EDF Wine thread

[LucidDream]

kdawg, don't have time to read thru this whole thread right now so forgive me if this has already been answered but can you recommend any good books for learning about the complexities of wine and how recognize various smells/tastes in wine?

[KDawg]

oink, again, thanks sooooooooooooooo much for the notes. Be still my heart, monfortinos on two nights in a row, you lucky bastard. Somehow you, canuck, clark, and I need to figure out a way to do a knockout weekend of wine. Either that, or I need to get my azz out to copenhagen and kick it with you


as to the 02 Chevy, that's bad news, and from my experience, the 02 vintage may be a bad vintage for prem-ox'd wines. A lot of white burgs I've had from 00 and 01 have been excellent and evolving well, but, I heard that in 02 a lot of producers didn't add SO2 as it was a "pure fruit" vintage, which means, start drinking the wines. I had a 02 Girardin Corton Charlie and was shocked at how soaked the cork was for a 6 1/2 year old white burg, even though the color and tones were on point, but the acidity didn't seem to have it for long haul cellaring like a Grand Cru White burg should be


right now, I'm watching UFC and having some bubbles. This is one of my go to champers at under $40 and it always delivers:

• N.V. Michel Arnould & Fils Champagne Grand Cru Brut Réserve - France, Champagne, Verzenay, Champagne (9/19/2009)
  nose: classy nose that shows its grand cru status with excellent tones of white florals, bits of peaches, lemon peels, a good helping of minerals, along with a bakers dozen of doughy tones. Great depth for a NV blend
  
  taste: excellent tones of dough, lemon peels, minerals, white florals, and a good bit of white fruits with tasty medium+ acidity that is very refreshing
  
  overall: fast becoming a go to everday Bubbly for me. Very good depth on its own, but seeing as this is a regular NV, its excellent. Good medium body to it that flows across the palate well with class. Easily the best under $40 champagne I've had, and it consistently delivers (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker




when I'm done watching UFC, and finally finish up my notes from thursday I'll post them. I also have some notes from Sunday's season opener for my beloved Chicago Bears(cutler's 4 ints notwithstanding)

[KDawg]

Originally Posted by LucidDream

kdawg, don't have time to read thru this whole thread right now so forgive me if this has already been answered but can you recommend any good books for learning about the complexities of wine and how recognize various smells/tastes in wine?

don't know if this topic has actually been addressed, lol. What has worked best for me is just buying spices and smelling them. When you go to the grocery and buy fruits, vegetables, spices, etc and then use them, just take some time to smell them and get used to their flavors. A good benefit for me was that I worked at williams-sonoma in the stock room as the main runner for about a year(pay was crap, girls were cool, lots of good cooks and a great employee discount, so 12 hrs a week was fine while at school), so when there was down time I'd take the time to smell some of the soaps, spices, and every now and then drop a glass jar of something that I wanted to get to know.

When describing things, it all comes from one's own experiences, so, while we are smelling the same things, we may not necessarily say them as the same, ya know. Don't mean to be vague about it, but I do find that wine is very personal, so its hard to say to do x and y to best get to know scents and flavors.

I'd be very willing to bet that you're better then you already think, just take the time to do some good smelling and then just take a bit of time to think about what you taste. It takes a bit to really get into the scents and flavors, it took me a while tbh. What I would do is buy a wine as I was getting into it, and my friend and I would really try to smell and then taste while getting piss drunk. Hell, it took me a while to fully get the oak and butter smells and tastes from Kendall Jackson when I was first getting into wine. So, like in poker, just take it slow and do your best to get to a variety of tastings in your area.

