The Wine Thread

[aldukes]

I've had these on Xmas and Xmas eve in no particular order:

2006 August Briggs Zinfandel
Napa, CA
Varietal: Zinfandel
Cost: $32
Nose- cherry, alcohol, raspberry
Taste- cherry, touch of vanilla, touch of mocha
Points: 86 - Very disappointing- way too fruity, tasted like a $10 bottle. ugh-next.....

2006 August Briggs Chardonnay
Russian River Valley, Sonoma, CA
Varietal: Chardonnay
Cost: $32
Nose- tropical fruits, lemon peel, ripe oranges
Taste- honey, lemon,lime,orange,vanilla
Points: 89 I liked this actually, nothing special but it wasn't overly buttery (thats a good thing) went well with broiled lobster and shrimp w/ oil and garlic

2006 Domaine Thibert Pouilly-Fuissé Les Vignes Blanches
Maconnais, Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Cost: $34
Nose- white flowers, violets, apples, melon
Taste: lots of citrus, those little violet candies, honey, minerals
Points: 90+ loved this, no food, just sipped

2007 Frederic Gueguen Chablis Les Grandes Vignes
Chablis,Burgundy, France
Varietal: Chardonnay
Cost: $28
Nose: lemon, grey stones (chalkboard), petrol, slight white flowers
Taste: lemon, grey stones, petrol
Points: 86- Drank over 2 days- first day got nothin' so I tried again the next night- same thing. Usually I love those tastes but this just didn't do it for me.

I had the Pouilly-Fuisse before I had the Chablis- its amazing how different these wines are. Its a great example of tasting the same grape from different terroir. Chablis and Pouilly-Fuisse are in the same region but these wines couldn't be more different.

Thanks for the notes Aldukes. Shame about the Gueguen. I have not tasted it yet, but I know that Alan Meadows felt it was so backward when he tasted it in October that her wouldn't even give it a score. He thought that the fermentation aromatics were too dominant to get a good feel for it. I loved the Grandes Vignes in 05' and 06' so perhaps this one will come around in a year or so.

~Vitis

[aldukes]

Backward is a great way to describe it- I wanted to like this so badly, but there was just nothing there.

I'm thinking about dropping off the August Briggs mailer. The past two shipments have been really disappointing. The Pinots and Cabs are good but the other offerings have been blah at best.

Never had the August Briggs stuff but after your review of the Zin it's not making my "need to try" list.

If you can find Steel Creek Pinot from California give it a shot. Should be around $15. Tastes like Pinot and not syrah wich a lot of inexpensive pinots can taste like. Another one I like is Fleur de California which will run you around $16-$17

~Vitis

My all time fav is a Mondavi Special Reserve 2000 Cabernet Savignon Got a wooded box (case)of this wine,100$ a bottle and i have had no other wine that compares with this!!!

[aldukes]

What's everyone drinking tonight?

My friends are picking up a few different bottles of Prosecco.

[JohnnyFlake]

There will be only four of us tonight, and only three of us will be drinking. We have one none drinker! I plan to start out, pre-meal, with a bottle of Grand Vin De Graves "Pessac-Leognan" 1994 Chateau La Louviere that I purchased in 1998 while still living in Illinois, at $20 a bottle back then. After this bottle, I'll still have three left. During the meal, we'll enjoy a bottle or two, if needed (I have six), of Barossa Valley- South Australia 2006 Layer Cake Shiraz (about $15). Later, with dessert, we'll open a bottle of Graham's "Six Grapes" Reserve Porto (About $24).

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFlake

Grand Vin De Graves "Pessac-Leognan" 1994 Chateau La Louviere that I purchased in 1998 while still living in Illinois, at $20 a bottle back then.

That was the best $20 spent ever... How was the bottle?

[JohnnyFlake]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

That was the best $20 spent ever... How was the bottle?

