Marimar Torres Estate Don Miguel Torres Vineyard Pinot Noir 1999

Haven't had too many US pinots, so thought this might be an interesting diversion when I spotted it at the bottlo last week. Cheap too, at $19.

A dark, piercing nose whose sweet red fruit is somewhat swamped by other, more savoury characters. Leafiness and oak, mostly. A subtle entry into the mouth widens considerably on the middle palate. Again, the flavour profile is juicy red fruits (strawberry-like) mixed in with aged, leathery notes and considerable oak. There's reasonable intensity of flavour and enough bottle aged complexity to make this wine interesting. The wine is still quite tannic and could use some more softening, although I wonder whether the fruit will disappear before the oak has lost its aggressiveness. The finish is a bit hot.

This wine's fruit is varietal but I can't help thinking that it's been moulded in a style that drags it away from a pure expression of pinot noir and towards something chunkier and altogether less lightfooted. I also think perhaps this would have gone better with food.

Mount Pleasant Elizabeth 1999

I bought a case of this on release and have dipped in a few times to see how it's going. I remember tasting this soon after the initial purchase (three or so years ago) and it struck me as an especially tight Elizabeth.

This was a good bottle. An attractive green/gold colour of clarity and considerable richness. The nose shows definite signs of bottle age, but is not at a point of full maturity. Instead, the subtle, almost dumb aromas of a young semillon are mixed with a moderately intense bouquet of vanilla, beeswax and that (not unattractive) dusty note that some older semillons show. Good complexity. The entry is slippery and lively, still showing some prickly CO2. It opens to a generous and quite intense mid-palate that is in between young and old. The sophisticated, slippery mouthfeel of aged semillon is present, quite full bodied, and there are certainly hints of honey and wax, but also of (simple) primary fruit. The after palate loses thrust a bit, and the wine sort of jumps straight to the finish, where the secondary flavours linger nicely on the tongue.

This wine is very much in between in its development, with youthful characters fading a little and bottle age starting to exert its influence. As I sat with this in the glass, it gained richness and the honey really started to come to the fore. I'll track this over the next few years with interest.

Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 1999

Last old note for now.

Complexity and sophistication are the bywords with this wine. A lovely, savoury, slightly sappy nose gives way to the most luscious palate of clean fruit, earth, leather and silkiness. The tannins are so fine as to be simply a continuation of the flavours on the middle of the palate. Mouthfeel is a highlight here, it's just so soft, it glides over the tongue and slips away so smoothly. The nose is complex and evolving as I swirl, with further notes of mushroom and dusty earth, as well as a bit of oak. A seamless and complex wine. Very nice indeed.

Glen Fiona Syrah 'Puncheon-Aged' 1999

My first Walla Walla syrah, courtesy of Chris and Dan.

Really funky yeast characters on the nose, sweet flowers and a bit of VA, the combined effect being sort of like sewage. Nice sewage, though, and quite restrained overall. The palate is more assertive, helped along by velvety tannins that caress and flow over the tongue. Very much fruit driven at this stage, and the fruit itself is attractive in character, if slightly bubblegumish. Medium bodied, balanced acidity, extremely moreish, the mouthfeel a highlight.

Petaluma Riesling 1999

On release, this was "the one," the wine that got me hooked.

Last bottle. Of the several that I cellared, only two have been in good condition, this being one of them. A shame in a way, as I wanted to have this in the company of Chris and Dan. As it happened, the one I brought with us to the Clare was corked.

In any case, this one was great. Like the last bottle (consumed last November at Thanksgiving time), this one was drinking at its peak, with a superb balance of aged characters versus residual signs of youth. The mouthfeel reminded me of apple juice in its clarity and cleanliness. A delicious aged Clare riesling.