Local stores should have tastings, and just have a small notebook and a pen or pencil, and quickly jot down what you may get from the wine if you notice something in particular. I certainly found that when I did that, it honed in things much more and improved my senses and notes. If you look at some of my notes from 2007 on Cellar Tracker, they are far from where they are now, and that was a good two years after really getting into wine and a good 9 months after starting to really pay attention to what is going on with wine(my Cellar Tracker handle is the same as here(and I normally abbreviate as CT))

hope that helps a bit, and please, it doesn't matter wtf your drinking, if you have a bottle of wine and the time to jot down a note, please post it in here. I want this thread to be for everyone and have zero qualms about people posting about wines that aren't as high end as some of the stuff that Canuck, Oink, or I may drink(haven't seen clark post much in here yet). I look at this thread as a thread for everyone, and all I really ask is that there be zero pretention, because then it defeats the purpose of what I want this thread to be

[KDawg]

here are my notes from sunday's Bears season opener. A few notes on the wines, I brought both of the white burgs. All of the wines I brought(the 86 meursault, 97 meursault, 06 Jemrose, and 07 St Cosme) were under 40 as my friend shane and I were aiming more for a relaxed atmosphere. The 86 was bought on a lark on winebid earlier this year as the picture of the bottle showed good ullage(for those not familiar, as wine ages, it evaporates and older wines will not be as filled as young wines, this is a natural occurance) and was $25 or 30, so I took a gamble and said, well, if its oxidized, then all I spent was 30, if its not, then I will get something fun.

The syrahs were blind, and what my friend Shane and I did was bag the bottles(after decanting properly) and then grab at random and then put a number on the bag.

Shane and I were the only real "wine people" if you will, as his wife was there and he invited two friends of his to come over.

So, as my novellas end, here are my notes from last sunday:

SEASON OPENER WINES - shane's (9/13/2009)

A new quarterback is in town and the beloved opened up against the pack, so what does that mean, some wines, food, and the promise of a lot of fun
starter whites

• 2006 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: extremely layered with great depth that leads into beautiful tones of honeysuckle, all sorts of white florals, tree fruits, lemon peels, and bits of hi-toned spices with some bits of spiced pears. A nose that one can really dig into to try to get into the crevices that exists currently. Youthful as the tones are exuberant at the same time, but deftly balanced
  
  taste: incredebly balanced and well layered medium/light feel with crisp medium+ acidity that gives a real nice spine. Delicious tones of honeysuckle, pears, various nut based spices, and a whole lot of white florals that evoke a spring field on the palate
  
  overall: a baby, but ever delicious at this precocious stage. Comes off with a real youthful exuberance to it, but there is a real good balance to it that holds it all together that makes it very enjoyable. This is a beautiful CdP blanc that will be very interesting to drink when its fully mature (93 pts.)
• 1986 Domaine Michelot-Buisson Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
  nose: my first thought on smelling this is great, its not oxidized, then the real fun begins as its really changes a lot on the nose with varying tones of blood oranges, smoked nuts, hot oils, and a whole lot of meyer lemons with some other various citrus tones along with a slight bit of oxidative tones of bleu cheeses that would be expected for a white this old
  
  taste: a real beautiful full feel strikes you right off the bat with nice medium acidity that is rather sneaky in its approach. Well balanced and mature tones of smoked nuts, all sorts of hazelnuts, a bit of hot butter, hot oils, meyer lemons, and a slight touch of blood oranges all round out together
  
  overall: I bought this on a lark on winebid and what resulted was something beautiful. About 1.5cm ullage with a nice rich golden color. The nose kept on changing, but was never in any real danger of dying out, instead it provided a moving target that was fun to track and discuss about, and really just presented a thrill in of itself as I expected it to be shot, or at least on the full end of its downslope, and it was far from that. If one has a bottle of this can they age it further, sure, but this was a perfect fully mature meursault that certainly made for a lot more fun then watching Cutler throw 4 ints (92 pts.)
• 1997 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Gouttes d'Or - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
  nose: presented a nice contrast to the 86 as this one has a much more nuttier nose with well defined tones of smoke, bits of oysters, lemon custard and tones of meringue. Well balanced with good depth, but not as expressive as the 86
  
  taste: excellent depth with a nice and rich medium/full feel and tones of meringue, lemon custard, all sorts of nutty tones and bits of green apples. Excellent medium+ acidity gives this a really good spine and comes across as younger then the previous two bottles from last year
  
  overall: this really grew in the glass along with added depth. An excellent mature meursault with a lighter golden color to it that came across as a white burg that could easily go for more years, but there is little regret in opening this up as its in a good place right now (90 pts.)

