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.