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Straight Value

Lemelson "Thea's Selection" Willamette Valley P.N.

This wine was an absolute steal when it used to wholesale at $25 and show up on restaurant lists at $70. Definitely a purveyor who has been affected by the economy, the wine now wholesales at under $14 a bottle and sells for under $45 on competitive lists.

$150

Opened a bottle of Chateauneuf 83 from a producer I'd never had before, Chateau des Fines Roches. It's pretty good, with a little brett but a nice, earthy/red-fruity grenache nose; the palate was rough when we first opened it but smoothed out some. Not a great wine, but interesting and one I'm perfectly happy to keep drinking.

Very different from the style that currently dominates there, which I am not at all a fan of.

Buckfast. Nuff said.

Our blind tasting group met last Thursday with one of the best lineups I've ever been a part of. The host supplies all the wine and food, and while we've had a pretty good run, this was far above our usual standard.

Started with non-blind 1985 Champagnes: a very good but, in my and Cathleen's opinion, getting on a bit Grande Dame and a bottle of DP that is still on the way up. I kept some and about two hours later it was showing classic "old Dom" notes. John thought the GD was at its apogee, but I thought it was showing some oxidation.

For the first group, Andy, our host, suggested that we use Burgundy glasses.

#1: Several of us thought it was corked. John blamed the glasses, and Andy thought it was musty but not corked. No backup available. I thought it was pretty obviously corked but also thought there was a really good wine underneath it. Hospices de Beaune Cuvee Guigone de Salins 1946, bottled by A. Pochon

#2: Nose of cooked mushrooms, some strawberry on the palate, and a little VA came out. It turned into more like mushroom consomme (I think it was Mark who said "cooked shallots"). I liked this a lot. I thought it might be a 69, others were elsewhere in the 60s and 70s. John's note: "I scored it a little lower than the corked wine." Hospices de Beaune Cuvee Nicolas Rolin 1946, bottled by A. Pochon


#3: Lots of VA here but good flavors and nice weight. I was flailing on the vintage but said that the only vintage I could think of that combined that much VA with high quality of fruit was 1947. Not too far off really. Hospices de Beaune Cuvee Nicolas Rolin 1949, bottled by A. Pochon

Next group, we were again advised to use Burgundy stems. Andy brought #1 out in a bottle of Morey St Denis Clos des Ormes 1962, bottled for the Chevaliers du Tastevin by Bouchard, and #2 in a bottle of Clos des Lambrays 1969.

#1: Fabulous cherry fruit on the nose; my note reads "absolutely terrific." I was in Vosne immediately. With some time, minerals started to emerge, and it picked up some grip and weight.

#2: I loved this wine too. I was also in Vosne on this, and with some gaminess, thought it might be Richebourg. Dan picked up "limestone" and a "cotton candy feel." Lots of red fruit, especially cherry, on the palate, with some mushroom coming in here too.

I was almost positive that #2 was DRC, and also put down in my notebook that I thought #1 was also. I thought perhaps two 1978s.

At this point, the next three decanters came out and Andy suggested that we have all 5 in front of us.

#3: This was more tannic than the first two, with Cathleen noting "more mineral lift" as well. Very good, but I didn't find it as complex or as high quality as either of the first two.

#4: This seemed younger than any of the other wines, and had several people thinking that we were drinking a vertical. Mark thought this and #5 might well be La Tache, as by this point we were all thinking DRC. Really sappy fruit, similar pure Vosne character. With #2, my wine of the group.

#5: Showed red fruits as well, but with darker cherry character, chalk and minerals. My notes include a sense of it lacking a bit on the palate; it didn't have the richness of some of the others, and a lot of oak started to emerge with some time, unbalancing the wine. I think this would have left a better impression if it had been on its own; it was very good, but for me didn't hit the heights of #2 or #4 which I rated close to perfect.

This turned out to be a DRC horizontal: in order, Echezeaux, Grands Echezeaux, RSV, Richebourg and La Tache, all 1990. Amazingly, not a one of them showed "90 disease," and the RSV, Richebourg and La Tache all need more time.

An excellent tarte flambe (bacon, onions and cheese on puff pastry) was accompanied by two whites.

