Chateau Curton La Perriere 2005 Bordeaux Cuvee No5

So I just found out this wine is imported by my favorite British Columbia Importer Freehouse wine and spirits so props to them, a great company fantastic people, I have met almost all there stuff at tasting and they have flown in 4 wine makers that I have me and talked to and even cooked dinner for one the guy who brought in a 20year vertical tasting! Oh and they import the St Cosme Rhone and Chateau Pesquie, both wine makers that I met too

That being said, this wine Chateau Curton la Perriere Curvee No5 Bordeaux 2005. Is from what I can tell is 100% Merlot 25year old, not fined or filtered. 17.99 Canadian! and I saw it for 10 British Pounds I mean that's a steal in Canada.

Colour Dark-Purple
Aroma: Spice, fruit, menthol a bit on day two with a prune/spice/molasses combo.
Taste: Good fruit, acidity tamed with decanting very silky def. needs decanting even for 30mins. Day2, fruit is there even darker and more brooding, almost plum/spice/prune combo very very nice

Overall/Reflection:
Score: 90

THE 100-POINT RATING SCALE (Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate describes this in more detail.)
• Extraordinary (96-100 points)
• Outstanding (90-95)
• Very Good to Excellent (85-89)
• Good (80-84)
• Average (75-79)
• Below average (70-74)
• Avoid (50-70)

Chateau Saint-Christoly - Medoc 2005

Had a bottle of this when the case first arrived about last year I think or maybe 6 months ago I have no idea. What I do remember is that when I had it, it was totally Off balanced and heavy on the acid. Maybe Bottle Shock? Most Likely. Now having it drinking a lot better, but this wine just about tore off my tongue haha.

The Stats:

Chateau Saint-Christoly

Cru Bougeois 2005

Cabernet Sauvignon - Merlot

13.5%

Medoc

The Eye:

Dark In Colour The Look...it Looks like a big boy.

The Nose:

Pop'n'Pour - Aroma of Good Sweet Dark Blackberry, Cassis, With Vanilla, basically a Vanilla Heavy Sweet Compote

Next Day[Kept half a bottle] - Aroma now has lost all the sweetness of fruit and vanilla and has gone with the more Earthy, notes of Coffee, Eucalyptus bit has a "Syrupyness too it"

The Mouth:

Pop'n'Pour - Good Fruit nothing standing out but dark berries Aciditiy Check, Tannins Double Check, this boy is just tearing off my tongue the tannin structure speaks off good agability but probably won't drink again for another year

Next Day[Kept half a bottle] - Tannins are a lot smoother, but still grinding a bit, acid is present, Fruit has turned down from the "fruit bombyness" of the First Pour more red fruit showing now

Overall/Reflection:

I think this will age well, once the tannins calm down this should be just fine to drnik with a good meal

Zinfandel!

Zinfandel oh a wine with so much sugary syrupy goodness that it just doesn't seem right yet you just want to drink it down. Like Eating Dessert before dinner.

Zinfandel Barefoot Vineyard, there is no date on the bottle I assume its a blend of vintages friend had a magnum (cuz it was cheap 14$ for it Canadian) He had it opened for 5 days on his counter and the wine was still good, Must of been all the sugar in it preserving it like a Port or Sherry hah.

Colour: Had the Colour of a Dark Dark Purple Juice / Syrup
Aroma: Didn't pick up anything! I dont think my nose was working this day as the other Zin had nothing either.

Taste: Pure Blackberry Syrup! I mean I was looking for a wine that tasted like blackberry's I read all these notes about so and so having it. I know what blackberrys taste like I grew up picking them with my mom. This was like SUPER SUPER ripe blackberry then turned into a Syrup you would find at Ihop except not fake hah. very sugary.

14% Alc I think
From Lodi California

Butterfly Ridge Zin. 2005 [From my wine club cellar]

Colour: Completly different then the other had a hue of red instead of purple and way lighter in Colour
Aroma: Sweetness, Heat
Taste: Red Fruit, thick, from the look you wouldn't think it was that thick. The Red fruit was good type of tart but sweet can't remember the rest I took note too sheesh
Alc 13.8%
Amador County

Golden Mile Black Arts 5th Element (Now Road 13 Jackpot Series)

Like I posted before about Golden Mile it is now Called Road 13. I picked up a couple of there last vintages when they changed their name. They must of unloaded a lot of inventory at the BCLD to just sell their new label.

