Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:53 pm
I was pretty crook last week, so no wines, but had the following wines the previous week.
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
Initially herbal and cedary-oak aromas without much fruit being revealed. After an hour sitting in the glass, some plum and cassis intermingled with the cedary-oak produced a very nice nose that was the highlight of the wine. Soft tannins. Nice berries. Quite drinkable now, but the oak is just a tad too much for me right now on the palate. Will come back to this wine in two years.
Penfolds Bin 389 2001
Dark purple. Initially fairly closed nose with just a hint of plum and a scent of plain oak. Tons of tannins. After an hour, the nose opened up more to reveal some vanilla oak, blackcurrants, and sweetish mint or menthol. Some fruit on the palate with a very minty taste. I much prefer the Katnook above over this Penny.
Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2002
After what Maximus posted about this wine two weeks ago, I thought I would open another bottle and check it out. Initially farmyard (think chicken), mushrooms, ferns, and a slightly wild pong which dissipated after 10 minutes. Most of the fruit was initially buried under this mixture of aromas. Medium red. After 30 minutes, berries and cherries aromas and a hint of herbs. There was some cherry fruit on the fore-palate with a hint of bitterness on the finish which was not there when I had it in January this year. The second glass had more fruit on both the nose and palate. Overall, a pretty decent Pinot, but not a super one.
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
Initially herbal and cedary-oak aromas without much fruit being revealed. After an hour sitting in the glass, some plum and cassis intermingled with the cedary-oak produced a very nice nose that was the highlight of the wine. Soft tannins. Nice berries. Quite drinkable now, but the oak is just a tad too much for me right now on the palate. Will come back to this wine in two years.
Penfolds Bin 389 2001
Dark purple. Initially fairly closed nose with just a hint of plum and a scent of plain oak. Tons of tannins. After an hour, the nose opened up more to reveal some vanilla oak, blackcurrants, and sweetish mint or menthol. Some fruit on the palate with a very minty taste. I much prefer the Katnook above over this Penny.
Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2002
After what Maximus posted about this wine two weeks ago, I thought I would open another bottle and check it out. Initially farmyard (think chicken), mushrooms, ferns, and a slightly wild pong which dissipated after 10 minutes. Most of the fruit was initially buried under this mixture of aromas. Medium red. After 30 minutes, berries and cherries aromas and a hint of herbs. There was some cherry fruit on the fore-palate with a hint of bitterness on the finish which was not there when I had it in January this year. The second glass had more fruit on both the nose and palate. Overall, a pretty decent Pinot, but not a super one.