#1: Everyone was sure this was Alsatian riesling. Mark and I thought it was probably Clos Ste Hune. The nose was very ripe, but it was mostly dry, with lots of minerals. I really liked this. Riesling Clos Windsbuhl Zind-Humbrecht 1994

#2: Also very ripe, and sweeter than #1, with lots of tropical fruit, especially pineapple. John was pretty sure it was Zind-Humbrecht. Right! Opinions were split between riesling and pinot gris. Riesling Clos St Urbain Zind-Humbrecht 1994

Andy commented that Clos St Urbain is usually one of the hottest terroirs in Alsace, to explain the huge difference in sweetness.

The main course was Lobel's tri-tip steaks in Bristol Farms "Two Buddies" marinade, a smoky concoction Andy got hooked on in LA and has shipped out here, accompanied by an absurdly rich potato gratin. Three wines for this one.

#1: Mark was immediately in California, most of the rest of us were on the right bank. This had a really exotic nose, with some brown sugar, "chocolate" according to Dan, "mulberry" for John. Some greeness and a touch of brett came out. Dan, John and I all suspected it was Petrus. Nope! Joseph Phelps Insignia 1974

#2: I loved this, and thought it might well have been La Mission 1975. Minerals, smoke, good fruit, this was a top quality wine. Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1975

#3: The first bottle was corked, the replacement had a ton of eucalyptus and menthol. Presumably California, but I found it somewhat offputting. Earlier in the evening, someone had joked that Andy should bring out the '74 Martha's, and he said "hey, if you want Martha's, I can swap out what I'd planned," so that removed it as a possibility, otherwise I think we'd have leaned that way. Somewhat embarassingly, no one recognized a wine I'd opened for the group at my turn a few months ago. Joseph Phelps Insignia 1976

A blind dessert wine followed with tarte tatin, very dark red, but with incredible brightness, terrific wine and one I'd much rather . Clearly this was old riesling; I guessed BA since it didn't seem to have quite TBA sweetness, and then on hearing it was TBA, guessed that it might be '53. John declined to speculate as to a vintage, but was in the Rheingau. Right! Riesling TBA Erbacher Marcobrunn Schloss Schonborn 1971

Tonight opened one of my two remaining bottles of Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir 2006. Ripping Yarra Valley Pinot for less than $US 20. Not sure whether this makes it to the US but if so take note of this label as they are consistently excellent most years and their Chardonnay is the business as well. Having tasted this Pinot will probably leave the other bottle another 2 years.

Ok, so I don't know too much about wine but I do enjoy drinking it a lot

We have a wine/food club at work and sometimes we receive offers. These offers are somewhat hit and miss and I don't mind that too much but if I could increase my hit-rate that would obviously be nice.

So does anyone have any opinions on these wines. They are the ones that look the most interesting when looking through the offers and searching online a little.

I realize that the prices listed are somewhat meaningless but I just added them anyways. The prices here in Denmark are usually higher than in the US and other European countries except for the rest of Scandinavia. Any help/comments would be appreciated and if you need some more idea on the price level here you can ask me to find the price of certain bottles here if you think that helps you.

Terrabianca, Campaccio 2005 €: ~13.5 $: ~18

Casanuova delle Cerbaie, Brunello di Montalcino 2003 €: ~20 $: ~27

R. Stemmler, Cabernet Sauvignon 1985 €: ~13.5 $: ~18

R. Stemmler, Cabernet Sauvignon 1986 €: ~13.5 $: ~18

Celestial, Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 €: ~7 $: ~9

Roshambo, 'The Reverend' Zinfandel 2006 €: ~13.5 $: ~18

Pezzi King, Pinot Noir 2005 €: ~13.5 $: ~18

The Rock, Zinfandel/Syrah 2005 €: ~17 $: ~22.5 (This one is kind of strange since I can't seem to find anything about it online.)

that's a great price for the campaccio. be sure to get a bunch and save some for mid-term cellaring

to continue with the hit parade of TNs today, here is one of my favorite bubbly producers that I'm having right now:

• N.V. Egly-Ouriet Champagne Brut "Les Vignes de Vrigny" 1er Cru - France, Champagne, Ambonnay, Champagne (9/22/2010)
  nose: lovely and clear nose with some tones of warm dough, biscuits, almonds, tart citrus tones, minerals and bits of roasted nuts. Excellent depth and class with a real beguiling nose
  
  taste: smooth and polished medium feel with medium/high acidity that really shows itself along with tones of roasted nuts, warm dough, biscuits, minerals and a good bit of tart citrus
  
  overall: this is an 08/09 disgorgement. Still showing the youth indicated in the previous as would be expected. This is a real lovely champagne with very interesting tones on both the nose and palate. I really should buy more for aging, but this is sooooooo tasty and fun that its hard not to love it right now for all of its fun (91 pts.)
  

