(Re-Tasted January 2012) ... In truth one of these wines should be in the Lost & Found edition, but out of the two: Southbrook 2001 Triomphe Cbernet Sauvignon and the 2002 Cabernet Merlot ... one was a complete failure and the note would read "blech" ... so instead I decided to put them together here. Funny part is, the better wine is not the one you'd expect.
Starting with the Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon, the (at the time) high end wine on the Southbrook depth-chart - I am sad to report that this wine was 'buggy' ... what I mean by that is that in 2001 the big lady bug infestation in Ontario ruined a whole lotta wine ... Southbrook's 2001 Triomphe's seemed to have been immune to that until now, with ten years under its belt, with flavours and aromas becoming more delicate, the wine can no longer hide the fact the bug aromas and especially the flavour are in there. The better of the two wines turned out to be the 2002 Cabernet Merlot ... this wine was on the complete opposite end of the scale as it was on the "low end" of the Southbrook portfolio. Now some might not be partial to green bell peppers, considering it to be unripe fruit, but that aroma and flavour were real hallmarks in both the 2001 and 2002 of these wines. Today it is showing a roasted and peppered green pepper on both the nose and palate ... reminded me of shish-kabobs or veggies on the BBQ.
