Marie Rose Timbers

DAY THREE amongst the bright, shiny, pretty-patter endorsed bottles has been exhausting. So much vies before my eyes!

Amongst the liquid fray, this Chilean Grand Reserva Carménère '05 from the Yali Valley (also the name of the local tuneful finch) was the most intense ensemble of Bordeaux's long-lost Carmine leaf-tinged variety I have brushed against.

With blatant caffeine, milky chocolate and various smashed peppercorns, I am pleased to see Carménère is doing for Chile what Malbec has done for Argentina and to a lesser degree, Tannat for Uruguay.

From California, Stag's Leap '04 'Artemis', meaning 'maiden goddess of the hunt', was deeply disappointingly not worth hunting down. A Cabernet with brambly blackcurrant, present day Marie Rose timbers washed through on the nose. Barely submerged weeds emerged on the palate (possibly from the Franc use of Cabernet Franc), followed by a flowering of anise. The chap pouring did have a fine tailor, however.

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Packing up the two-tiered stand, I was astonished to see an elderly gent procure bags of nearby bottles bereft of permission, particularly as his selection consisted of daft rosés... Show some class!