Blind Syrahs

• 2007 Saint-Cosme St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
  nose: cool and laid back nose filled with tones of charcoal, black pepper, black cherries, smoke, crushed floral tones and bits of crushed rocks along with some mineral rich earth tones. Very pungent with great balance to it, but seems to be holding back a bit right now
  
  taste: excellent full body feel with a great silky feel and rich tannins with tones of charcoal, black pepper, black cherries, crushed rocks and a good bit of mineral rich earth tones. Toned back a bit right now, but is certainly an old world wine
  
  overall: came off as young which is to be expected. Gave some conflicted ideas at first as it was done blind. Certainly holds itself as a northern rhone and as the signatures are there. Needs time obviously, and should be a beautiful st joseph in a few years as the parts fully come together (91 pts.)
• 1992 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  nose: gorgeously balanced nose filled with dark red cherries, all sorts of dark floral tones, cardamon spices, other various spice tones, black fruits, and bits of funky tones that give a real nice backdrop. A load of class right here that was in stark contrast to the younger wines, this has a sense of itself and what it wants to do
  
  taste: very polished with a great silky and medium/full feel and well balanced tones of smoked game, black pepper, black fruits, dark red cherries, cardamon, and other various spice tones. Excellent depth with all sorts of polish that comes from aging
  
  overall: a great ruby rim with little bricking or browning. It was fairly obvious that this was the aged wine in the bunch. A whole lot of polish and class to the wine, this is was just textbook northern rhone (93 pts.)
• 2006 Jemrose Syrah Cardiac Hill Bennett Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
  nose: much more ripe nose in contrast to the st joseph and le pavillion, which is interesting as this normally comes off as almost northern rhone. Great and well balanced tones of crushed black fruits, black cherries, charcoal, and a good helping of black pepper all balance well together. Shows off its california base in the more explosive nature and somewhat riper nature it posseses
  
  taste: young and rich with good full body and firm tannins with great and balanced tones of bacon fat, crushed black fruits, black cherries, and a good helping of black pepper. There is a explosiveness on the palate that stands in contrast to the northern rhones that were previously had blind that makes it stand out a bit
  
  overall: a wonderful syrah. This needs a bit of time to fully come around, but is soooo enjoyable right now with a good decant. Has great syrah flavors and does a great job of being a california/northern rhone hybrid (91 pts.)

a CdP to make us feel better

• 2004 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  nose: good funky nose with nice tones of black cherry liqueur, dark spices, a good amount of garrigue, and a good helping of meaty tones with some bits of dark berries. Good balance and nice depth, but nothing really exciting
  
  taste: excellent medium feel with good tannins and a nice smooth feel along with tones of melted black licorice, garrigue, black cherries, and black cherry liqueur tones. Nice tannins with good depth
  
  overall: a quality CdP, does it needs to do and is fairly standard. Enjoyable and fairly straightforward (90 pts.)

well, Cutler threw four interceptions and we lost to the packers. At least the wines were great, the food was great and the conversation even better which more then made up for the sub-standard result
Posted from CellarTracker

[Cancuk]

Originally Posted by Oink

So not much going on in this thread. I thought Id add a few experiences from the last 10 days or so. So due to being drunk and not taking notes I can only give my first impressions as they are always the ones to last. I will also adhere from handing out points to the wines where I was obviously wasted


- Last thursday.

Set list:
1997 Renato Ratti, Barolo Rocche.
1997 Conterno-Fantino, Barolo Vigna del Gris.
1997 Fratello Revello, Barolo Conca.
1997 Luigi Pira, Barolo Rionda.
1997 G. Conterno, Barolo Monfortino.
2006 Domaine Comte George de Vogüé, Bourgogne (Musigny?) Grand cru Bonnes-Mare.
2006 Domaine Robert Arnoux, Bourgogne Vosne-Romanee Grand cru Romanee -St. Vivant


- Yesterday.

