarkably skillful winemaking displaying a delightful array of aromatic complexity & a multitude of textural layers on the palate & finishing in finesse & elegance w/ a long peacock tail. The components are in perfect balance & its fruit concentration & crisp acidity suggest ageing ability to develop extra complexity over 5-8 more years.

Certainly, a quintessential example of an "outstanding" wine.