Local French restaurant was doing a sale on inventory so I picked a few with the help of the wine director. I’m much more knowledgeable in California wine. Mix Rabid how did I do?
The Deux Terres is really delicious, basically a Passetougrain style if I remember right. Clerget is a real up and comer, the wines are fucking awesome. Pacalet is outstanding as well. For some reason thought they only did Burgundy, so I'd imagine their Cornas is lights out.
Faiveley is a large well known negociant of reliable quality. By Pinot standards, Gevrey-Chambertin tends to be bigger and more structured/tannic that can use a few years (7 from vintage is a good rule of thumb) or decant and pairs with heartier fare than you usually do for Pinot Noir (like beef tenderloin or duck is classic). It isn’t my personal favorite village but it’s very popular so that may just be personal taste or I haven’t had a great one. I have had the non old-vines (vielle vignes) from Faively and it was good. I’m not familiar with the producer on the Volnay but I personally love the village of Volnay as the best value in Bourgogne. They tend to be red fruited with a spice note. They have a bit of structure to age well but they’re open enough to drink early too. It doesn’t have any grand cru vineyards or the volume of neighboring Pommard so it gets overlooked which is good for prices. I’ve bought a couple Santenots but haven’t drank either yet. I just remember it is supposedly one of the better vineyards in Volnay. Mercurey is in the Cote Chalonaise which is mostly white wine so it also gets forgotten and tends to be good value. I’ve only had a couple and can’t make any generalizations at this point. Cornas tends to be a more meaty and rustic Syrah than Cote Rotie or Hermitage and much more consistent than St. Joseph. I tend to like them.
Can't remember price from last bottle but this is good if you see it under $30ish. Pretty sure lb bought the remaining inventory so it pops up often.
I was very happy to read this post because in perusing this thread I can see there are a lot of guys with educated opinions. Mine is not. I am very late to appreciate wine and must admit my favorite is simple sweet red table wine. I would however like to know how I can build upon my new found enjoyment. I expect the folks with educated palates to laugh but I absolutely love this stuff and apparently so do many others as it is hard for my local Total Wine to keep it in stock. People run out with multiple cases of it.
Don't let anyone laugh at you for the wine you drink and the glass you use, especially if you're a Rutgers fan. They're laughing at your team, not your wine.
Try a Schiava if you like sweet reds. It’s an Italian grape that tastes like cotton candy. https://www.wine.com/product/nals-margreid-galea-schiava-2018/547699
For those like CoastalOrange who are interested in my company's webinars, our August series is pretty damn compelling. I'm going to be hosting Raj Parr (Aug. 12) and Sashi Moorman (Aug. 19, 26) of Sandhi/Evening Land/Piedrasassi/Domaine de la Côte. Once I have the wine packs put together, I'll post here with a link.
Drinking a nice little Tenuta Di Arceno Chiani Classico 2017. I think the 2016 tasted better but that's just my pallet.
Virtual tasting webinar wine packs are now live: https://www.winestyr.com/august-2020-virtual-tastings Hope to see some of you at each!
Really nice. Strawberry, tart raspberry with a touch of white pepper. Earthy while still smooth, nice balance and not overly acidic. Great stuff to share with friends.
I'll admit that I haven't caught the Dirty & Rowdy bug like some have, even though we work with them. Another producer of ours, Paix Sur Terre, produces more Bandol-esque Mourvedre down in Paso and those wines fucking rock.
Has anyone bought/tried anything from the denegoce offerings? I have 1 case coming but doesnt ship til October.
I drink almost no Cab but grabbed a case of No. 1 in hopes that at the very least, I'll have a very serviceable house wine for friends.
Yung/Embree bought a couple bottles of what our wine club described as a “chilled red.“ Would you serve at 45~ degrees?
Throw in your regular fridge about an hour before serving or wrap a wet paper towel around the bottle and put in the freezer for 9 minutes IMO. I'm less good with temperatures, so those are my go-tos for chilled red (or white FWIW).
Popped a 13 Corison Kronos last night. Good - but still could use some years in the cellar. Such a “big” year it’s going to need time.
Haven’t really jumped into wine being a beer guy and all, but have a wine guy trading me for beer and this is the first bottle I received from him (2000 vintage). Really enjoyed it, pretty full body, jammy blackberry and on the sweeter side. Would drink again. He wants to continue to trade for fruited sour beer so why not.
Cathy's wines are my favorite in the valley most vintages. A buddy of mine is using my EuroCave to store his wine while he lives out of country and it's just mags of new and old Corison all over the place. Not opening every last one of them has been my best effort in self control ever.
Haha I feel ya. I have quite a few in the cellar going back to 2012 including the 100 pt RP 2012 Kronos. She also more recently started doing a Cab Franc offering under an alternate label (Helios). It’s lovely.
Yeah the Helios wines are the gateway drug. I used to sell Corison in NY for Skurnik and that's where I fell in love. Visiting the winery is amazing, for those ever in Napa. Usually have some library wines open to taste as well.
They just offered up 2007 Kronos today for 700 for 2 to club members. 100% cab franc is always delicious. What do you think of the Sunbasket offerings?
Yeah I saw that. I like the Sunbasket wines, quite a bit. I've got a bunch of Corison for sale from a collection I share with said friend that I've been trying to unload but for some reason, even here in Northern California, takers are hard to find. Our prices are silly cheap too.