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We enjoyed a great SOLD OUT tasting
of premium Southern hemisphere wines and benefitted from the wine
knowledge of our speaker, James Cluer.  James
is poised to become Canada's 2nd Master of Wine. He has worked
with high profile winemakers and done vintages in Bordeaux, Australia
and the Napa Valley. James has taught hundreds of people about
wine, both privately through his wine school and with institutions
such as UBC Continuing Studies and UBC Sauder School of Business.
Our reception wine was the 1999 Pelorus Brut sparkling
from the Cloudy Bay winery in New Zealand. This wine is made from
60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay grapes, and rests on it's lees
for 3 years. The wine had a slight rose tinge from the Pinot Noir
grape. It had light acidity with biscuit aroma. It had a nice
long length. A very nice sparkling wine.
We had two white wines for this tasting. The first was the Tyrrell's
Vat 1 Semillon 1997. This wine comes from the Hunter Valley
in Australia and is one of the classic areas for the Semillon
grape. Tyrell's is one of the oldest family owned wineries in
Australia. This wine had a medium yellow appearance. The bouquet
was of lanolin and citrus. On the palate, the citrus flavour continued.
The wine was very light in flavour. The Catena Alta Chardonnay
2001 was our second white wine. This wine was almost syrupy
when it was poured from the bottle. The wine had big legs in the
wine glass, indicating a high alcohol content. The taste was creamy
and oaky.
 Our
first
red wine was the Casa del Bosque Pinot Noir Reserva 2003.
This wine comes from the Casablanca Valley in Chile. This is a
cooler climate area in Chile, much like the Carneros region in
California, which has morning fog. This wine was light red in
appearance with a slight purple shade. The bouquet showed strawberries,
raspberries and plums. The wine had soft tannins, a cherry aftertaste
and a long finish. A nice wine at a great price. The second wine
was the Voss Estate Pinot Noir 2002 from the Martinborough
region of New Zealand. This wine was also light red in appearance,
with a bit of orangy or pink edges. There was herbaceous, spice
and forest floor aromas. This wine had cherry flavour, with light
acidity that you felt at the back of your tongue. This wine also
had a long finish. The Miguel Torres Manso de Velasco 1997
was our next wine. This wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was
black with a slight brickish tinge around the edge. The bouquet
was of blackcurrants, tar, chocolate, cassis and mushrooms. It
had a nice round mouthfeel, with the tannins coming in later.
James had indicated that this wine was maybe slightly past it's
peak. This wine went well with the grilled flat iron steak.
 The
next wine was the Warwick Three Cape Ladies 2001 from South
Africa. It was a blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance
almost evenly split between merlot and the signature grape of
South Africa, pinotage. This wine was light red in appearance.
There was aromas of blackberries, capsicum and oak. The wine had
a cherry, blackberry and spicy flavours. It was very velvety smooth
and overall a very balanced wine. The wine had very long length.
 The
House of Morande Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 was a blockbuster,
ultra-premium wine. This wine is a blend. The blend being 70%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot (and more, but
I don't remember). This wine spent 18 months in French oak. The
grapes for this wine were grown organically. The wine was deep
purple in appearance. The wine had a nose with candy?, violet,
and oak aromas. The wine was very smooth with nice mouthfeel.
It had flavours of dark cherries, tabacco and oak. The flavour
lasted for a long time in your mouth. It was also a very well
balanced wine, like the Warick Three Cape Ladies. Our last red
wine for the night was the Penfolds RWT 2002. This is 100%
shiraz based and aged in new French oak. The grapes come from
the Barossa Valley in Australia. This wine, as most Australian
shiraz, was a deep purple colour. The legs in the glass lasted
for a long time. The wine had an oaky aroma with lots of dark
fruits. There were tannins to give this wine structure. There
were flavours of chocolate, vanilla, dark cherries and creaminess.
There was also some late sweetness on the palate.
Our last wine of the evening was a non-vintage Penfolds Grandfather
Tawny Port. This port had an orangy brown appearance, with
a slight greenish edge. The bouquet was of spices like cinnamon,
and also had nutty and caramel aromas. There were many fruity,
spicy flavours to enjoy on the palate. A very flavourful port,
with long length, and a perfect way to end the evening.
 Tasting
Selection
Our favourite white wines were:
1) 2000
Pelorus Vintage Brut (NZ)
2) 2001
Catena Alta Chardonnay (ARG)
Our
favourite red wines were:
1) 2001
House of Morande Cabernet Sauvignon (CHI)
2) 2002
Penfolds RWT (AUS)
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