Excuse Club Banquet Wine Candidates. For Poon. so, kk, x, pau, vicky, ben, rosalia, wai, bigland, wilson, tony, wynne 2004/08/13

Year	Wine	Price	Rating
2002	Arnoux Pere et Fils, Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune Excuse: Banquet Wine Candidate. I have avoided buying Bordeaux and most Rhone wines because of their needs to air. So I think I'll put a Burgundy in the line up. Raspberry, mineral, acidic, kind of watery. Does evolve better in an hour. That doesn't count in banquet wine situation. - so - ws	14.99	**
2001	Concannon Cabernet, California Central Coast Excuse: Banquet Wine Candidate. Really inexpensive. The label is impressive, Go to http://sohim.tripod.com/images/concannon.gif to see. The photo wasn't too well done. It is shiny silver in color. Wine has unelegant fruit (somewhat sugary), herb, vegetal. - so - ws	6.99	**
2002	Goat-Roti, S. Africa Excuse: Banquet Wine Candidate. The name Goat-Roti is a word play on the Northern Rhone region Cote-Roti. The wine is made in the same style: Syrah with a bit of Vigonier (a white grape) added. This wine is very well made with jam, gamy fragrance, tea leaves, berry, quite concentrated, med to full body, quite long finish. One bit of caution: the taste is quite "advanced" and may not be appealing to people not familiar with Northern Rhone wines. I should mention 91 points Wine Spectator. - so - ws	14.99	****
2002	Montes Alpha Cabernet, Colchagua Valley Excuse: Banquet Wine Candidate. A consistent good deal from Chile. This wine has herbal aroma, particularly licorice. Taste of plumn. Med body, soft tannins. Pleasant and easy to appreciate. - so - ws	14.99	***
2001	Chateau St. Jean Cabernet, Sonoma County Excuse: Banquet Wine Candidate. Chateau St. Jean is quite consistent with their Cabernets and for the marvellous 2001 vintage, I think they should do a good job. The wine has a bit of tar and spice, mostly blackberry and herbs. has a long finish. Somewhat towards the simple side. A step better than the Montes Alpha, but not impressive. Crystal liked this wine the best among the line up. 87 pt WS. - so - ws	18.99	***
2002	Justin Cabernet, Paso Robles Excuse: Banquet Wine Candidate. Very complex spicy cherry flavor, very concentrated also, vanilla, med to full body, med to full finish. Definitely more power than the St. Jean perhaps due to its younger age. Four members like this wine the best: pau, wynne, wai, wilson. Ties with the next: Rosemount GSM. The Justin has a new dark red label that many think is suitable for banquet purpose. There are also opinions (mine included) that think the label design falls under the cheap wine category. See http://sohim.tripod.com/images/justin.jpg - so - ws	19.99	****
2000	Rosemount GSM, McLaren Vale-Barossa Valley Excuse: Banquet Wine Candidate. Tar, bacon, strawberry, very elegant nose, jammy cherry flavor, chalky, very full body, very long finish. I like this the best. Many points given to the soupy full body. Four members ranked this their best: me, kk, ben, tony. 91 pt WS. The label is also quite elegant. See http://sohim.tripod.com/images/gsm.jpg - so - ws	19.99	*****