From memory.

Barolo:

Conterno - Monfortino 98 and 04
Conterno - Cascina Francia 79, 07 and 08
Bruno Giacosa - Falletto 04
Spinetta - Campe 05
Luigi Pira - Vigna Rionda 01 and 05
Luigi Pira - Marenca a few different vintages, don't remember which exactly
Bartolo Mascarello 06
Revello - Conca a few different vintages, don't remember which exactly
Paolo Scavino - Bric del Fiasc 06
Renato Corino - Rocche dell'Annunziata 09

Enjoyed all of the above, but some obviously stood out more team others.

Barbaresco:

La Spinetta - Starderi 08
Nada Fiorenzo - Rombone 08

Aside from the above I have tasted quite a few cheaper Barolos and Barbarescos and enjoyed some more than others.

Unfortunately we won't have anybody with us who speaks Italian, but we have gotten a few recommendations on English speaking placer and other than that we'll just have to get by. I guess we're looking mostly for non industrialized (smaller) places in a varying price range. It does not all have to be classified as Barolo or Barbaresco and advice on good value is also highly appreciated.

Tanks

your best bet is to make appointments ahead of time. You should be able to get into Giacosa and Giacomo Conterno with appointments. Marcarini is a must and they are a great "value" barolo on the whole. They are very traditional and are extremely affordable.

Elio Altare is well worth going to as well. They do modern Barolo right, and you get the fun of Sylvie if she is there.

You should definitely spend a full day or two in barbaresco and check out: Albino Rocca, Sottimano, and Bruno Rocca

I would also fully recommend trying to get up to Gattinara if you can. I'm personally a fan of Gattinara and it's a different expression of Nebbiolo.

One thing to remember is that even if google maps says something is a half hour away, it's more like an hour away because Piemonte is very rural

Thanks a lot, basically all of your recommendations sound great.

I was under the impression that Conterno would be quite hard to get into, but it would be a pleasant surprise if I am wrong :-)

We'll definitely spend a day or to in Barbaresco and we'll see if we can squeeze in a day in Gattinara as well.

We are staying at Fratelli Revellos agriturismo for two nights and Luigi Einaudis relais for two nights so we'll visit their wineries as well.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but are we expected to buy a certain amount of wine after visiting the wineries? I mean, I certainly want to buy as much wine as possible, but we'll run out of money at some point...

Things are always different for me as I'm ITB, but my attitude is only buy what moves you(granted, if you can get an appt @ G conterno you may be moved by monfortino but not afford it, lol). Don't feel obligated to buy just because you are there.

I'd also recommend Aldo Conterno. They're more modern than G Conterno, but the wines are fantastic.

Cool, thanks for all your help.

And there is no way I am leaving G. Conterno without some Monfortinos if I manage to get in there

Interesting article about Torbreck founder Dave Powell getting tossed out of the company he founded.

Dude is legit crazy. I was at the cellar door one time back when his costly divorce was happening and he stormed into the tasting room and started ranting to the staff member about how it was costing him $20,000 in legal fees to fight his wife on the subject of which high school they were going to attend.

OK, Lets say I
m at the grocery store or costco and want to spend $20-$30 on a cabernet or pinot noir.

What's a good few bets?

The usual suspects I see almost anywhere are Franciscan, La Crema, Freemark Abbey, Simi, Rodney Strong, etc. I think you get the message. I realize these may not have the boutique cachet of some other winemakers it's what I have to choose from. And if I show up to dinner at the neighbor's they will kind of recognize some of these names.

In that price range, I like Ridge three valleys blend (about $25) or Justin cab ($22 ish). La Crema and Bogle are both a little cheaper and better than most in their price range, IMO.
If you can find the ridge, get that bad thank me later.

for as much wine as I drink I'm pretty much a total novice. I usually buy a wild variety whatever is cheap at trader joe's (and everything is pretty cheap). I'm wondering if there's anything decent there that I should look for next time I go. As long as it's red, I'm open for any suggestions under $30 or so.

Good thing you're in Chicago as that way I can give you recs knowing what the distribution is.


