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Great story.

I’ve been tasting the base Nebbiolos. They are consistently excellent (eg. Bartolo Mascarello, Bruno Giacosa, Fratelli Alessandria, PdB, Ca Nova) If they are good indicators, then yes this will be a very good vintage. Better than 2010 or 2013? I certainly can’t say. Ask again in 10 or 20 years. Does...

I like most of what I’ve tried. Droin Chablis Montmains was very tasty and a good value. I’ve gone through a half case of PYCM Bourgogne Blanc and really enjoyed their sharpness and energy. I had the chance to taste across the line-ups of Bernard Moreau and Lamy-Pillot and loved them - many good opt...

Vilmart, Philipponnat, Dom, Krug 164, plus will buy Taittinger CDC as many others have opined. I’d recommend looking at all the vintage Philopponnat wines, not just the CDG. The Mareuil-sur-Ay is fantastic. Most frustrating for me is the staggered release cycles of Champagne. Taittinger not out yet,...

Well hey old friend. Been nearly 18 months since I had my last ‘06. A stunner. I can only hope that more recent vintages become this good.

From news reports this morning seems like we’re headed in a good direction. Containment up to 30% and cool weather/low winds ahead. Fingers crossed that progress continues rapidly and Sonoma can return to normality.

There is an Evac Advisory for Calistoga. This is a great official resource for Calistoga updates:

https://local.nixle.com/city/ca/calistoga/

BTW an Advisory is not an order to evacuate. It's a warning to prepare for possible evacuation. Seems like Calistoga is without power as well.

I’ve had most of these and find ‘89 (and its charming sibling ‘90) at this end of the quality spectrum to be my favorite vintage for current consumption. Great tasting! It seems that many of these have read as younger than I’ve experienced. Magnum influence?

I opened a 2006 Dujac Combottes last month and it was great. Not quite utterly wide open but showing a lot and extremely enjoyable. Good enough that I pulled another 2006 - Hudelot Noellat Clos Vougeot - to try soon. I’ll report on that when I get to it.

06 base GC to compare. This was not good, and it's troubling to think it may be a signpost for how the 06 vintage will age. This is the first time I'd tasted this wine, so perhaps it was a bottle issue. If others have had this wine recently please chime in. This was surprisingly poor. Interesting r...

By the way, if you like these wines, you might want to explore the Anderson Valley. The higher altitude Pinots have a similar profile, eg. Littorai’s Cerise or Savoy, Drew’s Valenti or Morning Dew Ranch, Philips Hill, and many more. Goldeneye makes very good AV pinots in a bigger, richer style.

This is one of my favorite regions for California Pinot, maybe my favorite. I don’t think of it as fruit forward though (for a huge generalization), instead showcasing fruit married to great balance, minerality, and density. I like many of those mentioned here but especially love Occidental (any, bu...

Opened a 2014 PGC Freedom Hill/Coury tonight and it really shone. In a great place, wide open, showing tons of red fruit on the nose and palate, but also revealing depths of spices on the nose and palate with a superb, long, crunchy spicy finish. Tons of intensity but also balanced, yummy, deep. A b...

I bought for a number of years and have a case or two in the cellar. Like others pricing has kept me away. I actually opened a 2012 Estate Cuvée last night and it was a very pretty wine. Beautiful cab nose, lots of flavor and density on the long palate, definitely a head turner. On the Cal Cab spect...

F.Daner wrote: ↑
September 24th, 2019, 9:03 am
Assuming the 16 was released earlier this year ?

Yes. And it’s a stunner.

Blankiet goes back 20 years, and with Graham MacDonald making the wine now their entry level is worth a look. Old school? Not sure.

Ridge is awesome QPR btw.

I’m curious how they did all this tasting. A couple of milliliters times 23000 bottles is about 61 bottles. Palate fatigue? Hah a job that many here would apply for

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If you want to understand this better, examine the sediments next time you do this. You’ll see they’re really different from coffee grounds - not very solid at all. Some extremists even like tasting them. I’ve tried it - interesting but not as good as the wine IMHO.

Still seems like an excellent roster. And I like how the events are much more reasonable than for the Burg event.

I’ve never attended this. What do the wineries typically pour? Most recent release? Wide ranges?

My understanding is that overall US wine consumption has been steadily rising. With all this grape oversupply why aren’t we seeing more lower priced cabs/blends coming to market? Or maybe they are there and I’m not seeing it?

I feel like it would be a duty of my commitment to this community to make some bids. So many good choices!

Yea I read that as well Alan. While some of the article was unclear, the overall connection between color and structure was one I hadn't read about before. Interesting stuff, and like many elements of wine: complex, partially (at best) understood, and challenging to act on by any but most expert han...

You slip, stumble and fall into an alternate wine universe. You wake up after days of wandering, and realize it was all a dream. All you have left is this video.

Nice note. 2001s are starting to reveal themselves as true beauties. I recently opened the 2001 E. Grasso Casa Maté and it was stunning. Early in its maturity curve but delicious, intense and complex. Che Fico on the other hand ... I ate there right after it opened. Food was good, but service (poor)...

I too would lean towards the PdB. The '13s all risk being tight and tannic at this point. I would look at the '12s as second choices, with a slight lean towards the Roagna. I actually have the '12 Roagna Paje teed up to try soon as I wanted some exposure to the style/vintage. Not sure if I'll get to...

