Trimbach is great for dry. I would also highly recommend Joh. Jos. Prum, especially if you want off-dry or sweeter. Off-dry pairs great with something with spice like a curry.
dipped into my Cedric Bouchard stash last night. Went to a nice BYOB restaurant. Best way I can describe it was “flavorful” but that would not so it justice. Just a spectacular wine. My dad is more a Bordeaux guy and he loved it. Certainly worth what I paid over a year ago. but I would probably not buy at current price (if can find).
Anyone have a good wine rack that you prefer/recommend? Looking for gift ideas and I need somewhere to store my bottles when they come in from my wine club. I don’t have a big collection, but I’d like to someday.
For me it’s form over function. Picked up some unfinished ones from world market for cheap after coupons. if you are decent at woodworking or know a carpenter then I’m sure you could get one made for much cheaper. https://www.worldmarket.com/product/pine-44-bottle-wine-rack.do?sortby=ourPicksAscend&from=fn
Had one of the best wines of my life last night— the 2001 Gravner Rosso Rujno. Just an incredible perfume that elicited a “holy shit” from the MS. If it weren’t blind I would have called Monfortino Riserva- a wine 4x the price. Also had a 2003 Turo d’ Mota Cava from Recaredo that was nice but a little too oxidative for my untrained palate.
Ha! I’ve had Monfortino once (2002- supposed bad vintage) in my life and it left and impression. The Gravner was better.
Got the email from B Cellars for the 2020 Beckstoffer vintages. Debating on whether or not to get anything as I’m worried about smoke taint. Any thoughts?
I don't subscribe, but I think Jeb Dunnuck published a few hundred notes on Napa w/ naming names on which were affected by smoke. Might be a good resource if you're spending that much for bottles in a smoke year.
I would be stunned if they didn’t refund you if you opened a bottle and thought it was tainted. Would also be very surprised if they would sell smoke tainted wines
Got 5 bottles and one the bottles looks like it has a pushed cork to me. Am I making a big deal out of nothing? The foil is really tight so I don’t think it had a lot of room to move. Four are noticeably below the lip and one is noticeably above. Is it poor handling or just a variation in bottling?
I don't know B Cellars, so take this with a heavy grain of salt. But if a winery were to acknowledge that one of their (very expensive) wines had smoke taint, that would set a pretty dangerous precedent for them and I'd imagine they'd also not want that reputation hit–that they released a smoke tainted wine knowingly or unknowingly. That's why I would be surprised if ANY Napa winery was willing to do a refund or exchange for customer's suspecting smoke. If B Cellars did, they're obviously someone who deals in good faith, even if they were to say "Hey, we think you're wrong but want you to have a bottle you really enjoy, so here's this".
The industry is overly cautious to a fault with smoke taint. Tons of grapes were left unharvested in 2020 because of the fear of smoke taint in that area that were later tested and were perfectly fine. Those that did harvest I can about guarantee you did micro fermentations and sent that and bunch samples to labs to see if there were elevated compound markers. Just because smoke is in a vineyard does not mean the grapes have any damage. The smoke density, the duration of the smoke, and how far it is from the source amongst many other factors dictate whether or not smoke taint occurred on the grapes. Long story short, you can safely assume a Napa grower did adequate testing in advance both of the grape bunch and of a micro fermentation to see if there were any sensory issues. If it's released you are likely fine. The industry prior has gone overboard on not harvesting grapes that might have issues before actually doing adequate testing. 2020 was the year increased and improved testing methods were implemented in the industry.
Just con off the smokey wine on the bbq industry. Just need some clever marketing and they'll eat that shit up.
I mean, yes and no. There were healthy grapes left to rot, absolutely. But a lot of people had very little time to act and their choices had a lot of money on the line, so I'm not going to pretend like everyone who either left grapes on the vine or harvested in full did so with all the information they could possibly have. With that said, the bolded part here is what I actually disagree with. Of the 300-400 wines I've tasted from Sonoma (80% being areas affected by smoke) and Napa from 2020, I'd say upwards of 10% or so showed real smoke taint on opening or with air. Obviously 90% being fine is a very good thing–though I know for a fact that many were treated to strip that smoke out. But 10%+ is a pretty bad sign at that sample size.
What are people dropping or adding for lists/allocations? 2022 I was added to SQN last year so I let my Saxum go. 2023 I’m considering dropping Horsepower. I’m on Cayuse & No Girls and I prefer both and they’re cheaper. I think I’d rather just request an additional Cayuse allocation instead of buying the HP. Four Eleven/Sunday Wine Club (Gramercy/Bledsoe collaboration) because the store is closing. It was a cool mixture of 6 wines selected and sent quarterly. I’m hoping something comes back in its place. A couple years ago I moved from Chappellet full club (2 case/year) to just an allocation of Hideaway Cab (3 bottles/yr). In its place I added Frog’s Leap (1 case/yr)
I will stay on Kosta Browne & Kongsgaard for sentimental reasons but perhaps reduce buying- and they make great gifts. I also really enjoy Aubert Chardonnay so will stay- we will see how much I buy of the Jan 10 allocation. Not sure if these are “allocation” but will continue to buy William & Mary, Arnot-Roberts, Jolie-Laide and a few Cimarossa (including olive oil). Overall I need to slow down buying as I went crazy in 2020/2021 with buying.
Yeah, I need to bring inventory down myself. That is why I’m cutting something when I get added. I would also like to increase breadth. That was part of what disappoints me about the one wine store/club closing. It was well curated and good exploration of wines I wouldn’t pick out myself.
I've dropped most of my lists but still keep Ceritas and Sandlands. But my Ceritas spend has gone way down. I basically only buy Peter Martin Ray Vyd from them now. Sandlands I take every single bottle they offer me.
Fun Xmas night when four of us went through a bottle of 2104 Mercury Head, 2 bottles of 2017 Saunter Eagle Summit and 2 bottles of 2016 Cade Reserve. Sublime stuff.
A fantastic and beguiling wine. Nose is immediately slightly grassy sauv Blanc, but much more complex. Palate says more Chardonnay. should be fantastic with homemade spinach lasagna what’s everyone opening for NYE? I’m thinking a NV billecart salmon rose.
Berserker day is going on. I already snagged a case of Franny Beck Pinot. Anything else look interesting to any one else?
Dave Phinney was the creator. He is doing other projects now including Locations. I haven’t had them but it may be worth checking out because I’m assuming it’s a similar style. Otherwise, Turley Zinfandel is one that comes to mind. It isn’t going to be any cheaper though. If you like that style you’ll probably like things from warmer areas such as Paso Robles.
Arnot Roberts spring release is live. The que Syrah got 100 pts from Antonio Galloni. Also have a red blend that looks interesting.