Before giving a bunch of recs, let's figure out what you've liked before and what you may be interested in buying.

I would also recommend that you stop going to TJs and start making your wine buys from places like Binny's and Wine Discount Center (I utterly refuse to call it Vin Chicago). You will get better wines on the whole and have a ****load more options available to you.

honestly I'm so damn inattentive I can hardly say what stuff I've really liked. my favorite bottles are tied to experiences (a couple of outdoor dinners in rome, beach in barcelona), but unfortunately I can't even remember which wines they were. I know that I generally like Riojas, but again that might just be tied to happy spain memories more than anything.

far as what I'm interested: I like trying a bunch of different things. happy to take a bunch of varied recommendations and try them all. looking to spend $10-$20 on each bottle (but I'd spend up to $40 if it was really worth it). again, my palate isn't terribly refined, but I think trying a few good wines would help me kno wwhat to look for in a nice bottle

and ya, I'm happy to drive a bit and escape the trader joe's selection...

Bump bitches.

I had a simply incredible wine today.



It's a sparkling red, a style only really common in Australia.

What's the grape? Shiraz?

Yeah.

Is anyone else in here participating in Eric Asimov's online Wine School? The first months' lessons were Bordeaux, Beaujolais, and Sancerre. This month is on Riesling.

I'm not but his recommendations have been good thus far imo...def recommend it if you're interested in wine.

If you're interested and have the inclination, perhaps a few of you would consider joining this wine discussion in another forum.

A few months ago, I was persuaded to be the primary participant in the thread. I did so because I'm friends irl with a number of that forum's regs. They're a good bunch of guys and they enjoy a decent glass of vino. They're always looking for value- read that <$30 a bottle- and I could use some help in that regard. Thanks.

doc

all year is riesling.


goint to subscribe to the following wines that will be released this september, 1 box of each:

- Hermann Dönnhoff - Felsenberg Riesling trocken Grosses Gewächs 2013
- Hermann Dönnhoff - Dellchen Riesling trocken Großes Gewächs 2013
- Hermann Dönnhoff - Hermannshöhle Riesling trocken Großes Gewächs 2013

dude, get the '12s if you can still find them anywhere....they might be the best donnhoff GGs ever.

the 2012 collection is still available at http://www.pinard-de-picard.de.
living in europe helps.

i love this one, 2010:
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1165186

time to resurrect this thread. People will be seeing a lot of 2010 Barolos and Barbarescos hitting the market and there's a lot of hype behind them. From the small sample I've had, the hype is deserved (mostly for Barolo). These will need age, but they should be in your cellar for down the road.

Here's a barbaresco that's $25-30 and is well worth buying multiple bottles of for aging:

• 2010 Castello di Neive Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (7/3/2014)
  Nose: Savory and elegant with red cherries, roasted herbs, red florals, earth notes, and some black truffles.
  
  Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and youthful tannins. The structure emerges more with air, but there are lovely tones of red cherries, roasted herbs, red florals, and some black truffles.
  
  Overall: I'd love to see what this develops into with 5-7 years. There is a bit of flesh on the fruit right now, but I can see this really filling out with some age. It's extremely well balanced and has excellent depth for a base barbaresco. (90 pts.)
  

Posted from CellarTracker

Just got back from Napa/Sonoma, highlights were: Pride, Wind Gap, Merry Edwards, Corison.

love wind gap and corison......did scott do your tasting at wind gap? did you get to try any of his wines?

my knowledge and experience of/with californian wine: almost zero.
can anyone tell me sth about Aubert Wines? I was told that the Chardonnays are amazing and i have a seller in my area where i can subscribe them.
http://www.aubertwines.com/
but for 100$ a bottle i'm not so sure if should not stick to the countries that surround me (france, germany, austria, italy)...
or any other tips (white wine) from california?

Never had one but cant imagine i'd rather drink them than raveneau, dauvissat, roulot, or good champagne etc at that price point. Cali chards I really like are Wind gap, arnot roberts, hirsch, sandhi, hanzell, mount eden......I imagine the premium you would pay for any of these in europe would make them bad buys though.