I decanted this bottle about an two hours before pouring. I'm not sure how well it opened up in that amount of time. For me, it was more medium bodied, than full bodied, as I expected it to be. There were rich hints of blackberry, hints of currant and a distinct earthiness, with a touch of smokiness as well. My one guest and I really enjoyed it. My wife didn't care for very much.

Does anyone know what a bottle of this might sell for now days?

How can a wine be "too fruity"? It starts out as a rich, sweet, luscious fruit. It has to be turned into wine gently so as not to ruin it along the process. I would think the more of the original flavor that can be retained, the better. I love a strongly fruity wine with just enough tannins to smooth it out and give it staying power. Some people describe this as "jammy" or "porty". Mmmmm.

[aldukes]

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

How can a wine be "too fruity"? It starts out as a rich, sweet, luscious fruit. It has to be turned into wine gently so as not to ruin it along the process. I would think the more of the original flavor that can be retained, the better. I love a strongly fruity wine with just enough tannins to smooth it out and give it staying power. Some people describe this as "jammy" or "porty". Mmmmm.

quality, quality, quality. Of course there are always exceptions. I love fruit forward new world wines- when they're done right. Quality doesn't necessarily mean price.

2006 Dugat-Py Bourgogne

Drank a few glasses of this at the office yesterday while meeting with our landlord. Bernard Dugat-Py is one of the greatest houses in all of Burgundy, but you certainly pay for it. This is entry level Bourgogne which is "wallet stretching" for this level of wine, and the micro-produced Gran Crus get extremely expensive. That said, these wines can be ethereal. The family has been growing in Gevery for a ridiculously long time and the caves they use were originally built by monks in 1075! Very cool.

This wine opened with the most aromatics of any 06' burg I’ve tried so far, super heavy spices, with deep scents of dark fruit, and intense focus framed by light wood and earth. There are indescribable aromas that I had no idea what they were. Very intense. Medium to full bodied in the mouth, black cherry, sour tart notes, and watermelon? Crisp throughout, heavy but elegantly balanced with an intensely long finish for a Bourgogne. The finish has a wild lozenge effect where your tongue gets a little numb. Pretty damn wild for a pinot. A very very fine wine for this level, which needs several years to start, and I can see it flowering in a decade. Estimated retail in this market is $55 but easily as good as Premier Crus that you could buy at this price. Compared to Oregon or California Pinot at this price, well…. no comparison. Buy this instead. Can't wait to try the heavier hitters from this house.




~Vitis

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by Vitis

2006 Dugat-Py Bourgogne

Drank a few glasses of this at the office yesterday while meeting with our landlord. Bernard Dugat-Py is one of the greatest houses in all of Burgundy, but you certainly pay for it.

Nice.

Certainly a big name in Burgundy. Still a baby I bet. Looking at scoring some '95 Burg's this weekend at auction. Call me Mr. Lowballer, I probably won't win any, but I do, yeah for me.

Cool, Moses, what auction are you going to?

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by Vitis

Cool, Moses, what auction are you going to?

Online auction, and I don't want to post which one it is. You can PM me if you want, but most wine collectors know which one I am talking about...

[aldukes]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Online auction, and I don't want to post which one it is. You can PM me if you want, but most wine collectors know which one I am talking about...

If we're talking about the same one- there are some awesome deals going right now.

[aldukes]

I treated myself to a winebid purchase two weeks ago:




see you when I turn 30.

Yep, I was just curious if you were going to one, you know, paddle and all. Good luck in your hunting. May the baccus smile upon you.

~Vitis

[mosesbotbol]

Missed out on Villa Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon - Vintage 1995 - 6 Bottles for $60.00

and Chateau Lascombes - Vintage 1995 case of 12 OWC for $350

Looked like a lot of action on the lots I had bookmarked... Where's the recession? Port lots that did sell, sold for too much money and everything else there was no bids on... I think we'll see some changes in Feb an March; they will be the times to start bidding.