Posted from CellarTracker



it floats around $50 in the US and IMO is well worth the money paid for it

Thanks a lot, that was exactly the kind of response I was hoping for

Campaccio comes out from estate for about 10€ bottle( here in Italy i mean), so the price u are getting is very good. Actually for that price i would prefer other products that are much better imo; San Giusto a Rentennano is a great Chianti (that's the some zone from Terrabianca) producer with a better QPratio.
Just watch out form old vintages: in my experience when the price is so low, there could be some problem with the storage( wholesaler keeps wine in open air under the sun for example), so i suggest to be very carefull about that. 2005 is a 3 year old vintage right now, so it could be dangerous...
For the Brunello, i don't know this producer, but 20/27 € for a brunello is a very cheap price. Just watchout for 2003 vintage, a very warm summer here in Italy.
just to a note, pls remember that in general 2002, 2003 , 2006 are not good vintages ( espeacilly the first 2 ), and 97, 2000 2001 2007 are very good indeed, and i really suggest 2007 for tuscany ; i tasted a very young Tignanello 2007 , not yet in commerce i guess, that is really impressive and one the best vintages in his history.

awesome ...

wat?


the campaccio's current release is the 06, so getting the 05 isn't that much of a stretch. Unless the storage conditions were sitting next to a blast furnace, the wines should be more then fine

I'm gonna have to wholeheartedly disagree with your assesments irt 00 and 06 in tuscany. 00 was good for some super tuscan estates that use bordeaux varietals, but not really all that great for sangiovese. 06 has provided some beautiful chiantis, great super tuscans and what looks to be great brunellos (at least judging by the rossos that I've had). 06 may be a bit more forward with the fruit then past vintages, but the acidity and tannin structure is very much there where it is lacking a bit in 07

KD, i think the 07 is already out (i think sept is the usual release date, or at least it was couple years ago), but this is not much relevant; what i mean is that as a wine buyer such i am, i must warn that this is a thing that could happen. I buy wines only from the producer because in the past i've seen awful things happening by the part of wholesalers, distributors and retailers also, that have no "respect" for the integrity of products. I'm speaking for the italian market, beacause it's the only know, and i can assure you that the sometimes wines are stored in open spaces, under the sunny summer at 35degrees and after a few months some degree below zero. after this "process" wholesaler resell at a cheaper price, usaully in foreign countries or in the big distribution( i dunno how to call it , walmart is the example ). Not saying this always happens, but i was just warning this is a risk.
About vintages, my lines was indicating a general line: 2002 2003 are the worst. 2006 brunello isn't yet out, but for what i've heard lot of producers have downgraded some reserves the basis wines, and maybe we'll have some good brunello basis. for supertuscan (i hate this word), i've had 06 and 07 for "serre nuove" for example and imo 07 is by far superior right by now, and will be for sure in next years. Speaking with Antinori representers they said that 07 will be an amazing vintage for them, both for "solaia" and Tignanello. but just time will say ...
PS. i will have a tasting night on 26oct with Antinori, and we'll try 06and07. i will told you ...

I don't know much about wine but I do like it with a nice meal. I had dinner @ the bar @ B&B in Venetian and asked the bartender to suggest a wine to go with goat cheese tortellini/grilled sea bass dinner. He suggested the Bastianich Sauvignon Blanc and when he poured the taster I said it smelled like urine. He assured me it would pair well with the food so I accepted (this was a carafe or whatever they call it there, more than a glass). I choked down maybe two more sips and couldn't drink anymore. They never took it off the bill and it kind of ruined the meal (which is too bad because the food was very good).

I've heard that cat piss aroma can happen in Sauvignon. Is it normal or just an excuse to try and justify a known off-flavor? I homebrew beer so I can only imagine how one would feel if they had produced pallets and pallets of wine with a huge flaw. I probably wouldn't want to dump it either.