My only issue with MB is that my stash may not be anywhere near ready in my lifetime. My son will enjoy them. I have bought them since 2007 and the only bottle I opened so far (an '07 several years ago) was still pretty primary. Dan, I’m with you on this concern. But I have tried the 2006 and 2007 ...

Fascinating analysis. Cheers to Dan for doing the work, and to Russ for opening the Winebid data.

I take this as rough market analysis, far more useful/interesting for a consumer than an investor.

MB always impresses me and grows in my cellar. I just wish I had joined the list earlier (and who doesn’t?). It remains a great wine and value. There are many other great, reasonably priced Cali AND Napa cabs still. Many different styles are available. No doubt, prices have gone nuts and many are tr...

Fascinating, thanks for posting this Mark.

William - very hard to answer your question about how you would be better served. So much depends on your budget and appetite for champagne. Like you I started out loving the big names like Krug and Taittinger Comte and bought a handful. I bought both vintage and MV Krug. But the big shift for me is...

Guessing at potential future deflationary periods or recessions is pretty difficult. What are far more predictable are two general pricing cycles. They are: price reductions for large volume wines like Krug when a new release is arriving soon (i.e. clearing out old inventory) and end of year sales (...

Interesting, and yet this report leaves out so much. Two data points though - this combined with the Rhys penalty/reporting (very similar language and issues) indicate something. Noise? Coincidence? Or does this reflect energetic new leadership at the water board(s) in CA. Trying to make names for t...

Very interesting tasting. I’m heading to Germany this year to visit friends and hope to do some Pinot tasting. Good ideas. But I wonder about this comparison. Are these spätburgunders considered top producers/vineyards/vintages? The Burgs are not - mostly second tier vintages/vineyards. Probably a r...

I would be tempted at that price. Who is the retailer? I like Krug a lot, and bought a bunch of the MV 160 (2004 base). Loved it. There is some good material that year.

Thanks Mark, interesting. I adore them both but haven’t ever served them together. Your insight follows the rule of lighter to heavier wine ordering. I wonder if this would be reconsidered for aged bottles, eg. 1990 Krug & CDC. Both increase in complexity, and I’ve noticed the CDC take on deeper not...

I’d drink the burgs first, with food for sure. The Chave will possibly overwhelm the burgs. All will be lovely.

I’m for Rion as well. Patrice is a great wine maker and I’ve enjoyed many bottles from the ‘90s. I’ve only had one ‘95 - the NSG Argillieres - and enjoyed it. I’d expect the Beaux Monts to be a big step up. Btw I also love Fourrier but haven’t had any from the 90s. Only exception is if you’re trying...

I am mostly aligned with others here. While I’ve enjoyed every Winston I’ve had (most recent is the 2004) I have voted with my wallet and only bought the DP and CDG. Not planning on opening either for some years. With others, I’m very much looking forward to the Taittinger CdC. I’d also recommend th...

Great note. I love the 2006, possibly only bested by the 2008. The only ‘14 I’ve had is one I pobega’d the day my shipment arrived. Very promising. Sounds like you had a lovely visit!

Thank you Kevin, very helpful perspective. For those here wishing to cast stones at Rhys over this situation, I have two comments. - Mistakes were made, punished, and settled, with a massive fine. Good luck finding a winery that has made no mistakes. - Farming is destructive. All farming changes the...

Data point: I joined the MB list before the 2015 vintage offering (March, 2016) and was given an allocation that year. I’ve bought every vintage since then, and was given the same allocation for 2018. My estate obligation is 3 bottles - usually 1 each of the estate cab, Merlot, and Chard. All 3 very...

Was also surprised to read how many thousands of acres these greedy asshats are farming. I’ll do my best to try to make it cheaper for you but it sounds pretty blatant that they knew what they were doing. I guess I would encourage you not to support greedy pot farmers who destroy wetlands too? Gree...

Don't know the details, and how "egregious" the violations really were. But I'm laughing hard right now at the idea that whatever Rhys did is even a drop in the bucket compared to the integrated effects of pot farming around the county for all these years. I'll continue to buy and enjoy Rhys wines,...

California is a tough place to conduct business in a lot of ways. Complex regulations in many, many areas. As someone who has run (non wine) businesses here, it’s not simple stuff. And it’s easy to make mistakes, even significant ones. Just because a company makes a mistake and is fined, absolutely ...

I have done a bit of list sharing with friends here in California. But like you the risks/costs/hassles of shipping make me nervous. Instead, I’ve been thinking about (and cutting back on) my list purchases. I don’t like the feeling of being held hostage to a list. On every one I’ve bought from, dia...

Depending where/when I’d love to participate. Been meaning to get up to OR this summer.

Two thoughts on this - the impact on Napa really depends on the length of the trade war. Producers will ride out a few years. But in the worst case (You know who re-elected and no resolution) those who have significant Chinese clientele will suffer. A longer term risk is that France/Italy/Spain see ...

I was just in Tuscany his month and will echo Chris S’ thoughts. Fuligni was excellent - very personal, great wine. Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona was fine but bland. More like a Napa retail type visit, and the wines were not as good either. I wish I had time for more visits! For folks who have been m...

I think it's clear why there is a long run trend to higher pricing. What I wonder is whether the recent (last two years or so) lurch upward in pricing is sustainable. It feels like a lot of grand crus that had already attained the hyper-expensive $150-$250 level are now going for the stratospheric ...

Listening is dead at retail.

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