We started this evening with two, not just one white wine. Both were aged whites. The Las Marias Argentina Mendoza Torrontes 2001 was light bodied and still full of fresh floral and stone fruit aroma and flavour. The
Fairview South Africa Coastal Region Viognier 2002 was very full bodied with stone fruit and oak. We were entertained by Mr. Lance Berelowitz this evening. Lance as usual had done meticulous research on the wines we were serving this evening and was very thorough in tasting each wine with us.

Our first two wines were from the Cabernet Sauvigonon grape. The first wine was the Pisano Uruguay Coastal Region 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon RPF, from Uruguay. We rarely get any wines from Uruguay. Lance advised us that is is one of their premier wineries in the country. The latitude of the general location of this winery is 34 deg south, which in the northern hemisphere would be around San Diego, so still quite a warm area for grape growing. This wine was deep garnet in the glass. There was black cherry, currant and vanilla aromas. It was medium body (suprising), along with red fruit, some oak, and quite dry. Lance felt that this wine was a little tired, so maybe past it's peak. The Saxenburg South Africa Stellenbosch 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Collection was much more lively. We learned that 3 different clones of the Cabernet grape was used for this wine, with each clone giving different flavours/character to the wine. Medium garnet and good legs in the glass. Capscium, meaty, cigar box bouquet. On the palate it was very round, meaty spicy, capsicum flavours. It had a long finish. Overall an elegant wine from South Africa. It paired well with the blue cheese.

Next we tasted two Syrah / Shiraz based wines. The Glen Carlou South Africa Paarl 2003 Syrah, is from South AfricaThe Paarl region of South Africa is more inland than the Stellenbosch region where the Saxenburg Cab came. Being inland this region is a hotter climate which helps more fully ripen grapes. This winery has received many accolades in the past. The 2004 version of this wine won the Platter Guide's Best Overall Wine from South Africe. The 2003 version was medium red in appearance, with light vanilla and red cherry aromas. It was very silky in the mouth, with vanilla, black fruit, some sweetness, and a bit of spice on the finish. This wine was very good with the cheese and excellent with the sauteed chicken liver "Diablo". Our second Shiraz was the Peter Lehmann Australia Barossa 2004 Shiraz The Futures. "The Futures" is the first wine that Peter Lehmann produced, launching his wine empire. Lance let us know that 2004 was an exception year for wines from the Barossa Valley, so if you see any 2004 wines, you may want to buy them. This wine was purple in the glass. It had a full dark fruit aromas with notes of vanilla and chocolate. In the mouth it was very full bodied. It had a flowery, red and black fruit, and chocolate flavours. Quite complex. The tannin were soft, but still could age up to 5 years to get even better. This wine went very well with the seared diver scallop with red wine butter sauce.

Our next wine was the Tikal Argentina Mendoza 2006 Malbec Amorio, from Mendoza, Argentina. Tikal is owned by Nicholas Catena's son Ernesto. This wine was bottled without fining, but did not throw any sediment due to it's young age. This wine was dark purple in the glass. Vanilla, ripe dark fruit and plum aromas. It was medium body, red fruit flavours with velvety tannins and some pepperiness. This wine went well with the reddened salmon with red wine butter sauce.

Our last two wines were blends. The first wine was the Benmarco 2006 Red Blend Expresivo from Mendoza, Argentina. This wine was primary Malbec, but also had Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Tannat. Lance mentioned that in the name "Benmarco", "Ben" is Hebrew for "son". This wine name then means Son of Marco, which is the wine makers way of paying homage to his father. This wine was deep purple in the glass. On the bouquet there was cassis, vanilla, and red fruit aromas. It was very smooth in the mouth, with fruity, vanilla and black cherry flavours. Lance mentioned that all the foods in Plate #1 went well with this wine. I thought that the vanilla went well with the liver. We then tried our last wine for the evening. The Valdivieso Chile Central Valley Red Blend Caballo Loco No 7 is from Chile. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Carmenere. The Caballo Loco No 7 is blended and aged by the Solera method used for Spanish sherry, combining fractions of wine from Caballo Loco No 1 - 6 with 7. This wine was deep red. The wine had a full fruity nose. It had red fruit, vanilla and capsicum aromas. There was red and black cherry, and some capsicum flavours. It had medium-firm tannins. Lance felt that this was a balanced "feminine" wine and recommended 3-5 years of additional aging. It went very well with the slider and with the lamb chop.

Tasting Selection
Favourite Red: Peter Lehmann "The Futures Shiraz", 2004, Australia
Second Favorite Red: Tikal Malbec Amorio, 2006, Argentina

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