Match 5: McManis Cabernet Sauvignon vs. Domain Saint Gayan

Please do excuse your faithful commentator for not being that much faithful. I am, mea culpa, almost a week late. That said, let me tell you about last Friday's match.

The wines were decanted one hour before the match

The Brutal Judge was not enthusiastic, I wasn't either. One of the wines was his sure bet to win the world cup, the other would probably be too young. When the glasses arrived, we couldn't really tell them apart. The color was basically the same: a gorgeous violet-red.

I have to confess I had a bit of a cold that day, so my nose wasn't working as it should. The thing is I could really smell the first wine. The scent of blackcurrant, toasted almonds, honeycombs and a lot of vanilla were impressive. As to the second wine, I couldn't detect anything. The Brutal Judge informed me afterwards that it had notes of cherry, violet and toasted spices, the kind you mix when you want a flavorful curry. My nose was off.

Almost no difference in color.

 Then we tasted both wines. The first was good in the beginning. Not much structure, sure. But kind of nice at first, with lots of vanilla and honey. That was basically it. It's acidity was off balance and, despite the very long finish, you got that feeling in your mouth like when you eat something really salty. I have to say I spend the whole evening drinking water... The second wine was a whole different story. You could taste plums, lots of fruit and liquorice. It had a very long and agreeable finish and well-balanced tannins.

But there's always something. I confess the fragrance of the first wine really did it for me. And not being able to smell the second one made me not like it as much. So I voted for the first one, whereas the Brutal Judge voted for the second. After a long time discussing it, we reached a verdict: the winner was the second wine. I had to concede because of my nose. Had I been completely sound, the tie would probably have been avoided.

The first wine remained almost untouched.

The identity of the wines was not much of a mystery. You could see that the first one was younger and the oak had not had time to be absorbed, so to say. It was, of course, the American McManis. Domain Saint Gayan goes through to the next match a worthy contender.

Match 7 is in a couple of hours. Let's see if I can write about it with as little delay as possible.

Match 3: Dona Maria vs. Passo delle Mule

Due to stock reasons we decided to begin this World Cup round with the odd matches, we had the first one a couple of weeks ago, then we had number three: Dona Maria vs. Passo delle Mule. Do not, O Patient Reader, try to look for match number two in the google search box, you will not find it yet.

Dona Maria 2007 vs. Passo delle Mule 2008

 That said, we kicked-off last friday afternoon with a much anticipated tasting. Would the Italian wine take revenge on the Portuguese for the first match result? Or would the Portuguese reds keep on winning the challenges?

The Brutal Judge and myself had two glasses before us that showed interesting colors and were actually very similar: both were ruby-red, but the second wine was slightly deeper than the first. When we took a whiff, the first one smelled of ripe red berries, strawberry and a bit of sweet cherry. The second one had hints of prunes, leather, some kind of greenish wood like pine, a bit of violets and a lot of dead horse in the sun making everyone miserable with the stench. Not a promising start for wine number two. A whole hour in the decanter wasn't enough to tame it.

The defeated wine remained in the glass. 

When we tasted the first wine, the red berries and strawberries from its bouquet were there, as was a hint of ripe, delicious figs. Its structure was immaculate with well balanced tannins and it had a nice, long finish. Overall, an elegant wine. The second wine, however, kept on disappointing. You could barely sense the hints of prune, violets and leather due to its acidity. It wasn't well balanced, it wasn't elegant, it was as though you were drinking homemade vinegar from 1952, probably the year the horse died of sun exposure.

It wasn't really a hard decision. The first wine won unanimously. When the label was revealed, it read Passo delle Mule. To quote the Brutal Judge: "The mule outran the horse". Of course it wasn't that much of a race, since the horse died at the starting line... No one expected Dona Maria to lower the standards this much. It will be hard to find a wine that is worse, I'll tell you that! All in all, a fair victory for Passo delle Mule.