Sad to say, but I think my time buying Arnot-Roberts may be coming to a close. The Chardonnays have only gotten more austere without added complexity or fun. The Pinots are pretty uninteresting though I was never a fan. Syrah is their best category but I prefer those from Santa Barbara County when buying domestic. I used to love their Sauvignon Blanc and Ribolla but at $40, they're not a value anymore.
Cracked open my first bottle of this producer. Crazy expressive perfume on the nose. Vibrant on the palate. Very nice pairing with roast Turkey. One of the best wines I’ve had this year. Good value (I think) given what some appellation Sonoma Pinots are going for these days.
My mother-in-law is in town. On Wednesday night I opened a bottle of Saxum Hexe with the intention of only drinking half and saving (vacu-vin) the other half for tonight. I drank it at dinner. My MIL opted for ice water in a rocks glass. However, when she got down to the last quarter or so of her water she grabbed the bottle and poured a healthy pour in to her ice water. I'm so traumatized right now.
Its a long ways away but i am going to be in St. Helena area in the fall and am trying to plan out my trip. I am there Tuesday afternoon and will leave Saturday Morning. I am aiming for two places a day with the exception of Tuesday. This is my rough plan now and am looking for suggestions to mix in. We mainly drink Cabernet. I prefer bolder wines and my wife prefers a little more fruit forward and she also likes Rose. We would like the wine to be good but also am interested in the whole experience as we have never been to Napa before. Tuesday- Mayacamas Wednesday Thursday- Spottswoode Friday- Promontory and Far Niente
A couple suggestions working off the wineries you've got lined up: Stewart Cellars - Recommend booking the Nomad room. Blair is sourcing Beckstoffer fruit for multiple single vineyard expressions each year. Plus, you can get a killer lunch. Corison - The true monarch of Oakville for me. They've usually got some library wines lined up as well. Forman - Ric said he might be shutting down the tasting room soon so if they're still taking visitors, hard to find a more beautiful location in the hills above St. Helena. Larkmead - Probably one of two or three Cabs I drink from this far north in the valley.
I opened my first 2021 Willamette Valley Pinot (De Ponte Cellars Clay Hill). I don’t want to read too much into one entry level wine but it seemed fruitier than most years-so I assume ripe vintage-but it still had nice acidity. What is the general feeling about the 2021 vintage? It seemed like one that will be well liked. DistantFactor
It’s super hyped, and I think for good reason. I had a Beaux-Freres 2021 Tuesday night that was really, really good.
I prefer a bit less fruit and more earth but this definitely seemed like the type of vintage that gets rave reviews. It kept the acid though which is really important when you get warmer vintages.
When I got married in 2015, my wife's former boss and major wine guy was the officiant. He got her a bottle from her birth year but said it was swill and for decoration only. Never drank it as a result. I looked it up and it's this...what in the world? Link
What children's snack do you like most paired with wine? For me it's either Parmesan Goldfish or Simply Cheetos
Had the chance to be part of the first group to taste at the new Paul Lato facility. In the middle of nowhere in Santa Maria and not many people know about him but the wine is incredible. Didn’t taste anything less than 92 points. Lancelot was my favorite. They make the wine that French laundry sells as their own as well. Highly recommend their stuff.
Tried this the other day at a local restaurant. Wanted something different than usual champagne. Was recommended by Somm. The grape is Pelaverga- which I had never had before. Was really nice and great QPR.
Well, I'm launching my own wine club in an effort to slowly embark out on my own. Website is still pretty bare but if any of you are interested here's the site: https://www.domainecollective.com/about-us I'm also going to be sending out a bunch of specialty offers from now on (I've got access to a bunch of library stuff like old Ridge and Mondavi, Flaccianello, etc.) so DM if you want to hop on that list. In more important news, feel like us east coasters should be receiving our Sandlands and Ultramarine mailing list orders soon which is nice. I'm turning 35 in a month thinking of cracking open some UM bubbles to celebrate.
If you happen upon some Frederic Puffeney...buy all of it. Hard to think back to a $25 bottle that gave me as much pleasure as their 2018 arbois trousseau. Fuck me blind
What I have for my kids from their birth years (take as a sign of ageability): 2014: Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Laurène (Oregon Pinot $50-100 range) Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain (Napa Cab from Mtn AVA) Château Figeac (Bordeaux) 2018: Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Hideaway Vineyard (Napa Cab from Mtn AVA) De Ponte Cellars Pinot Noir Baldwin Family Reserve (Oregon PInot $50-100 range) Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru (Burgundy)
Doesn’t rain in the region for the year and all that matter? like for me my dad bought a ton of 89s from Bordeaux but my brothers are 93s from Napa because that was projected to be much better.
Moreso in France than the U.S. 2021 was a less than ideal vintage in Bordeaux. It looks better in Napa and Oregon.
This is exactly what I wanted to know. I’ll spend my money in Napa and Oregon for the oldest. Any idea how 23 is looking? Or still too soon?
I'm not bothering to track conditions throughout a summer or harvest but even if I was, too early to know with certainty.
Any of you guys lose anything in the underground cellars collapse? I was able to chargeback the few hundred i'd spent but it looks like most everyone got fucking shafted in the bankruptcy.
Rec’d this from a mailing list for 2023 Napa Spoiler The stakes are always high leading up to harvest. Flooding, fires, and frost are all in the deck. This year, Mother Nature dealt exceptionally generous cards. After a refreshingly wet winter and a mild spring, the vines thrived. “We had a perfect weather season leading up to harvest, which was a dream come true for any winemaker,” opens Yannick. Drought and warm conditions of the past 10 years have continued to push harvest earlier and earlier. But this year’s lack of extreme heat spikes during summer, a stark contrast to 2022, meant a slightly delayed yet fruitful growing season. “The stable weather meant that we could monitor the evolution of the grapes very closely, rather than having to be on standby for unfavorable conditions,” he adds. Broadly speaking, the wet winter and cooler spring—among the coldest on record—set Napa Valley’s harvest back a few weeks. These conditions caused the grapes to flower later, necessitating more time for them to ripen on the vine. “While it hasn’t been a typical year weather-wise in that aspect, we’ve grown accustomed to drought, heat, and fires in the last 10 to 12 years. It was refreshing to experience the kind of climate Napa was historically known for. Evidently, we’d grown accustomed to earlier harvests; Mother Nature had led us into some bad habits, so to speak,” muses Yannick. As fall rolled in, so did the rain. Rain in October could have spelled potential disaster with the increased risk of botrytis—a fungus that can be harmful to the vines if unchecked. Instead, after several years of severe drought, the abundant rains of 2023 provided much-needed relief to the vines. This rain was followed by a perfectly-timed heat spike in early October. “The heat helped raise the brix levels (sugar levels) in the grapes, pushing them to their peak maturity,”
Piedmont and Tuscany look strong, but France overall is pretty meh. Napa had a really nice bounce back year from 2020. All just depends on your price point. With Piedmont and Tuscany, you'll have to wait another year or two for the best to hit the market, but the likes of Vallana, ArPePe (not either region but Nebbiolo), and Antoniolo are good buys that age remarkably well for Nebbiolo, and in Tuscany I'd maybe off-set some Napa with super tuscans. Sangiovese looks like a banner showing in 2021 though, so go bigger some top end Rosso di Montalcinos like Valdicava, Lisini, and Ciacci Piccolomini.