Week-end Round-Up & A Plug for Vacuum Sealers

Somehow I ended up with five bottles of unifinished wine at the end of last week. It was sort of cool seeing them all lined up like wines by the glass in a restaurant. I numbered them and we did a blind tasting, pitting Girard's 2002 Cabernet Franc *** against a 2000 Ch. Charmail **, a 2005 Mondavi Napa Valley Merlot, 2000 Ch. Haut Gravet ** and the fifth wheel 2005 La Crema Pinot Noir Russian River Valley *

It was interesting to note how these wines had evolved over the past 3-6 days. The Mondavi 2005 Merlot, which we had opened the night before but left half-full, uncovered, had already spoiled. The wines closed with Vacuum Sealers had performed the best, clearly evolving in bottle (Girard and Charmail). The wines on which we'd just put back the corks had stayed good, but had been better fresh (La Crema and Haut Gravet). The wine left open had spoiled (duh).

The backbone in Girard's 2002 Cabernet Franc *** had emerged finally and it showed complex notes of spice, fresh red bell pepper, celery and a strong coconut note on the finish. This had deepened and evolved well beyond the bright and luscious strawberry notes it displayed upon first opening.

The 2000 Chateau Haut Gravet * a little known St. Emilion Grand Cru, displayed strong but round, dry tannins, with mint and pine on the back end, and I would have fingered it for a Heitz Cellars Napa Valley. This had a mild strawberry bubblegum tinge that had not been there when we opened it.

Chateau Charmail 2000 ** received 92 points from Robert Parker. This was a near ringer for aged Chateauneuf du Pape. It displayed rich caramel notes with mild CdP spice, burnt toast, and rich round tannin on the finish.

After the spoiled Mondavi merlot, the La Crema pinot noir * was easy to spot. Light to medium bodied now, with some overripe vegetable notes, and sweet but elegant scents of dried herbs, this was strong on the attack and mellow on the finish.