The Wine Thread

Originally Posted by mpd340

Several good cheap brands are Barefoot and Yellow Tail. Usually about $6-7 bucks a bottle. They have Merlot, Cabs , Sauv, Moscatos and several others. Worth a try!

Spend $5-6 more and you can find some good stuff. Yellow Tail to me is like the BudMillerCoors of the beer world. There's no "terroir" with Yellow Tail. I know many people like it, and if that's what tastes good to them, that's no problem with me.

Ok, some tasting notes on the 2008 Thierry & Guy Fat Bastard Merlot: (100% Merlot, from France, not sure the exact region)

First off, great rich red color in the glass.
On the nose, I'm smelling ripe cherries, strawberries, hint of cream(vanilla maybe), and raisins.
On the palate, up front there are sour cherries, ripe red fruit, and some earthy flavors.
To be honest, this wine drops off quickly. I like wines that are strong on the mid-palate, and have a good finish. This wine has decent stuff up front, but you loose the flavors fairly quick. I have had $20 merlot from Cali thats been worse. Not a terribly merlot. I think this bottle was $12.

Originally Posted by ChicagoWhiteSox

Ok, some tasting notes on the 2008 Thierry & Guy Fat Bastard Merlot: (100% Merlot, from France, not sure the exact region)

First off, great rich red color in the glass.
On the nose, I'm smelling ripe cherries, strawberries, hint of cream(vanilla maybe), and raisins.
On the palate, up front there are sour cherries, ripe red fruit, and some earthy flavors.
To be honest, this wine drops off quickly. I like wines that are strong on the mid-palate, and have a good finish. This wine has decent stuff up front, but you loose the flavors fairly quick. I have had $20 merlot from Cali thats been worse. Not a terribly merlot. I think this bottle was $12.

Sounds like you were describing a Cab not a Merlot.

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by ChicagoWhiteSox

Spend $5-6 more and you can find some good stuff. Yellow Tail to me is like the BudMillerCoors of the beer world. There's no "terroir" with Yellow Tail. I know many people like it, and if that's what tastes good to them, that's no problem with me.

I am sure there are posts on Yellow Tail somewhere in this thread, wine is not the first thing that comes to mind when discussing YT, their pride in the chem lab size and effort is. I'd rather drink Bud/Miller/Coors before I would even consider drinking Yellow Tail. Or stick with water.

At YT price point much better wines, real wines, can be had from Fetzer, which is a major step up in quality, IMO.

Bogle, Sebastiani are very affordable and great producers. Lower priced Rosenblum offerings are seriously good as well (Chateau Le Paw?).

[OnlyDryReds]

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

I am sure there are posts on Yellow Tail somewhere in this thread, wine is not the first thing that comes to mind when discussing YT, their pride in the chem lab size and effort is. I'd rather drink Bud/Miller/Coors before I would even consider drinking Yellow Tail. Or stick with water.

At YT price point much better wines, real wines, can be had from Fetzer, which is a major step up in quality, IMO.

Bogle, Sebastiani are very affordable and great producers. Lower priced Rosenblum offerings are seriously good as well (Chateau Le Paw?).

Fetzer makes a nice gewurztraminer, I agree. I have found some of the Robert Mondavi products close to same price at YT and to be much better. They make a meritage, which of course is just a bordeaux blend, but my wife and I find for something less then 15 a bottle is very drinkable IMO. But as before, each person has a different taste, and of course someone who has been drinking wine for longer period usually has a dryer taste. Hey I am someone who enjoys a petite verdot in a single varital, and btw that is a wine I think stands up to a nice smoke very well.

Originally Posted by OnlyDryReds

Fetzer makes a nice gewurztraminer, I agree. I have found some of the Robert Mondavi products close to same price at YT and to be much better. They make a meritage, which of course is just a bordeaux blend, but my wife and I find for something less then 15 a bottle is very drinkable IMO. But as before, each person has a different taste, and of course someone who has been drinking wine for longer period usually has a dryer taste. Hey I am someone who enjoys a petite verdot in a single varital, and btw that is a wine I think stands up to a nice smoke very well.

How are the higher end Mondavi offerings?