This is the Black Arts 5th Element (Now Called Jackpot 5th Element). I must say this bottle is classy were the new one is jsut casual I like this bottle a lot more. Its their Meritage Blend Merlot based.

Now on to the wine

The Stats:
Golden Mile Cellars (Now Road 13)
2005 5th Element Red (Now Jackpot Series line)
65% Merlot, 28% Cab Sauv, 4% Petit Verdot, 1% Cab Franc, 2% Syrah. (Syrah this year being the 5th Element)
13.7% Alc
Oliver, British Columbia [Aka, Golden Mile, Okanagan]
Winemaker - Michael Bartier

The Look:
very pretty to look at, you can tell its been sitting in some oak for awhile has the red colour with the tinge of brown in it. Very pretty. Dark Colours.

The Nose:
Smells of Dark Cherry's, A Syrup/Honey mixture very nice, little hints of coffee grounds.

The Taste:
You can tell when you drink this it has the ability to last, The Glass I'm reviving is what I Saved from last nights dinner (about 1/6 of a bottle) it still has great tannin structure, acidity. Definitely well made in that regard. Tho the only problem I find with it is that there is no fruit on the palate and to me that sucks because it has so much to make it awesome.

Overall:
Because there is no fruit on the palate I can't seem me getting excited about this vintage, I wouldn't pay 35$ for this. Ill try the next vintage. They do have a good winemakers and you can see in the wine it does have potential in the future.

Poplar Grove 2005 Merlot

The Stats:
Poplar Grove Winery 2005 Merlot [Okanagan / Naramata Bench]
95% Merlot
5% Malbec
14.2% Alc
18 Month French Oak
12 Month Bottle Aging
1100 Cases Produced

The Look:
Dark Ruby Colour Just a beautiful wine to look at bright, with the tinge of cherry on the edge leaning towards the brown side very pretty.

The Nose:
Fresh Cherry Juice, Smoke, Picking up some of the oak nose which I had picked up in the 04 but a lot less which I really like

The Taste:
Red Fruit on the Tart side (not pucker your lips tart) Sour Cherry, Kirsch Flavored. Has a hint of "Tonic Water minus the sugar" it made me want to grab some gin and limes, If you like Gin and Tonic then I guess its a good thing hah. Soft tannins, Medium body (it is a Merlot) Lots of acid in this wine I would definitely wait to drink this wine needs a year minimum.

This wine would definitely benefit from letting it rest in your cellar I have one bottle left Maybe next year Ill try it again to see how it is doing.

Food and Air Defiantly the way to go!

First of all I would decant this wine for an hour to two hours in decanter (I have a large base decanter) or at least a couple hours if just opening the bottle.
That being said the colour when first poured comes out light (Im thinking it is young vines) had defintily has the colour of it being sitting in oak (21months says the label)
The Stats:
Poplar Grove Winery
Syrah 2005
100% Syrah
21 Months in French Oak
8 month bottle ageing
475 Cases Produced
13.8% Alc

The nose on first smell is off Dried Sour Cherries, syrupy fruit hint of strawberry leather for sure and a touch of oak. Now when First smelled it had some game notes that I would say you would find in a burgundy red but when I tried it after an hour was no longer there. The oak at about 1.5hr to 2hr came through from the decanter just big wiffs the same smell from the Poplar Grove 04 Merlot, must be the oak they use because it has a smell that is uncanny. Syrupy Eucalyptus notes. Also Notes of leather definitely.
The taste feels like it has a cool climate character like Rhone Valley but really far north not deep south. Notes of tart cherry mixed with cranberries, nice tannins easy drinking now with nice acid which is great for food the finish is medium length.
Now the beauty of this wine is the way it goes with food, I had a tangy Salad and a Rich Creamy Polenta and both went together which is why this is a must have for dinner. If you going to drink this have it with food not by itself it shrines through with food.
Side note: About 3 hours later when I poured another glass the wine was darker no longer as light as I would say