The Asian Winehunter

1994 - Vega Sicilia Valbuena No.5 Interesting fruit aromas on opening but acidic & sour notes coming through. With air grew progressively more acidic. Wine did not seem corked - storage conditions seemed decent. Might have been an off bottle but this is a poor showing especially compared to its big brother - Unico... 85pts?? 1995 - Pichon Comtesse de Lalande - Puillac Opened with very promising notes of black fruit - somewhat muted, short on the palate and length - served straight out of the cellar. Over time ( approx. 1hour ) with air and higher temperatures it opened up and showed more of the classic Puillac character and with a "feminine" soft character. Green peppers, faint hint of pencil shavings and tobacco. Mid Palate filled out and finish was better though still a bit on the short sight. Probably can do with 3-5 more years in the cellar. 94+ pts. 1989 - Chateau La Fluer Petrus- Pomerol. Drink up. Its probably hit the maturity plateau and going downhill at this poi

December 14, 2005. Various tasting notes. Its been a while since the last entry - sorry folks - the wine hunter has been bogged down a bit. Not very productive last few weeks as far as wine tastings are concerned. Here are a few assorted notes - no theme. 2000 - L'Interdit de Bandon A VTD by law. It looks like the owner of Ch. Valandraud broke a few too many rules to produce this and was deemed "unworthy" of AOC designation ( same story for the L'interdit de Valandraud). This opened up early and was accesible early black fruits, dense and concentrated considerable tannin but tame and quite fine. Would have to say the after bouqet in the glass and aftertaste/finish was actually better than time in the mouth. Could use a few more years ( 3-5? ) 89pts. 1999 - Chateau Quinault - L'enclos Lighter than L'Interdit but more complex. This had finese and better all round. Good now and requiring little air time 30-45mins. 91pts. 1997 - Rene Renou, Bonnezeaux Le Mellerese