Set list:
2005 Fratelli Revello, Barolo Conca.
1996 Roberto Voerzio, Barolo, Cereqiuo.
1996 G. Conterno, Barolo Monfortino.
2006 Domaine Dujac, Bourgogne Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Aux Combottes.
2006 Domaine Dujac, Bourgogne Vosne-Romanee 1er cru Aux Malconsorts.
1999 Spinetta, Barbaresco Gallina


- Today

Set list:
2002 Perrier Jouét, Champagne Rosé Belle Epoque.
2002 Chateux Puligny-Montrachet, (white) Bourgogne Puligny-Montrachet Grand cru Chevalier-Montrachet.
2006 Domaine Robert Arnoux, Bourgogne Vosne-Romanee 1er cru Les Chaumes.
2005 Elio Altare, Langhe (Barbera d'Alba) Larigi



- Last thursday.

1997 Renato Ratti, Barolo Rocche: Was quite closed early on and surprisingly youthfull. Messy notes of dried cherry and blackberries in both bouquet and taste. Classic La Morra notes of violet and rose leaves - quite dried up but most fresh early on. The cask was still fighting back and leaving behind a generally unbalanced wine still with plenty of chocolate from the casc. Classic Piedmont notes of medicine (in danish we use the word camphor). Aged very well in the glass and def ended on a high note after aprox 3 hours in the glass. Will def drink better over the next 5 years. 90 points

1997 Conterno-Fantino, Barolo Vigna del Gris: Much more mature compared to the Ratti. More subtle notes of tobacco, leather and licorice - quite std for Monforte Barolos imo. Both in the bouquet and taste I experienced the same classic dried fruits dominated by cherries but here I am pretty sure I found some rasberries. Cask was very well integrated and generally a low level af acidity. Will not improve and should be opened now. 88 points

1997 Fratello Revello, Barolo Conca: Like the Ratti a La Morra wine. Very feminine and a fine balance. Quite youthfull compared to the first two. Fruit notes were def more fresh and young and not as dried. Plenty of cherries as usual and nice tones of flowers in the bouqet. Nice stringent wine true to its terroir. Plenty of acidity still and will age well over the next 5 to 15 years. 92 points

1997 Luigi Pira, Barolo Rionda: This was supposed to be the highlight of the evening and needless to say I had my hopes up. Maybe this was why I was disapointed but the somelier/friend of mine was the same. Very (too) mature at first. Classic Monforte stuff with plenty of power as well as licourice and tar. Notes of fruit was black and dried up cherries but it was all very messy at first. But this wine was a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Holy crap it went back a few years in the glas! Tightened up tremendously and after a few hours it was a completely different wine. Final notes was impressive acidity, sharp and defined notes of cherries/blackberries and of course licourice, leather and tar. Hard to say how this will age but I guess it will age well over the next 10-20 years and we prolly just caught a bottle in a closed period. Early on: 85 points. Last sip: 95 points

1997 G. Conterno, Barolo Monfortino: So we opened this because the Rionda was disapointing at first. This was my first ever Monfortino despite having bought 13 bottles of them. My expectations was sky high and could hardly be fulfilled. But guess what: They were. Quite clearly the best red wine I ever had!. Despite the vineyard being close to the Ginestra (the vina del gris is from here) and Rionda vineyards in Monforte the Serralunga powerhouse is much closer to the La Morra wines. Released an extremely precise sent of fresh cherries - just like hearing a good opera singer presenting the C-note. Good God it was precise. Just as the La Morra wines plenty of flowers, mostly violets and roses and they were still quite fresh. Finally the bouquet released a very suprising note of peach skin, almost orange'ish - a first for me when it comes to Nebbiolo. The taste was very much like the bouquet. Still a very young wine and in so many ways very non-nebbiolo. So fresh and so clean and ever so balanced. Compared to the Rionda this wine felt 20 years younger. Strict acidity with powerfull yet smooth tannins, but was clearly matched by the sheer concentration. Will drink well now but has to improve over the next 30! years. 98+