How should I have handled it? Should they have taken it off the bill? As I said, I 'accepted' the wine after given a taste but I told him right off it smelled funky.

It's common enough in Sauvignon Blanc, yeah. It's a tough call. On the one hand, you did taste and accept it. On the other, the restaurant should have picked up pretty quickly that you weren't enjoying it (especially if you really did leave more than half the glass). I rarely expect or receive that level of service in Las Vegas, though.

You probably should have said something earlier in the meal. After all, the timeline was something like you expressing doubt, and him pushing it on you with the explanation that it would work with the meal. To me, that implies that your acceptance was only conditional on your finding yourself agreeing with him.

I work in the wine business, although not on that side of things, but my experience in both sides suggests that taking things back after that sort of conditional acceptance is standard practice.

Certaines clones of sauvignon grape (i think c3) have this particular smell. It can be disturbing the first times you have it i know... Bastianich is a good producer and such others COF or Collio producers, they uses this clones, and with the particular calcare terrain the result is a very good wine but with this particalur "smell".
You probably should have told the waiter you didn't like the wine, and he probably would have changed it; at least this should be the good rule in a restaurant. if you would have choosed it's your "fault", but since they've suggested they should've changet it.

Tried a new place in the neighborhood last night that's letting people BYOB while they wait for their license, so I pulled a bottle of Spring Mountain Cabernet 1977. They made really great wines through 1978, although in my experience, the wines from the 1970s have a pretty high incidence of TCA. I've always wondered if they had a problem in the cellar or if it's just bad luck on my part.

Fortunately, this was not affected, and while not great, it was pretty good. On opening it had a lot of tobacco, more ashtray than sweet smoke, but after a few minutes that gave way to more normal black fruits plus a healthy dose of dill from the wood. We drank it over an hour or so and by the end, it was really getting on, and it never came across as all that complex, but at the $40 I paid for it earlier this year I'm pretty happy.

Have tried to find some info about vintage madeira but not really got anywhere so far and wondering if anyone knows about it?

I've bought a bottle of 1940 sercial madeira as a present, recipient knows as little as I do about this, and am wondering:

- can it be cellared indefinitely?

- will it improve with cellaring? optimum time?

- how long should it be decanted before drinking? Ive read min 24hrs?

- should anyone who decants through a coffee filter be taken out and flogged?

- how long will it last in the decanter? weeks / months?

- how should it be kept after decanting?

- good food matches?
I read that sercial is a dry madeira and suggestions seem to be to serve as an aperitif?

All help gratefully received

Soso, I would recommend decanting it, and I would also recommend having a few people to drink it as it would take a long long time just to finish it off solo.

It can be cellared for almost forever. I've seen people open up vintage madeiras from the napoleonic times and have said that they were amazing

I can't answer too many of the questions as I have very little experience with madeira in general and have zero experience with madieras that old. I would recommend checking out Roy Hersch's website: Fortheloveofport and it wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea to send him an email. He's always been very helpful on these kind of things and if anyone's an expert out there on stuff like this, he's the guy to go to

Soso,

From what I understand, you do probably do not need to decant it unless you are doing so to remove sediment. Madeira is already completely oxidized, so it has an indefinite shelf life (after opening), and I do not believe it will improve with cellaring. I can't think of many foods I would want to pair with a vintage Madeira....maybe the right kind of cheese?

Thanks guys.

Loved for the love of port which also lead me to this great site www.madeirawineguide.com which answered a lot of my questions and more.

This page from FTLOP agrees with you AA about the food pairings.

I suppose I was thinking as a substitute for port to go with cheese, but that article recommends against, but does go on to suggest it could go well with biscotti or nuts.

Now I've just got to make sure I'm around when it's opened.

Looking for some suggestions on good Chianti Classico, around the $40 mark. I heard 2005 is a good year, any others I should be looking out for?

Thanks in advance.

"Castello di AMA" is one of the best atm. it comes from the estate at 18€/bottle , so it could hit your range price. A little overpriced in last years( in early 2000 it was 12/13 € a bottle), but still a giant in Chianti lassico imo.
2005 is good. Just avoid 2002 and 2003 .