David Beauroy’s Tasting Notes – January 6th Vintages Release

David Beauroy’s Tasting Notes – January 6th Vintages Release



$10-15 RANGE



WHITES



Miguel Torres Viña Esmeralda 2005, Spain – DO Catalunya, $11.95, p.7

A lovely blend of Moscatel (85%) and Gewurtz (15%). Clean and fresh with floral, basil, rosewater and honeyed notes. Slightly off-dry, long length and a crisp finish. Enjoy this terrific value with Prosciutto Melon.



Montez Champalimaud Paço de Teixeiro, Vinho Branco 2005, Portugal – Vinho Regional Minho, +21469, $12.95, p.28

Lots of kiwi, grapefruit, tropical fruit and floral notes here. Dry with a juicy peach-flavoured burst on the palate, medium body and a refreshing finish. Outstanding value from Portugal!



La Chablisienne Saint-Bris Sauvignon Blanc 2005, France-Burgundy, +641753, $15.95, p.9

Pale straw with crisp note of grapefruit and hints of cactus/aloe. Medium body with a pleasant salty citrus taste and a fine finish. Have it with Oysters.



REDS



Reine Didon Pinot Noir Grand Cru 2003, Tunisia – AOC Mornag, +8946, $12.95, p.26

Impressive stuff! In a blind tasting it would be picked as a French Pinot. Beautiful notes of strawberry and raspberry on the nose and palate. Dry, rich and medium body. Fantastic value!



Quinta de Camarate 2004, Portugal – Terras do Sado, +357962, $14.95, p.5

Wonderful! Deep ruby with lush ripe cherry, plum, and blueberry layers. Full and round and delicious. Great value!



$15-25 RANGE



WHITES



Waimea Estates Chardonnay 2003, New Zealand – Nelson, South Island, +650242, $18.95, p.25

Bright gold with tempting notes of lime cordial, butterscotch and smoke. Smooth and with a slightly viscous texture, med-full body and long length.



REDS



Guenoc Petite Syrah 2004, USA – California, +19935, $16.95, p.21

Deep purple/black with an attractive mix of figs, prunes, blue and blackberries, and cocoa. Dry, full and finely balanced. Great value from California!



Kilikanoon Blocks Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Australia – Clare Valley SA, +5199, 16.95, p.24

Dense and inky! Fantastic with notes of cassis, prune and smoke, followed by spicy mince tart flavours on the palate. A wine that commands your attention!



$25+



Vicchiomaggio La Prima Chianti Classico Riserva 2003, Italy – DOCG Tuscany, +682062, $34.95, p.28

Superb! Truly in fine form for maximum pleasure now! Dry, full and elegant. Lots of classic Chianti scents of plum, cinnamon, berries and cherry! Hard to go wrong with this!



Sherry & Scotch



Gonzàlez Byass Nutty Solera Oloroso, Spain – DO Jerez, +355204, $11.95, p.7

Pretty amber colour with clear notes of candied fruit and zest, raisins, fresh dates, marmalade and roasted almonds. Medium dry and soft with brilliant aroma replays on the palate. Have it on its own or with some good blue cheese.



Ardbeg 10 Years Old The Ultimate Single Islay Malt, Scotland, +560474, $74.95, p.19

Extraordinary! If you are a fan of the smoky and peaty style of Islay, then this will be a treat! So complex and layered that it feels as though you are tasting 2 or 3 different Malts. Full of candied fruit, toffee, smoke, citrus, pear, spring blossoms and more smoke! And there does not seem to be a finish...!

Wild Predictions for a Wired 2007

Here are some predictions for 2007:

* Google Stock Hits $1,000 per Share

* Internet Traffic Doubles ...

to 5,000 petabits per day by the end of 2007. And 80 percent of it is peer-to-peer file sharing, mostly Skype video and BitTorrent.

* BitTorrent on TiVo

Speaking of, digital video recorders get BitTorrent baked in, bringing internet video to the living room.

* Spam Doubles

No-brainer -- but no one cares because we're all using IM, especially at work.

* Second Life Ends a Life

Skullduggery in Second Life -- probably digital adultery -- ends in a real-life murder.

* Year o' the Laptop

Half of all new computers sold in 2007 will be laptops and 20 percent of those will be Apple's MacBooks.

* Print to Web

A major newspaper gives up printing on paper to publish exclusively online.

* Semel Says 'Sayonara'

Yahoo CEO Terry Semel discovers he wants to spend more time with his family.

* Apple Goes Apple

The entire Beatles catalog is licensed exclusively to iTunes for a year.

* HD-DVD Wins

HD-DVD is the clear winner over Blu-ray in the DVD format wars. Oh yeah, and the PS3 is a bust.

* Implantable Contact Lenses

Synthetic corneas will be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, allowing the shortsighted to have artificial contact lenses transplanted right into their eyes. No more popping out!

* Digg Becomes the New Friendster

Digg holds out for a big payday but ends up like Friendster (i.e., no friends).

* No More Dads

Artificial gametes made from female eggs are sold over the internet, making fathers biologically irrelevant.

* PaedoSpace

Sex offenders start their own social networking service. It's popular on Capitol Hill.

* Life on Mars

One of the Mars rovers lasts another year on the red planet (making it four years total). The other plunges into a crater.

* Greenland Becomes Green

As the ice melts, Greenland becomes literally green.

* Raelians Need Not Apply

A human embryo is cloned for real.

* First AT&T, Then Google

A whistle-blower reveals that the National Security Agency has been wiretapping Google for some time.

* Google Goes G-Man

Google gives up search queries to the feds. Likely scenario: The FBI asks who's been searching for terms like "dirty bomb" and Google hands over all the IP addresses.

* Don't Don't Be Evil

Google drops "Don't be evil" as its corporate mantra. Evil has its justifications, but no one likes a hypocrite.

* DNA Database for Athletes

To stamp out doping, the Olympic Committee orders all athletes to submit DNA samples to a global database, which matches blood found in doping forensics to cheats. Forensics include needles, tubes, bags of blood and skin cells on stacks of 100-euro notes seized at doping clinics.

* Online Sitcom Picked Up by Network

Encouraged by the news, the internet becomes home to 5,000 clones of Friends, shot by friends using their friends but unwatched even by their friends.

* They're Watching You

Congress passes a law requiring internet service providers to keep logs of all web traffic and e-mail for three years.

* NYT Goes Free

The New York Times opens its archives from behind the paid firewall, realizing it's more lucrative to be the internet's paper of record than charging readers for individual stories. Thankfully, Thomas Friedman's clichés and mixed metaphors remain behind the pay firewall for at least two weeks.

* MySpace Spaces Out

MySpace splinters as teens head for niche sites. New services that control profiles across multiple social networking sites begin to take off.