2006 Domaine Comte George de Vogüé, Bourgogne (Musigny?) Grand cru Bonnes-Mare.

2006 Domaine Robert Arnoux, Bourgogne Vosne-Romanee Grand cru Romanee - St. Vivant


At this point I was a drunk and spoiled sob. The Bonnes-Mare was quite clearly the more balanced, stringent and subtle one. Whereas the Romanee - St Vivant was just sheer and massive power/concentration of which the like I have never tried in a Pinot Noir - or any wine. The Bonnes-Mare would certainly benefit from 10 years in the cellar, not to suggest the Romanee - St Vivant would not. I am quite confident that if I try these wines in 10 years and in a sober state I will literally wet myself


- Yesterday.

2005 Fratelli Revello, Barolo Conca: I feel like I am on reapeat but: Fresh cherry, blackberry but also strawberry in the nose. Plenty of flowers as well. Very nice La Morra and its quite interesting to try this fresh of the bat when released. Generally the notes are much fresher but dear Lord you need to have a galvanised mouth, the tannins are literally ripping of your gums. This will quite likely become a very very nice whine in 5-10 years time.

1996 Roberto Voerzio, Barolo, Cereqiuo: Massive concentration in the bouquet with plenty of chocolate, ripe black cherries and the std violet/rose leaves for La Morra. Smooth smooth tannins and a very concentrated wine with the same notes of ripe fruit and leaves in the taste. Still quite youthfull with strict but smooth tannins and will evolve nicely over the next 5-10 years. 95-96

1996 G. Conterno, Barolo Monfortino.: And we are back at it again. Basically the same stuff as the 1997 but did not present it self as precise and balanced. Seemed to be in a more closed period of its life and quite clearly posessed more tannins / stricter acidity than the 1997. Eventually it did open up and while the notes are the same as the 1997 the concentration is more massive. This will def live longer than 1997 and will in all likelyhood drink well in 2066 should you choose to cellar it for that long. 97 points but has potential for a perfect score.

2006 Domaine Dujac, Bourgogne Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Aux Combottes. : I just spent 30 minutes trying to find the english word. No succes. In danish we say it has "korksickness" or is "korky". Basically its gone bad.

2006 Domaine Dujac, Bourgogne Vosne-Romanee 1er cru Aux Malconsorts.: Getting quite drunk again at this point. Not as massive a wine as I would have expected. Super nice Bourgogne with plenty of rasberries and chocolate. Will age well but is quite drinkable now. A weaker but similar version of the Bonne-Mare from last week

1999 Spinetta, Barbaresco Gallina: Too drunk. Very much like the Voerzio Cerequio. Massive and velvety tannins. Plenty of slightly dried fruit and loads of the secondary stuff which I was too drunk to remember exactly what was. Seemed very strict and massive and should age well over the next 8 - 12 years



- Today

2002 Perrier Jouét, Champagne Rosé Belle Epoque: Already quite a bit brioche in the nose. Strawberries and tobacco in the nose as well as the taste. Medium bodied and ok balance - does not fill up the palate and seems to miss some of the fresh fruits on the front part of the palate, which are usually a trademark for Belle Epoque. The great vintage does not fail tho, quite a stringent champagne which quite unlike Belle Epoque should be cellared a few years. Considering the price and comparing to a Billecart Salmon this is grossly overpriced. Otoh comparing to Cristal Rose its a very fine buy. (Tho I havent tried neither Cristal nor Billecart-Salmon in 2002): 90 points

2002 Chateux Puligny-Montrachet, (white) Bourgogne Puligny-Montrachet Grand cru Chevalier-Montrachet. Booooh! This was gone bad. arrghjhegfjshabfkjdhfgjndfkægn!!!


