The wines were opened and decanted prior to dinner. We tried to match as many as we could with the menu. The following are some impressions on the wines and their accompanying foods. 

Moulin Touchais 1990: The nose was initially shut down, yet as it opened, it began to show some Seville orange, apricot compote, candied quince, mango and canned mandarin orange aromas. It was a rich and oily textured wine, with acids that balanced the residual sugars nicely. As it continued to open, the nose showed some mineral, chalk and wet stone. Its finish was long, and it featured much of the bouquet with an additional sweetness of honey and fig. It was a great match with the Artic Char, simply due to the acidity and sugar balance of the preserved lemons.

Bonnes Mares Drouhin Laroze 1995: Although I flew into Vancouver carrying it carefully on my lap as to not disturb the sediment, its colour was somewhat subdued by its cloudy appearance. It was decanted about forty-five minutes before we drank it. It was to be the first red of the evening to be matched with the pork tenderloin. 

It offered a forceful nose of cedar, black cherry, toffee, caramel, a trace of mint and toasty vanilla. The mid palate was a little tight, although the pork did help to enhance the flavours of plum, dark chocolate, forest floor and morels. Although the dusty tannin on the finish confirmed its youth, it was drinking really well and married with the wild mushroom component of the pork dish superbly. 

M. Chapoutier De La Sizeranne Hermitage 1993: Once this had sat in my glass for a while, its alluring nose showed a funky blend of leather, walnut shell, tar, liquorish, Asian tea, black pepper and porcini mushroom. With even more time in the glass, a little poo started to make its presence known. 

The palate really focused on rich and velvety layers of cassis backed up by a silky dark, but dusty, streak of chocolate. After about four hours in the glass, when I went to revisit it, holy cow, the funk had turned to wet donkey fur (childhood memory from rainy days on English beaches) and the poo element had increased quite substantially. It still displayed some fruit on the palate, but by now, it had started to fade leaving the wine with an impression of being a tad dried out.

It was a wonderful pairing with the deftly cooked rack of lamb. The grain mustard 
complemented the spice elements and the subtle sweetness of the carrot rosti was equal to the fruit of the wine. Any tannin was tamed by the richness of the protein. A textbook pairing. 

Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon Eisle Vineyard 1999: Having never tasted Araujo before, I was eager to see what the hype was all about. I have heard both good and bad things about Araujo. I smiled, as fortunately only the good rumors held true.

It showed rich dark fruit, milk chocolate, a trace of tar, dill, vanilla and toast. The fruit was clearly the principal aroma. The ripeness on the palate was perfect. It delivered blackberry, cassis, thyme, blackcurrant ripple and a hint of coffee grounds. It continued to show more, sip after sip and each layer of fruit became more defined. The long finish focused on sweet rich black fruit, hints of bracken, a touch of vanilla and Asian spice. It could be one of the most harmonious Californian Cabernets I have tasted. Paul thought it to be the wine of the evening. He got no argument from me.

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 1999: If this had been poured blind I would swear it was one of those in your face style Ozzie monsters. Rich sweet red and black fruit aromas flew from the glass, along with sweet oak, a wisp of green pepper, cake spice and lavender. The mouth was quite spicy and full of blackberry, cassis and sweet oak. Its finish was long. I did enjoy it, but judging from comments around the table, it was not showing as well as it potentially should have. 

 Sine Qua Non Syrah In Flagrante 2000: I am still unsure if this was my wine of the night. As it paired so well with the tenderloin, it might just take Arauja by a nose. Its rich bouquet delivered blueberry, blackberry, violet, morel mushroom and moss. A secondary layer rolled out the earthy aroma of rich black-composted soil moments after a rainstorm. Although it had an amazing concentration of fruit and its texture was thick and full of glycerin, it managed to be perfectly harmonized in both flavour and its refreshing degree of acidity. 

The finish was unfortunately saddening. I was depressed when my glass was empty. It was a most complete wine that lingered long enough to leave me wanting more for the rest of the evening. As for the food match, the gently poached Angus tenderloin had just reached the perfect degree of rareness. The richness of the reduced poaching liquid was in perfect tune with the wine and the slight saline quality of the battered crab added another dimension that melded with some of the earthier tones of the wine. This new millennium style of surf and turf and this “kick arse” Syrah sure put a tilt in me 
kilt. 

Behrens & Hitchock Syrah Chien Lunatique 2001: When one meets another wine lover for the first time, no one wants to trash a wine that someone else has contributed to a tasting. When I first inhaled this, my first thought was not one I really wanted to share. However, everyone soon agreed there were some serious flaws and issues with this wine. It was ugly right from the get go. The daunting aromas of acetate, nail varnish remover, alcohol and compost sent a strong message that this might wine might be best, avoided. I of course chose to ignore the warnings! 

In all fairness to the wine I did re visit it at the conclusion of the night. It had picked 
up some animal, bacon fat and earthy aromas, but the nasty notes still dominated. This was the only wine still left in a decanter and I am sorry for the staff that would inevitably drink it once we had vacated the building.

As the end of the night drew closer, I came to the realization that taking notes on the 
stickies might prove superfluous as both my taste buds and brain cells were quickly 
shutting down. Instead I have borrowed notes from Bill and Mishy. It was interesting to 
witness their cross table discuss on these wines. They did seriously differ in their 
opinions.

1999 13th Street Wine Co. Sandstone Select Late Harvest Riesling, Niagara Ontario: