(December 20, 2014) … We had our neighbors come over for dinner tonight and I pulled a few interesting wines out of the cellar to try for the occasion: a Chilean and two French. Kicking things off I opened an Odfjell Vineyards 2002 Armador Cabernet Sauvignon, this was the Chilean wine of the evening. For a twelve year old wine it held up rather nicely with its aromas of smoked-plum and cinnamon followed by a palate of dried dark fruit and backed by woody notes and decent spice … The finish proved to be long and woodsy, but still rather enjoyable.
For my first French wine of the evening I grabbed out a Sasha Lichine 2006 Le Coq Rouge, a blend of Syrah (40), Cabernet Sauvignon (33), Merlot (23) and Grenache (4) … When I tried it years ago it seemed like a simple wine and was probably meant for drinking sooner rather than later … But the ensuing 8 years from vintage date has not hurt it at all. The nose is subtle with red berries, while the palate has white pepper, black raspberry, and black cherry – not at all what I expected but pleasantly surprised. The opposite can be said for my next wine, I had high hopes for the Domaine Magellan 2005 Vieilles Vignes, Syrah-Grenache, but what I got was a wine that delivered spicy alcoholic notes from beginning to end, and it just never seemed to get out of that zone … Disappointing to say the least. I’m not allowed to bad-mouth closures anymore so I won’t mention the plastic cork.