2006 Domaine Robert Arnoux, Bourgogne Vosne-Romanee 1er cru Les Chaumes. Classic powerfull Vosne stuff. Fresh rasberries and floral notes in the bouquet. For a pinot its quite a massive body, however, its not due to extensive cask treatment. Very impressive concentration and velvety notes of fresh fruit (rasberry and cherry) filling up the palate quite nicely. Loads of vanilla and chocolate which should be expected from a wine this young. 92 points

2005 Elio Altare, Langhe (Barbera d'Alba) Larigi: What a nice finish to the evening. Fresh and slightly ripe cherry and blackberry in the bouquet. Still plenty of vanilla and chocolate from the intense cask treatment. Taste is full bodied and when it comes to Barbera the concentration is only surpassed by Voerzio's Pozzo della Annunziata. Long taste with plenty of ripe fruits, loads of chocolate and some floral notes. Smooth but powerfull tannins and massive fruitacids. For a Barbera this is very well suited for cellaring and should develop nicely over the next 3-7 years. 92

Sick, sick line up.

[Cancuk]

Originally Posted by KDawg

oink, again, thanks sooooooooooooooo much for the notes. Be still my heart, monfortinos on two nights in a row, you lucky bastard. Somehow you, canuck, clark, and I need to figure out a way to do a knockout weekend of wine. Either that, or I need to get my azz out to copenhagen and kick it with you

This sounds like a plan.

[Joe Pulaski]

so im allergic to sulfites... do i have a play with wine or am i just destined to be a beer and spirits man?

[amoeba]

Any suggestions for a good $100 to $130 Champagne ?

[KDawg]

Originally Posted by Joe Pulaski

so im allergic to sulfites... do i have a play with wine or am i just destined to be a beer and spirits man?

its actually the histamines that cause the problems, but, regardless, there are wines that are sulfite free and check out some of your local places that have wines that are certified organic or bio-dynamic

Originally Posted by amoeba

Any suggestions for a good $100 to $130 Champagne ?

lots, provide some links for places that you are near your or what state your in(this is key as some states can't be shipped to)

[amoeba]

Originally Posted by KDawg

lots, provide some links for places that you are near your or what state your in(this is key as some states can't be shipped to)

Thanks KDawg, I am in Austin Texas. I think the best source for wine here is probably a place called SPEC's.

http://specsliquors.com/

By the way, what do you guys think I should do if I am traveling on a flight with it?

[Oink]

@ Amoeba

I tried checking out that link but I couldnt find any Champagnes. If you quote a few Champagnes with prices which you have thought about trying I will be happy to help out regarding price/value ratio and whether its a typical aperetíf champagne or a champagne meant for food.



@ Everybody

So I REALLY need some help! I hope some of you american experts can come through for me!!!

This friday I am going to a new American steakhouse here in town. Me and my friend are looking to share a 72 ounce porterhouse which is pretty rare for danish restaurents .

Anyways they have a lot of american wine and I think it will be very fitting to drink some californian Zinfandel or Cabernet to a huge american steak. Problem is that I know jack and **** about US wine. All I know is that Napa valley is supposed to be hyped/good.

Here is the wine list. American wines are at page 7-8. The prices on the right is in danish kroner. Just divide by 5 and you have it in USD.

Any wines I just HAVE to try?

Or any wines which would be relatively god buys and good fits to a steak + fries + Bearnaise sauce?

http://www.mashsteak.dk/cms/filarkiv/Vinkort_MASH.pdf

Oh and price range is whatever

[jws43yale]

Oink,

You definitely want a full bodied red, probably a Napa Cabernet, although I often try to go South African, Australian, Chilean or Argentinian as you get better bang for the buck. I do not know any of these but I absolutely love a good Argentina Mailbag. I know a decent bit about wine, but not enough to regularly choose a bottle from a giant list (unless I see something I love). Typically I would ask the waiter/sommelier for a recommendation and describe what kind of wine I am looking for. If I were you I would ask for a recommendation from the Argentinian and Chilean wine. Would definitely recommend trying one of the Chilean Malbec's.

[jws43yale]

I was out to dinner last weekend and tried a great wine I had never had before and was wondering if anyone had any more info or recommendations.

I was at an Italian wine bar on a date and wanted to start dinner out with a red but something that was very fruit forward with a strong acidity to balance it out. I did not know their wine list at all so asked for a recommendation and was given a Frappato (varietal). Wine was extremely interesting and very good. Was supposed to be chilled and tasted basically like a more full bodies sauvignon blanc with more darker fruit flavors.

I would love to pick up a few bottle of this varietal as something similar as I do like a chilled fruit forward wine on occasion but prefer the body of a red for all but the hottest summer days. Does anyone have familiarity with this wine varietal or similar varietals from other countries? Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

[KDawg]

Originally Posted by Oink

@ Everybody

So I REALLY need some help! I hope some of you american experts can come through for me!!!

This friday I am going to a new American steakhouse here in town. Me and my friend are looking to share a 72 ounce porterhouse which is pretty rare for danish restaurents .

Anyways they have a lot of american wine and I think it will be very fitting to drink some californian Zinfandel or Cabernet to a huge american steak. Problem is that I know jack and **** about US wine. All I know is that Napa valley is supposed to be hyped/good.

Here is the wine list. American wines are at page 7-8. The prices on the right is in danish kroner. Just divide by 5 and you have it in USD.

Any wines I just HAVE to try?

Or any wines which would be relatively god buys and good fits to a steak + fries + Bearnaise sauce?

http://www.mashsteak.dk/cms/filarkiv/Vinkort_MASH.pdf

Oh and price range is whatever

oink, if you're gonna go cab, some of those prices aren't that bad for resturant prices. Obviously the wines will be VERY different then what you're used to.

The 02 Shafer HSS is one of the best HSS's ever made, and the price isn't that bad for a resturant price(seriously, that's about 100-150 over general retail here in the states), just be sure if you want to go with that, that you call ahead and request that it be decanted for a good 2-3 hours before you arrive

don't bother with silver joke, same with the paul hobbs. They're just over oaked to **** and don't have enough fruit to back up the ridiculous amount of oak that they see

the 05 Rudd Oakville and 06 Rudd Crossroads aren't that bad for the prices, but will have a fair amount of oak on them, so again, requesting that the bottle(s) be decanted is required

either of the 92 Dunns would be very interesting, with the Napa cab probably being a bit more accessible, but the Howell Mtn would be a real treat(again, this will need a decant as the howell mtn is one of the most backward wines in the world, but also one of the most thrilling expressions of 100% cabernet at the same time when you catch them right)

The 99 and 00 Ridge Monte Bellos should be starting to drink well(with the 00 drinking better at this time due to it being a lesser vintage). I'm actually going to be doing a monte bello vertical next tuesday, but those vintages aren't included, go figure. Monte Bello is more classic in style and comes off as a cali-bord hybrid. Both will need a decant, but not as much as the other wines

The Insignia is also a good price for a resturant for a high end cab/cab blend. It will certainly need a decant as well, but its drinking relatively well at this young point

don't bother with the Harlans. I've had both vintages, and while they are stunning in a sense, there is almost a feeling of them being too well made. THey just seem to lack a bit of soul for me

I'd feel utterly awful though if I didn't tell you to give the Cayuse's a go. Those bad boys are hard to get in America, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend those to you. Again, they'll need a decanting, but they are damn good

my personal order of preference for what to suggest:

1. 06 Cayuse En Chamberlin
1a. 06 Cayuse Callioux
2. 92 Dunn Howell Mtn
3. 02 Shafer HSS
4. 04 Insignia(this and the Shafer will present the a very different view of what you'd normally find in europe for american wines, and are classic modern california wines)
5. 00 or 99 RIdge Monte Bello

[amoeba]

I really haven't drank that much champagne. the list at the store is too long to copy paste and unfortunately takes a few steps to get to but basically I think their selection is enough that I can find 99% of what people recommend.

I really have no preference between either a Rose or a blanc de blanc. I need it to be a brut and need it to be an official champagne.